GAMM and all canonical characters: Daniel, Carolyn, Martha, Claymore, Candy and Jonathan, etcetera belong to Twentieth Century Fox, Josephine Leslie (R.A Dick) NBC and/or ABC.
Heart to Heart
Judy
The school bus door swung closed as Carolyn waved to the students.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" she called out, with the Valentine card her children had given her near to her heart. Jonathan and Candy, as well as many of the other children waved back cheerily as the bus clambered down the road, and when it was out of sight, Carolyn sighed appreciatively reckoning she had six hours of peace and quiet before the yellow abomination returned. Spinning on her heels to get back into the warmth of the house and on with the day's work, she was met with Captain Gregg's gaze.
"Happy Valentine's Day," she greeted him.
"Is that card for me?" he indicated.
"No, it's to me from the kids, though I do have something for you," she lightly informed him.
"Ah, a Valentine's Day surprise!" His smile brightened.
"Mm-hmm," Carolyn nodded then cocked her head. "Captain, you did remember today was Valentine's Day?"
"Of course, Madam! Why, eh…the children have talked of it for weeks!" he assured her with a wave of his hand.
Carolyn noticed his hesitation and called him on it. "A-a-h, Captain, I know that look. You forgot. It's written all over that spirited face of yours."
"It is, eh? Well," he rocked on his heels knotting his hands behind his back. "To be honest, Madam, there may be a grain of truth to your claim; however, it does not mean that I have forgotten Valentine's Day altogether," he pointed out. "It only means that I have forgotten how lovely that smile of yours can be when you think I've slipped up."
"I see," she responded.
"And may you see, Madam, that I may be old, but I am not aged. It's true, I may have forgotten my birthday a time or two, but I've not completely lost my memory with regard to the observance of holidays. Not only are colorful holiday reminders written on all the calendars in Gull Cottage, to which I think that is done on purpose, but the blasted holidays consume all advertising as well. One has only to glance at a newspaper to grasp what holiday is to befall us in three months time! Though you may think so, I do not share any trait whatsoever with the ostrich."
"How's that again?" she asked perplexed.
"I simply mean that my head is not stuck in a hole that I should forget such a day as Saint Valentine's Day!"
"Really," she cocked her head the other way grinning. "Well, for a minute I thought you did forget, but I can see I was wrong."
"Thank you," he nodded satisfied.
"But if you did forget Valentine's Day, I hope you're not claustrophobic. Those holes can get pretty dark," she teased.
"You may joke, Mrs. Muir, but I repeat that I have not forgotten. In fact, not only have I remembered Valentine's Day, but I look forward to the festivities, which I am sure, in this household, shall be abundant with you at the helm."
His defensiveness amused her. "That's an awful long justification when you simply could have agreed with me in the first place," she stated.
"Madam, under the circumstances knowing you as I do, I felt an explanation was needed," he added. "I do not like to be considered thoughtless nor ignorant with regard to special occasions that directly affect the affairs of the heart."
"And of course," Carolyn added, "regarding those affairs, you wouldn't want to be…neglectful either."
"Never!" His hands went to his lapels proudly. "I have a certain reputation with women to uphold, Mrs. Muir and I will not see it tarnished, even in the twentieth century!"
"Believe me, Captain, you don't have anything to worry about, you're as polished now as you were then. Gleaming even," she emphasized. "To me anyway."
"As it should be." His nose tilted up slightly. "And, I applaud you, Mrs. Muir, for recognizing a marked superiority in the areas of which I am concerned."
"Aye, sir." Carolyn saluted, then moved close to gaze into his eyes. "So, Captain, are you going to stand here all day, or are you coming in? I have something to show you that I think you'll like." She winked then started toward the front door.
"Mrs. Muir!" The Captain said aghast. "A gentleman could take that behavior in more than one way!"
"Not if he was a gentleman," she pointed out. "But as I said, you'll have to come in…to get it."
Again he was taken aback by her brazenness. "My word, Mrs. Muir!"
Carolyn stopped abruptly. "All right. Belay that, Captain, that didn't come out quite the way I intended."
"Oh, but I'm primed now. I would be delighted to, as you say, 'come in and get it'. Thank you, my dear, for the savory invitation."
"Now, Captain! There you go again, twisting things!"
