July 27, 1991

Phil was convinced that today he would win the 48th Annual Clearwater Lake Regatta. As he set up Seaclusion III, waiting for his sister, he thought of how Grandpa and Grandma had won the first Clearwater Lake Regatta - if they could do it, then why couldn't he? He was in first place right now, and he had overheard Theo's parents talking about how he was the favorite to win the whole thing. There was only one more race, and as long as Phil won, he would win the regatta.

Phil spotted two figures walking toward the shore. He put on his glasses and although he was hoping that Holly would finally show up like she was supposed to, it was his parents. "Hi Mom and Dad," Phil said.

"Hi Phil," Mom said. "We just wanted to wish you good luck."

"Thanks," Phil said.

"You're going to do great, son," Dad said. "This is your home - you know the lake better than anyone else out there."

"Thank you, Dad," Phil said. "Where's Holly?"

"She's coming," Dad answered.

"When?" Phil asked. "She's taking forever."

Suddenly, Phil spotted his sister running toward the shore and onto the pier. "Sorry, I'm late, Phil," Holly said. "I was on the phone with Chad. We were talking about economic theory, and he's just so smart..."

"Holly, what is wrong with you?" Phil said. "This is the most important race of the regatta. We can't be late."

"I'm sorry!" Holly exclaimed. "We can get going now. I can always call Chad later."

Phil steered the boat away from the shore, giving Holly a nasty look as he did so. He hated to admit it, but he was a little bit jealous of Holly. Phil had never been very lucky when it came to romance - the last time he had kissed a girl was in second grade - but his sister, who was possibly even more of a nerd than he was, had somehow found true love. Phil wanted a relationship like Holly and Chad's, but he was starting to suspect that he would never find it.

Phil and Holly sailed their boat to the starting line, joining the line of sailboats that were gliding back and forth behind the judges' boat. Mom had decided not to judge this particular race, but Phil knew all of the other members of the judging committee. Phil was beginning to suspect that Dad was right - he had the home turf advantage. He could win the regatta simply because he lived in Clearwater Lake.

"Hey Holly, can you take the tiller for a few minutes?" Phil asked.

"Why?" Holly asked, but she took the tiller anyways and steered the boat in a straight line.

"I want to check out the competition," Phil said. He leaned over the side of the boat and noticed many of his fellow yacht club members competing. He waved when Theo's boat passed by, and Theo waved back.

"Good luck, Phil!" Theo exclaimed.

"Thanks, you too!" Phil shouted back. He smiled as he searched for a boat called Aquaphile. According to the current regatta standings, Aquaphile, sailed by Audrey Rhodes and Elisa Harvey, was in second place. Phil had to beat Aquaphile if he wanted to win the regatta, and it would help if he knew what the boat looked like.

A few seconds later, he found it. The "U" in "Aquaphile" had fallen off, but it was still obvious that this was the right boat. There were two women around Phil's age sailing Aquaphile, but one of them was clearly in charge. The crew had short, blond hair, sunburned white skin, and a girlish face, but it was the skipper that caught Phil's eye. Phil had thought that he and Holly were the only Native sailors in the race, but this woman proved him wrong. Phil couldn't help but watch as her hands deftly pulled on the sheet line, and her long hair rippled in the wind. Her dark brown eyes met his for a split second, and Phil quickly looked away.

"Phil, what are you doing?" Holly said. "Stop staring at the woman in the other boat. She's your competition, remember?"

"Of course," Phil said as he took the tiller back, wondering if the attractive skipper was Audrey or Elisa. He reminded himself that it didn't matter - he was here to beat them, and he knew that he could do it. He knew Clearwater Lake, and although he had no idea where they were from, they had to be new here. Phil had never seen either woman before in his life.

One of the judges raised a flag, telling Phil and Holly that the race would start in five minutes. Phil tried his best to focus and make sure that Seaclusion III got past the starting line before Aquaphile. Before long, the race began, and Phil's boat glided past the judges' boat and toward the first buoy.

For a while, Phil and Holly were in the lead. Audrey and Elisa were in second place, but as long as they stayed there, Phil had nothing to worry about. He rounded the first buoy with ease, and by the time he approached the second buoy, Phil was certain that victory was his. He envisioned a huge trophy sitting in his apartment, with his name inscribed on it. Holly would get one too, and she could put it in her apartment in Portland, and she could brag to all of her college friends about her sailing prowess. Phil's family would be so proud, and Mom would cook a huge dinner to celebrate. Phil could even smell all of the food waiting for him in the kitchen. He would devour all of it, just like he always did with Mom's cooking. After dinner, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and everyone else he knew would tell Phil about how he was the best sailor that the Clearwater Lake Yacht Club had ever seen, and Phil would be the happiest man alive.

It was during the third leg of the race when things began to fall apart. Phil was still in the lead when he sailed around the second buoy, but on his way to the finish line, he switched directions too early, taking him on a longer route. As Phil tried to correct his course, Aquaphile zipped right by him. He saw the gorgeous skipper grin as she sailed by, talking excitedly to her crew. Phil was frustrated, but he told himself that he could catch up. It wouldn't be that hard.

Phil sailed toward Audrey and Elisa, but he ran right into a patch with no wind. Phil and Holly were stuck. The other boats were far behind them, but they didn't matter to Phil. He had to beat the two women sailing Aquaphile, and now, he had no chance. Their boat was too close to the finish line.

Eventually, Holly managed to move the sail so that they could start sailing again, but it wasn't enough. Aquaphile was already on the other side of the finish line, and the best that Phil and Holly could do was place in second.

Phil sailed the boat straight towards the finish line, confirming his fate. Phil and Holly had placed in second, and Audrey and Elisa had won both the race and the regatta. He could see the two of them celebrating in their boat, while Phil fumed over his loss.

