۞
"...So, Master Gibbs," Jack's husky voice drawled as Joshamee Gibbs joined his captain upon the quarterdeck of the Pearl... the tall cliffs were now in sight, as they approached the opening to the well hidden cove that was their destination. "... might I expect that you might light out for your old stompin' grounds in Wales, or..." the captain's dark eyes turned sideways to look at his quartermaster, "... might ye be lightin' out just south t' County Clare an' th' cliffs o' Moher?"
Gibbs' ruddy, grizzled cheeks turned ruddier, and he clasped his hands behind his back, as he rocked back and forth on his feet a little. William and Elizabeth stifled a snicker as they listened to Jack tease Joshamee about his "friend" in County Clare... a lovely widow lady who ran a boarding house in a small town known for its distilleries of whiskey and breweries of good, dark Irish stout. Gibbs cleared his throat and answered, evasively, "Well, Cap'n, Wales is a long piece t' travel in this cold, an' there are several o' th' local drinkin' establishments tha' I haven't frequented to sample their wares..."
"... come now, Gibbs, there aren't that many that ye need t' be making a third trip t' County Clare in as many visits t' Ireland... and repeat after me... the Irish Gaelic words for 'whiskey' and 'beer' are 'uisce beatha' and ' beoir'... or hasn't your 'friend' taught you any Gaelic, yet?" Jack's mustache began to quirk at the corners as his slender hands guided his beloved ship slowly toward the rocky, wild coastline... it would soon be time to run out the sweeps, and Gibbs welcomed the possibility of changing subjects...
"Looks like we'll be in th' cove directly, sir..." Gibbs cleared his throat, "I'd best be gettin' below an'..."
"... and packing your sea bag to nip on out to see Widow O'Shaughnessy..." William volunteered, his own lips pursed to keep from grinning at Gibbs' discomfort at discussing the woman who was slowly warming up a heart that was wounded sorely with the death of Joshamee's wife, Ann, in childbirth, years before. Even in teasing, Gibbs knew it was all goodnatured, and that they were all happy that he had found a charming lady to woo ... who was enjoying it thoroughly, according to Janie's report when they visited Eire last time. She was well acquainted with the jolly little woman who ran a boarding house in the next county over, and who she would encounter, now and then, when they both went marketing for their respective establishments.
"... Well," Gibbs cleared his throat, again, as he drew himself up and pulled in his stomach, with a grin, "... I thought I would visit the drinking establishments... and aye, I thought I would rent a room from Meg... I mean, 'Margaret'... again."
Jack's head whipped around, and he grinned, raising a be-ringed finger, "Meg???? Ah HA! So 'Widow' is NOT her first name!"
They all burst into laughter, as Gibbs turned beet red with pleasure and chill air, and went below to help guide the Pearl into her favourite berth... as he chuckled lowly, the dark captain's eyes now scanned the shore, and he reached for his spyglass... his best holiday gift to himself would probably be pacing the shore, as his own lassie had an uncanny knack for knowing when the Pearl would be coming home...
۞
Somehow, Janie knew it would be today... something, somehow, somewhere told her that it would be today... she had gotten up that morning and had brushed out her long, thick curly auburn hair, then braided it tightly and tied it at the bottom with a black velvet ribbon... just like her Jackie liked it. She had dabbed on spicy, exotic hair oil, as she braided... fragrance that Jack had brought to her all the way from India, an essence of sandalwood and patchouli... a fragrance that she remembered from childhood and her first meeting with Jack's father, whose own black braids were well oiled with patchouli essence. What a mix of aromas would meet her appreciative nose when Jackie arrived, with his own coconut fragranced braids...
It was at their first chance meeting that Janie had given Captain Teague the full story of Maggie Sparrow's murder at the hands of Janie's hateful, bigoted, money mongering father, and she had imparted the information that had sent Captain Teague out to rescue his son... such memories were indelible in Janie's memory, and the fragrance of patchouli would always remind her that her beloved Jackie was brought back from the brink of death at only nine years old by a man who, even in his absence, would become more of a father to her than her own had ever had any aspiration to be. Beautiful Maggie Sparrow had been the only mother figure in Janie's life, and little Jack had been her best friend... Janie opened her eyes and looked at herself in her looking glass... her own bright blue eyes stared back at her... what those eyes had seen...