"My dear, someone once wrote that we mean what we say regardless of how it comes out. That we say things in honesty, but will not honestly admit them. So, I shall endeavor to do my best if the solicitation is still open."
"Captain, what I said and how it came out is not what I meant and you know it. For heaven's sake, please, just come in. I'll meet you upstairs. It'll be quick."
"Ha-ha! Should I belay that, too, Madam?" the seaman chuckled seeing Carolyn's blush.
"Now you just stop thinking what you're thinking, Captain," she wagged a finger. "I simply meant that it won't take long, that way you can get back to your sea charts without missing a beat."
"Oh, I can't wait!" He clapped his hands together in anticipation. "As you wish, my dear." He watched her leave noting how the skip in her step was a sight to behold as she slipped into the house.
"Oh, Madam," he smiled to himself saying, "I'd throw the blasted sea charts overboard if it meant a chance to 'get it on' with you. And I don't give a blasted tick what they call it these days. It will never change." He then glanced at the balcony and disappeared, heading to the main cabin.
Carolyn, on the other hand, made a detour stopping off in the kitchen for a chat with Martha before making her way upstairs. In no hurry, she checked that the plans were underway for the heart-shaped cake, the decorated cookies, and the big bowl of Hawaiian punch for that night's dessert. Pleased that Martha had everything under control, she headed up the stairs.
When Carolyn walked into her room, the seaman was at the telescope pretending to be interested in the action outside.
"You're late," he remarked concentrating on the landscape.
"And you did forget about today, but I forgive you," she said without reproach.
"Dear lady, I have nothing to be forgiven for. I'll have you know there is not a single guilty bone is this ghostly body."
"I wouldn't have thought there was." Carolyn glanced around the room with her hands on her hips. If he truly had remembered Valentine's Day, she saw no evidence of flowers or a card from him and was rather disappointed. Still, it was early hours, perhaps he had a master plan.
"You weren't snooping around my desk while I was downstairs?" she asked.
"I've been at the scope, how could I? Why should I?"
"Just wondering. And you didn't try to peek at anything in the room?" She continued the room's inspection.
"What do you take me for, Madam? I wouldn't know what to peek at." He still had not turned around from the telescope.
"All right, I believe you." Carolyn moved to her desk. The Captain, seeing her reflection in the French doors, pivoted and leaned on the binnacle, giving her his undivided attention.
"So, I understand you have something for me, dear lady?"
Carolyn, somehow knowing that she was not going to receive a Valentine gift any time soon, pulled an envelope from her desk drawer. Holding it out to him, he stepped away from the binnacle, nodded graciously, and took the envelope noting the sealed wax signet with a 'C' impressed upon it. Whether the 'C' was for the 'C' in Captain or Carolyn, was up for debate, however, the initial suited him and Carolyn both.
"So this is for me?" he asked running his fingers over the seal.
"None other," she smiled cheerily. "Please, open it."
He carefully popped the wax button and slid out the contents. Inside was a lovely little card with a handwritten message on the inside. He recognized Carolyn's handwriting and at her insistence, he read the card aloud, his voice meaningful, but faltering on the last few words.
To My Dearest Captain Gregg,
Each day and ever always
Lasting love is ever true
'Tis why I give this Valentine
To no one else but you
Love,
Carolyn
The impact of the simple lyric was overwhelming to Captain Gregg. Carolyn's message was absolutely clear, and it was a moment before he could look into the face of the woman who had just claimed she loved him. When he finally did manage to see the green of her eyes, the words of gratitude for her coming into his life did not come as easily as he imagined.
In fact, he was stunned standing there, for their relationship had been largely one-sided, as it should have been. Nevertheless, Carolyn had just acknowledged her love for him in a very unassuming way and from now on it would seem, there would be no more innuendoes, or dark, one-way streets that led to nowhere. In that moment, he knew she was unmistakably in love with him and that the moment was real, she was real, and undeniably their love for each other was real! And the card, with its tangibility, was proof of her love, something he could hold close to his heart and cherish forever. The simple sentiment was a glorious, confirmed ticket to heaven, for heaven could only be wherever he could be near his darling Carolyn.
To Carolyn's surprise though, after Captain Gregg read the card he said nothing to her. And after looking at her rather oddly, he politely begged off, disappearing after pushing the card back into its sleeve. Carolyn was left staring at empty space wondering what had happened.
