Salvage

“Tell me you didn’t!” Begged Jack with a groan as he stood behind the bar with Quinsy, the usual bustle of music and patrons all around them, “you promised you’d tell me before you told them, and now look what you’ve gone and done!”

“Jack, I only told mom, and it took a few moments, but she’s fine with it. It may not have gone as well as I thought it would with her, but ultimately, it’s fine; better than fine, actually!” Quinsy dropped a few more ice cubes into the blender and then hit one of the buttons, the appliance growling to life, louder than Jack’s mewling.

Jack quickly reached over and turned the blender off. “And when she finds out that I knew about this, for so very long, and didn’t go to her and tell her this was all happening myself, what do you think she’ll do to me? What do you think Hector will do to me?”

“It may not be pleasant, Jack, but it won’t be so very bad either.” Once more she turned on the blender. “They’ll get over it. They will, I promise!”

Again, Jack turned off the blender. “Won’t be so bad? Get over it? And tell me, has your father ever marooned you on a deserted isle? No? Hmm, okay, your mother then, has she ever killed you?”

“Jack, honestly, settle down,” Quinsy sighed, unable to help her laugh, and turned on the blender again but this time turning to face Jack and taking both his hands, doing her best to ease his mind, this would be a long night otherwise. “After all we’ve been through, Jack, after all the times you’ve covered for me, why would you suppose I’d allow daddy, or mom, to do anything to you at all?”

But Jack’s head was turned in the direction of the far table where sat Elizabeth and Hector, who was busy punching at the keys of his wife’s laptop. “Look, she’s probably telling him what you told her right now.” With a heavy sigh Jack looked back at Quinsy, holding her hands tighter. “Could be our last dance tonight, luv, once your father and mother find out I knew before they knew!”

Quinsy rolled her eyes, cupped Jack’s cheek firmly. “Jack, stop it!” She said levelly. “I’ve enough to deal with, and I don’t need this added to it. So please, just act natural, and believe me when I tell you that all will be well. I can handle daddy if need be!”

At that Jack nodded. “You’re one of only two people I know who can mean that when they say it, Quinn.” He smiled, then put his arms around her and hugged her. “I’m sorry, you are taking this on alone, and doing quite well at that. I’ll be a bit less staggered and jagged for you, I promise.”

Quinsy hugged him back. “Thank you, Jack.” She smiled. “Now, go and find some Brian Setzer, I’m happily a bride to be, and I want to dance!”

* * * * * * *

“You know, logic would dictate that you’ve left something off of your Christmas list.” Elizabeth sat with a smile and legs crossed beside her husband as he peered down through his thinly wire rimmed reading glasses at the screen of her laptop, engrossed in whatever it was he’d been working on for most of the night. Her mood was good now, nearly as giddy as Quinsy was, though she still wasn’t ready to let her daughter go, but then, what mother ever was ready for that?

“Hmmm?” Hector glanced up at her for a moment through the slender oblong shaped lens, but quickly went back to his work again. “And what might that be?”

Elizabeth sighed amusedly as she took a sip of her rum and coke. “Your own laptop?”

Hector didn’t look up this time, “not necessary, have me own machine in the study.”

“That you can only use in the study,” sighed Elizabeth. “Not at the wreck site, not in bed, not in front of the TV while you watch Navy Football…not here in the bar…”

Hector furrowed his brow. “I’m not on the damn thing that much, you know I hate the bloody things.” He insisted, but kept his focus on the screen.

Elizabeth just laughed and shook her head, wondering why it was then that every time she needed her laptop for something, Hector had it. “So, how is the new book coming?”

“Fine.”

“Mentioning the shark attack?”

“Of course not, no one wants to read yer whining over setbacks, they just want to know yeh’ve done what yeh set out to do.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth smiled, for she knew that would be Hector’s answer, and she loved him for such an attitude, always had. She hoped said philosophy of “don’t sulk about it” would make the announcement of Quinsy’s engagement a bit easier to swallow. Their daughter was happy, after all, and once Hector understood that and saw it, he’d be more at ease about this grand life change. But, Quinsy wanted to tell him, and Elizabeth respected that. Still, it would help to keep him in a good mood until then, and talking about the book always put Hector in a good mood. “So, you must be going on about your precious new Manitowoc then?” Hector was awfully proud of the new crane, had bought it specifically to raise his beloved Pearl.

