Disclaimer: All characters except that of Sr. Kathryn belong to their creators (R. A. Dick, a/k/a Josephine Lesley, and 20th Century Fox, specifically), and do not originate with me; I am merely borrowing them for the purpose of weaving a story around them. Sr. Kathryn Love is a composite character loosely based on a few different women I have personally known, and one whom I do not. This bit of fan fiction is written strictly for personal entertainment, and I neither wish, nor receive, financial recompense for it.
LOVE IS
by
JCS
"One cannot love without suffering, or suffer without loving."
~ St. Gianna Molla ~
In the early morning light streaming through her bedroom window, Carolyn Muir closed her Bible, and reflected on the chapter she had just read in First Corinthians. She found that Saint Paul's words made her very uncomfortable.
"If this is an accurate description of love in its purest form," she thought, "then, I've got a long way to go!"
"Good morning, dear lady," said Captain Daniel Gregg cheerfully, as he materialized in their room, dressed in his usual nautical garb. "You are certainly awake early, today! Have you got something on your mind?"
She looked at him, nodded, and smiled a bit absently.
"Um…yes. I'm thinking about love."
"Really?" he grinned, as his voice dropped to a more intimate level, and he quirked an eyebrow at her. A certain, rakish glint appeared in his sky-blue eyes. "Please, tell me more!"
She blushed a bit as she shook her head at him, rolled her own green eyes, and sighed in mild exasperation.
"Reverend Farley asked me to write a short article about love for the church's February newsletter in honor of Saint Valentine's Day. He gave me a book by C. S. Lewis called The Four Loves for background, but suggested I start by reading First Corinthians, chapter thirteen, as well as other Scripture verses on the subject. I've just read the first of them, and I was thinking about it when you popped in."
The captain, deflated, furrowed his brow slightly, and said, "The church newsletter? Does that pay much? And the good reverend wants you to write an article for Saint Valentine's Day in July?"
"It doesn't pay at all, I'm afraid," Carolyn replied, smiling at him. "It'll come strictly out of the goodness of my heart—it'll be a real labor of love. But I told Reverend Farley that I'd do it—I don't have the time to volunteer for anything else for the church, after all. The article isn't due until early January. He knows I have to write other articles and stories to sell, in the meantime, so he gave me plenty of notice."
"Well, I suppose I'll let you get to it, then," Captain Gregg said, and disappeared rather abruptly, leaving Carolyn a little surprised at his sudden departure. But she shrugged, and got ready to go downstairs for breakfast.
Up in his wheelhouse, the captain rummaged through one of his sea chests, and finally found his old, leather-bound, pocket-sized New Testament. A gift from his Irish mother before her death when he was a young boy, it had traveled the world's seas with him, never far from his hand . . . even when he had knowingly, and quite willingly, violated its teachings. He thought he remembered First Corinthians, chapter thirteen, but he wanted to be sure of it. It had been so long. He riffled through the little book's pages. Ah, here it was—his finger found verses four through eight: "Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; Is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never falleth away: whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed."
After reading this twice, slowly and thoughtfully, Daniel Gregg bowed his head into his hands in sorrow. How he had failed in loving everyone—but especially Carolyn! Now, in researching this blasted article, she would realize by how much he'd missed the mark. Would she take her family and leave Gull Cottage . . . and him? He found the thought unbearable. He must make amends, before it was too late. He raised his head, and popped down to the kitchen.
The family was gathered, eating breakfast. The captain materialized behind Carolyn's chair.
"Madam," he said, quietly, "may I speak with you privately when you have finished your meal?"
Carolyn turned to look at him, noting his serious tone. "Can it wait until after the kids have left for the day? I won't be so distracted."
Captain Gregg nodded, and said, "Yes, of course, my dear. I'll be in my alcove." Then, he vanished.
Candy and Jonathan looked at each other, then at their mother, puzzled.
"He didn't even say 'hi' to us, Mom! Is he mad at us or something?" asked Jonathan.
Carolyn thought back to her own conversation with the captain earlier, and shook her head. "No, I don't think so. He just seems a bit preoccupied this morning. Don't worry; I'll find out about it after you've gone out to play."
"Hmmmm," said Martha, at the toaster. "Maybe, the old goat is coming down with the ague? No, I suppose not."
The children giggled.
"Actually, Mrs. Muir, I do have to do some shopping in Keystone today," Martha said. "How about if I take the children with me? I need helpers."
"Kids? What do you think about that?" Carolyn asked them.
Both Candy and Jonathan considered the idea briefly.
"Yeah, I guess that's okay, Mom. I didn't have anything special to do today, anyway," said Candy. Jonathan nodded in agreement.