It wasn't every day she professed her love to a ghost and for the second time that morning, she was disappointed to say the least. Perhaps she had gone too far putting her feelings down on paper, and maybe by doing so, she had changed their relationship for the worse.
"Ugh!" Carolyn stomped her foot. She couldn't believe that what started as an intriguing day was now completely ruined! How could she concentrate on work knowing she'd just chased away the only man she ever truly loved?
Slowly, and agonizingly, the hours passed by during which Carolyn kept the slim hope that the Captain might reappear and all would be put right. But he did not appear and her resolve waned.
And by early afternoon, if anyone was listening or was in any way sensitive to the stirrings of a woman's heart, one could have easily heard a woman crying; a woman who wished she could turn back the clock, a woman whose one desire was a chance to explain. Still, the Captain did not return, and yet another hour slipped away.
When the school bus pulled up, its squeaking brakes signaling to Carolyn that her children were finally home, she welcomed their return, though she knew there would be no peace in her heart until Valentine's Day ended and her offspring were in bed.
But rather than head downstairs to meet Jonathan and Candy, she considered the odd feeling that overcame her to back away from her typewriter and step out on the balcony. Not liking the idea of cold rushing in, Carolyn nevertheless opened the French doors and moved outside into the frigid air. Immediately, she heeded her children's excited calls for they had apparently discovered something in the front yard and wanted her to see it too.
Carolyn leaned on the rail and looked down. There on the snow-covered lawn was the outline of a hugely perfect heart made from the rounded stones that washed up on the beach! That was funny, she thought. The rock silhouette hadn't been there that morning and who could have made such a thing without making noise and disturbing her upstairs? Surely she would have heard something!
The children squealed with delight shouting up to their mother asking if she had made the heart for them. With her hands up, Carolyn shrugged and shook her head that she didn't know where the heart came from but she had her suspicions.
"No, kids. Don't look at me. This is the first time I've seen it too," she told them.
"This is groovy, Mom!" Candy shouted. "I bet none of the other kids has one!"
Jonathan tried lifting one of the stones but had no success. "Boy, I'm glad I didn't have to make this. I like the card we made Mom better!"
"You're not strong enough to lift rocks, Jonathan. Not like Captain Gregg!" Candy pointed out. "I bet he did this, Mom!"
By this time, Martha had heard the raucous and come out onto the porch with a kitchen towel over her shoulder. "Don't look at me either, kids! That'll be the day I carry stones up the hill. I spend most of the time pushing them over the hill from the garden. In my opinion, Mrs. Muir," she glanced up at the balcony, "this has signs of Captain Gregg written all over it. I gather this one's for you, Mrs. Muir."
"Maybe you're right." Carolyn wondered. Was it true? Was the stone heart her Valentine gift from the Captain?
"Wow!" the kids exclaimed. "This is so neat! Can we keep it, Mom?" Candy asked, skipping around the heart like a fairy in a glen.
"I don't see why not." Carolyn smiled. "Let's keep it until we need to mow the lawn." Carolyn then rolled her eyes upward wondering if Captain Gregg was watching from the 'walk'. She rather wished he was and hoped he'd appear so she could thank him, but there was no sign he was about.
Before they all got too cold, Martha motioned for the kids to come in for fresh Valentine cookies, and without protesting Candy and Jonathan ran into the house. Instead of going directly into the kitchen, however, they threw their book bags and lunch boxes down and bounded up the stairs, two by two heading straight for their mother's room to check out heart through the telescope. With their jackets still on, both agreed they were even more impressed with the view from above.
Jonathan then peered shoreward for a casual view of the beach.
"Hey, Mom!" the boy exclaimed as his mother came in from the balcony. "I think I see something on the beach! Yeah! Neat! Look at it, Mom!"
"Hey, it's my turn! Let me see!" Candy whined, objecting to her brother hogging the telescope, but her brother simply elbowed her away.
"No, Candy! I asked Mom to come look, not you!"
"Now you two kids cut it out!" Their mother separated them. "Or I'll do away with that heart down there myself!" Carolyn peered through the lens and scanned the shore below. What she saw made her heart flutter again. Down on the exposed sand was drawn a perfect heart outline just like the stone heart on the front lawn!
"Well how about that!" she remarked. "Somebody's certainly been a busy little bee! Okay, Candy," her mother held the scope in place, "it's your turn. Just look in here." Candy squirreled herself in front of Jonathan who was glued to the binnacle.
