Chapter 57. Change for the Better?

  Minnie and Naomi were standing at the boys room looking in, when Will arrived he looked in to find that there had been changes overnight. He thought there might have been and expected something. Minnie had started the day they arrived but the process had only taken about a week for her to change into what she was now. Mostly at night then getting used to the changes, both mental and physical, during the day. Testing her limits. The boys changes were different but just as profound, going from house cats to what they were now had taken much longer, and from what he was looking at now, much quicker. As he looked overtop of Minnie as she stood in the corridor in to the boys room, Naomi was there too, trying to stop the giggles coming out. What he finally saw was quite different than the night before. Ron had grown until he was nearly as tall as Minnie, maybe a couple of inches shorter, his thick orange fur had shortened and thinned. Their faces had changed too, less muzzle and more face, but still with whiskers. Hand and feet had straightened more and become like, well like hands and feet. Their paw like form had disappeared and as Will gently held the little hand, there were still claws somehow. Will sat down on the bed beside him, “How do you feel Ronny, hurt anywhere?”. Ron shook his head “No, just feel kinda strange.”, his voice was still deep but not as raspy and painful it seemed. Will turned to check on Percy next who was sitting on his bed cross legged. “Hi guy, how are you this morning?”.

  Percy stood up in front of him, hands on hips “Oh I’m fine, just fine.”. Will had to admit he looked much the same as Ron, hand and feet changed, still catlike but not as much. Shorter hair too. Only difference was in height, he was still quite diminutive, “Tiny, quite short, small.”, Minnie said helpfully. Percy glared at her, “I grew a little bit, look over there, I marked the door yesterday and today I’m this much bigger.”, he held out two fingers to show how much. “Well that’s something, more than Minnie did her first days. She was becoming faster, you guys have been here a while so it might be different.”, Will replied. “But I wanted to be bigger, or the same as Ron at least.”. He tried to walk and tottered a bit on unsteady legs, but quickly balanced. “You will be, don’t worry, we have all the time in the world.”, Naomi told him, “Now who’s for breakfast?”. That perked the two boys up and with a bit of help they tottered to the galley, each step with more confidence.

  An all out breakfast today, to give the growing boys strength. Bacon, potatoes, eggs and toast, tea and coffee. Ron still enjoyed his tea while Percy and Minnie were looking at him in horror, “How, why, it’s so revolting.”, Minnie shook her head. Ron shrugged “It makes my throat feel better and I like the taste, besides father likes it too so there.”. Mentioning his sore neck always made Percy sad, so he tried the tea again, just to keep his brother happy. Minnie was watching him as he raised the mug and took a big mouthful, her eyes widened as he held it and swished it through and around. “Bleargh, ack, no still horrible, I can taste the weedies and the dirt and bug poop, yuck.” he managed to choke out. Minnie clapped him on the back, “That’s my boy.”. Will had to laugh at the antics, he knew Minnie was trying very hard to make the little fellows feel at home. “How about some coffee then?”, Naomi asked, bringing in the percolator that had been bubbling away on the hob. “Minnie hates that too, but you never know.”, she added. “Can I just taste yours, don’t want to waste it if I don’t?”, Percy asked. She pushed her full mug over, “I take it with lots of cream and sugar, dad likes it black though.”. “Well of course, then it tastes like coffee, not whatever you put in it.”, Will said. Raising the mug to his mouth he took a sip, then another hit pulled away, “Nope, oh yuck, it’s horrible too, no thanks.”, he pushed it away, back to Naomi. “Told you so.”, Minnie said.