As she regarded herself in the looking glass, she remembered how she had sometimes wished that had Maggie's black, curly hair and dark, dark skin and sparkling brown eyes... Jack was the very image of his mother. But then, it was Janie's own auburn hair and freckles that Jack loved so much... he would say so everytime he would bring back yard goods for a new dress, presenting gifts with his usual swaying flourish... "Green, t' set off me lassie's beautiful auburn tresses and lovely freckled nose!" Jack delighted in undoing her long braid, and running his tapered fingers through her hair, burying his nose in her curls...
"Saints above!" she admonished herself, one more time, "... get a move on, woman... don't be dreaming when they might arrive anytime!"
She frowned and shook her head at her own image, and finished dressing... she laced up her leather boots, donned her woolen cloak, pulling the fur trimmed hood over her head, and, just knowing that today was the day, she literally ran down the shoreline of the cove, humming "Black Velvet Band" to herself, laughing at herself for feeling as if she were only a child, again! Her usually dignified demeanor had taken a leave for a little while... it must be the crisp, fresh air, she thought.
She paced the rocky shore for what seemed to be hours, the biting cold making her nose tingle and her cheeks rosier... she had the little spyglass that Jack had given to her years ago, and she would scan the horizon impatiently...
It was nearly noon, when she saw it. Her pulse hastened. The unmistakable silhouette of a ship... a tall ship, with three proud masts and black sails.
As the dark ship approached, Janie could help herself no longer... she climbed up on an outcropping of rocks, and began to wave her hands... "Ahoy!!! Ahoy, the Black Pearl!" she began to shout. Her heart leaped into her throat, as a familiar feminine voice of the Black Pearl's quartermaster second mate echoed across the waters. "JANIE! JANIE!" Elizabeth was at the bowsprit, waving merrily and laughing, "Happy Yuletide!"
"Izzy!!! Me darlin'!" Janie cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted back, "...Nollaig Shona Dhuit! Happy Yuletide!"
Not being able to contain herself any longer, she wordlessly met her young friend's eyes from afar, and hesitantly ... slowly... made a questioning, cradling motion with her arms. Her eyes appealed for an answer, even at this distance... Elizabeth smiled, and nodded enthusiastically.
At that very moment, William appeared with a small, blanketed bundle in his arms... and Janie excitedly bobbed up and down on her toes, almost falling from the rock that she was perched upon... a new life! Swallowing hard, she shouted, "Is it a boy or a girl?"
William's handsome face was smiling, his long, curly brown hair now blowing down past his shoulders, as he put an arm lovingly around his wife, who was now hugging him and the bundle, which now had a little pink hand wavering about, above the edge of the blanket, "He's a fine boy, Janie!"
Just then, a slightly built figure joined them at the bow... dark, and smiling, his golden teeth gleaming even at this distance... the wind blowing his long hair and the tails of his red bandana around his angular face like his own colours, a hat perched crookedly upon his head and his coat blowing around him like sails. No words were spoken, as Janie's hand went to her throat... he was always a wonderous sight to behold in his wildness. As her eyes took in her family sailing toward her ever so slowly, in her opinion, the sweeps were run out on the sides of the mightly Black Pearl, and she entered the mouth of the cove...
Janie walked along the shoreline, keeping perfect time with the ship, her cloak pulled around her and her woolen skirt gathered in her hand. The Turners happily watched, as the captain and the innkeeper never took their eyes from one another, their faces saying all that their voices couldn't in front of Jack's crew. And the ship finally tapped her walnut prow against the brightly painted little buoy that bobbed in the water just off of the wooden dock of the inn... as if to tenderly kiss it in greeting, after a long, long voyage.
۞
"Oh my goodness!" was all that Elizabeth could say as the hurried into the welcoming warmth of the inn... William looked around and exclaimed, "It's beautiful, Janie!"