"Oh, another heart, Mom! Where are they coming from?" she squinted harder.
"Captain Gregg! Don't you remember?" Jonathan told them wondering how they could forget.
"I'm not entirely sure he's the culprit, Jonathan, but the odds are he might be," Carolyn offered, while good-naturedly smoothing down their hair.
"Mom, what are odds?" Jonathan asked.
"Well, it means that considering all the facts we have, there is a favorable chance that Captain Gregg is very good at moving stones and drawing hearts."
"Can we go down and see it?" the boy asked jumping off the ring of the binnacle.
Carolyn looked at her watch and the light outside. "All right, but we'd need to go now before it gets dark, and we have to be careful of the ice. When we get back, it's homework time."
"Yes, Ma'am!" Candy tugged her brother's sleeve. "Come on, Jonathan!"
Martha volunteered to stay behind and mind the gulls as the Muirs scrambled down the path to the beach.
"Where's Captain Gregg?" Candy asked when they neared the bottom of the switchback.
"Yeah," Jonathan piped up, "we haven't seen him to give him our Valentine card. And I bet he made the hearts, Mom. With all those odds."
"I don't know where the Captain is, honey, but I'm sure he'll show up for dessert tonight. We've never known him to skip out on cake right?" Carolyn said.
"Yeah," Candy agreed, more interested in seeing the second heart.
Now with all of them safely down and looking at the sand heart drawing, the young girl took a piece of driftwood and drew a huge arrow across the heart. "There! I've made it even better!" She stood back proud of her work.
"That's perfect!" Carolyn applauded. "I couldn't have done it better myself." She pulled her children close and after a minute or so they saw the surf begin to change, meaning that the heart would soon disappear into the waves.
"The heart will be gone in a minute or two. What do you say we get back to the house, hmm?" their mother asked as they all watched the heart slowly dissolve into the soggy foam of the sea. Carolyn sighed saying, "It was pretty while it lasted. Okay, you two, time to go home."
Carolyn ushered her children carefully up the hill and as they climbed, they noticed a flock of quacking ducks flying overhead in the late afternoon sun. Everyone looked up to see why the birds were making so much noise.
"Quack! Quack, quack! Quack! Quack!" they sounded.
Carolyn saw why and drew in a breath. There up in the sky, the ducks were flying in the formation of a heart! Carolyn and the children watched in amazement as the ducks flew at least a hundred yards then separated and disappeared in the distance near Tern Cliff. A straggler duck, however, had turned back and merrily dipped into the waves before shooting straight up toward higher sky. The Muirs followed the stray duck's path with their eyes as the bird flew joyously below the puffy clouds then turned and headed out to sea.
"Hey, look everybody!" Jonathan pointed to the unusual clouds to the right of the bird's path. Candy saw something, too.
"Oh, Mom, look!" she cried out pointing at the clouds.
"Oh, my!" Carolyn couldn't believe her eyes. She shut them tight and opened them again, and sure enough, what she saw was still there! Clouds had gathered into what looked like an immense fluffy white heart, and the shadows from the setting sun bounced and played on the heart's surface making the heart appear as if it was glowing from within. The sight was glorious, and after about a minute, the cloud began to dissipate; the surrounding clouds converging, swallowing the heart in its entirety in a matter of seconds. The image had been beautiful and fleeting. Romantic. Someone, Carolyn smiled thinking of Captain Gregg, was wearing their heart on their sleeve on this Valentine's Day, for only he could have orchestrated stunts such as these.
After the cloud heart was completely gone, Carolyn and the kids finished their hike back to Gull Cottage and as promised, the children ate their snacks and began their homework. Every now and then, Carolyn and Martha could hear Candy and Jonathan talk excitedly about the amazing hearts they saw on the beach and in the sky.
Carolyn knew Captain Gregg was the culprit. She believed the hearts were his Valentine gift to her and to the family, and that explained why he'd been away most of the day. Even though he may have forgotten Valentine's Day, his string of hearts had made up for his oversight and she was pleased. Still, she hoped he would appear at some point before the day was over so she could thank him.
Not long after the beach excursion, as Carolyn and Martha prepared dinner in the kitchen, Scruffy, the Muir's little dog, scratched the side porch door wanting to get out. Carolyn turned the porch light on from the mud-room and opened the door.
