Fireside secrets

Crazy Dave and the Night Gem.

Eivan POV

The Night Gem was a smaller boat nestled in a slip where about 15 other boats were moored.

Thomas and I stood there waiting for a guy named crazy Dave. It was around 5am.

The sun was climbing up out of her night-time bed and stretching her rays across the water.

I liked it. It felt warm and inviting. A freshness to seeing a new day emerge.

Thomas yawned as he clung to his coffee like it was his life line.

Finally, a small red pick up truck came rattling up towards the dock.

A short man who was almost as wide as he was tall got out and ambled towards us.

He was pulling a suit case on wheels behind him like he was catching a flight.

" Hey-oh!" He called, seeing us waiting near his boat.

I raised my hand.

We come in peace.

The man grinned and handed his suitcase to Thomas.

"Ok you are Janu's boys then huh?"he smiled as he kept moving, hopping right up the side of his boat with much more agility than I thought he was capable of.

He reached out his hand to Thomas, who reached his own out back towards Dave.

" No boy, the suitcase. Hand my suitcase over." He said.

Thomas made an O with his mouth as he picked up the suitcase and gave it to Dave.

" You boys never been on a boat before? You sure you are Janu's boys? She never took you on the Eastern May?" he seemed skeptical now about who we were.

" Yes we are her ' boys' and no, never on a boat like this, we met in college." I offered.

" Ahhhh...well you want me to hoist you aboard with the picking hook then?"

Thomas nodded as he sipped his coffee.

I tossed the captain my bag and leapt aboard, swinging my legs over the side of the boat as I had seen him just do.

Thomas threw his bag at me, then tried to follow my lead.

He struggled as his body hit the side of the boat, legs not quite making it over the rail and started to slide back into the cold water below.

I leaned over and grabbed him, yanking him aboard.

He was still holding his damn coffee.

" What? I need it to survive." He said, as he pulled the cup to his chest and kissed it.

I just shook my head at him, cause he was just a big baby.

" Ok let's get the Night Gem warmed up and blow this popsicle stand gents." Captain Dave pointed to the lines.

" When I give word, you gents release these lines and we will haul anchor." With that, he disappeared into the wheel house.

This felt like I was a kid again. This was my dream to be on a boat and sail into the unknown.

I loved every minute of this.

Soon the boat was humming and sputtering and groaning to life.

Thomas and I moved to our positions as directed by our captain. We struggled with the anchor part and getting the lines loose, but somehow we managed.

I threw the last line as two young men, looking just like crazy Dave came running down the dock.

" Dad! Wait...we are coming dad!" They moved fluidly as they worked together to throw their gear aboard one after the other and jumped three feet in the air, catching onto the rail to climb aboard.

They both laughed as the horn blared signaling that we were on our way.

" He really did mean it Pauly, he was going to leave us this time." A thick mousy brown haired boy of about 17 said to his twin.

" Dads a prick." the boy named Pauly answered.

" Hey-oh. I'm Pauly, this is my twin bro, Andrew. Welcome aboard. You the new deck hands?" he asked me.

" Uh, no not quite, we are getting a ride from your dad to see our girlfriend." I said as I pulled Thomas under my wing.

" I'm Eivan, this is Tommy."

Thomas shook their hands.

" Ah...who are the gals you are meeting, do we know them?" Andrew asked as he hoisted a jolly Roger flag.

" Captain likes to pretend he's a pirate ship, we indulge him. From now on you only call him Captain Blackheart, got it?" he poked my arm.

I shrugged.

" Well, the girls names?" Andrew asked again.

" January Holmes, know her?" I asked.

" Uh, yeah. She's like a legend out here. Damn! And you Tommy, who's your girl?" he asked eyeing him up and down.

" Same. I'm her right-hand guy, Ivy here is her left-hand guy." He said glaring at them, just in case they had a problem with it.

They looked at eachother as if communicating with their minds.

" A Thruple!" Pauly said in a long breath.

Andrew's mouth dropped.

" Janu has herself a thruple, I'll be damned. Janu? You sure it wasn't April? Now April yes, I would believe that. April is f-ing hot!" Pauly said.

I just shook my head. "How do you know April and January?"

"We went to school together. Well, until Janu started to get home schooled.

I guess her dad pulled her out because of the.. uh...you know about the trial right?" he asked ducking his head.

We both nodded.

" So she never returned to school afterwards?" Thomas asked.

" She did, it's just that people were not kind, she got bullied a lot.

Mainly her sister's friends. They called her a slut and mean stuff you know like...child bride and January Parsons, Ronny's girl.

Things teenage girls do. I don't know.

January was real smart, she graduated early and left before her senior year was half started.

I never saw her after that. I heard she moved away and was going to Greenmire or something. That's where you guys met her?"

I nodded. My gut felt like it was punched by a wrecking ball, thinking about what January had gone through.

Why didn't April put an end to it? Why didn't she stick up for her little sister?"

My mind wandered to meeting January that day in the coffee shop. She didn't seem any different than another girl at school.

I wondered how she even survived all of it. No wonder she was using those anxiety pills.

Thomas busied himself learning about tying knots, but I could tell that he was thinking about this too.

He would wipe his eyes every so often, saying it was the wind making his eyes water so much.

I decided to go up and see the captain a moment. We needed to hurry. My heart was aching for January more than ever.

As I knocked on the door to the wheel house I heard him yell.

" Come!"

The sight that greeted me...wow! This was why they called him crazy Dave.

He wore a long red and black coat with a tricorne hat.

A black patch over one eye and a fake parrot on one shoulder. I think he was trying to look like captain Jack Sparrow.

I closed my opened mouth.

" What ye be needin scallywag?" he said gruffly.

"Captain...Black...uh...Blackheart I was wondering if we could speed this trip up, it's kind of urgent.

I need to see that January is safe. I would be happy to pay you any expenses or assist in anyway." I offered.

He lifted his eye patch.

" Son, it's going to be a two day trip no matter how badly you miss your girl.

It's the way of the ocean and I won't take chances just because you got a flag flying for your woman. Understood?"

I nodded. " Aye Captain."