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Silver Anniversary

A Larry and Lola Lamont Adventure

By BabuPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
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Photo by Tatiana from Pexels

Day 1

As they boarded the "Aldora", Lola and Larry Lamont took one last look around the dock making sure not to miss anything. They were getting ready to set sail for 14 days to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, just the two of them and the open sea.

Lola couldn't remember the last time they got away for more than a weekend together and they hadn't taken the boat out in almost two years. Life and work had gotten in the way. But Larry came home after work on Friday and told her to pack her bags for the getaway of a lifetime.

Now, Sunday morning, they were casting off the lines for an adventure to parts unknown. They were both excellent sailors, but Lola had grown up in Southern California and spent a lot of time on the ocean with her dad. Larry had never been on a boat until he met Lola, but by the time they got married, he was well on his way to being an able seaman.

Lola navigated the 55' ft Andrews out of King Harbor and set out toward the horizon. Larry hadn't told her where they were going, just what to pack and when to be ready. Once they were in the open ocean, Larry took over navigation while Lola headed down to the galley to throw together a snack. They had been in such a rush they hadn't had more than a cup of coffee and it was already after noon.

When she brought up the tray of sandwiches, Larry spotted the ice bucket of cold beer. Lola saw the look on his face and asked, "Is it too early for this?". Larry smirked and said, "We are on vacation for the next two weeks, there is no such thing as too early or too late for anything."

She cracked a beer, handed it to Larry, and gave him a kiss. They toasted each other, the start of their beautiful anniversary celebration, and enjoyed the salt air while they lunched.

Lola watched Larry eat and couldn't help but notice, after 25 years, he was still so handsome. His laugh lines had gotten deeper and sexier with age and while he didn't hit the gym like he did in his younger years, at 50 he still cut an impressive physique. After all this time, she still loved him so much.

She was looking forward to this time together, away from the business they built that consumed so much of their life. Time to talk. To reconnect. To rekindle the fire.

Day 2

Lola woke up to find Larry on deck with a devilish grin on his face. “Good morning.” she said walking over to give him a kiss. “Great morning.” he said as he took her in his arms and planted a kiss that took her breath away.

“What was that for?” asked Lola as she felt the heat in her rise. Instead of answering her Larry, picked her up, wrapped her legs around his waist and carried her down the ladder, through the galley, past the bunks and to the master quarters. They spent the next 2 hours making love and drifting with the current.

They had sex twice a month on average and it had been that way for the last 5 years. At first Lola thought there might be another woman, but as time went on, she realized that wasn’t the case. She had found herself questioning if he had lost interest, but in the end figured life had just gotten in the way.

Larry got dressed and headed back up top to make sure they were still “on course”. Lola had no idea where that course was, but if the next 12 days were anything like the first 2 days, she didn’t care.

Day 7

After spending a couple of days drifting and enjoying the solitude of floating on the sea, Lola and Larry made their way to Puerto Chiapas to top off their supplies and get a few odds and ends together for their Anniversary the next day.

Larry let Lola in on the secret destination, of which there was none. The plan was to literally go with the flow and enjoy each other’s company, which made Lola ecstatic. They split up briefly to do a little personal shopping, grabbed a bite at a small local restaurant, and then set back out to sea.

Day 8 – 25th Anniversary

Lola woke up to a small box on Larry’s pillow with a note that read, “Open Me.” She opened the box to find a beautiful Infinity ring with Turquoise inlays. She slid it on, brushed her teeth, and joined Larry who was sunning up on the deck.

“I love it!” She exclaimed as she threw her arms around him.

“And I love you!” Larry replied, as he took her in his arms.

This time Larry didn’t even bother to carry her below, they made love right there on the bow.

“I still have a few surprises for you today. I hope you are ready.” He said.

“I have a few for you too.” She smirked.

They took a dip in the ocean; the temperature was perfect. Lola had often thought of selling everything and living at sea. They hadn’t been lucky enough to have a child and their parents were all gone. Both only children, there was nothing tying them to land. Maybe she would mention it tonight? Spending the next 25 years like this seemed perfect.

Larry was making her dinner tonight. She was usually the cook, but he was actually very good in the kitchen. No one could hold a candle to his Lobster, and they had picked up some fresh ones in port the day before along with a bottle of Veuve, her favorite!