"Okay, Scruffy, go do your thing, and don't get lost in the snow-drift this time!" she warned, but Scruffy stayed put on the step and began to bark and turn in circles. He then ran to his favorite tree in the back yard, then back to a waiting Carolyn.
"That was quick. Maybe a little too quick. Are you sure you went?" she asked. Scruffy only barked. "Scruffy, come in then, it's cold out there." He would not come in. She then stepped outside and physically pushed him off the step, but Scruffy continued to bark and run out a few steps then return as if he were trying to get her attention.
"You're not afraid of the bogey man are you?"
Scruffy stopped, tilted his head and barked once.
"Don't tell me you want me to go with you. Is that it? But it's too cold out there. Remember, you've got fur. Now go ahead, Scruffy, go on, this is the last time." Scruffy let out two high barks and with that, Carolyn gave up and put on a wrap.
"All right, lead the way," she told the little dog with a flashlight in hand. Carolyn followed Scruffy into the dim light of evening, both of them traversing a narrow snow path formed by the dog's previous outings. They stopped at the large pine tree in the back yard and once there, the terrier yipped and snorted at the base of the tree.
"Scruffy, what's gotten into you? You'd better go now, or I'm going back in without you."
The little dog then stood on his hind legs with his paws on the tree trunk as if a cat or a bird was up the tree and he meant to climb the tree to get at whatever it was.
"What is it, Scruffy, a cat?" When Carolyn picked him up to cuddle, her eye caught something on the tree. At eye level was a deep, freshly cut heart carved into the pine's knotty bark, and within the heart were two intertwined initials. She could distinctly make out a 'C' and a 'D'. Cut through the heart was a fancy feathered arrow, the whole lover's heart image sending a lightning fast chill up Carolyn's spine. Scruffy then whimpered in her arms and barked sharply alerting Carolyn that Captain Gregg was nearby.
"Captain Gregg? Is that you?" she asked hesitantly. "I was wondering where you'd been hiding." She looked up trying to discern if for some odd reason Captain Gregg was sitting in the tree. "If Scruffy chased you up a tree you can come down now."
The Captain was not aloft. He materialized beside the tree so Carolyn could see both him and the carved heart at the same time, and though Carolyn seemed to be in a lighthearted mood, the seaman was unsuccessful in capturing her gaze. How could he know she thought she might never see him again?
"Madam, may I bestow a Happy St. Valentine's Day to you. I hope you don't think my schoolboy antics too childish," he remarked inclining his head toward the tree's new calligraphy.
Carolyn ran her free hand over the carving and slowly shook her head 'no'.
"I love what you've done," she said, letting their eyes to meet. "And it's not childish at all. Any woman would love what you've done."
"Love," he repeated. "A rampant, raging fever that captures all of us – ghost or human, and I'm afraid it makes us do the most foolish things."
"Like carving initials in trees, and scribbling hearts all over kingdom come." Carolyn smiled.
"Yes. And one day, the simple sentiment this tree bears will grow into something quite unrecognizable. No one will ever know what it once stood for or for whom."
"But we'll know, won't we," Carolyn assured him quietly. "That the carving was really here – only for us, on our special tree."
"Aye. This is something tangible I could give you, like the lovely words in your card." Captain Gregg moved closer, his gentle gaze deepening. "My darling, Carolyn. Of all the hearts I have given you today, there is really only one that counts the most. The one in here." He lay a hand on his chest. "That is, if you will accept it."
Carolyn lovingly put her hand on the tree again. "Don't you know? I already have, Daniel. I did a long time ago."
This time, it was Captain Gregg who experienced the chilling sensation running up his spine, as this was the first time Carolyn had ever called him by his first name. And upon hearing his name from her beautiful lips, the seaman's face lit up with such a genuine smile that Carolyn's eyes couldn't help but glisten. Scruffy immediately sensed her emotion and started licking her face. To the Captain's joy, Carolyn laughed heartily begging the dog to stop.
"Why that mutt is kissing you!" the Captain remarked with feigned jealously. "The cheeky fur-ball! Why, the very idea!" he huffed.
She cuddled Scruffy closer. "You're not jealous of a little dog's kiss, are you?"
"Of his kiss? Not likely, my dear" he said. "Jealous only, that he can kiss you at all."
The End
I make no money from this piece of fiction.