Rammus, seated on my right, got to his feet and stood behind the bench and held up his hands. “Now, before we all dig in, Captain, I believe you mentioned a few days ago that you had things you wanted to discuss as a crew.”
I looked at Rammus, then at the rest of my crew. Ed hastily put down his fork and covered his mouth, then looked at me with apologetic eyes. I pushed to my feet and smoothed down the front of my coat. “In light of my sudden curse-free status, I have to admit that everything I had prepared to say just went out the window.” There was no need to relinquish my role as Captain anymore, nor go into hiding from the rest of the world. Retirement was in order, but not today. I was no longer a hazard any more than the next person. “Instead, I’d like to express my gratitude to all of you for sticking with me through all this. It’s far more kindness than I deserve. So thank you. All of you.” I grabbed my mug. “And to you especially, Jessie, the avatar who successfully helped me lift my curse. You’ve gone above and beyond. I can’t thank you enough.”
She raised her mug to me. “You’re welcome. You’re very welcome.”
“And I guess this means we can start calling you Amphitrite now, seeing as how there won’t be any confusion and such.”
She made a pensive frown. “I kind of feel like ‘Jessie’ suits me better now.”
“Well that saves us the trouble of remembering,” Sam said lightly.
The rest of my crew laughed. I held up my mug and all eyes fell on me again. “To a new chapter in our lives.” They all echoed my words and a round of mug-clinking followed, and then we all tucked in to my first breakfast as pure human in well over two hundred years.
Chapter 33
To Ocean’s End
I woke up to an alarm clock beeping away on the first morning of my lockdown that didn’t need to take place. I shot a hand out of my bunk and groped around the floor until I found the darn thing, and smacked the off button. I let out a relieved sigh, then gave my ears a moment to register the peaceful hum of the noise machine emanating from the hall. My brain stopped tricking itself into thinking it was still hearing the alarm, and I slid out of my bunk and stood before the cloth curtain nailed and taped over my cabin door.
I knew I wasn’t cursed anymore but, after almost two hundred and fifty years of monthly lockdowns, old habits die hard. I also knew being exposed to a light source wouldn’t trigger a transformation, but that voice of doubt was annoyingly loud in my head.
I took a deep breath in hopes of calming my nerves, then reached for the tape sealing the cloth to the doorframe as I kicked aside my boots, which were anchoring down the base. I paused with my hand near the tape as my heart rate skyrocketed. I knew I wasn’t gonna transform. I’d felt the curse leave me. But…
I steeled myself and ripped the tape away before I could chicken out. Soft hall lighting snuck in, and then the cloth fell back into place, memory of Jessie sneaking into my container with a lantern flashing across my mind. My heart lodged in my throat as I stifled a cry of alarm. I stood there, frozen with fear, until I realized I felt no tingling or aching sensations. I whipped aside the curtain and stuck out a bare arm. I scrutinized myself for any signs of color change but my skin tone remained human. I stepped into the hallway and braced myself for the tingling and aching, but I remained feeling no more than a little sleepy.
An emotional lump formed in my throat. I padded my way to the deck and into the pale light of dawn in just my shorts. Fog was thin today. The sun’s golden glow reached up from the east. The air was cool and humid. Newport was only beginning to wake up to another day of construction. The town itself was beginning to take shape after a month, but shape it had, coming back better than before. And here I was, standing in sunlight and watching workers sleepily make their way to one site or another, while I was supposed to be in lockdown—used to supposed to be. Here I was, completely human, able to enjoy watching the sun rise any day of the month. After all these years…
I lay on my back on the bow, facing east, and watched the sun rise while I shed joyful tears. I didn’t care how unmanly anyone might think I was being. I was the happiest I’d been in so long. I was free. I could die happy. But it wasn’t time to go just yet.
After getting to know the family for a month, Jessie and Mido were about to head out for a small charter vessel that would bring them back to Newport. Vacation was over and soon it would be time to get back on shipping schedule. The two of them had discussed at length what Jessie wanted to do now that Dyne was no longer cursed. She had no home to go to. She had Mido’s home and family, though. They’d been absolutely wonderful to her. Treated her like a daughter by his parents, and like a sister by his two brothers and sister, all of them older than Mido. The whole family was warm and friendly, and as loud as the next Italian family. There’d been lots of great food, great stories both funny and heartfelt, and a few about the parents that made Mido cover his ears, telling them that those were stories he could’ve lived without ever hearing. Jessie laughed through it all, touched by his parents’ passionate youth and equally passionate older age.
Warm welcome aside, the Robustelli family lived too far inland for Jessie to want to consider settling with them. She’d grown up with the sea always visible from a window. Seeing just a freshwater pond and endless forest didn’t suit her. That and she didn’t like how cold it got at night. Fireplaces were cozy and all but watching waves breaking on shore was far more soothing.
For now she would stick with Mido and the Pertinacious and see what happened.
The two of them stood outside the large house with the entire immediate family present to see them off. Lots of hugs and kisses were exchanged, and some cheek pinching from Mido’s mother, whom everyone called “Ma.”
Ma said to Jessie, “If you ever change your mind and decide you want to stay here, you’re always welcome. Working on that boat is so dangerous. I’ll rest better knowing you’re safe with us, but only if you’d be happy here. Maine is a far cry from the Mediterranean.”
“Thank you, Ma. I really appreciate it. I’ll stay in touch.”
“You better, honey.” Ma gave her one more kiss. “And make sure Mido eats enough. Take good care of my baby boy. You’ve made him very happy.” She pinched Mido’s cheek.
“I will,” Jessie said. Mido winced, then rubbed his cheek.
Ma turned to Mido. “And you,” she said, taking his face in both hands, “Take good care of her like your father has taken good care of me.”
“I will, Ma.”
“God has given you an angel. Cherish His gift.”
“I already do, Ma.”
“Good boy.” She lowered his head and kissed him on the brow.
Jessie and Mido shouldered their duffle bags, then waved as they began their hour-long trek to shore. Technology was scarce in Maine. It had less than Newport before the tsunami hit. Once they could no longer see the house through the pine trees, Mido said, “I’m glad you don’t want to stay. I was secretly hoping you’d want to come back to the Pertinacious.”
“I could tell when we talked about it. You’re so bad at being objective when it comes to me.”
“I know. I just love you that much.”
She threaded an arm in his and hugged it close, and they exchanged a kiss. “All I know is that I want to be with you. Maybe I’ll be like the other wives and settle somewhere while you work, but not yet. I’ve got a lot of things to figure out. I’m even thinking of saving up to revive the orchard back in Paphos. Make it home again. But we’ll see.”