Chapter 49. Nearly Seasons Greetings

  As the Rose steamed steadily away from Newton Bay, Will was reflecting on what had happened the day before leaving.

  After a day of shopping and wandering the town the crew had headed back to the quay. A bit of cleanup, an early dinner and preparation for leaving in the morning. The presence of the council waiting for them had been unexpected to say the least. They had set up a couple of tables in the usual spot, not too close to the water, John was present. As they spied the trio coming down the street, pushing their loaded cart, they stood to meet them. “Hello captain, hello to you all.” John called as they drew near. “Hi guy, come to see us off, we’ll be gone a while yeah?” Minnie asked. “That we have, and to talk about an idea that William proposed.”, Dave answered this time. He had the sheaf of papers that they had worked on during the voyage back. They had been well thumbed through by the look.

  “Do you really think we could do something like this Will? It would be a couple of years to get going, at least I think.”, Gemma asked, “Not that our towns afraid of the work, I think it would be life changing for us.”. This had been on Will’s mind, as soon as they had come up with the idea. “I had the same thought Gemma, there would be many changes. Young people are always eager to do the new thing, change things just because they can.”. Evelyn laughed, “As always, my father was scandalized when I started keeping books with a pencil instead of ink. To hear him talk it was the end of the world.”. “I was the same, Matt was the progressive one. He would have been thrilled with this idea…I miss him so much.”John sighed. Minnie sat beside him, curled her small arm over his shoulder. “Dad told me something once, the ones we love are always here with us. Moms watching me, keeping me safe. I nearly got washed overboard a while ago, she saved me, put a rope near to grab. Matt’s right there.”, she put her hand on his chest.

  Will hadn’t realized, he knew that incident had scared the hell out of him, that’s why the walkway was built as quick as possible.

  “So then.”, Dave crinkled the papers to get everyone back on track, “We all agreed this would be implemented, that we would go ahead. The idea of faster travel to the far places is just too exciting to let go.”. Will noticed Samantha had been a bit quiet about things, and not being one to let things go he asked her outright if she had second thoughts. “Oh no, I am definitely for the idea. Just concerned about Edward. He was so excited to be a wagoneer, to drive over the world.”. “Well the trains will require more people to run them, many more than the wagons.”, Will replied. “And the train doesn’t go everywhere. He’ll still be able to drive a wagon for years to come.”, he added. “We just wanted to catch up before you left and let you know that we approved the plans and will be starting construction soon.”, John said, “We’ll let you get on with your leaving preparations, a wagon will bring a good resupply early tomorrow, with our thanks.”.

  The meeting broke up, tables and chairs loaded up, handshakes all around and they were gone. “I was surprised they didn’t ask for us to base out of here again.”, Naomi said. Will nodded, “Me too, that’s what I expected the meeting to be about.”. Minnie shook her head “They’re pretty nice people, I don’t feel any sneakiness when I talk with them.”. Will had to agree, on the whole they were very open and friendly here. It was only natural for them to want to host the Rose, not just part time.

  It was only a few minutes and they were back on board. Minnie and Naomi disappeared below, to put away their treasures. Will stood on deck, looking out to sea, thinking of the days to come. Reconnecting with friends in Laketown, and then, and then he could hardly wait to see what was out there. To the south, and back again. Then to the west as far as they could go, until they ran into land or ended up at their start point. Didn’t matter how long it took, they had time. To adventure forever on the infinite waves, yup he could do that. “Thinking about tomorrow, leaving again?”, Minnie’s high pitched voice came from beside him. He hadn’t noticed her come up again. “Yeah I am, just wondering what’s out there, who we might meet. It’s just so…”, he said to her. “We know, I feel the same way, Naomi too, right?” Minnie answered. “That’s one of the reasons I’m here, to see more of my world, and I love you guys.”, Naomi had come up on Wills left side, without him seeing her either. The trio stood at the rail, just watching the endless waves.

  Passersby at the end of the quay looked over at them, shook their heads and moved on, unable or unwilling to think of travelling on the waters. Except for one man. John the councillor stood on the beach. As close as he could, then forced himself to take step after step until his shoes were dampened by the incoming tide. To be actually touching the water that his beloved had passed on was as comforting as it was terrifying. “See you soon Matt.”, he whispered, “a couple more things to do, then we’ll rest together.”. He turned and walked slowly back to the town.

