by A. L. Knorr
Mom's work pays well but work is on a contract-by-contract basis. Good salvage jobs are hard to come by and the Bluejackets have to bid for them against other companies. As a result, we live a sort of feast/famine life. Private, reward-based jobs like the one for Rachel Montgomery are even fewer and further between. Mom takes advantage of them when they come up and always socks away the reward for my future. Sometimes she even finds treasure randomly and sells it to a local collector.
"What's in the other hand?"
She flipped it open to reveal a bracelet and necklace. These two pieces matched the diamond ring.
"How on earth did you find them? It must have been tricky to spot them amongst all that rock and coral."
She shrugged. "No, it was easy. Things like this are almost always in a safe. So I just look for a metal box. It wasn't hard to find."
I froze. "They were in a safe?"
"Yeah."
"Mom, how are you going to explain that they're not in a safe anymore to Rachel Montgomery's manager?" My mother has an insatiable curiosity about almost everything. I swear she's half cat instead of half fish. She's not so interested in people, but she loves to explore when she's out in the water. A closed metal box would have begged to be opened. I visualized her cracking a safe with her bare hands and the precious jewellery spilling out. "What if there had been paper money?"
She shrugged. "There wasn't, and that safe wasn't waterproof anyway. I'm returning her heirlooms and she'll be happy to have them back. Who cares about what happened to the safe? It could have been smashed on the rocks, right?"
"I guess. But you've always said that anything that might make someone more suspicious is not a good idea." Sometimes it seemed like we'd had a role reversal at some point. The cautious mother of my youth had evolved into a risk-taker and I'd become the proverbial crossing guard of our lives. Maybe she'd just grown tired of having to be so careful all the time.
"Heeeeeeyyyyyy..." she said, dragging out the word with her musical voice. "I would never do anything to endanger us, you know that." She tugged gently on a strand of my hair.
"Yeah, well our opinions on what might endanger you seem to differ." I tried not to think about what might happen to her if she was ever discovered. But I forgave her, like I always do.
I heated up her noodle dish and asked her to describe her late night salvage adventure. She described the underwater world with vivid description and relish, and I listened even as I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. I was crawling under the covers as she was finishing her story. She bent and kissed me goodnight. Just before she closed my door I remembered something. "Mom?"
The door opened slightly, "Yes, sunshine?"
"Micah said something about a Polish guy who called the office today. Did Simon tell you anything about that?"
"Hmm. No. They might have gotten the call after I left. I'm sure I'll hear about it tomorrow."
"Ok. Let me know."
"Sleep now."
I did. I always slept well when she was in the house.
Chapter 4
"I'm really interested in seeing the glass-blowers..." Saxony was saying when we heard the sound of tires squealing on pavement. I recognized the sound of Mom's diesel before we saw her truck come screeching around the corner. "On Murano," Saxony finished, but we were no longer thinking about her Venice to-do list. We watched the Bluewater truck come to a sudden halt, its nose dipping at the rapid stop.
We'd met at a park overlooking the beach for a picnic lunch. I brought the lemonade, Georjayna made the egg salad sandwiches, and Saxony had brought home-made brownies. Akiko was supposed to bring veggies and dip but she'd texted last-minute that she had to run an errand for her grandfather and wouldn't be able to make it.
"Dude, your mom should take it easy on those brakes," Saxony remarked. Saxony has two car-crazy brothers and a sensitivity to vehicles had rubbed off on her.
Mom left the diesel running and the door open but had started across the lawn towards us, her black hair billowing back from her shoulders with the speed of her stride. I grabbed our lunch garbage and stuffed it into the cooler that Georjayna had brought. Whatever was on my mom's mind, it looked like it was going to be something that my friends shouldn't overhear. "Looks like I gotta go, guys. Sorry. Text you later," I said, getting up and grabbing the thermos I'd brought.
"Sure, Targa. No problem," said Georjayna. "I hope everything's ok."
Saxony just nodded, but both of them were staring at my mom. "She's such a rocket," Saxony said under her breath. She always made some comment about what a fox my mom was. If she thought it, she said it.