“Have already done so in chapter three earlier today.” He still focused intently on the screen. “Checking the damned weather at the moment.”

Elizabeth sighed, surprised when he hadn’t exploded with anger when she’d given him the most recent report of the hurricane and wondering if that explosion might be building now. “The storm’s been fast moving, it may not be as bad what we’re all bracing for—“

“Elizabeth, the tempest be out over open water, y’know as well as I do storms at sea are much stronger than storms on land.”

Elizabeth sighed. “So, what’s your plan then?”

“Tomorrow Cass and Jack and I will steam out to The Pearl on the Z-Tech, unhook her from the crane, and secure her beneath the water with some stanchions and moorings, then tow the crane and work barge back into port.” For a moment Hector’s hand clenched into a fist. “Could’ve been towing The Pearl into port by now if Brendan had come home when I asked!”

“No, don’t even start!” Elizabeth said austerely, but immediately softened again and redirected the conversation. “What about pontoons? Wouldn’t that help to stabilize The Pearl’s hull a bit more than stanchions and moorings? What if the sea whips her against them? All of my welds, Hector, I’d have to start from scratch again!”

Hector removed his glasses and looked up with worry in his eyes. “If the sea rumbles enough as to whip her into the stanchions and moorings, the pontoons would be tossed about on the surface and only heave her from the mud enough to truly make a missile of her and bash her into that reef, and yeh’d have nothing left to start from scratch on.” He sighed. “Damned December hurricane! Never thought I’d be this thankful that The Pearl is stuck so firmly in the mud as she is.”

It was a bit harder to smile now, but at least there was a plan to recover the recovery equipment before the barge and crane were in need of salvage themselves. “What is the latest storm projection? Any changes to the weather advisory?”

“Not the last time I looked, weren’t actually watching that weather.”

“Oh?” Elizabeth leaned in towards Hector more and stared at the NOAA page he was so entranced by, surprised, but so elated to see the gradient map of The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Hector was checking on Brendan! The conditions listed high seas and cold temps, but no major storms, nothing that might broadside the 160 foot crab boat Brendan owned and captained. Elizabeth smiled broadly, what a wonderful thing! Despite the hurricane, it was fast becoming a marvelous Christmas! Hector was healed, Quinsy had found the love of her life, and Hector was worried for Brendan!

Hector shifted nervously now that Elizabeth knew what it was he researched, a bit self-conscious that she knew, but there was no use in suddenly closing the page or denying what he did and why. Besides, he was curious, and anxious for news. “Heard from the boy?”

Oh no! She’d meant to call Brendan, but in all of Quinsy’s exciting news, she’d forgotten to do so! But, perhaps if she smiled sweetly, stroked her hand over Hector’s beard and rubbed his strong shoulder suggestively, it might distract him a bit. “No, not since he set out after cod, but he’ll be here, Hector. He wouldn’t miss Christmas, and he wouldn’t miss The Pearl’s reemergence either, he knows what it means to you!”

“Does he?” Hector half snorted and then closed the laptop. “That boy doesn’t understand one thing of me.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and huffed. This was Hector’s usual attitude towards Brendan that she was hoping to avoid, but she wouldn’t let her middle child take all the blame. “Brendan could accurately say the same of you.”

But Hector wasn’t listening; still too busy grumbling. “And when he comes hauling up, I’m sure it will be in some bloody crab boat!”

“And if he does, you’ll be as positively relieved to see him as you were last Christmas when he came hauling up in a bloody crab boat…” Elizabeth knew Hector’s rant prevented him from hearing her, but still, she answered him, if only for her own amusement.

“I didn’t raise a damned fisherman, Elizabeth!” Hector’s voice was a bit louder now. “We give the boy me Christian name, and he goes and does that with it!”

