Confederate Gold and Silver (6 page)

Later over dinner, and after the excitement of his day had been talked about, Donna told Paul about the interview she had gone through and of the job offer she had received. It was not nearly as exciting as the news he had brought home, but for her she knew having a new job would be a great way to help her get settled in her new life in Murrells Inlet. Her new job would keep her busy. It would also keep her from missing her boys more than she already was.

******

It was late the next morning when Paul received the phone call he was expecting from Chubby. They spoke for several minutes and then agreed to meet at 2 pm at the marina. “Sounds great, I look forward to seeing you.” After hanging up the phone, Paul realized he had a new problem to deal with since moving south. He realized it as soon as he listened to Chubby talk to him on the phone. While he had understood most of what Chubby had told him over the phone, Paul realized he would be meeting many people, folks like Chubby, who spoke with that distinctive Southern drawl he found so hard to understand at times. “I’m going to have to train these Northern ears to a whole new way of listening.” It was a challenge he had waited for years to do.

Chubby was waiting outside by the marina’s main office when Paul pulled into the parking lot. It was not a paved lot, but one which was a combination of dirt, beach sand, and broken oyster shells that car and truck tires had ground up into small pieces over the years. Pulling into the lot, Paul could hear the shells crunching even more under his tires.

Even before they introduced themselves to each other, Chubby started ragging on Paul. “The old man told me about the help you gave him yesterday when he got the flat tire. Got to admit that was a right neighborly thing for y’all to do, especially for you, you know being a Yankee and all.”

Paul just smiled as he shook Chubby’s hand.

“Hey, partner, I’m just having some fun with y’all. But that was a right fine thing you did for Steve. He’s a good man. I’ll tell ya, he will never forget what you did for him. He’s like that, just remembers everything.”

As they started walking down the wooden walkway to the marina’s main set of docks, Paul now saw he had pictured Chubby pretty well. It was easy to see how he had been christened with his nickname. Chubby was a friendly enough man of about thirty-five years of age and was someone who likely carried close to three hundred pounds on his six foot plus frame. He was a bear of a man in size. His denim blue bib overalls, with one strap unbuttoned, were covered with both work and food stains in several spots. They likely had been worn for several days since they were last washed Paul thought as he followed him down the walkway. With a nickname of Chubby, and with the clothes he was wearing, he was just as Paul had pictured him. He took an immediate liking to him.

Chubby led Paul to a section of the marina where several small white-colored wooden rowboats bobbed in the Inlet’s gentle tide. They were tied up along one of the dock’s wooden walkways. From the looks of the rowboats, they were obviously ones used by boat owners when they needed to ferry supplies out to their larger boats, ones moored off the marina’s main docks. Nearby, behind one of the outbuildings the marina owned, various supplies were piled up. They were supplies needed to keep a busy marina in operation.

Stopping for a moment as they reached the end of the first wooden walkway, Paul saw the walkway was one of many that had been firmly secured with long cables to several large concrete blocks that sat at the edge of the parking lot. He knew this had been done so they did not float away during the severe storms which occasionally hit the South Carolina coast. He then followed Chubby as they walked down another walkway which was connected to a series of several smaller wooden docks. Each of these docks and walkways had been bolted to one another in a way so they could each rise and fall with the passing tide. The docks and walkways floated on large pieces of Styrofoam and on large blue plastic barrels. The gentle low tide made it easy for them to walk on the docks without having to use the handrails.

Looking back over his left shoulder, Paul could see they had walked almost two hundred feet out from shore. From where he was on the dock, he saw the adjoining set of docks held the marina’s gas pumps. Over the top of the pumps was a faded red and blue wooden sign which read
‘Alcott’s
Marina,
Murrells
Inlet,
South
Carolina’
. The lettering had been neatly stenciled some time in the past as the large white lettering was now starting to fade. Paul smiled when he saw his new friend’s last name displayed on the sign.

“Well, there she is. Not much to look at, but she still has some life in her. What do ya think?”

