This was what Sam really loved. Sailing. Being free on the ocean pushed along by the wind. Despite the infamous incident when he fell out of the boat, to which there were extenuating circumstances, which his colleagues in the West Wing would not let him forget, he really was a very good sailor. He was a good navigator too, managing to sail down to Bermuda one summer, during his attendance at Princeton.
It was his one source of pure relaxation, the one real getaway that he had found. Going to the gym was not really a recreational activity for Sam. It got rid of some tension that built up during the week but was only something he did to keep in shape, there was no enjoyment in it for him.
In fact her really didn't do anything else. His life completely revolved around his work. He arrived at the office by 6:30am every morning and rarely left before 8pm every night, even on weekends. That was why, when the opportunity presented itself, Sam grabbed it and hung on for dear life and go sailing, the one true escape he had from the daily grind of Washington D.C.
He looked towards the bow where Josh and CJ were sitting. They had both needed a break and when this weekend had appeared surprisingly clear Sam had managed to bully them into coming with him. Of course Josh had made the usual remarks and jokes about his best friend's seamanship but he really did seem genuinely thankful for the little escape. Josh had accompanied Sam on a few sailing trips before, he never meant any of the jokes he made, he new Sam was good and was content to sit back and listen to the sound of the boat cutting through the waves.
CJ, however, was another matter all together. She was still looking rather nervous. The press secretary had been quite content to sit at the front of the boat with Josh when the water had been calm and when Sam had been using the engine rather than the sails. She'd gotten rather unsure, however, when Sam had cut the engine and let the wind carry them. She had been especially unnerved when the boat had started to list to one side with the fore of the wind. By now, though she was feeling a lot more relaxed, and was even starting to take quick peeks at the water over the side.
Sam looked out onto the water again and noticed the dark shadow coming towards the starboard side. He smiled; this was going to be fun, now they would really pick up some speed. CJ probably wasn't going to be all that happy about it but he was sure she was going to be ok.
"Hang on to something, guys!" He shouted up to them, "We're going to go a little bit faster!"
Sam tightened the mainsail and prepared for the gust that was going to hit. He couldn't help but grin like a maniac as the sail caught the wind. He heard CJ shriek as the boat tilted more to the side. Josh let out a muffled curse and he watched as they both held on for what looked like dear life. Sam just laughed with pure, unadulterated joy and exhilaration.
CJ was enjoying herself. She really was. Despite her trepidation of earlier, she was now beginning to relax and go with the flow. She'd known that Sam was an excellent sailor but she'd still been nervous about it.
After she'd got used to the tilting and the sound of the water rushing past CJ had really been happy to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Shrieking was not something that CJ partook in. She considered it a very undignified noise for a White House Press Secretary, but she really hadn't expected the sudden gust of wind that tipped the boat and sent the boat racing through the waves. The sound of Sam's laughter filtering up from the back of the boat had done a great deal to calm her down. It was a beautiful sound, filled with joy and excitement. It was something that she never would have expected to come out of the Deputy Communications Director. He was usually so serious at the office, rarely having cause to laugh, it was the same for all of them.
She'd been amazed by the change in Sam, out here on the water. He was usually a very passive man, preferring to use his charm and good looks (not intentionally) to win people over, rather than bully them like Josh and Toby. Oh, CJ knew very well that he could be forceful when he wanted to be, behind that easy going exterior there was a wall of steel, she'd heard about the time he fired that Karen girl for leaking Leo's personnel file to Lillienfield. There had been whispers amongst the assistants for days after that. According to Cathy, Sam's face had been like thunder and his voice like ice. It was like he was a different person.
They all knew that he had that side, when he was angry Sam was a force to be reckoned with, on a par with Leo himself. After all, you didn't get to be one month away from partner in one of the top law firms in New York if you let people walk all over you. He could definitely be vicious when he wanted to be.
Today, showed a different side of Sam. It was the side that made his staff follow him so loyally.
She and Josh had met him at the marina where his small yacht was moored. CJ had caught sight of him from a distance and she was instantly struck at how different and how downright attractive, he looked on the deck.
He was dressed in light khaki shorts and a navy polo shirt and navy deck shoes. His arms and legs were tanned, something she never really noticed when he was wearing his suits at work. He looked extremely stylish in his sporting Oakley sunglasses, as if he's just stepped out of an aftershave or clothing advert. CJ could almost pretend that it wasn't the same person, just some stranger that she'd seen on their way to find Sam. She really didn't want to be thinking of Sam as attractive. Of course she knew he was a very attractive young man, he'd certainly caught her eye when they had first met, but Sam was like a younger brother to her and to suddenly start thinking of him in a sexual context brought up the whole "Ick" factor that CJ really didn't want to acknowledge.
When they had joined him at the boat and climbed aboard, Sam had definitely made sure that they knew who was in charge on this little trip. It wasn't anything controlling, it was just that he knew what he was doing and he took their safety very seriously. It made CJ fell very secure to know how responsible he was, s if he could possibly anything but. Josh had heard the safety lecture before and started to whine half way through, complaining that he really didn't need to hear it again, but Sam had just stared at him sternly until he shut up. He had such a commanding presence, so different to the Sam that she knew in Washington.