  After breakfast the days tasks were decided. As much as they had planned a lazy day for today there was just too much to do. “Tomorrow, I promise, a nice do nothing lazy day.”, Will said, over a last cuppa. “I’ll check on Travis and see if our, what are they called, sleeping sacks? See if they’re ready.”, Naomi offered. “We have to get that rudder on, the Rose doesn’t like being broken.”, Minnie added. “Yeah, that won’t wait and it shouldn’t take long, mount it, connect the chains, go for a test run, easy peasy.”, Will said. Ron tapped Naomi’s hand and pointed at himself, “Want to come with?”, she asked. “Yes please.”, he whispered. “Okay, you can push the shopping cart, we got lots of stuff to get, Percy? You coming too?”, Naomi added. Will could see he didn’t like being separated from Ron, but after a second or two “I’ll help father and Minnie with the repairs, that’s more fun than going in a bunch of stores…Hey watch it!”. His brother had flicked a toast crust at him and it bounced off his nose, “I’ll get you!”, the smaller brother yelled and chased his much larger relation out of the mess and up and out on deck. A wild clatter of feet could be heard and Minnie couldn’t resist and ran out to join in the chase game. Will sighed, finished his tea and began to gather dishes. Between the two, the galley and mess were sparkling clean in a short time. Then it was off to work.

  Will hauled the shopping carts out of storage and tied a line from a hoist in the main hold, then went up on deck. He found Minnie panting in a chair, boys on either side puffing away as well. “Quick little guys, I still won but, yeah good fun, right bros?”, she wheezed. “Only reason you won is cause you jump like a frog.”, Percy griped. Ron patted Minnie’s arm and nodded. “As long as no one fell in the lake,”, Will said, “Hey we’ll have to teach you to swim, just in case.”. Percy looked down at the dark cool water and his tail puffed out and his ears flattened, “No thanks, maybe Ron likes the water but not me.”. “Crew has to be able to swim, we all wear lifebelts when we’re at sea, but you still have to learn, it’ll be fun.”, Will told him. Minnie tried to cheer him up “When it’s really hot and we’re all yuck, we just jump in and swim down down to the bottom, then dad chucks us around, it’s wheee and crash in the water, so much fun.”. Naomi arrived on deck and joined in “I didn’t like going in at first but now I love it, I’m sure you will too.”. Percy still wasn’t convinced but cheered up when Will told him not today, “Work first, sorry.”.

  Ron happily pushed the shopping cart down Main Street beside Naomi, just taking in the sights and sounds. It was very different to be out in the daytime and not slinking along in the shadows searching for food. They had checked in with the tailor first thing, he had told them their order would be ready today and he would deliver it himself. And if it wasn’t too much trouble could he come aboard? He had only arrived in Laketown a few years ago and had only ever seen the Rose from a distance. “Of course, I’ll give you the grand tour, what your working on for us will save us so much work!”, Naomi replied. “I was going to talk to you about selling the sleeping bags, what would the captain want for a share of the profits?”, Travis asked. “You’d have to talk to dad, but he’s a very generous man, don’t worry.”, as she was talking she noticed Ron had been examining a embroidered pillow case, his gentle fingers running over the heavy stitches. Travis saw as well “My wife does that, takes a long time but so worth it. Customers give her an idea of what they like and it usually takes her a month or two to complete.”. Ron whispered to Naomi “I’d like to do that.”, pointing at the picture made of thread. “Oh that would be wonderful, I knit and crochet all the time, keeps my hands busy, it would be nice to have someone else interested.”, Naomi gushed. Travis, seeing an opportunity, was busy gathering supplies, threads of every colour, packets of needles, hoops and frames, the thick fabric to sew in, everything a beginner would need. Including a handwritten pamphlet , a ‘how to’ guide his wife included when she found out it was for a crewman. “Better put more thread in, we’re gone for long times, and running out in the middle of a project would be bad.”, Naomi remarked. Eventually they ended up buying all of the floss Travis had in stock, he was ecstatic at such a profitable day. “Between this sale and the sleeping bags, it’s been the best day I’ve ever had.”, he told Naomi. “Well, we need twenty more sleeping bags, how does that sound?”, the young girl asked him. “Oh my, that’s amazing news, wait til the weavers hear, I used most of their stock for this job.”, Travis answered, “But why so many?”. “Spares in case of damage, and to send the used ones ashore for washing when the gatherers leave.”, Naomi replied.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  After Naomi and Ron left Will organized the rudder repair. Again Percy was on tool duty and was presently dangling a bucket with the mounting hardware inside over the stern. Will was holding the rudder in place while Minnie was struggling to fit the top fitting in place. “You gotta keep it straight, I got the bearing pintle on but the upper retaining pintle is giving me grief.”, she nearly yelled. “Hey Percy, can you pass me a little round washer thing, with raised edges, about the size of your thumb?”, Minnie called up a moment later. He dumped the bucket contents on a towel in front of him, to keep things from rolling away, found the needed piece and lowered it down on a hook. Minnie carefully took it and placed it on the retaining bolt and then tightened the fitting. “Done, that’ll hold it.”, she said. “Good job, was just a bit of a pain, the waters a bit colder today.”, Will chattered, “Coming up to get warm for a minute.”. Climbing up the rope ladder and grabbing a towel, then his tea flask, he sat on the deck beside the other two. “Why is it the rudder that always gets broke, this is the second repair job since we’ve been here.”, Minnie asked. Will shrugged “I think it’s the only other moving part outside of the hull, except for the prop. And the heartwood’s strong but the weak point is the fittings, have to be flexible.”. Minnie looked over the side, “Just have to fit the steering chains and we’re finished, I can’t imagine doing this to the north, in that icy water.”. Will shook his head “We’d have to dry dock somehow, beach her maybe.”. He stood, “Let’s finish up.”.

