Chapter 26

Music of another era fills the air. The lyrics within the melody profess love and obsession. The rhythm makes you sway like no other way. There is nothing better than a warm body to share it with. An evening at Hunter’s Moon fills your soul, expands your heart, and opens your mind to a better time.

“Derek, thank you so much for bringing me.”

“It’s our pleasure, Zoë. Do you like to dance?”

“Oh yes!”

“Well, get your cute self out there and find a guy.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

Derek looks around and sees a well-dressed young man at the bar. Derek walks over to him and taps him on the shoulder. “Excuse me,” he says, over the music.

“Oh, hi, you’re one of the owners!”

“Yeah, how are you enjoying your evening?”

“It’s great! I just need to find me a girl to dance with.”

Derek smiles and then using his finger he brings Zoë over. “Zoë, this is ... I’m sorry I didn’t get your name.”

“John.”

“Zoë, John. John, Zoë. You both are looking for someone to dance with. Enjoy.”

Zoë appears to be a little shy herself, not unlike Anna, but when John holds out his hand for her, she takes it.

As Derek is walking back over to Anna at the table, where Eric and Brandi have just shown up, her eyes are glittering with the power of a thousand stars and Derek sees the love in her eyes that he feels for her. It takes his breath away.

Eric asks, “Where’s David and Lisa, have they got here yet?”

“Yep, already on the dance floor.” Derek hugs Brandi. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hi. Anna, do you mind if I dance with Derek for a minute?”

“Of course not.”

Derek and Brandi go out to the dance floor and start to dance. Brandi is obviously trying to figure out how to breach a subject. “Derek, uh, um, Derek?”

“Yes.”

“I, uh, well, I think maybe, well just maybe that, uh, I’m...”

“That you are in love with Eric!”

Brandi’s mouth falls open and her eyes go big. “How did... ?”

“Lisa saw it first.”

“Damn that girl! She couldn’t tell me?” Derek laughs and they continue to dance.

After they are done dancing and go back over to the table Eric says, “Hey, brother, let’s take a stroll around the club.”

“Alright,” says Derek, trying not to smile.

Brandi gets her ire up immediately. “You guys aren’t going trolling are you?”

Eric quickly says, “No!”

Derek smiles and says, “Of course not.” Very soon Anna and Derek will be finishing each other’s sentences, as they have already begun to talk alike.

Derek and Eric start walking around and immediately Derek can tell Eric wants to say something. “Brother?”

“Yes, Eric.”

“I think I’m in love with Brandi.”

“Yes, we all know.”

“What? How? Oh, Lisa, huh?”

“Yep!”

“Do you think it could ruin our friendship?”

Derek gives Eric a long hard look and then grabs him by the arm and drags him over to the table. By this time David and Lisa are back at the table catching their breaths. Without preamble Derek says, “Brandi, Eric is in love with you, too!”

Brandi and Eric look at each other quickly. Eric says, “Too?”

Brandi slowly nods her head with her beautiful hazel eyes big and round. “Why don’t you two go dance.”

Eric and Brandi both look around at their friends to see if there is any judgment, but all they see are knowing smiles, filled with hope and joy for their friends.

Anna smiles up at Derek adoringly. Derek leans down and kisses her cheek, and then he straightens back up and holds his hand out for Anna. She takes it gladly and they go and dance the night away.

The ocean is calm and beautiful. More than one girl is beaming brighter than the ocean is sparkling. Said sparkling water appears to have fairies dancing upon it. As the waves gently lap against the shore and ships, one cannot help but get into rhythm with a world that is so spectacular, and yet at times can be so cold. It is important to understand the true nature of things so that one may truly appreciate just how special and lucky we truly are.

They all respectfully wait for one another at the beginning of the dock. Once everybody is there, they head towards the white with red trim fifty-foot yacht. “It’s huge!” smiles Anna.

“Everybody, welcome aboard the Garden of the Pacific,” Derek says with a grand sweeping gesture. Of course, he is mainly talking to Anna and Zoë because everyone else has been on her many times.

“The Garden, huh?”

Derek smiles and winks at Anna and says, “Yep!”

“Who’s that?” wonders Anna.

“That is the crew. Two to navigate and drive her, one to keep on eye on the mechanics of the boat, and two servers and one chef. The dock and the associated yachting club has them so you can hire them for special occasions.”