So I'm guessing that the story isn't that much of a hit? LOL the lack of reviews tells me so. Well, I am posting another chapter to see if I can get some attention! Please review! I love reviews. Cookies and bribes can be given!

(20 years later)

"William? Get down here, breakfast is getting cold!" cried a voice from the kitchen.

The woman brushed blonde hair away from her face as she placed another plate on the table. Dark eyes wandered about the room until a sigh escaped her lips. "William? William Turner race down stairs or I will resort to..."

Within moments there came a thud upon the ground. The vase on the table shook. A shocked look came from the woman as she placed both hands on the edge of the table. She tensed her shoulders, praying that the china plates would not fall to the floor. "How many times must I remind you that you are too old to be jumping around! You'll bring the roof down!"

"At least a hundred times more, mum." replied a deep voice. Laughter soon followed from the figure that entered the kitchen. He was a strapping young man with hair that had been kissed by the sun. Dark eyes danced with joy. Seeing young William Turner without a grin on his face and a kick in his stop was rare. Nothing could damper his mood. He planted a kiss upon his mother's cheek. Sitting down in an old wicker chair, he began to scarf down his eggs. "Did you hear that there are new job opportunities opening up?"

Elizabeth couldn't help but join in his merriment. She was blessed with a son who could cheer any woman. Plus there was the fact that with every passing day, he reminded her of her husband. How long had it been since they last saw each other? Words could not describe how she missed him. He was close to her heart but far from her arms. At night she could feel them aching for the man she loved. It was those thoughts that made her shiver. She was being selfish, she convinced herself. There was a job that had to be done and Will, her beloved, was doing what he was charged. But oh how she missed him! Ten years was an eternity her heart longed speed through.

"Mother?"

Snapping out of her daze, Elizabeth could only smile at her son. She shook her head, the memories of the past dissolving into sunlight. "Job opportunities?"

"Yes! One can make three times as much in their trade which means..."

There was a look of puzzlement emitting from her as she knitted her brow. What opportunities would open on a small settlement in the Caribbean? Where they lived wasn't a major highlight for the British navy nor a great attraction for settlers. "Which means what?"

William paused, his smile finally diminishing. He put down his fork, his tongue rolling over masticated eggs. "Moving..."

"Moving?" That was the only word that Elizabeth thought about. They couldn't move! This island was where the Flying Dutchman came every ten years! If she uprooted from here and located somewhere else, how would Will find her? She continued to stare at her son. Shock was what pounded through her skull. Living anywhere else wouldn't be an option. What if she didn't make it back in time to see the returning of her love? So many questions swirled in her mouth. "Maybe we should talk about this when your father comes back."

"But mother!" cried the young lad. He stood to his feet. "There is nothing here! St. Lucia..."

Elizabeth jumped to her feet, though she was no match for the looming height of her son. "St. Lucia is run by the French. Why would you want to work for them? What about your father?"

There was a long pause from William. His jaw set askew while eyes locked with the wood frame of the table. This was a moment in which his jocular mood was torn to pieces. He knew his mother's views on leaving this island but he was a young man! She just didn't understand. "They are in need of help and the British government can't make a good enough offer as this one! All my friends are leaving!" He rolled his shoulders. "Besides... father comes every ten years. I can come back in time to see him. I need a life! I need to get out and do something!"

"And if you don't?" Elizabeth could feel her breath slowing. Why was he acting like a selfish child? She didn't raise him to be this way but boys will be boys. "What if you don't?""I can't build my whole life waiting on a man. A man I have only seen once! He can't visit more often? What would possess a man to stay away from his family for so long?" William ran his hand through his blonde hair. "If there is something you aren't telling me then please, tell all."

Elizabeth gazed hopelessly at her son. She shook her head while fighting the urge to shake him. "Have you forgotten? I told you!"

"Stories mother... you've told me stories! A child grows up and when he does, then he puts away childish things! Do you honestly expect me to believe that my father steers a boat that ferries souls to the next world? Or that his heart is actually in that chest?" She went to speak but William only held up his hand. "And that day, father told me stories as well. What of next year? More stories? I'm eighteen! I am a man!"

"A man... would believe his mother."

William rested his hands upon Elizabeth's shoulders. He gazed downward to his boots, then back to her swelling brown eyes. Her tears weren't something that caused him joy. "I love you and everything you have done for me. Now it's time for me to give back to you."

She could feel her stomach aching. Feelings of such pain weren't felt since she had lost her husband. Luckily the very thing that kept him away from her saved him. Was she now losing her son? "William..."

"If he loved you, then he would be here but he isn't. I'm here." William sighed. "I love you, mum."

Elizabeth felt her heart beating in her throat. She couldn't find words to say to her son. What she had feared came true. Her way of life, what happened so long ago, was unbelievable. For a moment she understood where he was coming from. In the dead of night, when she was alone with her thoughts, the adventures were enough to make her second guess herself. Was everything a dream? Would she awake and find herself sleeping among silk sheets and caressing down filled pillows? Tears welled in her eyes. They weren't stories or dreams, what had happened was real. How could she show her son?

"I'm going down to the docks. Men are signing up by the bushels." William let go of his mother's shoulders. He slowly walked over to the door and slipped his arms though his jacket. "Need to get my name in."

Folding her arms over her chest, Elizabeth kept her back to him. She didn't want to see the fake grin that was creeping into the corner of his cheeks. Even her son's kiss goodbye wasn't enough to make her move. It was when the door closed behind her that she felt her knees give way.

Slipping into the chair, she closed her eyes. Being a single parent was hard. He was a good lad. No one could say that William Turner III was a boy who caused trouble. There was a pure heart hidden under that manly array. She knew he was doing what was right by him.
"One more year." Elizabeth rested her forehead against the palm of her hand. "Oh Will... I need you..."