Paul turned to see Chubby pointing at the old pontoon boat sitting moored at the end of the walkway. On both sides of the boat hung smaller wooden versions of the sign he had seen displayed over the gas pumps. The pontoon boat was one the marina’s employees used for the operational needs of the marina. From that use it was easy to tell the boat had not been cared for as well as it would have been if it had been privately owned.

Paul stepped onto the last section of dock before climbing onto the boat. Chubby, whose real name was Earl Jensen, chose to remain on the dock. It was obvious Chubby’s years of feasting on far too many of the Inlet’s delicacies, both seafood and cold beer, prevented him from doing anything too strenuous. Even the short walk down the several sections of walkways had winded him significantly.

Chubby told Paul the boat had seen a variety of use since the marina had purchased it about seven years ago, but described how it had been primarily used to ferry boat owners to and from their boats when the marina’s row boats were not practical to use. Looking around and not seeing anyone nearby, Chubby told him of another way the boat had been used. “I have to tell you I have also used it on more than a few occasions to satisfy the personal needs of many female tourists after they have visited our restaurant or one of the other nearby bars. The boat has come in quite handy after they have had too much to drink. You know what I’m talkin’ about, right?”

Not wanting to hear anymore about Chubby’s alleged romantic escapades, and also wanting to quickly erase the ugly mental picture he now had in his head of a naked Chubby frolicking on the boat with an inebriated female, Paul put a quick end to this part of the conversation. “I got the picture, I got it!” The brief mental picture of one of these escapades lingered far too long in his mind and he quickly sought to erase it.

Examining the boat, Paul could see it was a twenty-two foot Sylvan Signature series pontoon boat. The boat’s original burgundy color was now faded for the most part by the constant exposure to the sun and salt air. His first impression was it needed some work, but he could tell the boat did have some life left in her. It needed some cosmetic work done to it, along with a few minor repairs, and then a real good cleaning before it would be something to have some pride in. The boat had a minor dent in the outside edge of the left transom, but it was not large enough to repair at this time. He saw the boat’s original carpeting had been replaced with a more durable dark green Astroturf style of carpet which was now both faded and in need of replacing. Paul could not help but think the boat’s carpeting reminded him of the putting surfaces at several of the Mini-Golf venues his family had waged friendly competitions at during their summer vacations in Myrtle Beach. He also could not help but wonder if this was the same carpeting Chubby and his ‘dates’ had used during their romantic one night stands. At least he hoped it was not the same one. “One thing for sure, the carpeting has to go,” Paul thought to himself.

Inspecting the boat further, Paul noticed the captain’s seat had a small tear in the upholstery, a tear which had been poorly repaired with grey duct tape. After inspecting most of the boat, he asked Chubby about the condition of the black sixty horsepower Mercury engine. “We just serviced it about two weeks ago. It’s only two years old and I think it’s still under warranty for another six months or so. We’ve never had a problem with it. The engine runs fine.”

Paul knew he was being shown the boat on orders from Steve and he knew it was likely being offered to him to buy, but he played along by looking at it some more until Chubby broached the topic about buying it. “Why do y’all want a pontoon boat anyhow? Don’t y’all want something better than this old slow tub? It’s already ten years old.”

“Well, I guess it’s because I have always wanted a pontoon boat or a party boat or whatever they are called. I don’t have a need for a fast boat as I’m not in a hurry anymore in life. I just want something to fish off, to set a grill up on, and to enjoy some good times on with my wife and friends. I told Steve I have always wanted a pontoon boat, so I guess if you are taking the time to show it to me, I guess it’s up for sale. This boat does have some repairs which need making, so it all depends on the price he is asking.”

“Sounds like you been thinking on this for some time now. Listen here, Steve wants me to do two things and he always wants me to do them his way. At least that’s what he done told me on the phone last night. He wants me to get moving on buying a new pontoon boat for the marina and he wants me to sell this old tub to you. That’s if you’re interested and all in it.”

Chubby explained that Steve’s style was to always treat his marina customers the right way. He further explained that Steve had recently begun to feel the aging pontoon boat was a poor reflection upon the marina, so he had instructed him to start looking for a newer one.

