Just before dusk, Aryl made the suggestion while leaning against the porch rail.
“Jon, why don’t you go and pick them up? Me and Caleb can handle it tomorrow.” All of the neighbors had gone home, full and tired. Caleb had put away the last of the extra tables and chairs in the barn while Arianna settled the babies upstairs. Ava and Jonathan sat on the porch swing and watched Jean run around the yard with a mason jar trying to catch crickets.
“Sure,” Jonathan agreed. “I hate to miss another day, though. We’re already so far behind.”
“Well, one of us would miss a day regardless, and the next day Patrick will be with us, so we’ll make up for any lost time.” Aryl lifted up his arm as Claire ducked under it and wrapped both arms around his waist.
“True. Okay, I’ll go get them and bring them here. Let’s all meet up in the evening. There’s got to be enough leftovers for another dinner.”
“Several dinners,” Claire said. She had just finished helping Ethel put away the food for the night.
Ava’s head jerked as Jean’s bloodcurdling scream crossed the yard. She jumped from the swing and ran down the stairs, but was unable to see what was wrong in the dim light of the remaining sunset.
Jonathan was behind her, but she already had Jean scooped up in her arms by the time he caught up with her.
“Bee sting,” she informed with a pout. She carried him into the house as he shook his hand and cried on her shoulder. Claire followed her and helped as Ava pulled the still pulsing stinger out, packed the throbbing finger with a baking soda paste and wrapped it up in a piece of cloth. His tears had slowed to a whimper by the time she carried him back out to the porch where Jonathan and Aryl abruptly ended a private conversation.
“All better,” she said, putting him down in front of Jonathan.
Claire resumed her place nestled against Aryl and yawned.
“Come on, let’s get you home,” he said quietly. “You’ve got to be exhausted.”
“In a few minutes,” she sighed.
Arianna’s figure cast a shadow on the porch as she closed the screen door behind her softly. She smiled and waved as Caleb emerged from the dark yard into the light. “They’re finally asleep,” her whisper heard just over the crickets and light winds rustling through the trees. Caleb stood next to her and she kicked off her shoes to stand equal height to him.
“We should all get together more often. We don’t do that enough anymore,” he said, taking Arianna’s hand and looking at his friends.
“We should,” Aryl agreed. Jean climbed up onto Jonathan’s lap and whispered in his ear. Jonathan smiled and gave a little laugh.
“Yes, Jean, they'll like you.” He rubbed his head. “Don’t worry about that.” Jonathan whispered in Jean’s ear and his cheeks swelled with a large smile. “Go ahead,” Jonathan whispered. “Ask her.”
Jean looked hesitant as he stared at Ava for a moment. Finally, his voice barely audible, he asked his question.
“Do you like me . . . now?” Her eyes remained fixed on his. It was then that she realized, all the pain she had caused him with her rejection. The last slivers of ice in her heart melted, she held out her arms to him and he eagerly climbed into her lap.
“Yes, I like you, Jean,” she said, hugging him tightly, the porch swing swaying lightly. The others looked on with appreciation for how difficult the last few months had been for them and in awe at how far Ava had come. In respect for the private moment, Aryl motioned with his eyes to Claire that they should leave.
As they walked down the squeaky steps, Jonathan called to him, just before they stepped beyond the soft glow of the front light.
“Aryl, you were right.” He looked back to see Jonathan with Ava close at his side, holding Jean with her head resting down on his as they gently swayed. He narrowed his eyes in concentration and then followed Jonathan’s quick glance at Ava. He smiled then, eyes full of conviction.
“Oh, yeah. Miracles happen,” he said. He walked with Claire into the darkness of the yard, holding up one hand as he left.
June 25th 1930
Dawn came too soon for Caleb and Aryl, who boarded their boats with yawns and stretches. Caleb cursed under his breath as his boat’s engine chugged and sputtered but refused to start.
“Hey, don’t go yet,” he yelled to Aryl. “I can’t get her started. I might have to go with you.” Aryl nodded as his boat engine idled roughly, but just as Caleb climbed on board, it cut out with a popping sound followed by a puff of black smoke.