  Will jumped over the side and waited to hook up the chains, Minnie went below and made her way to steerage, a small compartment at the stern. Percy sat on the railing looking down, waiting to see what anyone needed. He saw the chains being fed out and Will hooked up one side then the other. “Hey Percy, run up to the wheelhouse and spin the big wheel one way , then the other okay?”, Will called up. “All right.”, Percy answered and ran down the deck and went into the wheelhouse for the first time. Gripping the wheel tightly he cautiously turned, finding it surprisingly easy to move. One way, then the other and his sensitive ears picked up Wills shouted “Good one Perce, come on back.”. Carefully shutting the door he hurried back to the stern. “Hey, there should be a couple of big u-bolts, need both please,”, was called up. Looking around he found them in the parts pile on the deck and lowered them down. A few minutes later Will climbed back up, dripping wet but with a happy grin, “All done and we’re mobile again, let’s go for a test run.”.

  Naomi and Ron were heading to the crafters cottage when they heard the steam whistle sing out, “Oh good, dad and Minnie got things fixed and we’re back in business, I just hope Percy didn’t get mucky again.”. Ron just snorted, “He likes it really, just likes to complain too.”, he whispered.

  On board the boiler was lighted and making steam, deck cleaned up and tools put back in the stores until next time. Will had changed out of his wet clothes, so had Minnie and were both dry at least, maybe going for a bath later. But this was good enough for now. They were all sitting in the wheelhouse watching the pressure gauge, just waiting to engage the engine. Will reached down and tapped the glass, “Looks good, I’ll go lift anchors, take us out as soon as I give the word.”. The windows of the wheelhouse were open so there was no problem with Minnie hearing him when he called out “Good to go!”. Hitting dead slow on the throttle the Rose slowly pulled out of the dock and made a slow turn out to the open lake. This was Percy’s first time being out on the water and he loved it. Dashing from one side of the bow to the other, taking in all the sights and sounds. The deep thrumming of the engine belowdecks, the stack chuffing out black coal smoke, the wind had picked up and was whipping and cracking the pennants on the guy wires. As she picked up speed the bow was lifting then dropping as they climbed the waves, not rough at all but the spray was cold and invigorating. “Wow, this is fun, and we do this all the time?”, the little guy asked Will. He nodded “Let’s go back inside, a little dryer.”. They entered the wheelhouse and Percy gave a shake to remove the spray. Minnie put the boat through a series of sharp turns, cutting hard to port then starboard. At times the Rose was heeled over so much the railing was close to the waters. Then heaving to while Will again dove in to check fittings for any loosening, but their work was solid with no problems. As soon as he was back on deck Minnie started up, full speed back to Laketown.

