At least there wasn't any wind. A little bit of breeze and the wind chill factor would drop the temperature like a stone. It was just clear and chilly. I hate doing my rounds when it's blowing. Walking around checking the slips in the dark of winter is bad enough. One nice thing though, I was able see a lot of stars in the clear sky. Kinda pretty.


      Me? Oh, I'm the Wharfinger at the old "Manger's Marina," the moorage out on the edge of town. It's an old place that's been falling down for years. Only a few beat-up boats left in it. I live in the marina office near the bottom of the entrance ramp. It ain't much of a place, but it's clean and warm. What's a Wharfinger? It's the harbormaster, the caretaker. I like to call myself Wharfinger ‘cause it sounds more "Salty" like.
      I'd just finished with my regular trip around the slips. Checking to see if any old boats might be sinking or if mooring lines were chafing through. I was making my way back to my shack and looking forward to having a cup of that coffee in the pot on the galley stove. (I might just put a bit a rum in it too. It'd be good for my cold hands).
      There at the top of the Ramp stood the local Bag Lady, Angelina. She comes around sometimes to see if I got any junk she can have. I guess I'm about the only one that pays attention to her. Tonight she was standing there babbling something about, "Get out of town, quick." Sometimes Angelina is a bit "off in the head." I watched her wander off down the street – singing.
      Before I could make it to the door of my home, I spot a set of red and green lights, a masthead light and even an anchor light, lighting up the marina. It was a small, beat-up sailboat motoring into an open slip. It pulled up alongside and drifted in. A young feller stepped off and began to secure a couple of tired looking mooring lines to the dock. I have to tell you I was getting a bit nervous. In this part of town there's always some tough kinds of guys hanging around. Some of which would knock your head in for a quarter. I was about to yell out something stupid like "I got a gun" or "I'm a cop." But before my words could come out, this young feller called out in a quiet voice.
      "Please mister, I've got a sick wife inside the boat. Could you help us?"
      Well, I was pretty darned suspicious, I'll tell you, but I walked up to that boat and got real close to the young man. "What seems to be the matter with her?" I asked.
      "She's real pregnant and gonna have a baby any time now. I don't know what to do," he whispered.
      That sure sounded phony to me. What young man, in his right mind, would be running around this time of night in this cold weather, with a wife who's having a kid? Well, he didn't fool me. He was up to something. I was just about to turn and go back to my place to phone the cops, when I heard a girl's voice from inside the cabin.
      "Please mister, I think the baby wants to be born right away, could you help us, please?"
      I have to tell you my heart melted right there on the spot. I stopped in my tracks. They might be pirates and murders ‘n such, but I just had to find out who's talking and what she looked like.
      I walked over to the rail of the little sloop and peeked into the hatch. What looked back up at me was the sweetest little young thing, a big smile on her face.
      I could see she was as big as a barge. About as pregnant as a gal could be.
      I know a little something about that. My Ex and I had three born and each time her belly would blow up to the size of a fender. THIS young lady was about to pop.
      I turned to the young man and in a loud voice said, "Why in hell are you out here tonight with a wife in that condition? You should be at a hospital. She's about to have a child!"
      In the glow of the marina light, I saw tears running down the young boy's cheek.
      "We've been trying to get to my relative's place over in the next county. We've got to go there to do some kind of government stuff. I thought we could make it before she had to deliver. But the boat's engine broke down. It took all my money to get it fixed and I had to wait to get the parts. I guess we just ran out of time."
      Now I was starting to feel sorry for the lad. I asked him, "Son, why didn't you take the boat over to the marina in town and get her up to the hospital that's just a few blocks away?"
      "Sir, no hospital would take us. They wanted proof of a health plan or a credit card. I don't have either," he sighed.
      "We even tried to get into the marina next to the motel. Just to get some rest, but they wouldn't let us. The City Center Inn and Marina told us they would have, but they're all booked up and didn't have any rooms available. I thought we might have time to be able to sail down to where my relatives are. But I guess we aren't going to make it. What am I going to do?"
