Dead in the Water by Robin Stevenson

everyone seemed to be looking to me for direction. I shrugged and turned to Olivia. “Well, you’re the mechanic. Any ideas?”
    She wrinkled her forehead and started muttering something about the color of theexhaust and water in the fuel. Then she disappeared down below to stare at the engine.
    I looked at Joey and Blair. “I think we’re going to have to raise the sails,” I told them. “At least the wind is coming over our starboard side, so the strain won’t be on the broken spreader.”
    They both nodded. “Right. But if we have to tack...” Blair frowned.
    â€œYeah. Then I guess we’ll find out whether that halyard is strong enough to support the mast.” We all looked up. The thought of a forty-foot-high metal pole crashing down onto the deck was not comforting.
    â€œMaybe Olivia will have fixed the engine by then,” Joey said optimistically. “I’ll go help her.”
    Blair was still holding his injured wrist close to his side, so I suggested that he take the helm while I raised the sails. Then I scrambled up to the mast. There was a decent breeze, and I figured we wanted to make some time, so I opted for a full main and working jib. I shackled the main halyard tothe top of the sail, removed the sail ties and looked toward Blair. “Ready?”
    He loosened the main sheet and nodded. “Yeah. Raise the mainsail!”
    I wrapped the halyard around the winch and began pulling hand over hand, raising the sail.
Jeopardy
had turned itself bow into the wind, so the sail began to luff, flapping noisily from side to side. Blair turned the steering wheel to bear off, turning the bow of the boat away from the wind. The sail filled with wind, and immediately
Jeopardy
heeled over slightly and began to move forward through the water. I grinned to myself. That moment when the engine is silent and the sails fill and lift the boat through the water... well, it’s magic. Despite everything, it felt good to be sailing. I looked back at Blair and whooped loudly.
    â€œSpacey, you’re one crazy kid,” Blair said. He was grinning back at me though.
    â€œShall I raise the jib?”
    â€œGo for it.”
    Still smiling, I made my way up to the fore-deck. Holding onto the forestay for balance,I clipped the jib halyard onto the foresail; then I undid the ties that were holding the sail in a tight bundle on the deck. We should be wearing our safety harnesses, I thought. If someone went overboard in the dark, it’d be impossible to spot them. The thought reminded me of something and I laughed.
    â€œHey, Blair?” I shouted.
    â€œYeah?”
    â€œRemember when I thought Joey had gone overboard?”
    â€œYeah.” He started to laugh. “That was pretty funny.”
    â€œI didn’t think so at the time, but it was, wasn’t it?” I pictured Joey popping up from down below and telling us he’d just been taking a dump, and I started cracking up. “I guess I must have looked pretty stunned when he appeared, huh?”
    â€œYou did.” Blair’s shoulders were shaking with laughter. “Sorry we called you Spacey and all that though.”
    â€œYou still call me Spacey.”
    He stopped laug hing a nd looked thoughtful. “Yeah, but...it’s different now.”
    I raised the jib; then I sprinted back to the cockpit to tighten the jib sheet as the wind pushed the sail over to the port side.
Jeopardy
picked up speed, humming through the darkness. Blair and I were both grinning like idiots. I felt like I should say something: thanks for saving my life, maybe, or sorry I misjudged you. But then our eyes met, and he nodded, and I thought maybe nothing really needed to be said after all.
    Olivia popped her head up from down below. “Umm, guys?”
    â€œYeah?”
    â€œWe don’t have a clue what’s wrong with the engine.”
    I shrugged. “It’s a sailboat. Who needs an