  They cruised along the shore, just a few dozen yards out then turning to tie up at the long quay. Safely tied off Will went below to turn the boiler to low for the night. They were expecting a resupply wagon or two this afternoon and were going to laze on deck until they showed. Will had a mug of fresh tea, Minnie had poured her and Percy a glass of milk, they were enjoying their drinks and a few biscuits at the bow. “Would you explain what you do, for the village, they all love you so.”, Percy asked. “Can we wait until Ron’s here? Then we don’t have to explain twice.” Will said. As they sat and enjoyed the day a sharp whistle came from the land, there was the two carts with their resupply. Minnie sprang off of the Rose with a tremendous leap and landed a quarter way down the quay. She scampered the rest of the way and hopped up on Owens loaded wagon. “Is all this for us, that’s a lot of food.”, she laughed as he started backing down the quay. “Oh yeah, I heard your going to be busy for a while. Logging hmmm?”. Minnie nodded “We haven’t done that before, sounds more dangerous.”. They had reached the Rose and Will came to meet up with them, followed by Percy. “Hello captain, it’s been a few months, how are you?”, Owen called. Will assured him they were fine and were looking forward to the next trip out. “Older crew this time, logging can be dangerous work and I don’t want the young ones hurt.”, he told the large driver. Owen nodded “I worked in the far mountains when I was younger, logging. Good forest there but so far, it’s a month there and a month back.”. “Well, we’re going to trawl along the coast tile we find a gathering spot, for coal and has good timber. Set the youngsters going with the coal and the crew will manage the felling part.”. “Yeah!”, said Minnie excitedly, “Going to take a tree down in one hit, choppy choppy!”. Owen laughed, but then remembered how easily she had lifted the supplies aboard last time, and that amazing jump to meet him. They set to unloading, which didn’t take long and then Dave was backing his heavily loaded wagon down the quay. His wagon was also unloaded in a short while and the two drivers waved goodbye and headed out.

  Will and Minnie emptied the hold of the supplies, but just left the galley items in the mess hall. Will knew Naomi was quite particular about what went where and didn’t want to mess up her system. Besides, he had another task to work on. Putting facilities in the boys cabin. They had roughed out where the walls were going, and had made sure there was enough material for that. The commode, sink and fitting had been included in this supply delivery so there was no reason not to start work now. Below the cabin, was just supply rooms, the main tool room, that kind of thing. Nothing mechanical or vital, but the one redeeming point was that the supply lines for Wills cabin were right there, as was the drain and sewer line. So, after draining the system and flushing the tanks, Will had the fun job of installing a T fitting into all four, hot and cold, sink and commode. Minnie helped by staying well back, she had nearly been sprayed emptying the tanks a while ago and since them avoided that task. It didn’t really take long but he had to cut and thread the galvanized iron pipe for the waste pipes using lamp wick to seal the joints, and then cut and solder the T into the copper water supplies. Without a handy gas bottle for the soldering he had to use the lamp flame and brass pipe method for heating the joints enough for the solder to hold. Finicky but not bad once you get the hang of blowing the flame on the area you want. But two hours later the bare pipe ends were sticking up in holes cut in the boys roughed out head. It was times like this that Will really missed rubber, washers, toilet seals…you name it. He was getting by with various mixtures of wax, pine tar and clay as a binder. But he sure missed the simple rubber washer.

  By this time Naomi and Ron had returned from the day out shopping, carts full of treasures. Minnie and Percy helped unload as well as find homes for everything. Ron’s goodies were in two wooden chests, one in the crew lounge by his chair and another beside his bed. Percy was a bit disgruntled, he still hadn’t found a hobby, Will assured him he would find something to do in his spare time, eventually. “Well what do you do father?”, he asked. “I write, stories that I remember from the old world, music, I like to fish but lately my luck is not so great,. Minnie and Naomi play instruments, violin and the penny whistle., Minnie also tinkers in her work room, not sure what all she gets up to.”, Will answered. “Point is, you’ll find something. It doesn’t have to be what we do, what someone else think you should do, something that brings you joy when you do it.”, he continued. The little fellow still didn’t look too happy but time would solve it, besides the gathering crew was coming tomorrow, there would be lots to do then.