The friendly, dark wood of the mantel was spread with boughs of evergreen of many kinds, and interwoven with holly branches, bright with red berries. The chandelier that hung from the thatched ceiling was also festooned with evergreen and holly, and the entire great room smelled of fragrant fresh pine... and the fireplace was roaring with a crackling peat fire. The old couch was in its usual place, with woolen blankets for extra warmth, and the old trunk in front of it, inviting boots to be propped up and stories to be told. William grinned... one of his favorite places in the world, other than his and Elizabeth's own cabin on the Pearl.
Janie and Jack came in the front door, arms about each other, and happily rubbing cold noses together in the frosty air of the glen. They only hesitated in the open doorway for a moment to share yet another sweet, tender, lingering kiss... "Janie, love, I had forgotten just how blasted cold it gets here!" The beads in Jack's hair took on a brittle sound as they clattered together in the cold. Their breath was in steamy clouds as they spoke.
"Oof! Close the door! Ye've been in the Caribbean too long, Jack... ye need to be reminded where ye came from, once in a while!" Janie shook her head at the captain, and he grinned with utter pleasure as she pecked his cheek, and she finally turned to greet William and Elizabeth properly.
Wrapping her arms around both of them with great feeling, she hugged them each, hard... as Jack was hanging his hat and coat up, and parking his sword by the door, as was his custom and Janie's rule, Janie was whispering so that only the Turners could hear, "... thank you, my loves... thank you for bringing my Jackie back to me one more time... and Izzy, just as we planned our custom would be to always bake bread together, I have bread dough ready for ye to pop into the oven..." Elizabeth hugged Janie snugly... they had shared so much when they first met...
"... we promised you that we always would bring Jack back to you, Janie... " William whispered back, "... of course, he doesn't make it easy... I hope that you have plenty of rum, and peat for a roaring fire in the fireplace, for we have plenty of rousing stories!"
A coo from the bundle in Elizabeth's arms finally brought them all together. Jack had hurried over by now, his eyes glowing with pride, as he slipped his arm around Janie's waist and proclaimed, "Lassie, we have someone new for ye t' meet... me godson! Me own blood kin, Janie!"
"Your godson?" Janie laughed in her lilting Irish way, as Elizabeth and William began to unbundle the blankets, "Don't tell me..."... but her words were arrested immediately as she caught sight of the perfect little angel within. "Ohhhhh..."
Proudly, Elizabeth slowly handed Janie her blanketed, beautiful baby son ... Janie's eyes softened as she took in the cherub that was Jack's own little first half cousin, once removed. Little Will was now 10 weeks old... he had soft brown curls, sleepy brown eyes, and the pinkest cheeks that Janie had ever seen outside of her own. His tiny fists were waving slightly, and he was yawning himself into wakefulness to meet this new person in his young life. His soft brown eyes, just like William's, were finally opening wide to regard the one who was holding him so tightly, and he hiccuped, then smiled.
"Ohhh, you beautiful thing! Ohhh..." was all that Janie could say for a moment... "Ye're the very image of your papa, ye are!" Looking up at the three pairs of happy eyes before her, she was able to finally stammer, "... William, I must agree with what ye have been tellin' me since I first met you and Izzy... " turning her loving gaze to her gypsy pirate captain, she said, "... the dark times are over! And I must say, it's about time for all of us!"
It was going to be a wonderful holiday... her loved ones had arrived safely... and her Jackie's eyes had never left her since the moment the Pearl had appeared on the coast of Connemara... she could tell that he could hardly wait plop down on the couch and snuggle under that blanket with her... and the Turners were eyeing the friendly old couch, themselves... the center of their universe, when in Ireland!
The fire popped and crackled, again, and Jack rubbed his hands together and shivered, but not so the others could see... he would no doubt be teased for not having an ounce of fat on his skinny frame to aid in keeping warm in his native land... damn, he thought, he had truly forgotten how bloody cold it was here... and as fond as he was of Little Will, those arms that were holding the wee baby needed to be around him! Brrrrr, he shivered so hard that his gold teeth chattered!
But damned if he would let anyone see it... he set his jaw, hard, and blew on his freezing hands... quietly. He was unaware that Janie's eyes were twinkling at the captain's vanity...
To be continued...
