Claire had a wide grin on her face as we watched the captain push us away from the dock. Then he slipped into his seat behind us, and the sound of the motor changed from a quiet rumble to a slightly louder purr.

It was our third full day up here and Claire talked me into doing the boat tour. We slept in again this morning and had a late breakfast, then got to the marina by about half past ten. Now it was a few minutes after eleven and we were just setting out.

It cost us a hundred dollars, but Claire was really excited about it and it's something we'd never done before. The cruise was three and a half hours long and would take us around the south half of Nottawasaga Bay, a smaller body of water at the bottom end of Georgian Bay. We'd get a good view of all the resort communities and the famous beaches at Wasaga, as well as some good looks at the fall colours on the escarpment.

The boat was almost empty, so we had lots of room and privacy. Claire and I were sitting up front on the bow, we figured it gave us the best view and was farthest from the engine noise. The only other tourists today were an elderly couple who were sitting at the back. They were sheltered from the wind back there, but Claire and I dressed warm.

We both had our phones in hand so we could take pictures, and the weather looked good. There were some little puffy clouds here and there, but mostly it was a blue sky and the sun was shining.

The only other people on board were the captain and the guide. They both looked to be in their late thirties or early forties, and I suspected they were a couple. Not that they were acting overly affectionate, but there were enough little glances and smiles between them, I was pretty sure they were together. Or if they weren't then they sure needed to be, I thought they made an adorable couple.

The guide had a loudspeaker so we could all hear him, and as the boat slowly motored out of the marina he announced, "All right folks, welcome aboard. We'll be out on the water for about three and a half hours. I'll set your mind at ease right now, I'm not going to be yapping at you the whole time. My name's Mike, Tom's driving the boat, and if you have any questions just ask!"

"For safety we ask you all stay seated. If you need to move around let me know. If anyone gets seasick, just holler. And if there's any kind of emergency, remember there's life-jackets under all the seats. If anything does come up just pay attention to me and Tom, we'll look after you. And that's about it, sit back and enjoy the views!"

Claire grinned at me as we cleared out of the marina and the boat picked up speed as we turned to the west. She leaned closer and said "This is nice. Pretty views already, and we're not all crowded. We have enough privacy up here too, we can talk and nobody will hear."

I glanced at her and asked a little nervously, "What did you want to talk about?"

She shrugged, "Whatever? I just mean, we can talk without worrying about anyone overhearing."

I was still a little leery, but we ended up not actually talking much at all. The cruise was enjoyable, Mike pointed out a few noteworthy landmarks and shared some interesting facts and stories, but for the most part he was true to his word and stayed quiet so we could just enjoy the view and being out on the water.

For a while I was able to forget my worries about work and money, and I even stopped thinking about that strange encounter yesterday at the new-age shop.

Claire and I both took some pictures, and she insisted on some selfies of the two of us. In the end I wasn't sorry we'd spent the money. It was a fun outing.

It was around half past two in the afternoon as the boat slowly re-entered the marina. Once it was secured against the dock Mike and Tom helped everyone off and bid us all a good day.

"That was a lot of fun," Claire grinned as we walked back to the car.

I agreed, "Yeah. I wasn't sure at first, but I enjoyed it too."

When we were both in the car I asked, "So it's about a quarter to three. What would you like to do next? We could have a late lunch, or we could skip it and think about an early dinner in a couple hours. Is there anything you want to do that we can fit into a few hours? Or anything you'd like to do to fill up the evening?"

She looked thoughtful for a few moments, then turned and pointed, "There's a park over that way, overlooking the water. Why don't we swing by a cafe or something and pick up some drinks and maybe a little snack to go, then we can sit in the park and eat. Then stretch our legs a bit?"

"Sounds like a plan," I smiled.

Twenty minutes later we were sitting on a park bench surrounded by grass and trees, and with a nice view out over the bay. Claire and I both had coffee, I had a small sandwich and she had a bagel with some cream cheese.

We were both quiet again for the first little while as we ate. Eventually though she glanced at me and asked, "Dad, will you tell me the truth? Is there anything else going on? You've been acting a little off lately."

I sighed as all my various worries and stresses came bubbling back up to the surface. After another sip of coffee I finally decided to come clean with her.

"I've been agonizing about how to tell you this hon. I really didn't want to upset you and spoil our vacation for you. But... I was let go on Friday."

I quickly added, "Our situation isn't dire, I don't want you to panic. I've got six months of severance, and our health plan is good till the end of December."

Claire gave me a sad look but she didn't seem shocked or even surprised. Instead she said quietly, "I figured. Thanks for telling me though."

My stomach did a little flip-flop as I remembered what that blonde woman said yesterday, that 'she already knew'.