“Great.” Caleb held up the frayed ends of melted wires. “You’re not going anywhere either.” Aryl dropped his head, tired shoulders slumped, in worry of how they would be able to afford the unexpected repairs.
“C’mon, let’s take the Ava-Maura. Jon won’t mind,” Caleb decided. “We need to make some money today.” Aryl shrugged, yawned, and nearly tripped over a pot.
The sun had risen by the time they were underway, the Ava-Maura chugging reliably out into the open ocean.
The eastern sky was brilliant with a red sunrise.
∞∞∞
Ava and Arianna waited with excitement at the farmhouse as Jonathan took the Runabout to the train station. Ava took Caleb’s place in changing, walking, and rocking one baby while Arianna nursed the other.
“Claire didn’t want to come?” Arianna asked, disappointed.
“We stopped by to pick her up, but she wasn’t feeling well. She’ll be by this afternoon with Aryl after the sickness passes.” Ava propped Samuel on her shoulder, patting his back.
“I never thought I’d be glad to see anything from that time in our lives.” Arianna rocked slowly with Savrene, who was covered by the shoulder blanket. “But I’ll be so glad to see Shannon.”
“Me, too,” Ava said, distracted by Maura’s letter. She was excited to see Shannon, though, truth be told, if she had her choice of brash and loving Irish friends, it was Maura she would rather see and live close to.
She also knew that this was the end of the trio. The three women had been together through this entire ordeal, complementing each other’s contrasting personalities in good times and bad. It never occurred to Ava that this would ever change. She had been sure, more in the throes of poverty than ever in the spoils of luxury, that it would always be just the three of them. But now there would be four. She wondered where Shannon would fit in and worried about who might be pushed out.
∞∞∞
“Patrick!” Jonathan stood on a bench, searching the crowded platform. He spotted Aislin sitting on Patrick’s shoulders and waved. “Patrick!”
He looked around, focused on Jonathan, and lit up with a relieved smile. Jonathan hopped off the bench and waited for them to cut through the throng of travelers.
“Jon! Good to see you again!” A hearty handshake and back slaps were as close to an embrace as the two felt comfortable giving in public.
“You look good, Jon,” Shannon said, grinning and reached to hug him. Patrick looked him over and then centered on his face. “Somethin’s different.” He pondered while Jonathan shrugged. “But fer the good, Jon, fer the good. Ye look better.”
“Come on, I’ll help you get your luggage,” he said, taking the attention off himself. “I brought Caleb’s father’s . . . well, I guess it’s Caleb’s truck now. The telegram said you had three?”
“Two. Pared down last minute. We couldn’t pay the extra fare for the third.” They located the well-traveled trunks, and the men each took an end to heave them onto the bed of the truck.
“We really can’t thank you enough for coming, Patrick,” Jonathan said as he pulled onto the main road. “I know from experience that it’s not easy for a man, a family, to just pack up bare necessities and leave a way of life behind.”
“Nay, it’s me who should be thanking you. I’ve never been so glad to leave a place before.” He looked to Shannon, wedged between them, Roan sleeping on her shoulder. “I don’t know what ye might have heard, but it was getting bad where we
were. All over really. I guess it wasn’t hard to’ pare down when there wasn’t much to pare.
“Aside from selling a few things to get by, we were robbed three times. Almost everyone in the building’s been robbed. If yer lucky, they wait until yer gone. But the one time, though, Shannon here hid in the bathroom with the babes while they had their pick of the place.”
“Really, Patrick?”
“Aye. Tis a sad thing to be glad yer out o’ work, so ye can protect yer wife and young.” He shook his head in disgust.
“Well, you’ll have a better life here. You won’t be rich, but you can leave your family without worry.”
“How is Arianna? And the others? I haven’t heard from them in a bit now,” Shannon interrupted.
“They’re good. My Ava and Claire are expecting, but I’m sure you knew that from their letters. The twins are doing well. They keep Arianna very busy. That’s probably why she hasn’t written in a while.”
