Cuban Sun Read Online Free PDF Page B

baby.”
    Sofia’s eyes moistened at the memory as she removed her shoes and sat on the soft down duvet. As excited and revved up as she was Sofia thought she must be far from what her mother had described because she was barely conscious of laying down fully clothed on top of the bed. Her last thought before falling headlong into sleep was, maybe this is my adventure, Mom .
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    FOUR
     
     
    Sofia woke early the next morning, six o’clock by the blurry digits on her cell phone. Except for the gentle rush of water against the Mariana’s hull, the boat was silent indicating that she was the first one awake. She dressed quickly in a sky blue cotton A-line skirt and sleeveless white blouse. Putting her hair in a loose chignon, Sofia ascended the narrow stairs to the sun deck. The Miami skyline and periwinkle dawn slowly revealed themselves as she climbed. Once on deck, she leaned over the glass wall and inhaled deeply. The fragrant air sent a surge of blood and energy through her body. While she had always been very fond of the sea and boating, Sofia never felt quite this free. Boating with her family usually required being on alert to her father’s commands and playing hostess with her mother. Lorena Koury hated boating. She became intensely sea sick the second her foot crossed the threshold onto the deck. It was so severe, her mother had to get shots and swallow medication before going. These made her drowsy and didn’t always work. Sofia worried for her mother on overnight voyages as Lorena couldn’t bear to eat on boating excursions. Rayan Koury always insisted that his wife could have eaten but chose not to out of spite. When Sofia protested at his remarks Lorena would just say that he was stressed and change the subject to deflect the accusations to appear to support her husband.
    Sofia pulled herself back to the view in front of her and took another breath, expelling the painful memories and gulping in the beauty before her. After a few minutes, Sofia retreated from the railing and turned to go below. She thought the least she could do was start the coffee and tea brewing. She thought of making breakfast but feared Helena would view that action as an invasion of her kitchen.
    Sofia was still introspective a moment later when she rounded a corner on the main deck and nearly walked into the open engine room access door. She started and stifled a cry of surprise with her hand. Joe jumped from behind the door, looking just as startled as she felt. He hastily closed the door.
    His voice was curt, almost to the point of being rude. “I’m sorry Sofia. I was under the impression that I was the only one up.”
    Sofia replied ignoring his tone, “That’s what I thought too. We must both be early risers.” Joe did not reply, just looked at Sofia. She tried again, “I hope there’s nothing wrong with the engine?”
    “Not at all, just routine checks.”
    “I see. You are more involved than the men of my family”, she said, reaching for friendliness. “My grandfather and father just made the crew do it. I don’t think they even knew where the engine room was.”
    “Well, I like to be involved.”
    “You must be a handy mechanic too. Your clothes are spotless. Our crew used to dress in coveralls even for routine walkthroughs.” She laughed remembering and also finding it a bit odd. She had seen the mechanics after servicing the heart of their family boat and their overalls had always been filthy. Her attention was diverted from Joe’s white shirt and pants as he replied.
    “Well, maybe his crew wasn’t up to the job. Excuse me, I’ll go and start the coffee.” He flashed Sofia a small smile that did not reach his eyes, then turned and headed toward the kitchen.
    Deciding that conversation was not in the cards and not wanting to dig the hole deeper with a potential employer, Sofia headed to her cabin to finish getting ready for her outing with Helena. Half an hour later she opened her