Holly took over the boat on the way home, attempting to console her older brother. "It's not that big of a deal," Holly said. "We'll win next year."

"Not if those two come back," Phil said.

"You never know," Holly said. "They're from out of town, so they probably won't come every year."

Phil considered this, and he didn't quite know what to think. He wanted to win the regatta, but at the same time, a part of him wanted to see the skipper again. He wanted to get to know her, and that would be impossible if she never came to Clearwater Lake again. Then again, as far as he knew, he would never get to know this woman. She was just another pretty face on the lake, and Phil was far too afraid to ever talk to her.

When Phil and Holly returned to shore, they cleaned up the boat and started to head back inside. However, before they could make it into the house, Theo sailed back to shore. "I placed in seventh!" he exclaimed. "That's the best that I've ever placed in this regatta!"

"Congratulations, Theo," Phil said.

"Congratulations on getting second place," Theo said. "I'm planning to throw a party to celebrate our completion of the regatta tonight. Audrey and Elisa already agreed to come - are you free tonight?"

"You're talking to Audrey and Elisa?" Phil said.

"Yeah, Elisa and I ended up chatting after last week's race, and she and Audrey are coming to my apartment at seven o'clock," Theo said. "I asked Jacqueline Sterling to come too, but she refused. Are you coming?"

"Of course," Phil said. This was his chance to talk to the skipper, if he could muster up the nerve to do it.

"I'm not going," Holly said. "I have homework."

"How do you have homework?" Phil asked. "It's the summer."

Holly mumbled something about summer reading, but Phil didn't buy it. She was just trying to get out of hanging around Phil's friends, which was fine with him. He wouldn't mind if the attractive skipper never met his annoying little sister.

The rest of the day passed by far too slowly for Phil's taste. He spent most of it sprawled out on the couch in his apartment, watching TV while thinking of the woman who had beat him on the last leg of the last race of the regatta. He couldn't stop thinking about the way she had smiled as her boat glided past his, as much as that particular image angered him. He couldn't believe that he had lost the regatta - how had he let such a thing happen? His parents had called him after the race was over to tell him that they were still proud of him, but Phil still felt like a failure.

At seven o'clock, Phil drove to Theo's apartment on the other end of town, and when he arrived there, he found that there were only a handful of other people there. "This party's so lame," Jerry Graves complained. "I should have gone to a different party tonight."

"I heard that Greg's throwing a good party," Dale Cummings said. "Maybe we should go over to his place. He even has a pool."

Phil decided to ignore Jerry and Dale as he headed toward Theo. "Hey Theo," Phil said. "What's up?"

"I'm such a failure," Theo complained. "I did everything right - I'm playing good music, and I even bought some food - but nobody showed up."

"Don't be such a downer," Phil shouted over the R.E.M. song playing on Theo's speakers. "There are still a few people here, and it's quality over quantity."

"You're right, Phil," Theo said. "You're still here, and so are Audrey and Elisa."

"Where are they?" Phil asked. He felt bad about ditching his lonely best friend for a girl, but he knew that he could come back and talk to Theo later.

"They're both in the living room," Theo answered.

Phil immediately headed into Theo's living room and found the two women who had won the regatta sitting on the couch and chatting. "Hello," Phil said nervously, afraid of what might happen next.

"Hi there," the skipper said as the crew stared at Theo's betta fish. "I don't think we've met. What's your name?"

"I'm Phil," he said, smiling. "What's yours?"

"I'm Audrey," she said. "Wait a second, you're the skipper of Seaclusion III, aren't you?"

"That's right," Phil said.

"You sailed that race very well," Audrey said. "I thought for sure that you would win."

"Thank you," Phil said. "You sailed well too. Congratulations on winning!"

"Thanks," Audrey said.

"So where are you from exactly?" Phil asked.

"Chief Lake," Audrey said.

"I'm not sure where that is," Phil said. He thought that he knew all of the little towns in the area, but clearly, he was wrong.

"It's on the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation," Audrey explained. "It's about four hours away from here."

"Wow, that must have been quite a drive," Phil said.

"Actually, Elisa and I are staying here in town," Audrey said. "Elisa's grandparents live here, and we've been staying with them."

"When are you going home then?" Phil asked.

"Next Monday," Audrey said. "Elisa wanted to stay an extra couple of days."

"Do you have any plans tomorrow night?" Phil asked.

"Not at the moment," Audrey said. "Why?"

For a moment, Phil considered what he was doing. He barely knew this woman, but he desperately wanted to get to know her. Audrey was fascinating to him, and although his natural shyness told him to walk away, go back home, and watch Star Trek, he had to finish this conversation with Audrey. He had to tell her what had been on his mind since that morning.

"Excuse me if this is a little bit forward, but would you like to go out tomorrow night?" Phil asked. "There's a nice restaurant downtown that we could go to."

"That sounds wonderful, Phil," Audrey said. "Can I get your phone number?"

"Of course," Phil said. The two of them exchanged phone numbers, and they continued to chat well into the night. Eventually, Phil, Audrey, and Theo were the only three people in Theo's apartment - even Audrey's friend had left. Phil wanted to stay even longer, but he was starting to get tired, and he knew that he needed to head home and get to bed. "It's getting kind of late," Phil told Audrey. "It was nice talking to you."

"It was nice talking to you too," Audrey said. She looked into Phil's eyes and smiled, and at that moment, Phil could tell that Audrey felt the same way about him that he did about her.

Phil left the apartment and drove home, and as a dumb pop song blared on the radio, he thought of Audrey. Phil's heart felt like it was about to burst with joy - he couldn't believe his luck. Finally, something had gone right for Phil. He could forget about losing the regatta, because something even better had come out of it.