The Starboard Knife

There were beatings, bruises, broken bones, black eyes, hospital stays, and funerals. So depressing, all of it, and she was baffled that so many of the women went back to the men that harmed them. Fear kept them imprisoned.

How did it start? When and why?

Had the genesis of so many horrible stories been nothing more than a stern grasp like the one Alex had given her?

You’re overreacting. Just a little more fun and then you’re gone. You won’t be around long enough to find out. He’ll be done with you by the time the weekend is over.

PART TWO

By the time Alex and Je

Wade wore a ridiculous looking, wide-brimmed hat that nearly provided as much cover as a beach umbrella. Terri and Mark had adorned themselves in shorts and long-sleeved swim shirts, along with thick, ivory white sunscreen covering their noses.

Je

Je

Terri and Mark. Je

Erica and her perfect body, home for two weeks after a photo shoot in Milan, and then she was off to Hawaii for yet another stint on the beach, looking gorgeous for the camera. Je

Wade, the building contractor that she’d met while he was working on her parents’ home. All around good guy, lots of fun, easy to get along with. Evidently he’d come solo, because there was no sign of his wife. He was often dressed in lumberjack fla

Next were Chet and Karen, childless, both former lawyers who’d grown tired of the never ending hours and left their joint practice to start a bakery and work even longer days. They didn’t mind, or so they said, because it was what they loved doing. Up before dawn, home after the sun went down. Everything was made from scratch and just as delicious as a professional, classically trained chef. It was a miracle that they’d loosened their grip on the store long enough to make it for the weekend trip. Only recently had they begun trusting their employees to handle the workload without constant supervision. And kids? Forget about it. Who had the time?

Sharon and Laura came together, and like Wade, they’d left their spouses behind. Je

Je

Je

Each muttered their agreement.

“Good, because like I said, we’re here to have fun. No work, no worrying about the kids—they’re in good hands, and you know it, Terri—and we’re not sitting around on my birthday weekend with our noses buried in little screens, talking about who had what for lunch. We’re going to have fun, and we’re going to enjoy the company of someone five feet away from us. No tweets, no posts, no surveys about what Friends character you are. That’s my birthday present. Got it?”

They mockingly whined, but agreed, and Wade saluted, offering a hearty, “Yes, ma’am!”

“Then let’s go!” Alex opened his arms wide, and twisting at the hip, he welcomed everyone aboard The Harlot with a sweeping gesture.

Wade pulled his hat a little lower over his eyes, whistled, and said, “She’s an amazing piece of work, dude. How much she set you back?”

Alex shrugged, saying, “Twenty-five million,” like it was no big deal. “Let me show you guys around.”

A half an hour later, after they’d been shown to their rooms, oohing and aahing over how beautiful the yacht was and whistling at all the expensive additions that had been installed, they were on their way, out into the open water, with Alex up in the cockpit and drinks in their hands.

Terri asked Je

Je

They all knew each other fairly well, except for Erica, who was the rare unicorn and only graced everyone’s presence occasionally, which inevitably led to discussions about her life as a model. They wanted to know if she had met anyone famous recently. They wanted to know which of the exotic locations she’d been to was her favorite—India, believe it or not—and how uncomfortable it must be to take her clothes off in front of strangers.

“You get used to it,” Erica said. “Mostly I’m in a bikini in front of the guys, and the only ones who ever see me naked are the wardrobe girls.”

Je

“Being naked is liberating. There’s something about the freedom that gives you room to accept yourself.”

“I’m perfectly fine with keeping my parts to myself.”

Erica snickered. “Yeah, but the mirror is about the only thing that gets to see you naked. I’m fine with showing off what I’ve got.”

Je

Laura leaned forward on the edge of her chair. “With a body like yours, who wouldn’t be fine with it?”