      He was shaking in the knees and looked like he was about to fall apart and I knew that both of them needed a good night's rest. I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Look, young feller, you and your wife just stay here tonight. It won't cost you a thing. I'm the Wharfinger here and I'm sayin' you stay here tonight. There's always room at the Manger's Marina."
      It must have been around midnight. I'd finished my coffee and was looking at the East Marine Supply catalog (looking at all the fancy boat stuff). When I thought I heard what sounded like, well, like music. It sounded a lot like that grey dove that wakes me up some mornings. A soft little sound. Then I remembered that I'd heard something like it before. It was the sound my own babies made when they were waking up, just to let my ex and I know they were there. I knew that sound!
      Like a flash I pulled the door open and poked my head out of the cabin. There it was again. That soft, bubbly, "mewing" sound of a baby. I'll be damned! A baby! Then it hit me! That couple who arrived a few hours ago. Could it be? Did it happen already?
      For a minute I couldn't remember where he had tied up the boat. Then I saw a bright light. He must have forgot to turn it off when he came in! All the Nav lights were off but he'd left the ANCHOR LIGHT on! There it was shining above their boat! As bright as it could be.
      I made my way over to the boat. As I got close the young man came out of the cabin.
      "It's a boy!" he beamed. "Born just a few minutes ago. He just decided it was time to join us, and he did. "
      There was that brand new father standing in front of me. We both just smiled at each other.
      "You wouldn't have an old blanket or sheets would you? It's so cold I think he needs a little more clothing." he said.
      I went to my shack and pulled out a couple old sweatshirts that I'd just washed. I was about to give them to him when he said, "Would you like to see him?" "Ahhh, I don't want either the mom or him to be out here in the cold." I quickly answered. Then I heard that sweet lady's voice come from down below. "Please come and see him. I want you to. You've been so kind to us"
      I quietly went aboard. There was this tiny bundle in that girl's arms. I handed the old sweatshirts over to her. "They're fresh clean from the laundry," I whispered.
      Well, I tell you it's been a long time since I felt so proud. That lady wrapped those ragged things around that little boy snug as could be. There he was all bundled up in shirts that had the words "1987 America's Cup" printed on them. I swear that little tike smiled at me!
      After a few minutes I left the baby, mom and dad. I just stood there out on the dock and took a deep breath. This was going to be a story that my old sailing buddies wouldn't believe.
      Then I saw Angelina the bag lady. She was up there on the ramp yelling at the top of her lungs, "A baby is born! A baby is born!"
      Then I heard the clank and bang the dumpster divers make when they come around. They go through all the garbage cans looking for stuff that might sell. Bottles and cans traded in to give them a few pennies. Damn! They'll make noise and wake the baby up, I thought. I'd better go up the ramp and tell them to quiet down.
      Angelina and them was carrying on so, yelling and making noise. I told them to keep quiet because a baby had just been born down there on one of the boats. Well, you can't say anything like that on the docks down here. News spreads pretty fast.
      Then I heard that sweet mom call out to the old bag lady, "Come closer and hold the baby!" And Angelina did! After a few minutes, she gushed, "I just adore him!"
      I knew Angelina was going to be trouble, and gosh darned if she didn't say, "I just have to tell everyone what a cute lil' babe he is!" The first folk she told was from the office of the Shepherd's Security Company. These guys are on watch 24-7 and nothing gets by them, so some of the Shepherd's guys just HAD to come over.
      You know what? That sweet new mom wanted them ALL to come look at the baby! I know she was tired but she was awful nice to let them see the little lad. One by one every person in the neighborhood came and gushed over the baby. Why, even my old, one-eyed cat Lambo, and my dog Faithful, poked their noses in. The little baby boy did that "coo" sound again while the animals were there. It was a sight to behold
      The night was just about over and I was getting worried. All the people coming by and those kids hadn't got a wink of sleep.
      It was like they were just happy to see everyone. I didn't think it was right they missed their rest.
      I was just about to put my foot down when a big car drove into the parking lot and some old guys got out and came walking down the ramp.
      I recognized them! They were the King Brothers from way over on the far east side of the city. Three really rich guys who owned a marine parts and supply house. You know the one – that big building on the corner of East Orient Drive and Star Street.
