Chapter One: Overboard Dirk hit the snooze alarm twice – and his wife said nothing. She faintly groaned but remained still. So Dirk felt like he was getting away with something. The third time the alarm radio exploded she finally poked her fingers into his rib cage and Dirk bucked and rolled to lay face to face but refused to open his eyes. Janice laid there staring at him. He felt her starring. “Yes?” he pushed out of his mouth. “It’s 8:30.” She purred. “Thanks.” “What time do you have to be at work?” she asked. “I don’t really have to be there until 10.” Janice was quiet. Then she spoke up, “I thought you said you had a meeting at 9.” He gasped and shot right up. “Holy crap, you are right.” And he spun his head to the alarm clock and saw the time, eight thirty. “What time is the next ferry to Central?” Janice laid her hand on her belly and held it as it protruded out from her pajama top. She laid there thinking. “Well, there is an 8:30 fast ferry but you missed that one. I think the next two are slow ferries. One is at 8:45, I believe and the next one is 9:30.” Dirk stood up quickly and started pacing the floor. “Hopefully I can catch the 8:45.” Janice grunted as she pushed herself to a sitting position and then watched him running around like a chicken with his head cut off. “Baby, no offense, but even in a hurry you take an hour to get ready.” He looked at his beautiful, pregnant wife and stopped moving. He jumped on the bed and kissed her on the forehead. “Let me surprise you,” Dirk said and then threw himself off the bed and ran into the bathroom where he slammed the door. That’s when the baby started kicking. Janice laughed until the baby kicked too hard and she winced. “Hey the baby is also late too – like his father. I want to get this monkey out of me! I am tired of feeling like a whale. You think he is growing a third arm in there?”

Dirk cracked the bathroom door open with toothpaste all over his face and hand and a toothbrush stuck into his mouth, “Hey, don’t say things like that. I just want him and mother to be healthy.” Then he went back to the sink spitting loudly and took his foot and kicked the door shut again with a slam. “Don’t forget that we have that doctor’s appointment this evening. But I know what the doctor is going to already say. It’s the same thing that happened to Maria when she was past due. They will give us two weeks and if the baby is not out – they will induce it.” Janice rubbed her belly again and her skin poked out and touched her palm. “I don’t want that.” The baby was continually kicking her. “Do you hear that? I want you to come out on your own.” Janice said talking out loud to the baby. She then struggled up and went to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast for her husband. -Dirk was struggling with his tie trying to get it to fall just above his belt when he hurried into the kitchen but every time it was either too short or went too long. There was a bowl of cereal – Frosties – in milk and a banana on the kitchen bar. “Babe, what time is it?” he asked as he pulled the tie undone again and started to fold it over itself. “It’s nine ten.” She said as she wobbled to the coffee machine. “Don’t worry about the coffee babe. I don’t have time. But can you call me taxi to take me to the pier?” She smiled. “I already did. He will be waiting for you down the hill.” “You are the best.” And he stood there and sloshed his spoon in and out of the cereal, slurping and crunching his cereal quickly with one hand while still trying to tie his tie with the other. She walked up to him and slapped his hand away from his tie. “Let me do this.” And she pulled it loose and started to fold it over itself. He ate quickly as she pushed into him with her taunt belly. Suddenly, he was aroused by body mashed up to him and seeing her nipples hard, breasts swelled from future milk. He took his free hand touched her left breast. “Mister Suthers, you should be ashamed of yourself – molesting a pregnant mother.” “Miss Suthers, you know I told you that being pregnant was the biggest kick start to our renewed sex life.” She went somber. “Well you went overboard wanting to have a baby. Took the sex out of sex. You just had to have a baby. Baby this, baby that.” “Is that bad? I was adopted so I wanted to have flesh and blood that was mine.” She smiled. “I know dear. Don’t worry. Now you have one.” He put the spoon down because the cereal was gone and took the bowl to his mouth and started to sip the milk. Then he gagged. “God, this milk is sour!”