"You're worse than the guys," I cuffed her affectionately on the shoulder and went to meet my mom. She stopped and waited for me to join her, she waved to the girls and they waved back. "Is everything ok?" I asked. Mom didn't look upset or concerned so my heart began to slow its clatter.
She threw an arm over my shoulder as we walked back to the truck. "It's great. I have a proposition for you."
"Oh yeah? Can't wait to hear it." I went around to the passenger side and got in. Mom pulled away from the curb before anything more was said. As I waved goodbye to the girls I had a sudden remembrance of the Rachel Montgomery thing.
"Before you lay it on me," I said, "Did you return Rachel's heirlooms yet?" I'd intended to ask her if I could come and bring Saxony too. I'd been so distracted that I'd forgotten all about it. I was hoping it wasn't too late.
"Yes, first thing this morning," she replied.
"Damn it!" I said, feeling like a crappy friend. At least what Saxony didn't know wouldn't make her mad at me.
"Why, what's wrong?"
"I just didn't think you'd get it done so quickly," I sighed. "Was she happy? What was she like?" I asked, curious about what the reigning teen-queen of Hollywood was like in person.
"What do you mean 'what was she like'?" Mom looked puzzled. "She was a walking, talking human with a real live heartbeat and everything, and of course she was happy to get her stuff back."
"Did you at least get a picture with her? Tell me you got a picture." I already knew what the answer was.
"Why would I do that?" She looked at me like it was the most idiotic idea she'd ever heard.
I sighed. "No worries, my mistake."
"What? Why?" She was blinking at me in complete and utter confusion.
"Saxony is a fan, and I meant to ask you... never mind, forget it. Go on with your story." I tried not to be frustrated with her. It would never occur to her to ask a celebrity for a photo or an autograph.
When I told my mother to 'never mind' something, she took me at my word and instantly the subject of Rachel was forgotten. "Remember you'd asked about the Polish guy that called the office?" she said, switching subjects as easily as she switched the trucks gears.
"Yeah, what was that all about? Do you have a job in Poland?" I felt the cold fingers of dread creeping in. I didn't want her to leave me alone for the summer. She'd already taken too many trips away every winter. Somehow, I got the sense that that wasn't it though because she wasn't as glum as she usually is when the Bluejackets take on a foreign contract.
"The guy who'd called is named Antoni Baranek," she began, “He's personal assistant to the wealthy Polish guy, Martinius Joseph Novak. Isn’t that a mouthful. And get this, he own a 150-ish year old ship-building company in Gdańsk."
"Gdańsk?" I said, feeling the strange word bounce off the back of my throat like a rubber ball.
"It's a city in Poland, on the Baltic Sea.”
"I figured as much." I tried not to sound sarcastic; it was lost on her anyway.
"His company has been searching for a ship from their fleet that was wrecked a long time ago and thanks to a tip from the British Navy, they've finally found it."
"And they want the Bluejackets to salvage it," I said. "Why do they want to bring in a team from so far away? Don't they have their own salvage divers in Poland?"
She nodded, "Novak Shipping actually
does have a small salvage team, but they're busy with other projects and they don't specialize in historical wrecks. Martinius came across our website and saw our track record. Simon told him it would be expensive to have us come all the way over there, how we'd have to rent equipment and pay for accommodations and everything but the old guy is insistent."
"Wow. How flattering." Good for them, crap for me.
"Antoni sent the wreck analytics to Eric who has already declared no restrictions to the dive site, so the project is a go. I've actually never seen Eric so enthusiastic about any site. The guys are salivating to take this job; all the metrics check out perfectly."
"What do you think?" I asked. She hadn't gotten to the heart of it yet. Something was up or she wouldn't have come to get me in the first place.
“He's offering a huge amount of money. He also said we can use all of his floating and flying assets, whatever we need. And he's putting us up for the duration of the project."
"Sounds like a dream job."
“It is. There is a catch though. Martinius read about me in the press, and he's offering the job only on the condition that I'm part of the team." Mom steered the truck onto our street.