Carolyn smiled at them both warmly. They really were such good children. She was very grateful for that.
"Good! Now, go outside and play until Martha is ready to go, okay?"
"Okay, Mom!" they said, kissed her on each cheek, and ran outside together.
Still smiling, Carolyn placed her coffee mug and plate into the sink, then walked out of the kitchen, across the foyer, and through the parlor to the alcove.
"Captain?" she said, as she separated the curtains concealing the alcove from the parlor. "You wanted to talk to me?"
She saw the captain was sitting at his desk, reading a small, black, leather-bound book, which he closed and tucked into his jacket pocket as she came in. He looked up at her with an inscrutable expression, at first, but immediately, several emotions seemed to flow across his face in quick succession. Carolyn looked at him curiously as she waited for him to speak, but he seemed to be having a problem choosing his words. She wondered greatly at this, since he always seemed so confident in his speech, but she waited patiently. Something was obviously bothering him, she could tell . . . and she really hoped it didn't have to do with her less-than-loving behavior toward him. She loved him, she realized, but the two of them were like the proverbial oil and water, sometimes. That Scripture she had read earlier had stung her conscience, and made her more sensitive to her interactions with her family in particular, and with those in the Schooner Bay community in general.
Finally, he seemed to seize on something to say.
"Mrs. Muir," he began, and stopped. He tried again. "Mrs. Muir . . . I've reconsidered your inviting visitors to my . . . our home."
Carolyn relaxed a bit, and smiled at him. Her response encouraged Daniel tremendously, so he sheepishly gave his left ear a tug as he continued.
"I've decided that it won't pose any threat to our general well-being if you invite some female friends over, now and then, or even some more of your less aggravating relatives. It would be good for the children to see some of their extended family members in their own home, after all . . . as long as they don't disrupt our existences too much."
"Why, thank you, Captain! I really appreciate your tolerance about that," Carolyn said with real gratitude, which warmed the ghost unexpectedly. "And your timing is wonderful! I just got a letter from my cousin, Kathryn, this past week, asking if she could come to visit for a week early next month. I confess, I wasn't looking forward to discussing it with you, but I'd really like her to come—we haven't seen each other since we were kids!"
The captain, for his part, had not expected Mrs. Muir to take his generous concession to heart quite so quickly, and he made a small, strangled sound before clearing his throat and trying again to speak. "Ah . . . another cousin?" he asked, remembering her cousin Harriet's visit.
Carolyn heard the trepidation in his voice, and smiled inwardly.
"Don't worry, Captain Gregg. I actually like this cousin, and I'm sure you will, too, if you give her a chance. We were quite close as children—we're only a few months apart in age—and we were neighbors, until her family moved to Arizona when we were ten." She paused, remembering. "We were Katie and Carrie, best friends besides being first cousins, and just did everything together! We've never seen each other since they moved, but we've always written, back and forth. In fact, Kate was my only relative supportive of my moving up here to Maine with the children after Bobby died. She wrote me a lovely, encouraging letter when she learned of it from her mother, who is my mother's older sister."
Daniel realized then that he would be eternally grateful for Carolyn's cousin Kathryn . . . whether he liked her or not.
"Isn't she married?" he asked, wondering why the woman would be roaming so far away from home by herself.
"Well, she would say so, but she's not married in the usual manner . . . ." Carolyn began.
"Oh? Does she have a ghost around, too?" he quipped, preening a bit, as he grinned at her sidelong.
"Ummm . . . well, you could say that—the Holy Ghost. She's a religious sister, and teaches in a Catholic mission school in western New Mexico. She's on her summer vacation."
"She's Catholic?" the captain asked, quite surprised. "I thought all of your family were Episcopalians and Presbyterians?"
"They are. Kate became a Catholic when she was 24, while she was engaged to be married to a man who was Catholic. That caused quite an uproar in the family, I remember. Of course, everyone blamed her conversion on her fiancé, Bill."
"She became a Catholic to marry him, and then the scoundrel broke their engagement?" Captain Gregg bristled. "Obviously, she was hurt and joined the convent to withdraw from the world!"
"No, I don't think that's what happened, at all. From what I understand, she broke the engagement to join her religious order."
"Indeed?" the captain mused. "I suspect that therein lies a story, Madam. Perhaps, you should interview her for a future article while she is here."
Carolyn cocked her head in thought and looked at him. "You know, that's not a bad idea, Captain. Thank you! Now, you will try to not scare her to death before I do that, right?"
"My dear, I promise to be on my very best behavior," he assured her with a smile that made her glow within. "Besides, if I'm not, she just might try to exorcise me!"
With a laugh at the memory that last comment brought to mind, Carolyn said, "Oh, thank you, Captain! I'll write her tonight!"