  In the Laketown hideout

  “Should I sort the screws and bolts by type or by length.”, one voice asked across the echoey long room. No answer. “Hey, hey you, yeah you, the guy with a face full of pie.”. A soft murmur, nearly inaudible, came back to him. “Sort by type, what their used for, okay.”. A moment passed then, “What’s this one for? It’s a metal screw, okay what’s it used for?”. Another soft answer. The tray of hardware that was being sorted was thrown on a workbench, “Well then you do it if you know so much better then!”, an angry voice shouted out. The room went quiet, as both residents froze in place, seeing if anyone had noticed the noise. Then “I’m sorry brother, I’ll just sort and tidy the bigger tools, you do the, what did you call it, the fasteners stuff.”. The duo went back to work. The workbenches and cupboards that lined the room were glistening in places, from being cleaned for the first time in months.

  They hadn’t needed to worry, their lair was not close to any other buildings, in a fairly remote location. None of the residents of Laketown would come near, the two burglars hadn’t realized yet. They didn’t know that they had chosen the one spot in the village, that even if they had been caught in the act, they were utterly safe. Was it luck, maybe.

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  On the lake

  Now it was just the three crew again. Easier to relax, no pressure to get going, get working. Just bobbing along. The course was set, and the ship was puffing steadily along at one third. From here to Laketown would take a week at least, if the weather cooperated. Will laughed as he wrote that in the log. Depending on weather when you live on the water was a foolish idea. You don’t depend on something you can’t control. He had been at the helm for a couple of hours now, not actually manning the wheel but in command. Because of their uniqueness as the only boat in the world you didn’t need to stay at the wheel. Once you’re on course your set. They quite often tied the wheel in place while in familiar waters and good weather that is. There were always chores to do, decks to clean, salt to scrub off gear and hardware, windows to wash, it was a long ongoing list. He had been doing most of that while Minnie and Naomi toiled below. There was also fish to catch for dinners, cards to play at the bow, tea to drink sitting at the stern. And of course their special day coming. The first Christmas for a couple of them, and a renewal of holidays Will had celebrated for many years. Today was December 23, a day of cleaning was planned and preparations for the next two days of holidays. Finding a snug safe harbour and just relax and enjoy the days.

  “If I do one more load of laundry I’ll smell like it forever, and ever.”, Minnie had come on deck with yet one more load of sheets and blankets from crew quarters. Several clotheslines had been set up to dry the huge amount of wet stuff. The fresh breezes and warm sun dried the flapping sheets very quickly and they smelled amazing afterwards. Will and Minnie hung that last load to dry, stepped back to admire their handiwork. “That’s the last of it?”, Will asked. Minnie nodded “Yup, we aren’t going to use that for a while.”. “I’ve been thinking.”, Will said, “But I’ll tell you guys at dinner, a surprise.”. “If you tell me now it’ll still be a surprise for Naomi, I hate waiting.”, Minnie complained. “Waiting for what?”, came a light voice behind them. Naomi had come on deck with a tray of steaks and fixings for the grill. Out of sheer habit Will looked at his wrist, his bare wrist, to see what time it was. Minnie laughed, she had seen that before. The first couple of times she had asked why, now she knew and still found it funny.

  “Waiting on a surprise dad has, about laundry, but he won’t tell me til your here and that drives me nuts, but your here, so let’s go old guy, what’s the surprise.” Minnie went on, “Better be good, making me wait all this time.”. This time Will laughed at her, “It’s been like two minutes, sorry to make you wait that long.”. She shrugged and waved her hand imperiously, “Continue peasant.”. They had made their way to the bow, Will nipped into the wheelhouse and checked the course. Naomi and Minnie lit the charcoal in the grill and set the taters and veggies to cook. Seeing everything was under control Will settled into his seat, then ran back inside and retrieved his cuppa beside the ships wheel. Back in his seat he could see Minnie beginning to vibrate. “All right all right, so I had a thought about the laundry from the gathering kids. How we always get stuck washing it all after they leave, right?”, he said. Naomi nodded wearily, “Yes, and it’s a lot of work for everyone.”. Will agreed “Well this was the last time. We’re going to have several sets, sheets, blankets, pillow, towels and so on. When the crew leaves so will the dirty laundry. It can get washed ashore and come back with our usual supplies.”. Minnie stood and cheered, “Hurray, no more laundry days.”. Will held his hand up, “We still have to do our own, but that’s easy enough.”. Naomi also looked much happier at the thought of not doing twenty loads in one day. “We will still have to wash stuff that gets wet or dirty when their aboard but if it’s just a bedding change out then that can wait til we return to the village.”. “The stuff will last longer too, some of the towels get a lot of use and are getting a bit threadbare.”, Naomi added. Minnie was still grinning happily, “Thanks dad, but how come you didn’t think of this before, we’ve done lots of laundry the last few trips.”. Will shrugged “It just came to me, don’t know why it didn’t before.”.