I could see the article Martinius would have read in my mind's eye. Mira MacAuley, the remarkable master diver who has led to much of the Bluejacket's success and fame in the diving world, can perform like no other diver before or since.
"Simon fell all over himself to agree," she was saying. "Without speaking to me about it first." She gave me a look that said she wasn't impressed. "I told him he needs to ask me about foreign jobs and not just assume that I'll always be on board."
My heart sank. "Does that mean you're leaving for the summer?" My phone chirped and I looked down. Georjayna had texted: Everything ok? Come over early tomorrow and catch me up?
"I gave a condition of my own." She pulled the truck into the driveway and put it in park. Then she turned and looked at me.
"What was the condition?" I put my phone away.
"That I could bring my daughter," she said, smiling.
I gasped and my heart jump-started. "What did Simon say?"
“He tried to talk me out of it, but I know when I've got him by the short ones, which lets face it, is most of the time," she said. I laughed. "So he called Antoni back and relayed the condition. He explained that summer break was starting and that I didn't want to leave my daughter home alone."
"What did Antoni say?" I grabbed her by the arm in my excitement.
Clearly perplexed, she said, "You wouldn't believe it, Targa. You should have seen Simon's face. Martinius said that he wouldn't have it any other way, in fact when he found out I have a daughter, he insisted that I bring you. I'm not sure why, but there you have it." She looked at me expectantly. "So, want to come to Gdańsk with me for the summer?"
My face must have appeared clownish with the amount of enthusiasm pouring out of me because she quickly tempered the offer with, "I'm not sure how long we'll be there, it depends on what we find onsite and how long the manifest is. But it'll probably be six weeks or more of work. Either way we'll have you back before your Grade 12 year starts. What do you say?"
I leaned across the console and into her arms. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I don't even know where the hell Gdańsk is, but I am so ready to go. I can't believe it!"
She squeezed me and then pulled back, concern in her bright azure eyes. "You know I'll be busy though, right? It's an important job and I'll be double-timing it the way I usually do. I've asked for weekends off, and that's fine by Simon even though the rest of the team has to work Saturdays. So we'll have a bit of time together on weekends. Is that ok by you?"
I have wanted to go to Europe for as long as I knew it existed, we just never had the extra money to go. Poland isn't at the top of my list and I don't know a thing about it, but it's Europe and it's a free ticket. "Hell yeah, Mom!" I said, squeezing her tight again. "Are you kidding? Lets go to Poland!"
Chapter 5
"You're going where?" Georjie wailed over the popcorn maker blowing hot air and kernels everywhere but into the bowl. She flicked off the machine and stared at me.
I had come over to Georjayna's place a couple of hours before Saxony and Akiko. It was something Georjie and I did often. We needed time, just the two of us.
"Please tell me I did not hear you right," she was saying. "You did not just tell me that you're going to Poland for the summer. At least tell me that you made a mistake and you're actually going to Costa Rica or somewhere cool if you're going to be abandoning me." She bent her long frame in half, picked up a stray kernel off the hardwood floor and threw it into the sink. She stood and gave me a look. "And it is abandonment, make no mistake about it."
I felt a stab of guilt but I also knew she was happy for me because I knew her tell. Georjie can't smile without dimpling first. Two craters appear in both of her cheeks right before she grins. While she wasn't smiling yet, she was dimpling. I breathed an internal sigh of relief. "I know, I'm sorry but I had no idea this was going to happen," I explained handing her the pot of melted butter and watching as she drizzled it over the popcorn kernels. "When someone comes along offering you a free ride to Europe, you don't say no. This kind of opportunity doesn't come along everyday. Especially for me."
She nodded. "I know." She picked up a spoon and tossed the popcorn. "Ok, explain to me again the bit about the old Polish guy? I didn't think you were going to drop such a bombshell so I wasn't really listening."
"Oh, thanks.” I flicked a kernel at her.
She dodged it, laughing. She ground sea salt over the popcorn, tossed it and then put the spoon in the state-of-the-art dishwasher. I followed her and the popcorn to the sliding door that led into her back yard, which she opened with her long toes. We made our way to the chairs sitting in front of the fire pit in their backyard. The sky was a lovely shade of peach.