“He could be designing wedding gowns for poodles with it…”

“Remember the last war? I fabricated credentials, mocked up paperwork, got meself into the Navy as a captain, Cass in as an ensign, Jack in as a lieutenant, could’ve gotten Brendan in as an ensign as well, but noooo…”

“You’re so very dramatic…”

“Brendan comes and tells me, ‘I’ve joined the Army Air Corps., dad! I’m going to fly B-17’s!”

“He wanted to try something different and on his own; why can’t you be proud of him for that?”

“Proud of him?” Hector turned towards her. “And how am I to be proud of him the day we looked for the boy all over The Pearl, finding him no where, for certain that child had fallen overboard, and finally at nightfall I came upon him in the corner of the hold, sitting in a puddle of bilge water with a bucket on his head, making up silly little songs?” Hector paused, shaking his head just as he did when he’d found Brendan that night. “I told him that we’d been looking for him all day long and he’d better get to bed, but he said he ‘wasn’t finished yet.’ Just how in hell does such an activity even have a precise end point?”

Elizabeth couldn’t restrain her laugh. “Oh Hector, he was a little boy, that was centuries ago!”

“Little lad or no, I knew for the first time then what I still know now,” Hector folded his arms across his chest. “There’s something not right with the boy, Elizabeth.”

“There’s not a thing wrong with him, either.”

“Then what’s he ever done that’s made any sense?”

“Everything Brendan does makes sense, Hector.” Elizabeth sighed, about to cut to the quick, but it needed to be said. “Just not to you, because the moment he goes out on his own and does something, you get your feelings hurt and don’t try to understand, and you never support or encourage him, so how could it make any sense to you?”

“Well what’s he got to bloody go out on his own for to begin with?” Again, Hector’s voice was a bit above conversation level, but before Elizabeth could respond, and before he’d even let his own words reach his own ears, he began to argue another point. “And I don’t support and encourage him? Did I or did I not have those papers drawn up to get him into the navy back in ’42?”

“Yes, Hector, you most certainly did,” Elizabeth sighed. “And while that may be the kind of support and encouragement that works with Cass, that’s not what Brendan needs.”

“No, what Brendan needs is a swift kick in the arse any time he takes off with some ridiculous activity like crab fishing!”

Elizabeth’s body shook with her exasperated groan, but she remained calm. “You see, Hector? This is exactly what I mean. Caspian and you share several interests, and you don’t have to work very hard to understand what motivates him, and so giving him your attention and support and encouraging him is a natural thing…” at that moment, Elizabeth could hear her oldest son heavily flirting with some young lady at the bar, “…no matter what it is he does…” she said, and with a jerk of her head directed Hector’s attentions to their oldest son and his conversation. The pretty blond was tittering with laughter and asking “will you still respect me if I let you hit it?” and Caspian, grinning like some sly, red haired god answered, “all I can do is try, so give me the chance!” Elizabeth rolled her eyes, feeling half embarrassed that her son had said that, but when she looked back at Hector, he was grinning the same grin as Caspian. “And once more over, you prove my point!”

“What point?” Hector asked gruffly, looking away from the sight of Caspian and his latest conquest.

“Because Brendan doesn’t have the same ideas you have, or want the same things you want, or take things in the order you take them, you just throw your hands up, give up on him and pronounce him ‘not right!’” Elizabeth had to pause, she was beginning now to sound angry, and though she was, she had no desire to fight, not tonight, not so close to Christmas, not after having come so close to losing her husband, and not when Quinsy had such happy news to be celebrated. “But you would support Cass if he came to you suddenly and declared that he wanted to…become a priest! And Quinsy, well, we all know you’d never be able to make yourself get angry with her, so she could become a stripper and you’d be proud of her, Hector! And it’s because it’s no stretch for you to understand Cass or Quinsy, but you don’t apply enough effort to understanding Brendan because he’s different from Cass and Quinsy.”

For a moment Elizabeth’s words struck him, and he considered them, perhaps she was right, but he’d never admit to that. Best to keep considering what she said, and just let her think he’d only heard part of what she said. “Yeh do realize that in the above scenario, Brendan would come and tell me he was becoming a stripping priest, don’t yeh?”

