Memories

He found himself making his way up the stairs on legs that due to various injuries sustained over his long career, as well as just plain old age, refused to show even a bit of the resiliency they had once held for climbing among the rigging or traversing the rolling deck of a ship under sail in even the worst weather Mother Nature had to throw at it. If not for the stair railing he was assisting himself upward with he doubted he would be able to make the climb at all. He finally managed to reach the top step, and with a backward glance down the stairs and a snort meant to unequivocally let the staircase know it had been bested, this time at least, he followed the lad carrying his worldly belongings packed in several suitcases and one medium size chest towards a room at the far end of the hall.

As James entered the room the lad had already set the baggage on the bed and had turned expectantly to James.

"'ere ya go Sir. Would ya be requirin anything else?"

"Perhaps a tub and some hot water later on, other than that I can think of nothing I would be requiring at present." James replied. He stood there watching the lad watch him with that expectant look still on his face. When the lad's eyes dropped to James' pocket for a brief moment James realized what the lad was waiting on.

"Sorry." James said with a hint of a smile as he dug a coin out of his pocket with slightly arthritic fingers and held it out to the lad.

"Thank ye." The lad said as he took the coin and slid it into his own pocket. As he made his way to the door he said, "If ya need anything else just let me know."

"Just that tub and water I previously mentioned." James replied.

"I'll see to that for ya Sir. Oh,'n case Mum didn't tell ya she serves breakfast bout seven in the mornins, lunch bout noon 'r so, 'n the evenin meal bout six o'clock, all included in yer weekly rent. 'n jest fer yer information less yer in dire straits of some kind she don't deliver 'em ta the rooms, expects everyone in the dinin room fer eatin."

"Thank you, I shall do my best to keep that all in mind." James said as the boy left the room.

James had never been one to surround himself with much more than the basic requirements to make himself comfortable, but as he stood there surveying his present surroundings he realized this was a step down from even that. There was an old badly used wardrobe against one wall, next to it a small and very unstable looking table holding a dingy pitcher and bowl, with a cracked and very cloudy looking mirror hanging on the wall above it. There was what appeared to have once been a rather comfortable looking chair that now had tufts of its stuffing poking out of it in various spots against the wall next to the window and another small rickety table next to it holding an oil lamp with a wick clearly needing trimmed, and an extremely sooty chimney. Other than the bed topped with a much patched quilt, a small shelf on the wall over the head of the bed, a small worn throw rug, a pair of faded drapes on the window, and hanging on one of the walls a framed picture of a field of flowers that had long ago lost its brightness, that was the extent of the furnishings.

James mumbled to himself, 'Bleak, very bleak' as he finished his perusal of the room and made his way over to the bed and sat down. He stared at the meager accumulation of property he was left in possession of after near a lifetime of serving King and Country sitting on the bed beside him. James had never been a spendthrift, had in fact diligently over the years put funds away in anticipation of a retirement spent in comfort. But through a series of unfortunate events, including several life threatening illnesses and injuries that took quite a bit of that nest egg, a promising investment or two that turned sour, and a hurricane that hit Port Royal and destroyed most of his possessions as well as his home, not to mention most of the town, James found himself sitting in a rented room in a town he hadn't ever expected to see again beside what now constituted his worldly goods. Of course he still had the monthly stipend from the Navy, a good deal of the past two months worth going to pay for his passage back to the place of his birth. As far as the rest he found frugality was of utmost importance in the disbursement of those funds, prices being what they were now a days.

He stood up and walked over to the window, with a slight frown he wiped one of the panes with his shirt cuff to clear it enough to look out. At least he had a fair view of the town and a good deal of the docks from his room, wondering even as this thought flitted through his mind whether that was a good thing. He gave a soft exhalation as his eyes ran over the buildings to one side of his line of sight. Somewhere over in that direction was his boyhood home, sold out of the family by his Sister shortly after the passing of his Mother some fifteen years ago, he being too far away to do anything but read the letter explaining what had occurred long after the fact. He gave himself a shake; he refused to allow himself to delve into those memories right now. His gaze wandered off in another direction, toward the place most of his family, Father, Mother, and Sister as well as several Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins were buried. His Brother had been lucky enough to pass away at sea and his body given over to the depths. James had always thought that a noble way to go, and given the choice would be his preferred way of joining the afterlife, back into the arms of Mother Ocean. Now it looked as if he would be joining those interred in the Norrington Family Mausoleum, trapped in some musty, mildewed, and moldering crypt for eternity. "Falling into quite a mood of morbidity here aren't we James?" He snorted and stepped back over to the bed and began the task of putting his belongings, in orderly fashion of course, into the wardrobe. When his jacket and several shirts had been removed from the suitcase and been hung neatly, his several pairs of breeches and stockings removed, folded, and put in the drawer with precision, and his extra pair of shoes set in perfect alignment next to the wardrobe he turned his attention to the chest. He unfastened the hasp and raised the lid. Here were the few books and papers he had managed to retrieve from the ruins of his home. He gently picked up one, ran his hand over it for a moment, then aligned it on the shelf. As he removed two more from the chest something fell from one of them onto the bed. He set the books aside and picked up the item that had fallen. The minute his fingers touched it he knew what it was. His eyes closed as his fingers closed upon it and he brought it up to hold against his chest, not daring to look at it just yet. He hadn't thought about this in years, in fact thought it had been lost to him, yet here it was nestled among those books stuck away in his safe long ago. He sat heavily on the bed, the small gilt-framed item still clutched dearly against him, the memories it carried rushing in to take precedence over his mind. As his eyes began to glisten with moisture he looked heavenward, then a few moments later down at the item in his hands. "Elizabeth." He sighed in a trembling voice as he looked at the miniature portrait. He huffed at the effect the woman still had over him, and in a stern censuring tone said, 'Good Lord man, she was laid to rest twenty years past. You should have been over her long ago' He sat there for some minutes, casting a look at the picture from time to time. Then with an air of resolve he stood and examined the walls of the room a bit more closely. Finding what he was after, and with a smile on his face, he crawled onto the bed and hung the precious item on the tack protruding from the wall right next to where his head would be on the pillow. He sat back on his heels, and placing two fingertips to his lips he transferred the kiss to the woman staring back at him.

The End

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