Sampson’s Island

 (Map of Cotuit Harbor)

The following is an excerpt from Freedom Hall……

The sand at the point of Sampson’s Island was as soft as any Justin had ever known and as he and Stacy sat facing Riley’s beach across the narrow channel, Justin was mesmorized by the beauty of the island and of Stacy.

 (Painting by Jim Mayne Freeheart)

As they sat near the tall grass, both of them baking in the mid-July sun, Justin would pick up handfuls of sand and let them pour slowly into little piles on the ground between his legs. Stacy watched as each pile grew and as the last grains of sand fell from Justin’s hand, he would open his palm slowly, turn his head towards Stacy and smile as he reached down again for another handful.

They had sailed over on Justin’s laser which was now lying flipped on its side with the bow pointing into the wind so the sail would not continue to flap incessantly in the strong breeze coming in off of the sound. The sound of a flapping sail always distracted Justin and at this point, he wanted no distractions.

 (The greatest boat ever designed!)

“This is my favorite spot in the world” Justin said softly looking down at his piles.

“I love it too” Stacy said as she reached over and kicked a pile with her bronze foot that had absolutely no tan line.

“It’s not that nice in the winter” Justin added, “not that I’ve ever been over here then but I’ve walked from Loop Beach to the Town Dock many times during the winter.”

Justin paused as he poured another pile of sand right back where she had destroyed the last.

“I can remember walking it last winter and thinking of you.” he said, still not looking up.

Stacy didn’t reply. Justin figured that she was thinking about what she had been doing last winter and it certainly was not thinking of him.

“Next winter, it’s going to be even harder to walk the beach, wishing that I was over here with you again.”

Justin laid back with his legs still bent and put his hands on his stomach and closed his eyes.

“Maybe I’ll be here too and walk it with you” Stacy said as she lay back next to Justin, so close that he could feel the damp warmth radiating from her skin.

Lying there silently, the time seemed to stand still for Justin as he tried to soak in every possible moment.

Justin reached over and took Stacy’s hand and squeezed it in a sign of agreement. Life could not be any better.

 As they both lay there, time seemed to slow down for Justin and he soaked up every moment wishing it would slow down even more. Justin wanted to stay there forever but before forever came along to fast, he wanted to kiss her.

“Stacy!” a voice came from the water and looking up covering their eyes from the sun they could see that it was Stacy’s old boyfriend Paul Westerly rounding the point, close hauled and healing over in his family’s skiff.

Stacy could sense the awkwardness and did little more than wave as the skiff went zipping by on a broad reach propelled as much by the incoming current as by the stiff wind. Justin said nothing and even though he looked over towards the boat, he kept his eyes on the craft and not on its captain, who clearly had his eyes fixed on Stacy.

Justin wanted to look at Stacy to see where her eyes were, but he chose not to.

With a quick flutter, the boat was jibed just before reaching the opposite shore and it continued to head into the harbor and around Bluff Point.

Having let go of Stacy’s hand, Justin felt like reaching for it again, but hesitated. He though it might have been a mistake since she had gotten very quiet.

“Wanna head in?” he said.

“Not yet” she replied and with that she pushed him back to the sand and lay partially on top of him with her one hand on his chest and her mouth only inches away from his. “I wanna stay here with you some more” and with that she moved her mouth even closer.

Feeling a rush of blood come over him from head to toe, Justin craned his neck just enough to touch his lips to hers. Upon touching, he froze and the two just stayed there for a few moments, motionless, looking at each other eye to eye with their lips pressed against one another in a feathery caress. Justin didn’t know what to do next.

Justin could feel her move and was afraid that she was going to pull away. Instead, her lips parted and Justin could feel her soft wet tongue begin to move from one side of his lower lip towards the other. Ever so lightly and ever so slowly, she continued to do this as Justin felt himself relax and sink into the sand.

“We need to go now” she said and she got up and headed towards Justin’s boat. Walking away, Justin stayed motionless in the position that he had taken and just stared at her as she sauntered towards his boat, watching her bikini riding ever so slightly up between her cheeks and noticing how she didn’t fix it right away.

Justin’s mind was spinning. He didn’t know weather to jump and shout or start running down the beach towards Cupid’s Cove!

How appropriate that would have been, Justin thought, and then he wondered just how many people must have fallen in love on this wonderful little island that it had its own cove named after Cupid.

Cupid’s magic had certainly worked on him that day, Justin thought.

Walking to his Laser he flipper her back upright and spun the bow out into the bay where it got very deep, very quickly. He slid the dagger board into its box and moved to the stern as the sail flapped vigorously to leeward.

“Hop on” he said to Stacy as he held the boat steady.

“These sure are harder to get on than a skiff” she said, “I always feel like I’m going to fall off”.

Realizing that the Laser was much harder to board than a skiff, but loving his Laser and loathing skiffs Justin retorted “Speed comes at a cost” but he realized that he had ruined his chance at a well placed double entendre and followed up with “Just hold on and I’ll get you home quickly”.

The stiff wind was causing the boat to heal more than Stacy liked and Justin did everything he could do to keep the boat flat. The breeze had picked up considerably since they headed over to the Island only an hour or so ago. Cotuit harbor was unpredictable but he knew that once he rounded Bluff Point heading to where he kept his boat, they would probably end up in irons.

The boat didn’t like having the sail so far out and yawed back and forth which made Stacy even more visibly nervous.

“Oh my” Stacy would let out, each time the boat would rock.

“Tipping over is half the fun in a laser!” Justin said but he knew she didn’t appreciate his joking around.

“After watching Jaws last weekend, I’m not sure I even want to be on a boat, let alone floating around in the bay like a piece of bait” was her reply.

With that, Justin pulled in on the main sheet just enough, and hooked his feet under the hiking strap as he leaned outwards, in hopes of keeping the boat at least a little bit steadier.

By the time they had gotten to Jane’s Beach, Stacy wasn’t saying much and Justin said to her in a timid voice “If you want to head home once we get to the beach that’s ok. I’ll put the boat away and give you a call when I get home”.

“Thanks she replied” and as they got to the shallow part of the bay she hopped off the boat, gave Justin a kiss on the cheek and went to get her shoes and sundress from where she had hidden them in the tall grass near the beginning of the path.

 (Painting by Karen North Wells)

Watching as she headed up the lane towards Ocean View, Justin stood there in the ankle deep water wishing that the ride back had gone better. He started putting the boat away and looked at it with a little less love in his eyes than usual. The boat that he cherished had spoiled the moment but he certainly wasn’t going to switch to a skiff. He figured next time that he would see if he could borrow the O’Day that his parents’ friends had offered.

Taking longer than usual to put the boat away, Justin couldn’t get his mind off of Stacy.

With his sail bag over his shoulder, Justin headed up the lane and when he got home he couldn’t wait to give Stacy a call.