Five hand-made wooden chairs sat around a fire pit built of stone. Each chair had a soft blanket folded and hanging over the back of it. A pitcher of iced tea and a stack of plastic glasses had already been set on the small table. Every once in a while, when I saw things like this, it struck me how different Georjie’s life was to mine.
Georjayna's house was in the richest neighbourhood in Saltford. It's called Bella Vista and for good reason. Every house in her suburb is huge and has a view of the Atlantic.
We settled ourselves and munched away on the popcorn as I told her what my mom had said about the Novak Shipping job.
"What are you going to do there while your mom is working?"
"I've already made a list.” I turned on my phone and showed her some photos that I'd found online of Gdańsk. I told her about some of the historical attractions I wanted to see.
"Wow!" she said, genuinely impressed as she scrolled through the images of colourful old buildings lined up side by side along an inner city canal. "Holy crap, this place looks gorgeous. Why have I never heard of it?"
I shrugged. "It's not the sexiest destination out there I guess, maybe it's a best kept secret. Hopefully, that means it won't be swarming with tourists. I don't think Saxony is aware of how busy Venice is going to be in July and August," I shuddered. I hate crowds.
"No, I don't think she's thought about it," said Georjayna. "And to be honest, she's not as turned off by crowds as you are, especially crowds of Italian men."
I laughed. "To each their own."
I told her that Poland had some nice beaches. They weren't like the white sandy beaches of the Caribbean, but being Atlantic Canadians we were used to that. "I have a big reading list to get through too," I said, relishing the thought of laying on the beach with a good book.
"I bet you do. But I also bet you'll be so busy exploring that you won't have time to read," she sighed. "It sounds amazing. Now you're all going somewhere cool this summer, what am I going to do?"
"You wouldn't reconsider Ireland?" I still didn't fully understand her reticence. "I remember when you came back from the last vi
sit. You seemed so much happier. I thought Ireland had been good for you."
She nodded, "Yeah, but that was a long time ago. I was just a kid who'd lost her dad. Things are different now. I'm not that kid anymore. I already told Liz that the reason I was staying was because you'd be here. Now that you're going, I don't have a reason anymore." She shrugged, "So, I guess I'm going to the emerald isle after all."
"You'll love it," I encouraged her. "I would have chosen Ireland over Poland, but I'm not about to complain."
"Yeah, it's pretty. So green and lush," she said. "Its been a long time since I’ve been there. The last time I was there was before your dad passed away."
“Almost three years before, Georjie. You were only five.” Georjie and I had been friends a long time, but the year I lost my father was the first year I really knew what friendship meant. Georjie and I were young but even then she'd been a comfort to me. She'd had such maturity for being just a kid, far more than I had.
"Speaking of dads," I said, "I don't suppose you've heard from yours?" I eyed Georjie as I picked the last few kernels from the bottom of the buttery bowl. I liked the hard crunchy ones that hadn't fully popped, even better if they were a bit burnt.
She shook her head, "No, last we'd heard he was still living in Edmonton with his new wife. I think the father ship has long since sailed for me." She dusted the salt off her hands. “Even the mother ship has sprung a few leaks. Thirsty?"
I nodded and she poured me some iced tea. I studied her face as she poured, the corners of her mouth turned down. Both of us were fatherless only mine didn't leave by choice. She blamed herself and probably always would. It was hard not to feel angry with the man I could barely remember. Liz and Brent had divorced when Georjayna was only five and that was one of the reasons she'd taken Georjie to Ireland the following summer. Things had been such a mess at home.
Her father had hung around for a while trying to do the joint custody thing but soon he'd started missing their play dates, then he'd disappear for a month and not tell anyone where he was. Eventually, he vanished completely leaving only an email address and a cell number where Liz could reach him. He'd scrawled the words 'for emergency' beside the number, which made things pretty clear. As if Liz or Georjie would want to call him after finding a note like that, emergency or not.