Dema followed Captain Shaunessy to the ferry's bridge and stayed with him while the boat docked at the Anacortes terminal and all the cars and passengers left the boat. Then he took her to his car and drove them to Charlie's Restaurant. It was so close to the terminal they could have walked.

"What do you recommend?" she asked as they sat down and picked up their menus.

"I always get the fish and chips, but if you want a treat try the salmon. They serve fresh wild salmon, not the farm-grown salmon you'd probably get at home."

The waitress who came to their table greeted Captain Shaunessy like an old friend, then welcomed Dema and commented, "Captain Shaunessy doesn't usually bring company," as if she quite approved of the change. When the waitress turned back to him and said "The usual?" he nodded.

Dema ordered her salmon charbroiled with the stuffed baked potato. When the waitress said, "What would you like to drink with that?" Dema looked at Shaunessy. He shrugged and said, "I'm having a Guinness." Dema looked back at the waitress and nodded. She nodded back and bustled off.

"You're a regular here," said Dema.

"Once a week or so. The beer is good and the fish is fresh cod."

They worked on their beers while they waited for the main course to arrive. When it came Dema dug into the salmon and it was delicious. She commented on the taste, and also at the size of the salmon steak on her plate.

"It could be Chinook," Shaunessy told her. "Some of them are almost as big as a man. But other varieties are more common now."

"Chinook. Isn't that the name of the Indians that used to catch them in nets?"

"Still do, but more as a tradition than for food. When they're running you'll see Indians selling fresh salmon by the roadsides. They're allowed bigger takes than non-Indians."

"Do they only use nets, from shore? Do they ever fish from kayaks, like the Eskimos?"

"Some local Indians fish from boats. Not kayaks, though. Around here, with all the big trees, it was dugouts. Now they use modern powerboats. Some tribes even go after whales."

"Modern powerboats. I guess that makes more sense than chasing a whale in a kayak."

"A kayak is not as bad an idea as some people think. Once you're in it, a good kayak is more stable than many other small boats, because your weight is so low in it. It's the closest thing to being a sea animal there is, without actually getting in the water." 

Something nudged at Dema's shaman awareness when he said this, and she opened herself to it. But he was blocking her again. "I've never been in one," she said. "I'd love to try it sometime."

He looked up at her, with that same appraisal in his eyes that had been there when they first met. "Seriously?"

"Sure."

"How about tomorrow?"

"You mean, with you? Is this another invitation?"

"Yes. Tomorrow is my day off. I have an extra kayak at home. You'll love it. It's a whole different perspective, being right down on the water. You'll see things people never see from the deck of a ferry."

"Captain Shaunessy, you're on."

"It won't conflict with your busy schedule?"

"I'll make room for it." She didn't tell him that he was her "busy schedule."

"Perfect. But if we're going to be kayaking buddies, you have to start calling me Ryan, not Captain Shaunessy."

"All right then, Ryan, I'm Dema." She reached her hand across the table to him.

He smiled broadly as he took it. "Pleased to meet you, Dema."

Their eyes met, and for some reason she couldn't let go of his hand right away. She felt herself blushing, and covered it with a big smile of her own.