“Oh, Hector!” Elizabeth muttered under her breath, her hands clenching into fists, but then she took a deep breath and released it, all her anger with it, she didn’t want to fight, not now. “I’m done; don’t say another word about it.”

Hector knew that flat tone of her voice, and it so often spoke of trouble ahead, not now, but later…that tone, it was like a red sky at morning…sailor’s warning. He sighed, knowing he’d better concede some of the high ground here and now. “Elizabeth,” he sighed again. “It’s not that I don’t want to understand, and it’s certainly not that I don’t care…”

Good, she hadn’t wasted her breath; Elizabeth was able to smile a bit now. “I know, that’s obvious, and it always fills my heart with more joy than I can speak of when I find you doing something like checking the weather in The Bering Sea,” she leaned closer to him and put her arms around his neck, “I just wish it wasn’t because such was an unexpected thing from you.”

Now to promise that he’d put forth some effort to change, she’d certainly set him up to do so…how did she always manage to bring things to this point? “When Brendan arrives, I’ll…talk to him…and listen to him too, for a change.”

Elizabeth was now beaming, and then she pulled Hector close and kissed him. “Thank you, Hector! That’s what I’ve been wanting for Christmas for I don’t remember how long!”

Fantastic, not only had she gotten him to feel guilty, made him want to fix things and had him promise to begin doing so, she’d also just turned the whole effort into her Christmas gift, leaving him no room to fail. Quite a despicably clever woman, his wife; no wonder he’d married her. But now Hector was done, didn’t want to say another word about it, and so he changed the subject. “So, yer welcome to join Cass, Jack and I on the tugboat tomorrow, but it’ll mostly be heavy lifting and tying up, nothing exciting.”

“Well,” Elizabeth still smiled; she knew how to delicately push Hector towards the right answer, but most importantly of all, she also knew when to stop pushing. Besides, there was a new excitement creeping into her now. “Am I to understand that we are to be in port for Christmas?”

“Aye,” sighed Hector, though the thought did bring a smile to his face as well. “Damned December hurricane,” but his earlier irritation when he said the words was now missing.

Elizabeth moved from her chair into Hector’s lap, kissing him again as his arms came around her. It would be good to have the family together for Christmas, and not be rushing out to the wreck site. “Then I think Quinsy and I are more inclined to stay aboard The Pride and do some decorating and baking.”

“Are you?” Hector smiled at her, and kissed her again, happy now that Elizabeth was so happy. “Go on then, I know how yeh love having everyone together for the holidays.”

At that Elizabeth laughed, remembering the Christmas that Christmas came to mean so much to her family. “Me?” She asked him, and snuggled closer to him. “And what about that time you thought enough of having the family all together that you went as far as to adopt Jack into it?”

“I was just home from a war, Elizabeth, and half drunk.”

Jack and Quinsy were now on the dance floor, “Jingle Bells” by Brian Setzer beginning to throb through the bar, and Jack taking Quinsy’s right hand in his left, and seconds later, the two of them were whirling around, spinning and turning and rapidly shaking about in general. Elizabeth watched them and smiled, she’d always been glad that Quinsy had such a friend in Jack, and also that Jack had such a friend in Quinsy. The two of them were always together, it had been that way ever since the mid 1940’s, nigh inseparable they were; supper clubs and swing dancing of the 40’s, and Beat Poetry readings of the 50’s, Woodstock in 1969, Viet Nam protests in the 70’s, Techno clubs in the 80’s, Rave parties in the 90’s, and now in the new millennium, more swing dancing. The full circle of it all made Elizabeth smile even more, but it was in general nice to see Jack and Quinsy together again.

Jack had missed Quinsy when she went away to school, had practically and unofficially moved into Hector and Elizabeth’s apartment aboard The Pride, for each evening found Jack, Hector and Elizabeth watching TV, Hector and Elizabeth tired of waiting for Jack to leave, announce they were going to bed, only to have Jack recline across their couch and say something like “I’ll just turn the volume up incase you two want to, you know, whatever…” And in the morning when they awoke, there would be Jack, sound asleep in the exact same spot on the couch. And now Quinsy was getting married…poor Jack. He’d be back on their couch for certain!

