“Now there’s an idea,” Frank says as they push off. “Hand her over and treat yourself to an upgrade.”

“Never,” I vow.

“Have you been out on his boat, son?” Frank asks Nick.

“Not yet,” Nick replies.

“Crying shame what Bobby does to the damn thing. Steal her if you get the chance.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” I say, and everyone laughs, although it wasn’t a joke. “Nice seeing you all. Great motors, Frank.”

Luna and Monique wave good-bye, but the rest of their party is already busy cracking coolers and smearing sunscreen on shoulders and noses. Enough of us.

Enough of them. “What a piece of work,” I say to myself, and I’m glad Nick doesn’t ask who or why, because they all are sometimes. Frank, Mo, Luna, the whole lot.

Jonah is still missing in action, so I drag Nick to our slip and put him to work unsnapping one side of the Bimini. We roll back the cover, and My Lucia dazzles in the sunlight. I ask, “Ever been in one of these?”

“No,” he says. “But it sure is beautiful.”

“Lapstrake construction. If it’s good enough for the Vikings . . .”

“Wow.”

“Nineteen-sixty-one Lyman,” I tell him. “Twenty feet. It’s the first thing my dad bought when he came into some money. He was just twenty years old. Can you imagine? Must have been nice, right? Bought her brand-new.”

Nick admires the glossy teak and mahogany woodwork, the shiny fixtures and sleek trolling motor. “Unbelievable she still looks so good.”

“She’s had plenty of work done. Believe that.”

“Yeah,” he says. “Well, it shows.”

I thank him and genuinely appreciate the admiration, because respect isn’t always the reaction My Lucia gets. Nobody around here can stand it that I use my boat for its intended purpose—that I actually bring bait on board and let saltwater in—despite my attention to detail. Every year she is treated, sealed, varnished, and stored in ideal conditions, and every few years she gets some heavy-duty rework that wasn’t in my budget but can’t wait: a new engine or fuel valve, better bumpers or an upgraded GPS system or horn. Every bit of hardware, every windowpane, all of it gets the once-over and over again.