“And Jean? How is he?” Shannon asked casually.
Jonathan looked uneasy for a moment. “Ava wrote you about him then?” he asked, wondering exactly what knowledge of him they had.
“Aye, she did, just a few weeks ago. Said he was settlin’ in and lookin’ forward to bein’ a big brother.”
“He is,” he said slowly. He hadn’t thought of how he would explain Jean to them.
“Tell me what I’ll be doin’, Jon. How big is this operation you’ve got up here, and where on earth are we sleepin’ tonight?” Patrick relieved Jonathan with his curiosities.
“Catching lobster. That’s what you’ll be doing. And the operation is only three boats right now, but we’re going to fix up the fourth, so Caleb can fish part-time. And you’ll be staying with Caleb and Arianna until we get you set up in a permanent home. It’s a large house, so you should be comfortable enough.”
“Well, Jon, I can’t tell ye enough how grateful we are for the opportunity.”
Jonathan laughed. “And I told you, Patrick, we’re the grateful ones, especially Caleb. We’re all having a picnic tonight to welcome you.”
Aislin whined and wiggled in Patrick’s lap. An entire day of sitting still had reduced her to a squirming mass that wanted to run, jump, and scream about. Jonathan looked out at the dark billows forming in the eastern sky.
“But we might have to change plans, if that comes at us too quickly.”
“Looks threatenin’ enough. Get lots o’ storms like that around here?”
“Some don’t turn out to be much. You can still work through them. But others come hard and fast with very little warning. There have been a couple of times when we’ve raced back to shore just before a powerful one hit.” Shannon's mouth dropped open with a horrified expression. “But we know better now. We’re very careful, and there hasn’t been a close one like that in a long time. In fact, Aryl and Caleb, will probably be back in plenty of time before dinner.”
∞∞∞
Caleb had picked up his pace and urged Aryl to do the same. Greenish, gray clouds and humid gusts of salty air had replaced the warmth of the early summer sun. Caleb scrutinized the storm in the distance with concern.
“We need to beat that. It’s moving fast. Let’s pull one more string and then head back. The rest can wait till tomorrow.”
Rain began to fall, and the wind picked up considerably. Aryl sorted while Caleb pulled and they worked frantically. After the last pot in the string, Caleb nodded for Aryl to start the engines and head home. The rain fell in large, hard droplets now propelled by vicious winds that stung their faces and made it hard to see. Aryl frowned after the third attempt to start the engine failed. Just when Aryl thought they might have to hoist the sails that had never been used, the engine sputtered to life, and Aryl let out a deep, relieved breath. He wiped his soggy hair from his face and tilted his head to give Caleb an odd look. Caleb had heard it, too. He strained his ears against the roar of wind. They briefly heard a distant, muted ringing. Aryl stepped toward the entrance of the berth.
Slammed against the wheel, he had felt it before he heard it; the detonation merged with the screech of ripped metal and crunches of splintered planks, which drowned out Caleb’s guttural scream. Aryl slid to the deck as profuse blood stains instantaneously materialized through the back of his shirt. Caleb was to him before his body had settled. He rolled him over and shouted breathlessly up to the dark heavens.
Aryl was still breathing.
He gripped two fistfuls of Aryl’s shirt and shook him hard. Aryl’s eyes rolled, found Caleb’s face and he nodded weakly. Caleb struggled unsteadily to help him to his feet. Aryl’s mouth moved and his eyes implored his friend frantically, but Caleb could only watch; his own ears ringing. He was helpless to understand or answer him. He dragged Aryl along while he began to pull wildly at the sails in an ingrained drive to save his own life, praying that the wind would push them back to shore before the boat sank. Aryl soberly stared at the sharp slant of the deck and the water lapping at his shoes.
Caleb screamed again, not from the stinging rain that welted his face and arms, but from the sight of the sails now pulled several feet into the air. They had been cut. Long, clean, and deliberate slices that continued to tear into sloppy shreds as Caleb grabbed hold to yank them violently. He skimmed the ocean through the storm-shadowed distance and saw a few boats heading in to beat the storm; it was unlikely they had witnessed the explosion and smoke through the swirling winds and heavy rain.
