Brad and Emil Williams were very happy. They had bee married for thirty-five years and their remarriage had been a wonderful commitment. But, still Emily was wondering about her daughter and Claymore.
Emily had spent the past day getting ready for what she had hoped would be her daughter's wedding. She had gone to great lengths to make sure that everything was going to be perfect. Every detail had been worked out. Somehow, Carolyn had found out about her plans. She had made it clear to her mom that she had no intention of marrying this man Captain Gregg that night or anywhere in the future.
Brad had been very happy to remarry his wife. He loved Emily with all of his heart and had been surprised when the wedding plans had been completely stopped. His wife could be very convincing and she had been so sure. The Captain, oh he was something else. He wasn't sure if he would have been happy with his daughter marrying him. He was hardly the kind of man that he pictured his Carolyn being interested in.
As Brad got ready for bed Emily thought about how she had stepped into her daughter's business. She knew that Carolyn might never forgive her for what she had done. Carolyn had always been a proud and private woman. She knew that she should have learned her lesson the first time. After her daughter had lost her husband she and Brad had tried to help and Carolyn had moved her and the children up to Maine. They barely saw her or the grandchildren and she missed them everyday.
It was after nine and the grandchildren had gone to bed. Emily wanted to go in and kiss them good-night. She smiled down at her husband and said " I just want to go say good-night to Candy and Jonathan."
Brad turned around and smiled "I'll be there in a minute."
As Emily walked down the hallway to the children's room she could hear them talking. They were talking low, but in the quiet of the house she could hear what they were saying plainly.
Jonathan was talking in his young voice to Candy. "Did you see Captain Gregg? He was dressed all up in his dress uniform. He looked like he really was going to marry mom."
Candy turned to her brother and said "You know that they can't get married he's a ghost. There is nothing we can do about it"
Jonathan said then "It sure would be a lot better around here if we could tell people about the real Captain Gregg. Grandma and Grandpa would understand"
"Maybe they would, but it might take them a while. Look how long it was before Martha knew. But it sure would be a lot easier around here." Candy said.
As Emily listened to her grandchildren she almost fell forward. Brad was coming down the hall and grabbed her arm. She didn't want to be listening. she truly didn't. She had wanted to say good night to her grandchildren. Brad looked at his wife who was a white as a sheet. Emily put her finger to her lips and shushed him. It was then that Emily decided to make some noise so that the children would stop talking. They came in and with the best of their ability Emily tried to act like nothing had happened and that she had heard nothing.
But, to Emily things made sense. Ever since she had gone to Carolyn's house in Maine she had never felt like things were quite right. So many times she had heard her daughter talking to someone when she was alone. She had listened to the children as they laughed and acted as though they knew something too. That was the reason she had planned the wedding. Now, what was she to do.
As Brad and Emily went back to their room, Emily said "Brad I need to go talk to Carolyn for a moment. I am sorry for what I did and I want to make sure that she is not upset with me."
Somehow Brad wasn't sure that was what was bothering Emily. His wife was very shaken up about something she had heard or seen just a few minutes before as she was going to see Candy and Jonathan. Brad watched as Emily left the room very shaken up.
Emily walked down the stairway and into the foyer. She could hear Carolyn talking to the man who she had been introduced to as Captain Gregg. Emily wondered who he really was. She had heard Jonathan call him Claymore. He must know about the Captain. 'The poor guy.' she thought to herself. She then waited patiently for the man to leave. Once she heard the automobile leave she walked over to the door.
As Emily opened the door to go out onto the porch and speak to her daughter, she saw that Carolyn was busy talking to someone. She could not see who she was talking to, but Emily knew that this was a private moment and she would have to talk to her daughter lately. She backed up and closed the door quietly behind her. She was sure that her daughter was talking to the real Captain Gregg. She was going to have to talk to Carolyn about what she knew, but it would have to wait until the morning.
Captain Gregg was standing there in front of his beloved Gull Cottage with the woman that he truly wanted to be with. The words had never been spoken between him and Mrs. Muir. As a matter of fact, this night was the first time he had ever called her Carolyn, not Mrs. Muir. If there was a way for him to be with her, he would do anything. But, as he looked down at his beloved he watched the front door shut. He wondered who had opened the door. But, it would wait, he was going to spend the rest of the evening with Carolyn Muir.
Emily made her way up to the guest room. For the first time in his lie Brad found his wife speechless. Something had happened and he was very curious as to what had happened as his wife had gone down the hallway. What had she seen or heard he wondered. He watched as his wife get ready for bed, he could tell that she was very upset. She was getting up and then down walking back and forth and just a nervous wreck.
"Emily what on Earth has happened to you? You are acting like a jumping bean for crying out loud." Brad told her.
"I just have to talk to Carolyn." Emily cried out and crawled into bed.
Brad had other things on his mind also, after all it was their anniversary. They would talk in the morning.
