My Sil Sank $3m Cruiser, Assuming It Was Mine! She Laughed At It, But Unfortunately, It Was…
The Wedding Gift
Sometime later, when I went to discuss the wedding plans with Victoria’s family, if the misunderstanding had persisted, Victoria would have wanted a lavish wedding. But she actually said to me, “What kind of wedding are you planning? You’re not going for something too extravagant, right?”
“Yeah, I think a small family-only affair would be nice.”
“Right. You have to be mindful of expenses now.”
She seemed concerned, which was nice. However, Abigail still seemed to have her doubts about me. She didn’t participate much in the wedding discussion, which was a bit disappointing. But even without Abigail’s input, our wedding was still happening.
A year later, we managed to have a lovely wedding. On the wedding day, my parents who live in Birmingham managed to make it in time for the ceremony, but my grandparents from Los Angeles couldn’t come due to the difficulty of travel. Instead, my uncle Taylor, my mother’s brother, came. He said he would take pictures to show to my grandparents.
As I was waiting in the dressing room a few hours before the ceremony, Taylor came to see me.
“Lynn, how are you doing?”
Taylor’s company deals with boat rentals, handling cruisers and pleasure boats popular among young Americans. He showed me a photo saying, “Look at this. I bought it.”
It was a cruiser in the photo, clearly expensive at a glance.
“How much?”
“Um, this much.”
Taylor typed a number on his phone: $3 million.
“What?”
It seemed he didn’t catch what I said. Taylor has some hearing issues due to an accident in his youth, and speaking a bit louder helps him understand better. As I was marveling at how he could afford such a sum, Taylor showed me another photo.
“Lynn, this is a wedding present for you.”
“For me?”
It was a picture of a pleasure boat. According to Taylor, his company had recently replaced some boats. He had kept one of them aside for me. It was currently at his riverside home, and I could use it when I visited.
“Thank you.”
While I was talking about this, Abigail entered the dressing room. “What’s this? What did you get?”
Abigail had a sly smile on her face. Seems like she was eavesdropping outside the dressing room. If I tell Abigail about the pleasure boat, she’ll definitely insist on being taken for a ride, so I’d rather not tell her. But it seems she already overheard, so it might be hard to hide it.
Reluctantly, I said, “Taylor gave me a boat.”
“A boat? Who just gives away a boat like that?”
“It’s a secondhand boat from Taylor’s company. Instead of disposing of it, he gave it to me.”
“Huh. Interesting.”
Abigail didn’t seem very interested. In a way, that was a relief. After Taylor left the room, I moved in front of the mirror to do my makeup. Glancing through my mirror, I noticed Abigail looking at the photo Taylor had brought.
Maybe she’s more interested than she lets on? As I was thinking this, Abigail had disappeared.
A Trip to the West Coast
Soon after the wedding was over, on the way back in the car, Victoria said to me, “Lynn, did you inform Grandma about your marriage?”
“Of course I did. I even sent her photos of my wedding dress.”
“That’s good. But don’t you think it would be better to visit her?”
“Uh…”
As I was fearing this turn of events, Victoria continued. “I’d like to greet your grandpa and grandma too. But they’re in Los Angeles. That’s why I was thinking: why don’t we combine it with a family trip to the West Coast?”
It seems Victoria hadn’t given up on the trip idea. It was a hard proposition to refuse. As I was thinking about how to decline, Victoria said, “Actually, I talked to Taylor.”
“What? With Taylor?”
“Yes, and he said he’d love for us to visit.”
Did Taylor catch that in all the noise?
“Huh?”
“That’s something you overcome with willpower.”
I’m pretty sure Taylor didn’t get it, so I refused, not wanting to inconvenience Taylor. Then Victoria frowned suddenly.
“Oh, poor Grandpa and Grandma. Couldn’t attend the wedding, can’t see their grandchild…”
“Please don’t say it like that.”
“Don’t you want to see them?”
“I do, but…”
“See? Then let’s go.”