  Then another thought hit him like a thunderbolt. “Hey why you look all stunned and thinky?”, Minnie asked. He pulled out his notebook, wrote down a couple of words, then started sketching. Naomi peeked over his shoulder, “What are sleeping bags?”. Minnie also had a look at his drawing and her eyes widened, “Wow, what a good idea. Instead of blankets and stuff, don’t have to make beds anymore either. Can we do that too…nah never mind, I like blankets and quilts.”. The idea of sleeping in a bag gave Naomi the giggles but she did see how much easier it would be, “You know, my auntie in Laketown, well not really my auntie she’s more like my cousin, on my moms side, not dads, he just had one brother right? But he had no kids so I don’t have cousins there, I do but…bleargh”, Minnie had placed her hand over her mouth. She nodded “Only one motormouth allowed on board, k?”. Will nearly fell over laughing and had spilled his warm tea on his legs, good thing it was shorts. Naomi was shooting daggers at Minnie but had quieted down, then Minnie was pulling her hand away with a cry of “Ohyuckicky!”, as Naomi had managed to lick her hand. She wiped her hand, Naomi wiped her face and went on. “As I was saying, I know someone in Laketown that can make those for us.”. They played around with the design for a while, while dinner cooked and when the side dishes were ready, Will laid the thick steaks on the grill. The final plan for the bags was very simple. A rectangular bag that would fit the bunks, thinner on the lower part and thick on the top. Not too much insulation, the rooms were warmed by radiators if needed but enough to keep the occupants nice and toasty. No zippers here yet, so it was going to be large buttons and a flap over that. The plan was to get at least twenty, so there was a change if need be. Then the soiled ones sent to be laundered on shore, retrieved next trip. “That should cut back on our work, easier on the kids too, don’t have to make beds anymore.”, Will said. “I hate making the bed, I finally get comfortable, all nice and curled up, lil peephole to breathe through and I’m good, then next day it’s all flat and tight again..” sighed Minnie.

  Wills and Minnie’s steaks were always rare, Naomi’s more medium, so hers was out on a few minutes earlier then theirs. So everyone’s was ready at the same time. Dishing out and settling at the table, eating in the dimming daylight as the Rose steamed along. “You know, one of those wagon guys asked how I could stand the sound of the steam engine, chuffing away hour after hour.”, Minnie said, “I told him I don’t really even hear it anymore.”. Naomi added “Me either, unless I think about it, or if it shut off out here.”. Those are the guys that might have trouble when Newton builds their railway.”, Will said, “They’re so used to horse or oxen pulling the wagons, I guess everybody is though. When the locomotives are built it will be a big change.”.

  Standing up, Will clicked the igniter for the bow lantern. As the warm light spread over them he hadn’t realized just how dark it had gotten. Their meal done, Naomi had gone below and retrieved an apple pie she had warming in the galley and some fresh clotted cream. While she did that, and took care of the dishes, Will and Minnie took down the now dry wash. Taking the load to the now empty crew rooms they folded it quickly and met Naomi coming out of the mess. Minnie helped by carrying the pie, Will grabbed the cream and plates, shoved the utensils in his pocket and headed for the deck. Naomi laughed “I’ll just bring some napkins then, okay, okay?”. “Better hurry.”, drifted down, “Dads still hungry.”. She set off at a run, “I’m coming Minnie, save me at least a piece.”.

  Pie with cream, what a way to live, eating dessert under the stars was pretty wonderful. Tomorrow would be here soon. Thinking about the day, Christmas Eve, and the fun to come made Will think about years in the past. Back in the days where he and his wife had little ones at home. They prepared a feast, food of all kinds for the family to eat all day. In the evening they’d watch old Christmas movies on tv til the kids fell asleep. After putting them to bed, wrapping presents to put under the tree. Then the next morning, ah what fun, watching the kids tear into the presents. All the treasures they’d wanted. Cooking all afternoon, eating the turkey dinner with family and friends. Wonderful memories, and now to make some more.