Paralyzed in every aspect, Aryl’s crazed eyes powerlessly met the towering rogue wave that barreled toward the crippled boat off the port side. Ears bleeding, he could hear neither the roar of the ocean nor the splintering of the boat from the second explosion.
He had only one thought–Claire.
The massive wave entrenched it all and washed both men into the Atlantic.
∞∞∞
“I’m so glad to see you again!” Arianna said as the two women hugged and traded babies to cuddle.
“Ye have no idea how wonderful it is to be here,” Shannon said, smiling. “It’s so clean, so fresh . . . like home.” Through the kitchen window, she watched Aislin running in the yard with Jean, the darkened sky just beginning to spill. “I’m just so happy ye thought of us when ye needed help. It’ll help the both of us, to be sure.”
“Come on, I’ll show you your room. You’ll all have to share, but Caleb was talking about refurbishing the old cabin at the edge of the property and letting you use that.”
“A cabin?” Shannon asked, delighted.
“Yes, but it’s old and uninhabitable right now. But with some hard work, we could make it nice.”
Claire sat close to Ava, already feeling somewhat pushed to the side as Arianna and Shannon reunited.
Upstairs, Shannon was appreciative of the clean and quaint room provided, although it was small for four people. Arianna had rearranged it so that the children would be on one side and the parents on the other.
Jonathan showed Patrick around outside and kept an eye on Jean and Aislin. Patrick was cheerful as he admired the large garden and barn. Jonathan Sr. and Margaret were the last ones to arrive for dinner and Aryl’s mother accused them of parking on a deserted road along the way. Jonathan Sr. grinned and contemplated going along with the tease until Margaret poked him in the side.
“I had to clean up the grease and muck. I have that old truck almost running,” he said proudly, smiling at Jonathan. “And I’ve had two inquiries on it, too. Might have it sold before it’s finished.” Michael, who looked somewhat interested, moved to talk to him about his project.
Jonathan sat down beside Ava and glanced at his watch. “I wonder where those guys are?” He jumped, smiling. “What are you doing?” he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. She grinned devilishly, as she slid her hand up Jonathan’s thigh.
An hour later, Ethel called everyone to dinner. “We’re not going to wait for the slowpokes. It’s hot and ready, so help yourself.”
Everyone filed i
nto the kitchen, served themselves, and then crowded around the table. Arianna and Shannon huddled together talking and giggling, making plans for the following week. Ava sat beside Jonathan but watched Claire, who stood at the kitchen window staring out into the driving rain.
A few moments later, she saw a vehicle pull into the drive and faced the room with a relieved smile. “They’re here,” she said and began making a plate of food for Aryl. Arianna, wanting to show off her new skills of domestic devotion, jumped up to join her.
“Sheriff Vincent.” Jonathan opened the door, but his smile had disappeared. “What can we do for you?” The sheriff removed his hat, shook it outside the door, and stepped gingerly inside the kitchen that had suddenly fallen quiet. His eyes were grave and only made contact with Jonathan’s.
“Ah . . . I’m afraid there’s been an accident,” he said regretfully with a heavy northeastern accent.
“What kind of accident?” Jonathan asked. Claire stood stock-still at the stove, staring at the wall behind, plate suspended in mid-air. Arianna turned to face them and put a hand on Claire’s shoulder to steady herself as all the blood drained from her face.
“The details are sketchy, but there was an explosion. And the storm–” He turned to glance out the door. “No, that didn’t help, but, ah, well,” The Sheriff always hated this part of his job. There was no piece of good that could be pulled from informing people of a loss, a tragedy. The air was thick with anticipation and dread as he cleared his throat and finally said, “The Ava-Maura went down earlier today–”
The plate fell, shards of glass and food lay at Claire’s feet. The hand that dropped the plate now gripped Arianna’s arm, fingers digging into her flesh; Claire hadn’t turned from the wall.
“Wait, the Ava-Maura–but that’s my boat!” Jonathan cried.
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