Janice scowled. “You are only finding out now? You devoured that cereal.” “Well I was tasting the cereal not really focusing on the milk.” Janice was finished with his tie and it fell just where his belt began. He then pulled away and went to the refrigerator taking the plastic carton of milk. He looked at the top. “The expiration date says three days ago! When did you buy this?” “Yesterday. I got it from the Park-N-Shop.” He put the nearly empty carton on the counter. “Take it back and get your money back or at least a free carton of milk.” “This isn’t the United States. Customer Service here in Hong Kong has a little way to go to catch up.” She picked up her mobile phone and checked the time. “Babe, you are late. Go!” She reached out and smacked his bottom. “Yes babe,” and he leaned over and planted her a strong, wet kiss on her mouth. She slipped in a little tongue. Just then the baby kicked and Dirk felt it. “Miss Suthers, don’t be naughty. Or I might have to poke our son back with my baby maker.” She laughed. “God, you are gross.” “You were gross first!” he said. He took his suit jacket and grabbed his computer bag with one hand and his banana with the other. “See you this evening.” And with that he went out the door and she heard his footfalls on the steps leading downstairs and outside. -The blue Lan Tau taxi deposited him in front of the Mui Wo ferry – and he threw the taxi driver thirty five Hong Kong dollars and didn’t wait for the change. He ejected from the taxi and ran inside the pier shelter. The electronic readout that showed how much time he had left before the ferry left showed one minute. He pulled out his wallet and went to the turnstile and plopped it down over the Octopus card reader and it beeped – then he went through. As he ran across the drawbridge that connected the pier to the ferry boat, the Fast Ferry pier workers were laughing and talking loudly in Cantonese. Only when he was onboard did he let out a big breath. The ferry was busy. It looked like there were a lot of Mainland tourists on a tour of Lan Tau or Mui Wo. Hoping to find more empty seats, he went to the stairs that led up to the top deck. Upstairs were a lot of Chinese families but he found his favorite spot near the back of the ferry where it was open so the morning breeze of the ocean could revive him and make him forget how late he was. He went to the last row which remarkably was empty – but after he sat down he realized why. The sun was baking. But he knew when the ferry maneuvered around and started heading in

the direction of Hong Kong island he would be engulfed in morning shadows and ocean wind – the coolest place on the ferry. He threw his computer bag in the empty seat beside him – and again he let out a big breath. That’s when the ferry whistle blared loudly and the boat lurched forward, then backward, and the engines began to groan. Dirk pulled out his Blackberry and found there were six missed calls. He pushed a button and returned the missed call. “Hey, it’s me, Dirk.” He said quickly. “Where the hell are you?” the voice on the other side said angrily but muffled as they were cupping their hand over the microphone so people around him couldn’t hear. “Hey man, so sorry, my wife was sick this morning and I got worried.” The phone went quiet and the voice became serious. “Oh god, is she okay? How about the baby?” Dirk felt guilty for lying. “Yeah man, don’t worry. Both are fine. It was just something she ate.” “Are you sure?” the phone said. “Yes Jeff. Don’t worry. She is fine. But sadly, I am going to be late. I just got on the slow ferry. “ Just then a little Chinese boy came un-tethered from his father’s hand and rushed by Dirk’s seat to the back of the boat. The Chinese father began yelling loudly at him. Dirk grimaced and leaned forward trying to hide his ear and phone from the ruckus. “Who the hell is that screaming in Chinese?” the phone asked. Dirk spoke loudly, “It’s a Chinese man yelling at his son.” And Dirk turned to see the little boy climbing the railing of the ferry and laughing. The fat Chinese man came hurriedly to his son and yanked him off the railing. The little boy began shrieking and stomping his feet. “Shit man, that kid sounds spoiled. Don’t do that to your kid.” Dirk laughed. “I am watching them and making mental notes.” The man on the other side of the phone got serious again. “Okay Dirk, dude, it’s 9:31. You are the key presenter.” “I know man,” Dirk said apologetically. “Just explain to the customer what happened. Tell them that my wife is pregnant. You know this stuff. Just go ahead and I will follow up or answer any questions that might have when I get there.” “Okay. See you soon.”

The ferry was turned around and the morning shadows engulfed Dirk as the boat straightened out and pointed to Hong Kong island. “Okay man.” And Dirk was about to hang up but then forgot to ask where the meeting was. He yelled into the phone as the Chinese man was dragging his son past kicking and screaming, “Hey Jeff, what room is the meeting on?” Jeff seemed to be putting his face away from the customers and muffling the speaker, “Damn that kid is loud. The people here can hear him.” He paused. “Okay, its on the forty-fifth floor, meeting room Victoria.” Just then out of the corner of his eye, Dirk saw the little boy sling off his father’s hand and he hustled as fast as he could back to the back of the boat. Dirk watched in amusement but then felt his heart stop when he saw the boy climbing the railing a little too fast. The Chinese man yelled and then the little boy got to the highest railing and went over. Several women screamed and the Chinese father rushed to the railing and wailed. “The fucking kid just fell overboard! I am going after him…” Dirk yelled into the phone as he was already standing and in a full race towards the end of the boat. He stuck the phone in his pocket without hanging up and reached his hand to the top railing and used it to expel himself over – and there he was diving into the dirty waters surrounding Hong Kong. His last thought before he hit the water was, if I don’t drown, the toxins in the water will poison me. And then the impact and temperature of the water knocked the breath out of him.

Written by 傑森龍 GS Jackson © 2010 LOL Entertainment Group, LLC (USA) Limited (HKG)