A Ship in Harbor is Safe

“You want me to what?” Athena asks, turning the faucet to the kitchen sink off. She keeps her dripping hands in the deep sink, turning her head to look at Sidney.

He leans back against the counter, neighboring the sink. “Go fishing. With me.”

“I’m not exactly an expert… outdoorswoman, Sid.”

Sidney crosses his arms, smiling in disbelief, “don’t act like you’ve never been fishing before.”

“Oh, I’ve been fishing. And every single time,” Athena takes her damp hands out of the sink, casually wiping them on her jeans, “it’s ended badly.”

His gaze remains on her as she closes the stainless steel dishwasher, before turning around and facing him.

She nearly mimics his stance, only against the island counter. “What?”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

She laughs, “what is that supposed to mean?”

“Maybe this time won’t be so bad.”

Licking her lips, Athena shakes her head. “Sid…”

“C’mon, you think I’d let something happen to you?”

Athena shakes her head, staring at her feet. “No.”

“Then what are you so worried about?”

She shrugs, rubbing her hands together, “let’s hope no one gets hurt. I’m gonna go get changed.”



“I could just watch you fish,” Athena smirks, lying on the dock. “It’s more fun for me that way.”

Looking over his shoulder, Sidney smirks, “you’re not getting out of this.”

She picks her head up, looking at Sidney, “I’m comfy. Are you really gonna ruin that?”

“You’re not comfy – you’re laying face first on a wooden dock. That’s not comfy.”

For what seems like ten minutes, Athena stares at the small red buoy that is keeping Sid’s line afloat.

He sits, not looking away from the water when she slowly sits up next to him, dangling her feet next to his over the side of the dock.

Her voice is quiet when she finally speaks, “the last time I went fishing, I accidently hooked my dad’s finger and nearly tore through the meat of it. They were able to sew it back, good as new, in the emergency room… but I’ve pretty much tried to avoid fishing since then.”

“What about your dad? Does he still fish?”

Athena scoffs gently, “are you kidding? He was out on the boat the next day – caught a huge bass, too.”

“So, you’re just gonna let your fear of hooking somebody in the finger hold you back from fishing?” Sidney gently reels the line in, just a little. “Just like that?”

Athena shrugs, “I don’t wanna hurt anybody.”

“Well,” Sidney smiles, “you’re not gonna hurt me, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

She smiles, looking over at him, “you seem pretty confident about that.”

“I am,” Sidney smiles.

Athena casually pulls one knee up to her chest, resting her left temple on it. She watches Sidney stare out at the water. “You’re always confident about everything.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He smiles.

She shrugs, “you’re just… a confident guy. It’s pretty cool. Most guys like you aren’t confident, they’re just… arrogant.”

Sidney shrugs casually, “I can be arrogant.”

Quickly, Athena shakes her head. “No! No, I like you… I like you just the way you are.”

For a moment, a heavy silence lingers around the dock.

“Yeah, I’m just gonna reach around you to get that other pole,” Athena mumbles, leaning back and stretching out to grab the idle fishing pole. In silence, she prepares the hook and tries to ignore Sidney occasionally looking over at her.

He doesn’t say anything, though. He only occasionally adjusts his reel, or looks from his buoy to Athena.

“I, uh,” she speaks in a concentrated whisper, after gently casting out and securing her line, “I made that really awkward. I-I probably shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

Before she even finishes talking, Sidney’s loud coughing gets her undivided attention. In one hand, he holds his fishing pole and he holds an open bottle of water.

“Oh my God,” Athena whispers as she sets her fishing pole down on her left side. Turning her back on it, she begins to pat Sidney’s back, “don’t choke. Breathe.”

Sidney continues to cough, albeit not as deeply, shaking his head.

“You can’t die on me,” Athena nearly growls, beating on his back with her hand.

He laughs through a cough, “I’m not.”

Keeping her hand on Sidney’s hard back, Athena collapses onto her butt and releases a heavy sigh. “Holy shit,” she takes the water bottle out of his hand and uncaps it, “you scared me.”

Sidney smirks, watching her take a large sip of the water. “You thought I was gonna kick the bucket? Just like that?”

“You couldn’t talk for a minute. You were choking,” she shrugs lightly.

Sidney takes the water bottle back and takes a quick, successful, sip. “It went down the wrong pipe, because of what you said.”

Athena smiles, “what’d I say that almost killed you?”

“You would have to say something a lot more shocking than ‘I’m sorry’ to make me choke to death, Athena.”

“Well, Sidney,” Athena slowly slides her hand off of his back, positioning herself to face the water again, “I hope I never say anything that’ll make you choke to death.”

After a long, heavy silence, Sidney speaks quietly, “you’re not really, sorry are you?”

“What?” Athena blinks, moving her gaze back to Sidney.

“You’re not sorry, are you?” He forces himself to look back out at the water, “like, about how you feel?”

She shrugs, “I’m sorry for making the moment awkward... not for how I feel, though.”

“Good,” Sidney nods.

Athena nods as well, holding her fishing pole and staring at her swaying feet. “Yep.”