by Miles Rost

It was a calm day on the seas. Off the coast of Catalina, the yacht Isabelle was slowly making it’s way south towards San Diego. The drifting of the boat was enough to feel that there was movement, but yet it was slow enough that it wouldn’t go too far if someone fell off.

Mark Yulogh sat behind the helm of the yacht. He was dressed in a loud Hawaiian shirt that screamed “Magnum P.I.”. Clad in white shorts, canvas shoes, and with a pair of shades propped on his head, he looked like a typical boater and tourist. Though he made his home in Oceanside, he always loved taking the yacht for a ride whenever he could.

His girlfriend Jayna was sitting on the bow of the yacht, accumulating as much vitamin D as she could as she let the ultraviolet rays of the bright midday sun beats down on her. Wearing a white bikini that hid enough, and with a white wrap around her waist, she looked like a stereotypical “yacht girl”.

The seas they were on were very calm, with very little movement happening. The currents were not very strong this day, and the water glowed a brighter blue-green color. It was as if the day was a perfect one for just laying out in the ocean with no cares.

“Honey,” Mark called out, as he walked from the cabin to the bow, carrying two more glass bottles of Pepsi, “Do you want to have lunch off Catalina, or would you like to head down towards Dana Point?”

“Catalina sounds fine for me. I’m just about done with sunning, anyways. What do we have to eat today, anyways?”

“We’ve got some turkey and cheese hoagies, some wonderful home-baked potato chips with sea salt and pepper, and our cola.”

Jayna sat up and smiled broadly.

“Did you say home-baked potato chips?”

Mark winked at her, as he started to turn.

“Made them myself last night, and put them in an airtight container. They should be very crisp.”

The couple lowered anchor off the western coast of Catalina Island and enjoyed their lunch. As they were finishing the last of the chips, a small cruiser pulled up by them.

“Hey, ahoy there!” the officer on the police cruiser called.

“Ahoy, officer. Are we not allowed out here today?”

“Nah, just got a message here. You’re Mark Yulogh, right?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a note from your parents. They’re flying into Lindbergh tonight.”

Mark sighed, with the weight on his shoulders.

“Thank you for letting me know. We’ll get on our way in just a few.”

The officer saluted and zipped back towards the northern coast.

“Looks like we’re going to have to make things official with them.”

Jayna looked up at Mark, and cocked her head to the side. A couple of her sun-kissed brunette locks fell down around her face.

He patted his pockets and smiled. He proceeded to pull out a small box, and kneeled down in front of her.

“For a very long time, Jayna, we’ve been together. I was thinking about doing this tonight after we got back to San Diego, but now is good of a time as any.”

Jayna gasped, as she knew what was coming.

“Jayna Brown, would you marry me?”

She squealed and jumped up and down.

“Yes! Yesyesyes! A thousand times yes!”

She proceeded to hug him and smiled at him broadly.

“I guess we should get back to port, eh? If they’re coming in tonight, that means we’re going to have to take them out to dinner.”

Jayna smiled at him and looked out over the ocean.

“After we get married, we should think about a long sail down the pacific coast. Maybe hit Cabo or San Salvador.”

Mark just smiled as he pulled up the anchor.

The couple walked into the cabin, and with a roar of the motor, they scuppered off toward home port. Fiancees on their way to give good news.