Candy had been looking for Jonathon for the past half hour, and finally found him by the rocks at the shore yelling, "Reef the sails; the wind's too high! Midshipman Scruffy, stop that and get to work!" The dog, excited by all the yelling, was barking and turning in circles, attempting to grab his own tail.

Giggling, she leaned against a tall rock and called, "Hey Captain Shorty, Admiral Candy needs a word with you!"

Jonathon sighed energetically. "Stand down, men! What do you want?"

"Mom's birthday is coming up. I have a bit saved, but not much, and I bet you don't have a lot either. I was thinking we could pool our money and get her something nicer."

Jonathon crossed his arms. "I already got a present all picked out, a necklace."

Candy snorted. "After the captain got Claymore to get her that pearl necklace, you're going to give her one too?"

"It has little flowers in pink and red. It's prettier than boring old pearls."

Candy narrowed her eyes. "What are the flowers made of?"

Jonathon turned red. "It's blasted plastic! Now you're gonna tell me it's not good enough! What do you want to get her anyway? Another blasted pen set?"

Candy sat down in the sand. "Martha always says to get a useful gift, but the captain just told me the best gifts have something of the giver in them."

Jonathon dropped in the sand beside her, draping his arm around a squirming Scruffy. "He doesn't mean to give something with little bits of us. He means something she'd like that we really like too."

Candy rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Professor Jonathon. I knew what he meant. I figured we could go in together and get her something nice like a jewelry box."

Jonathon released Scruffy to go bark at the seagulls. "I don't like jewelry boxes."

"You like plastic flowers better? I'm not talking about a jewelry box like mine with a spinning ballerina. I mean a nice wooden box that we could decorate, maybe paint nautical stuff on it or something."

Jonathon looked interested. "Maybe we could glue a picture of a schooner on top and shells on the side!"

"Better than a pen set or a cheap necklace, huh?"

Martha removed the brownies from the oven and returned to chopping an onion. The captain materialized, snatched a brownie, and tossed it hand to hand until it was cool enough to eat. With her back turned to him, Martha said, "I don't know how many times I've called you, but I knew brownies would bring you here."

He grinned evilly. "Just as I know if I ignore your calls for me, some delicious baked goods will soon follow."

Martha turned around, eyes watering. "So that's it! Sweet tooth trumps everything!"

The captain looked concerned. "Please don't cry, Martha. I'll come as soon as you call next time."

Martha chuckled. "Onions, Captain, not hurt feelings. I just wanted to let you know Carolyn's birthday is coming up."

"You thought I'd forgotten her birthday?"

Martha shrugged. "You don't even remember your own birthday!"

"Be that as it may, her birthday I've etched in my memory."

"So what are you getting her?"

"Something of a personal nature."

"I baked brownies for this? You'd sound a lot more forbidding if you didn't have crumbs in your beard."

"I've never understood the feminine need to pry. What are you getting her?"

Martha folded her arms. "Aside from planning and making the birthday meal and cake, making sure the kids are presentable, and already having convinced her parents not to spring a surprise visit on her, I'm giving her a paperweight."

"You're a paragon among friends and housekeepers. Among other things, I plan on giving her a carved sandalwood fan."

"Well, if you need to dust it off, there's rags in the pantry."

The captain tugged his ear as Jonathon and Candy showed him the wooden box and attempted to out-shout each other with their plans. He rumbled, "One at a time!"

The children glanced at each other and Jonathon muttered, "Ladies first I guess."

Candy said, "I think we should swirl paint of different colors of blue like the sea all over it and then glue a single white shell on the lid."

Jonathon handed him the box and explained, "I think we should glue a tiny model ship on the lid and glue shells all over the sides."

The captain examined the box. "The wood appears highly porous, thus difficult to paint evenly. Perhaps blue fabric tacked on the inside and shells on the outside would be most pleasing to the eye."

Jonathon wistfully asked, "No ship on the lid?"

Candy companionably bumped him. "No paint either. Remember you agreed to go by what he decided. What are you giving her, Captain?"

"An antique fan, among other things. And you're welcome."

Both children giggled and said, "Thank you!"

Jonathon added, "This is gonna be the best jewelry box anyone ever got!"