      I thought I'd better say something ‘cause I knew the kids were tired and a number of visitors now would really be hard on them.
      "Good morning," I said. "What brings you to this part of town at this hour?"
      One of the King brothers cleared his throat and said, "We heard there was a family here that needed some help and we want to do just that. Also we understand that a new baby was born to them."
      I pulled myself up tall and said, "Yes sir, they're awfully tired now and I'm not sure we should bother them."
      One of the other brothers spoke. "We have some presents and some information that we think the father should know."
      I invited the brothers to come on in to the office so we could talk about the young couple a bit. It seems that they had known about the young couple from a time before. They had been waiting to hear about the kid's birth for a long time. They'd even asked the mayor of the city to be on the lookout for any word about a birth. They told me that they didn't like the mayor very much and wanted to be discrete about finding the baby. I told them I didn't care for old Harold the Mayor either and that I would keep my mouth shut.
      After a while they said that they'd very much like to see the baby. I walked over to the young man's boat and quietly asked if they could stand a few more visitors.
      "Of course," came that sweet voice again.
      The three King brothers gave the family some toys for the baby, a new handheld GPS, and some money to the young man. They talked to the young couple for quite a few minutes. There was some whispering and a few loud words that I couldn't understand. Then after a while, everyone hugged each other. It was one of the nicest things that had happened all night.
      As the three old men left the boat and started up the ramp, I stopped them and asked, "Just how did you know how or where to find the young couple and their baby?"
      They all smiled and one of them said, "We kept looking for a light in a marina somewhere. Then we saw the light at the top of their mast. It showed us the way."
      The sky in the east was beginning to lighten and I was pretty darned tired, I'll tell you. It had been a long night and a busy one. I started to make another pot of coffee when I heard a gentle rapping on the outside of the hull of my boat. It was the young man.
      "We have to leave," he said quietly. "WHAT!" I blurted out, dropped the coffee pot and damned near scalded myself with the hot water.
      "You just got here, the baby's just born and you don't have any money. Why, in God's name, are you leaving?"
      "Well sir, those three old men told me that the mayor, Mr. Harold, may be looking for us. I guess he wants to try to take the baby away from us. It's an old family problem – one of the reasons my wife and I had to leave in the first place. We gotta get away to another county so they can't find us."
      "But, but, where you gonna go?" I stuttered.
      "It'll be alright." He said, "The Kings gave us some money. Everyone has been so nice to us. I don't want to get anyone into trouble. We'll be in another county later on, so everyone will be safe."
      I'd had a run-in with old Harold the Mayor a few times myself. It wasn't hard to believe that he would do something rotten to these two kids. It must have been a tough thing to do, to just pick up their lives and go off to some strange part of the country. I sure had to hand it to the young man. He had a lot of guts.
      The wheezy old Atomic-4 engine on his boat started, belched out some smoke and settled down to a normal purr. I untied the bow line and threw it on deck. I looked up and there, setting in the cockpit, was a brand new mommy holding a baby wrapped in an old America's Cup sweatshirt. She smiled at me and a faint cooing sound came out of the bundle.
      That old sloop backed out, swung around and headed out. It was going to be a long trip for that family, but I had a feeling that it was going to be alright. "They'll make out okay," I said to myself.
      As the boat pulled out of the marina and into the main channel, I noticed that even though he'd put on his navigation lights, he still had his anchor light on. Not very correct as far as COLREGS go, but what the hell, it was so bright that nobody would run into him. In fact, it was so bright that, as the boat pulled away from the marina, that light at the top of the mast lit up the sides of the old abandoned warehouse standing next to the marina. It was so bright I could read the faded letters on the sign of the building. "Bethlehem Steel."
      The boat pulled away into and down the channel until I couldn't see the light anymore. I walked back into my old comfortable shack, about to brew up another pot of coffee, when I thought I heard something. I poked my head outside to see what the heck it was. There, perched on the spreader of a boat nearby, was a gray dove, cooing.
      Over the years, while walking rounds, late at night, I sometimes wonder what ever happened to that little family. Did they make it out of the county okay? I sure hope so. They were a nice couple of kids. I wonder how their little boy turned out.
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