I frowned slightly as I asked, "How did you know?"

"You left all your stuff in the trunk of the car," Claire replied with a little shrug. "When I saw a box full of your work awards, pictures of me, and a bunch of notepads and pens, it was pretty obvious you'd cleared out your desk."

I sighed, "Damn. I left that there because I didn't want you see me bring it into the house."

She put her arm around me and leaned against my side, and asked "Do you want to talk about it? What happened?"

"Just stupid short-term thinking," I sighed again. "They're getting rid of all the experienced staff, everyone with seniority. It reduces their payroll expenses, so the bottom line looks good at the end of the year."

My expression turned to a scowl as I continued, "Then next year they're out of business because they don't have anyone with the skills and experience to handle the real work."

Claire gave me another sad look, "I'm sorry dad."

"It's ok hon," I shrugged slightly. "I'll find work somewhere else."

She finally let go of me and had a few more bites of her bagel, while I finished my sandwich.

After another minute or two she asked "Is that why you're still not going to come out, why you don't want to transition? Because you figure you won't find another job if you're out?"

I sighed again and nodded slightly. "That's part of it, yes."

She gave me another sad look.

I tried to sound brave and confident as I said, "I want you to know Claire, whatever happens I've got your back. Ok? After our medical runs out, I'll take care of all the expenses, meds, whatever else you need. This isn't going to impact your transition at all. I'm going to take care of you."

She was still giving me that sad look as she asked, "What about you though? Who'll take care of you?"

"Don't you worry about me hon," I maintained my brave act. "I'll be fine."

Claire still looked sad, and maybe a little worried for me, but she let the subject drop for now. We finished our coffees and dropped the trash in a nearby garbage can, then the two of us started off on a little stroll around the park together.

A few minutes into the walk, she commented "Thanks for telling me about work. That wasn't actually what I was talking about though, when I said you were acting off lately. I meant just since yesterday afternoon? You've been a little jumpy, a little distracted."

She added, "Actually I first noticed it at lunch yesterday. Did something happen at the cafe that upset you?"

I was quiet for a bit as I mulled that over. I hadn't realized it was that obvious, how much that blonde woman had shaken me. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell Claire about the experience either.

She was watching me though and I'm sure she could tell from my expression I had something on my mind.

"What is it dad?" she asked, and I knew she was worried again. "You can tell me."

Once again she wasn't going to let me get out of the conversation without some answers. I finally sighed, "Ok... So at that new-age store yesterday? You remember that lady was talking to me?"

Claire nodded, "Yeah."

"She sort of... She..." I didn't even know how to describe it.

Finally I dug into my pocket, I still had that little slip of paper in there. I pulled it out and handed it to Claire, and said "She gave me this."

She looked curious as she unfolded it, then her eyes went wide. "Holy crap! Seriously?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"How though?" Claire half demanded. "How could she possibly know your name? And how could she help?"

I shook my head as I took the paper back, "No idea, hon."

I folded the slip of paper and tucked it back into my pocket for now. "The whole thing just seemed impossible."

The two of us walked quietly for a few more minutes, before Claire suggested "Maybe it's got nothing to do with your name? Maybe she knew you from high-school or something, when that was your nickname?"

"I don't think so," I replied with a frown. "I didn't recognize her, and I never knew anyone named Selene back then."

"Well," she said with a thoughtful frown, "Maybe it's still got nothing to do with your name. The four-leaf clover is about good luck, maybe she just meant she could help you some other way?"

After a moment Claire suddenly giggled, "Oh my God, maybe she was saying she could help you get lucky! She was coming on to you after all!"

I felt my cheeks going red and I grimaced, but shook my head "I don't think so hon. I really didn't get that sort of impression from her?"

After Claire got the last of her laughter out of her system, she became serious again. "What else could it mean? And what sort of impression did you get from her?"

I hesitated again, then finally admitted "She almost seemed sort of spooky to me. Like she uh, she knew something else, that I can't explain."

My tone caught Claire's attention, she could tell I was uneasy again. She frowned, "Like what? What did she know?"

"She uh," I gulped slightly. "She told me you already knew I'd been fired."

Claire stopped in her tracks and stared at me. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open slightly.

After a few moments she shook her head "Dad that's impossible. There's no way she could know that."

"I know sweetheart," I replied quietly. "But that's what she said. She told me you already knew. And that keeping it from you wasn't protecting you like I thought, it was just making you worry more. Then she said if I changed my mind I should come back and see her. Then she gave me that piece of paper."

By now Claire's face had gone slightly pale. She was still staring at me in shock, and I'm sure she was feeling almost as unsettled by the whole experience as I was.

Finally she decided, "We have to go back and see her. We have to go and find out who she is and how she knows all that stuff."

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