“So this here boat is yours if ya want it. Well, not exactly like that, free and all I mean. Steve told me you can have the boat and the trailer for one thousand dollars. The trailer is over yonder there in the parking lot. That’s not too bad a deal, I guess. He also told me to tell ya everything works on the boat, including the navigational lights. The deal also includes a small anchor and that large Igloo ice chest sitting right there. Part of the deal he is giving ya includes mooring it here for the rest of the summer if ya want. He ain’t gonna charge ya for that.”

Paul bent over and opened the large white colored Igloo ice chest to see what kind of shape it was in. “A cooler this size could come in handy for storing cold beer and sandwiches in on future river trips,” he thought to himself. As he opened the lid, besides noticing the cooler’s white interior was no longer remotely close to being white, a strong foul smelling fishy odor emanated from the inside. The cooler was partially full of warm rancid water. The odor, coupled with the heat of the day, was strong enough that it made Paul gag. It almost caused him to lose the lunch he had eaten about two hours earlier.

“Guess it needs cleaning, huh?”

“Chubby, that’s a slight understatement as it needs more than a cleaning. Burning it would be a good idea. You’re not getting the smell out of that thing.”

Inspecting the boat a little bit more, Paul saw it had been properly registered in South Carolina and had also been inspected earlier in the year by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. A DNR 2011 sticker was properly displayed near the bow section of the boat.

Paul then walked over to where the boat trailer sat in the marina’s parking lot. As he inspected the Load Rite trailer, which was painted a deep red, he noticed Chubby had climbed onto the boat and had unfurled the boat’s blue canvass top. He was not sure if Chubby had done so to stay out of the afternoon sun or if he had done that so the canvass top could be inspected while he was there looking at the boat. Either way, he took his time giving the trailer a once over to make sure it was in decent shape. Inspecting the trailer, he noticed one of the rear tandem tires on the right side had gone flat, likely from the trailer having sat unused in the parking lot for so long. Overall, the trailer proved to be in good condition. Paul was pleased it had been included in the offer with the boat.

After taking the time to inspect the boat’s canvass top, Chubby motioned for them to walk over to the steps outside the side door of the marina’s office. The steps also led to the marina’s showroom area. The steps were out of the sun and by now Paul welcomed the opportunity to sit in the shade. Sitting there, they talked about the condition of both the boat and the trailer. While they talked, Paul outlined the repairs he would have to make if he purchased the boat. Besides the torn seat, the non-functioning engine tachometer, the one thing they found that did not work, would also need repairing. Using the list of repairs he had mentioned, he made a counter offer on the boat. “Chubby, it’s got a few dents and so on, but it’s worth buying and fixing up. Tell Steve I’m grateful for the offer. I think his price is a fair one, but tell him if he comes down to eight hundred and fifty dollars he’s got a deal.”

“Sounds like a fair price. That cooler was in nasty shape, wasn’t it? I’ll call him and see what he says. I’ll be right back.”

Having left his cell phone in the office, Chubby got up and walked up the steps to call Steve. In a few minutes he was back, telling Paul that Steve was good with his offer. “He even agreed to throw in a new cooler as part of the deal. I’ve got to go to Costco this afternoon so I’ll fetch one of those big Igloo coolers they got there. It will be here for you in the morning if you want to come fetch it. If not, it will be here when you come to get the boat. I’ll have the flat tire looked at as well. It won’t be a problem to get it fixed right.”

Paul thanked him for his efforts and told him he would be back in two days with the cash to pay for the boat and trailer. Chubby promised he would have the boat cleaned up some by the time it was ready to be picked up. “Please tell Steve I appreciate his generosity. I am fortunate to have met such a nice guy. I’m looking forward to having some good times on the boat.” Chubby assured him he would get the message to him later in the day. Then they exchanged the necessary information needed to complete a
Bill
of
Sale
for the boat. “Before I head out, I’m just going to look at the boat again for a few minutes if you don’t mind.”