“Half drunk or not,” Elizabeth said, feeling her heartbreak a little for Jack. “Four cigars and a bottle of warm brandy later, you still told Jack he’d always have a home wherever we had one.” Well, eventually Hector had said that, before that had been a loud and angry fight between the two of them on Christmas Eve.

It was December 24th of 1865, and Union Navy Captain Hector Barbossa and Union Navy Ensign Jack Sparrow had tied up The Pascack for the final time, walking the half mile from the docks to the Barbossa residence in Cape Cod, surprising Elizabeth and the children who hadn’t expected Hector home until the first of the year. That Jack accompanied him wasn’t quite a surprise; for Jack often came around, if not because he and Hector had some idea to hatch or some prize to win, then often times, just to visit. Jack, he was immortal as long as he kept up his supply of Agua de Vida, but he had no family. Hector, Elizabeth and the children though, they were always around, and for the most part, always happy to see him.

Elizabeth hadn’t a part to play in the war itself, for Caspian and Brendan weren’t yet able to pass for a soldier’s age, and Quinsy being the apple of her father’s eye as she was, had been stunted at six or so years old for what seemed like forever. But, just because Elizabeth stayed home with the children while her husband went to fight a war at sea didn’t mean she’d been inactive in some cause. On any given night there was a secretive knock on the cellar door, and on the other side the desperate, yet determined, face of a slave escaped from the south, on his or her way to Canada. Elizabeth was only too happy to provide them with shelter and food, clothing, help them to secure passage on the next vessel headed north and give them any special instructions passed on to her by others in the abolitionist movement. In fact, when she’d heard someone at the door that Christmas Eve, she’d been prepared to see more passengers for “the railroad,” but when Hector burst in wearing his glorious blue Captain’s uniform with all the gold trim, her heart filled with more joy than ever came to her during the three years he was away.

A small, but lively party had ensued, all the children staying up way past their bedtimes, both Hector and Jack further surprising everyone with the gifts they’d managed to bring with them, all the men in at one point rushing outside and scrambling back in through the snow dragging a large Blue Spruce they’d chopped down, and erecting it in the parlor. The children cut paper decorations while Elizabeth popped corn to be eaten and strung on the tree as Hector and Jack kept everyone spellbound with tales of the war, and of their great ship, The Pascack. It was a miraculous evening, until Jack, perhaps feeling out of place and wanting to give Hector time alone with his family, suddenly remembered some appointment he was to keep with some wench at a local tavern…at half past midnight, on Christmas morning. Everyone’s heart sank to hear Jack would be departing, the children all whimpered and begged him to stay, but it was Hector who surprised them all by objecting the loudest.

“After three years of leading men and a ship to victory, of fighting shoulder to shoulder, sweating and bleeding and sometimes wondering just what it was that kept us going as men died at our feet, yer saying me hospitality not be good enough for yeh?”

And so began the fight that almost ruined Christmas, not ending until Hector threw Jack out of the house, then sat in his chair by the fire with his pipe, grumbling under his breath and looking at first angry, but mostly sad, until Elizabeth could take it no more and grabbed her shawl, following Jack’s footprints in the snow to the barn where they lead. Sure enough, there was Jack, saddling one of their horses.

“It’s not how it looks, Lizzie,” He said to her without looking, in fact, hiding his face from her all together. “I just need your mare for the night, I’ll have someone return her to you in the morning.”

“Oh, thank you then, Jack. But I didn’t come out here in the cold to scold you as a horse thief.”

“Then what is it I can do for you?” Jack asked, deliberately turning away as he reached for a bridle.

Elizabeth smiled. “Come back into the house.”

Jack froze. “Hector—“

Elizabeth stepped closer to Jack, reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, feeling him stiffen beneath it. “Hector will never say this to you, but he is thinking and feeling it, so I’m saying it for him,” she began. “He’s upset because he thought you’d stay the night at least; it’s Christmas, you’re both just back from the war, you’ve no other place to go, Jack. When you indicated your desire to get to a public house, Hector felt lacking as a host, and as a friend.”