In the end, I couldn’t refuse. Pushed by Victoria, we decided to go to the West Coast for our honeymoon, but I wasn’t unhappy about it. I would get to see Grandpa and Grandma after a long time, and we could play in the river near Taylor’s house. There’s also the pleasure boat, so it’s sure to be fun. Might as well enjoy it to the fullest. With that mindset, I decided to go have a good time.
A few months after the wedding, we used our summer vacation to travel to the West Coast. When I explained the situation to Taylor, he happily agreed to host us. So Scott, Victoria, Abigail, and I headed to Taylor’s house in Los Angeles. My father-in-law couldn’t join due to work commitments.
Still, it was our first family trip since getting married. I wanted to use this opportunity to bond with Victoria and Abigail. That was my plan.
The day we arrived was spent joyfully reuniting with Grandpa and Grandma and introducing Scott to them. I also introduced Victoria and Abigail, and we all enjoyed a family party. Abigail, with her inherent cheerfulness, quickly got along with Taylor’s family. Victoria seemed to be having fun too, and we felt a step closer to being a real family.
That’s what I thought.
The next day, my brother Kevin, who lives alone in San Francisco, came to visit late in the morning.
“Lynn! Kevin, how’s school?”
For context, Kevin is a college student.
“It’s the weekend right? I’m off so I came to say hello. I’ll introduce you to Scott and the others.”
We talked, but I couldn’t find Victoria and Abigail anywhere. Scott, who was helping my aunt, was there, but not Victoria and her group.
“Scott, where are Victoria and the others?”
“I don’t know.” Scott shrugged.
The Sinking Truth
That’s when I suddenly got a call from Abigail.
“Hello?”
“Lynn?”
“Abigail, where are you? My brother just arrived.”
Before I could finish, Abigail burst into laughter. “You’re so laid back, Lynn.”
“What’s going on? Abigail, do you know where we are? I was just looking for you.”
“Where are you?”
“That’s a secret. Just wanted to tell you something.”
“Tell me what?”
“Your Cruiser. I deliberately crashed it into an iceberg and sank it.”
Abigail laughed loudly. That was the extent of what Abigail explained over the phone.
“So that’s what happened. Got it.”
I understood the story, but what about my cruiser? Thinking it over, I remembered something from the wedding day. Taylor had given me a pleasure boat. That time, Abigail was eavesdropping on our conversation. She saw the photo of the cruiser and heard me talking about getting a boat. So she might have been confused.
Then I tried clarifying. “You know, if it’s my boat, it’s at my house. The pleasure boat I received is at Taylor’s house.”
“I’m not sure of it since I glanced at it.”
“No, no, it’s different. Your Cruiser sank right in front of me.”
“It’s hard to say, but I don’t own a cruiser.”
“What? There was a photo. You were talking about the boat being a gift.”
“The boat I received was the pleasure boat.”
“Pleasure what?”
Right, Abigail is a bit different. She wouldn’t know the difference between a pleasure boat and a cruiser. A pleasure boat is for fun and a cruiser is for staying overnight.
“What do you mean?”
“It means the cruiser you’re talking about sinking isn’t mine.”
“What? Whose Cruiser is it then?”
That’s what I wanted to know. But from her talk about the photo, it’s probably Taylor’s Cruiser.
As I was thinking this, I heard Taylor screaming over the phone, shouting things like “What have you done?” and “What’s going on?” Then I realized Abigail must take it for my cruiser and had sunk Taylor’s $3 million Cruiser.
“Abigail, don’t move.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“This is Los Angeles, not some rural area like Alabama. Sinking a boat and running away is a big deal here.”
“Really?”
“Yes, police here deal with serious crimes. They’re not like the sheriffs in Alabama. You understand?”
“Oh no.”
I could hear Abigail crying. She seemed to be pleading with Victoria nearby.
“Mom, help me!”
“I don’t know, Abigail. You did it on your own.”
“Help me! I just wanted to be on the cruiser.”
It seemed like they were passing the blame to each other. Well, as long as they stay put, that’s fine. I quickly contacted Scott and headed to the marina where Taylor’s Cruiser was. The marina was a few minutes’ drive away.
