The Captain went on to say he was sailing into Vancouver, arriving from his more recent charters in the South Pacific and up the Pacific Coast of North America. He wanted to take her out for dinner.  He made a compelling argument, but she was reluctant to meet this stranger outside a professional setting. She considered
asking Lance to join her, but remembered he'd told her a few days earlier that he
had a business trip scheduled at that time. 

She mentioned the e-mail at a family dinner that evening. Opinions as to whether
or not she should go were split. Eventually she decided to go, and take her mother with her. Lance was uncharacteristically quiet on the subject.

At home, Lance said, "This guy sounds like somebody you really should get to
know privately. Maybe you should go alone."

Bianca gave him a stern look. "I don't know anything about him," she objected.
Why would her husband want her to meet a stranger alone?

"He gave you his website," Lance suggested. "Why don't you check it out?"

Bianca typed in the URL. She was shocked at what she found. In a photo taken in front of a cruising ketch, dressed in clothes she had never seen before, was her husband. 

"It's you!" Bianca exclaimed.

"No, he's a good looking man, but that's not me," Lance said, smiling. "He looks like someone you should get to know on your own, though." 

Her husband had invested significant effort into this couples fantasy, so she
decided to see where it would lead. She agreed to meet "Winston" without a chaperon.

Several days later, Lance packed for his business trip. Bianca took him to the airport. When she was out of sight, he took a cab to a waterfront hotel. He changed into clothes befitting a sea captain and headed off to their dinner rendezvous location. Upon arriving at the restaurant, he gave specific instructions to the hostess.

When Bianca arrived, the hostess led her to Lance's table.  He stood up and
formally introduced himself as Captain O'Toole. He had a distinct Boston accent. Never breaking character, he told Bianca stories of his life on the sea and listened to her stories about her family and friends. 

The hostess interrupted their getting-to-know-each-other chatter.  "Excuse me,
sir, but you look familiar," she said.  "Weren't you in here a few months ago?  As I recall, you're a charter captain."

"Yes," Lance replied.  "It's nice of you to remember me."

Bianca was floored that he'd attended to so many details to set up this fantasy. She began to wonder what was fantasy and what was reality. 

The hostess was impressed, too.  As they were leaving, she said, with tears in
her eyes, "Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives this evening. You two
are amazing."

This evening was the beginning of an ongoing six-year love affair between
Winston and Bianca.  Lance and Bianca are more in love than ever. 

If you'd like to hear more from Lance's vivid imagination, his three Brandon
Drake novels are available at http://www.lancerucker.com/, with a fourth due
for release this coming year. Dr. Bianca Rucker's website is http://www.biancarucker.com/.