“Friend?” Jack’s hand went to his face and rubbed at his eye. “You expect me to believe he’s in there right now anguishing over the fact that I tried to leave and then he threw me out?”

Elizabeth stepped around Jack to face him, and did so with a faint, tender smile, and could see at once that Hector was not the only one hurt by tonight’s earlier words. “He is, Jack.” With the experienced hand of a mother she reached up and smudged away the tear on Jack’s cheek, giving no other indication that she’d noticed it there to begin with. “Now come on, it’s cold, un-tack the mare and stay for Christmas. We all wish you would!”

Jack drew back from her and looked down at his shoes, no longer wanting anyone to see his face. “I’ll need a moment to consider it.”

A frown played at Elizabeth’s lips, but she fought it. She’d so hoped to have Jack won over and walk back to the house with him, but she didn’t want to force him, or make him feel obligated if it truly would be too awkward for him. She forced herself to nod. “Please take it then,” she said, trying to sound confident, but she wasn’t sure she was as she moved towards the barn door. “And Jack, I know the past has sometimes been rocky…well, worse even than that, more like tragic,” she smiled apologetically. “But, we all love you, you know.”

Elizabeth did walk back to the house alone, sending her crying children to bed, taking a good amount of time to settle them, and joining her vexed husband at the fireside.

“He still out there?” Hector asked stiffly from his chair, the snow coming down too heavily now to see the barn from the house.

“I don’t know.” Answered Elizabeth, wishing she didn’t feel so very cold inside. “I’m going to bed, Hector. I suggest you do the same, or you’ll sit there in that mood all night.”

Hector rose from his chair with a heavy sigh as he followed his wife up the steps. “Elizabeth,”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one owed such words.”

After that the house was silent, void of the conversation and laughter and excitement of Christmas and a homecoming that had filled it just an hour before. And it remained so, Elizabeth, Hector and the children all falling into sad and fitful slumbers, until just about daybreak.

“Yo! Ho! Ho!” It woke the house, a jubilant voice in the parlor, yelling up the stairs. “On Dasher, on Dancer, on Salt and Pepper, and Whiskey and Bourbon…on Rumball…and…all the rest!”

Not only did everyone in the house awake, they all raced out into the hall and stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at Jack, who stood dressed preposterously in a red woolen robe, trimmed in natural wool, the garish red stocking of some garish lady stretched over his head like a cap, a white pillow somehow tied to his chin like a snowy beard, and on his back a large sack filled with toys for the children. No one could quite believe their eyes, and no one could have been happier.

And suddenly Elizabeth jumped, startled and pulled out of her memory by Jack’s hand closing around her hand and encouraging her onto her feet as Big Band music played and Quinsy clung to him. “C’mon Lizzie, dance with us!”

Before she could protest, Elizabeth was laughing and Jitterbugging with Jack and her daughter as Hector watched from the table, no doubt thinking them all quite silly, but things were working out so well tonight, Elizabeth didn’t care. In fact, she felt daring, and when Jack looked at both she and Quinsy with a silly grin, she couldn’t wait to know what he was thinking.

“Hector!” Jack called to him from the dance floor, having just set Quinsy back on her feet after lifting her high in the air to kick out her legs. “You too! Get out here!”

Hector only reached for Elizabeth’s rum and coke, taking sip. “No way in hell, Jack.” He said coolly. “And I’ve been there.” He added as the giggling trio approached the table.

“Oh come on, you’re not that inhibited, are you?” Jack smirked, then looked at Elizabeth. “Is he?”

Elizabeth burst out laughing, but could feel Hector’s annoyed stare. “He won’t dance, Jack, not to this.”

“I don’t think daddy can move like this,” added Quinsy as she smiled and laughed along with her mother and Jack.

Jack tsk-ed at both of them and then looked back at Hector with another smirk. “Okay, fine then, Hector, forget these two critics,” Jack let go of both Elizabeth and Quinsy and took one step back towards the dance floor, beckoning to Hector while looking over his slender shoulder at him. “Just you and me, Hector! Come on!”