He assembled an amazing Charcuterie board, again with all her favorites! Brie, Prosciutto, Figs. She asked him if he was trying to get lucky and he responded, “I got lucky the day I met you.” Lola stared at him and couldn’t help but think, “I love this man.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she headed below to put on her surprise for him.

She came back up on deck 10 minutes later wearing a very sexy evening dress.

Larry’s eyes widened and his smile spread from ear to ear as he poured his wife a glass of Veuve with a single strawberry in it. He poured himself a glass as well, and they toasted each other and to another 25 years.

Once they made a sizeable dent in the charcuterie board, Larry went down to the galley to cook the Lobster. A quick boil, some melted herb butter, a couple of candles, some Billie Holliday radio, and their night was underway.

As they ate and drank, they talked. About their past and their future. Lola almost brought up her crazy idea of living at sea multiple times but didn’t. Larry made sure her glass stayed full. Wanting to stay somewhat in control and being that they were alone in the middle of nowhere, both of them getting drunk didn’t seem like the best idea.

Larry excused himself and headed below deck. When he came back about 10 minutes later, Lola was gone.

“Lola?” he asked. “Baby?” this time with a little more concern in his voice. “Lola!!” this time running where she was last sitting. He looked over the side of the boat calling out her name. He ran, grabbed the high-powered flashlight they kept on board, and ran all around the ship looking in the black water, but he couldn’t find her anywhere.

He sat there waiting. He called out and checked in the water a few more times, before starting the engine and driving away.

90 Minutes Later

A Coast Guard ship panned the sea with its lights looking for anyone in the water. They had received a Mayday from the vessel Aldora. The caller identified himself as Larry Lamont and said that his wife had fallen overboard and that their ship was sinking.

They hadn’t yet reached the coordinates of the mayday call, but the current can easily drag debris and people miles in a short time. As they continued to call out into the night, they heard a voice shout, “Here!” They started looking in the direction of the sound and found Lola Lamont, floating in her life vest.

They quickly got her out of the water, wrapped her in a blanket, gave her a bottle of water, and asked where her husband was.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “We were celebrating our anniversary, I had a little too much Champagne, and that was the last thing I remember until I found myself in the water alone.”

They continued looking for the Aldora and Larry Lamont. The captain tried to reach the boat’s radio, but there was no response. As they got closer to the last known coordinates, items from the ships galley and below deck were floating on the surface of the water.

Lola looked over the side and exclaimed, “This is from our boat! I recognize this, it is from our boat! Larry!! Larry!!!” She cried out, but there was no response. As they reached the bulk of the wreckage, they saw a tattered life vest and in it, what remained of Larry Lamont.

A scream erupted from Lola as tears came down her face. The coast guard grabbed a hook to bring his body on board, but before they had a chance, they caught a quick glance of a shadow, a fin, and Larry disappeared below the water.

Epilogue

Larry Lamont’s death was written up as shark attack. Because they didn’t have a body, they had no way of knowing if he was dead before or after the shark arrived.

“I know it isn’t what you want to hear,” the captain of the rescue ship had said as they arrived in port, “but falling overboard when you did, may have saved your life.”

Lola couldn’t say anything as warm tears continued to stream down her face.

She gave her final statement on the events of that night. The officers felt she was in no condition to drive so one drove her home while the other followed in her car.

She walked in the door of what was their home and headed straight for the shower going over everything that had happened and feeling grateful. Grateful that her husband talked in his sleep.

While she had been heartbroken to find out that he planned to kill her on their anniversary, she was a survivor, and she immediately went into survival mode.

She knew exactly where they were, every moment of the trip. She had bought a shark repelling anklet, not knowing how long she would be afloat before she was found and put on a long evening gown to conceal it. She had secured her life vest to the boat, out of sight. Most of her Champagne had gone into the Pacific.

When they stopped at port for supplies, she bought some chum and hid it on board. She had secured pods of it around the boat so once it started to submerge, the chum would attract the sharks. Before quietly slipping into the sea, Lola compromised the floor of the engine compartment just enough to buy herself time for Larry to sail off and put some distance between them before enough water would seize the engine.

Her tears had been real, she had truly loved Larry, but she knew she would never be safe with him again.

A few weeks later, Lola got the surprise of a lifetime when she received a check in the mail from their insurance company. Unbeknownst to her, Larry had increased both of their policies from $1 million to $3 million.

Lola poured herself a glass of wine, put on some Billie Holliday radio, opened her laptop, and began looking for her new boat.

Horror
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About the Creator

Babu

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