Shrimp Boats: A Short Story

The Camaro’s tires squealed as Carl pushed the car into a sweeping corner. He downshifted to third gear and held the car in his lane. As the road straightened Carl punched the gas pedal to the floor. Mary felt herself being pushed back into the seat. She could not keep from watching the speedometer as it quickly climbed: 70…80…90…100…110… The car was still accelerating when Carl suddenly lifted his foot. Mary felt the pressure ease as the speed decreased until they were traveling exactly the posted speed limit. Carl’s hands relaxed on the wheel and all tension had left him. When he turned to look at Mary he had a little boy smile on his face. “Was that fun or what?”
“You noticed I didn’t spend a lot of time on my hair this morning. But seriously, wouldn’t you get a million-dollar ticket or something if you got caught going that fast?” Mary asked; glad to be

“A shrimp boat,” Carl said knowingly.
“Shrimp boat. How do you know what a shrimp boat is? Have you even ever seen a shrimp boat?” Mary asked suspiciously.
“Ahh no, but… I can read. Remember I told you I found this place? Well, the article mentioned that this place had a shrimp boat tied to a dock on the lake. I thought you might like to see what a shrimp boat looked like in real life. Besides, the site said that this very boat had once been tied up, I think that is what you call it, at a dock across the river from Folly Beach. I thought you would be interested, you know with what you read about Jack and all.” Carl explained.
While they had been talking, they had been following the girl in the big boots down the dock and now they stood in front of the shrimp boat.
On the deck, three sets of tables and chairs for two were arranged far enough apart so that there was privacy. In the cabin that sat toward the front of the boat, they could see another girl, dressed similarly to their escort. Carl assumed she must be the waitress.
“Will this be alright with you?” The first girl