She looked back to where he stood at the wheel and again thought how good it was for all of them to be out of the office for a while. All three of them had needed a break. Suddenly a shout from Josh drew her away from her contemplation of Sam to look over to where Josh was pointing.
"Look over there!" Josh shouted whilst pointing at something out in the ocean. They all looked over and could see what had attracted Josh's attention.
Coming towards the boat was a small pod of dolphins, their bodies almost impossible to distinguish from the colours of the water. Just when he thought that he could find them, Josh could no longer see them.
He'd been sat on the deck, just enjoying the warmth of the sun, the rush of the wind and the sound of the boat cutting through the water. It was as he was admiring the changing colour of the water that he'd seen the dolphin leap into the air. He watched in amazement as they swam towards the boat.
Just when he thought they had dived under the water and that was going to be the end of their little encounter, all of a sudden one of the beautiful animals leapt up out of the water right along side of the boat.
Both he and CJ raced to the sides to look over at the dolphins. They were amazing, riding along the bow wave, using its force to push them along, simply enjoying the speed and excitement that it brought them.
"Hey Sam!" He shouted to his best friend, "Look it's Flipper!"
Sam just smiled and then shouted back, "No, it's not!"
Josh looked back at him, puzzled by the answer. Of course it was Flipper, what did Sam think it was, Free Willy? Even Josh knew that these weren't Killer Whales, but he didn't feel inclined to get into an argument at that particular moment and went back to watching the dolphins having their fun.
As quickly as it started the encounter finished. One instant the dolphins were leaping around the bow, the next they were no where to be seen. It was about a five minutes until Josh could find them again. He could see their dorsal fins rising gently out of the water far off in the distance.
Smiling he decided to make his way back to Sam, to sit with him for a while. He always marvelled at the change in his friend when he was out on the ocean. He seemed to be so much more carefree.
He looked younger out here too. They'd known each other for years and Josh had always been jealous of how young Sam always looked. Lately though, he'd started to notice that the stress of the job had been taking its toll. Sam had started to look more tired, there were telltale touches of grey starting to form at his temples, but out here it all seemed to lift away and all Josh could see was the young Princeton student that he'd first met all those years ago.
"So what did you mean when you said it wasn't Flipper?" He asked.
"It wasn't Flipper, it was the wrong species." Sam stated confidently.
"Huh?" was all Josh could reply. Sam looked at him with an expression of infinite patience.
"Ok. Flipper was a Bottlenose Dolphin. They were Atlantic White-Sided dolphins."
"Uh-huh," Josh said as if that clarified everything for him, when in truth he couldn't tell the difference. They were all fish to him.
"There's a book below if you want to know a bit more." Sam said, knowing that Josh was still thinking that they were all just fish. "And they're not fish they're mammals. The book's down by the galley." He called after him as Josh went below.
Josh went down into the small living area of the boat searching for the book. Trouble was he couldn't remember what the galley was. No matter how many times he went sailing with Sam he could never remember all the nautical terms. It always frustrated him that as soon as you climbed aboard a boat everything ceased to be called by its usual name. Right became starboard, left became port, the toilet became the head and something became the galley…….what did become the galley.
"The Kitchen, Josh!" came the shout from Sam as if he had read Josh's thoughts. The Deputy Chief of Staff snapped his fingers and made his way to the small kitchen area. There he found a large book with the picture of a breaching whale on the front. Scooping it up he made his way back up to the deck.
He climbed out to find Sam instructing CJ how to steer the boat. She seemed to be a bit nervous but then Sam said something to make her laugh. When she seemed confident enough to take the wheel by herself, Sam left her to go and take down the spinnaker. Josh had been given the task of steering while Sam had set the brightly coloured sail on the way out. Now that they were on their way home he was content to let CJ take that responsibility.
Josh went and sat down on the bench to the side of the wheel, flipping through the book. Finding the page that described the dolphins that Sam had said they'd seen, he settled in to read. He looked up briefly as CJ came to sit down beside him and looked over at what he was reading. They became so engrossed in the book that they only noticed how close they were to port when Sam brought in the mainsail and started the engine.
Josh looked up as Sam made preparations to dock. He was glad that he had decided to come on this trip. He felt so relaxed now, ready to go back and face the numerous challenges that no doubt awaited him when he got to the office tomorrow morning.
Sam stood alone on the deck of his boat, watching the sun set. The sky was turning glorious shades of pink and purple, the sun a fiery red as it settled above the horizon.
Josh and CJ had left a little while ago, they'd offered to wait until he was ready and then go but he had wanted a few moments alone. He'd come out here the previous night to get the boat ready. He'd been neglecting her for a while with his absence, but after spending a weekend with her he really didn't want to leave again.
Making one last check that everything was secure, Sam picked up his bag and jumped down onto the dock. He turned and raised his bottle of water in salute to the boat, then walked back to his car, ready to go back to his life.