The October List

and happen to be sailing toward that really big ship.’
    He looked up. ‘It’s a mile away. That reminds me, I forgot to ask: Can you swim?’
    ‘How bad a sailor are you?’ she asked.
    ‘I just mean I’ll give you a PPD.’
    ‘Pee-pee what?’
    ‘Personal protection device. Or, your word: lifesaver.’
    ‘I can swim,’ she said.
    ‘Hold on.’ When he noted her firm grip on the handholds, he steered into an impressive wake, took it head-on. The boat nearly caught air and slammed into the water on the other side of the crest. Spray dashed onto their faces.
    ‘Come here.’ Daniel reached into his breast pocket and withdrew a white silk handkerchief. ‘Decorative only,’ he said, smiling. She leaned forward and he wiped the salt spray from her forehead and cheeks, then his own.
    He now steered parallel to Manhattan. They took in the otherworldly sight of the lights of the city coming alive and growing brighter. In the deepening dusk, Gabriela was cold. She shivered and pulled her black-and-white jacket around her more tightly.
    Daniel consulted his watch. Seven-forty. ‘You still up for dinner?’
    ‘Oh, by the way. I don’t get seasick.’
    He frowned. ‘Should’ve asked too. Oops.’
    ‘I would’ve told you. I just mean, in answer to your question, yes: I’m starving. And we should get back soon. On the nights I don’t have Sarah, I call her before she goes to bed. I never miss it.’
    ‘I try to do the same, with the boys.’
    He turned south down the Hudson and back into the harbor proper. Daniel eased the throttle forward. He had a devilish smile. ‘Fifteen minutes more?’
    ‘Sure.’
    He steered to the right, closer to the container ship she’d seen earlier, which was steaming at a good clip toward the Verrazano Narrows.
    ‘God, it’s huge.’
    ‘That one’s a post-Panamax. Means she won’t fit through the Panama Canal.’
    ‘How high is it?’ She was staring up as they approached the massive hull, red and scabby, laden with containers of all colors.
    ‘I don’t know,’ Daniel replied. ‘Ten stories maybe. Probably more. They’re classified by length and breadth, not height. She’s probably a thousand feet long, a hundred twenty wide.’
    ‘“She”? Are all boats girls?’
    ‘No. They’re women.’ Without a millisecond of hesitation.
    Got me there, she thought. And had to laugh. ‘It’s magnificent and it’s ugly,’ Gabriela called. ‘ She is, I mean.’ Then she tapped the dashboard. ‘Your boat – what’s her name? I didn’t look at the back.’
    ‘ Boat. ’
    The wind gusted. She shouted: ‘Right. What’s her name?’
    ‘No, Boat ’s her name.’
    ‘That’s all you could come up with?’
    ‘It’s all I wanted.’
    ‘And “Boat” wasn’t taken?’
    ‘It’s not like you have to trademark names. But, no, I’ve never seen Boat . Most people are more creative.’ He described and spelled some. ‘ Irritable Bow . A Crewed Interest . Charley’s Tuition . Nauty Call .’
    She groaned.
    ‘Hold on. Here comes the monster’s wake.’
    Impressive crests of water charged them.
    She knelt, gripped more tightly yet, the backs of her hands pressed against his shoulders. It seemed that he settled back firmly against her knuckles. Daniel straightened the craft and expertly tricked the engine and wheel as they met the first wave.
    Boat crashed into and over the swell. She felt her breath leave her lungs as they landed hard.
    Another dozen collisions, each tamer than the one before.
    The boat settled into a gentle rocking.
    ‘Look,’ he said with admiration bordering on awe in his voice. If the Chinese sea monster was impressive, the ship they saw to their right was breathtaking.
    ‘It’s as big as a city,’ she called. ‘What’s that one?’
    ‘A VLCC. Very large crude carrier. A tanker. And see how high she’s riding? She’s in ballast – no oil on board. She off-loaded in Jersey.’
    ‘Going to the Panama Canal?’
    ‘She’s not going to fit either. She’s headed to the Mediterranean or all the way around the Horn.’
    ‘ Titanic .’
    He laughed. ‘ Titanic was half her size’ – nodding at the supertanker.
    ‘How fast is she going?’
    ‘Even full they can do eighteen knots. Empty, twenty-five, I’d guess. If I was alone I’d race her to that buoy.’
    ‘Why?’
    Daniel shrugged. ‘Because it’d be fun.’
    ‘No, I mean why only if you were alone?’ When he hesitated she added, ‘Go ahead. Do