Chapter 4
The wheelhouse had changed. It was cleaner, and more organized, but there were also additions to the inventory. His chart rack, which he remembered Carolyn having hauled away, sat next to his desk. Two modern-day footlockers had been stacked just inside the attic door. One was filled with US Navy uniforms of a twentieth-century Captain, and the other with civilian clothing in his size. He found a sweater that could have been a twin to the one he wore in the Christmas dream. Carolyn had liked that sweater. He put it on, along with a pair of black trousers. He had left his boots on the front porch to dry, but he found a pair of black top-siders under the chart rack, and slipped into them.
He glanced out the window, and noticed a familiar shadow. After combing the curls out of his still damp, unruly hair, he left the wheelhouse, and made his way to the kitchen. He wondered what other changes he would discover.
"Captain, you look like you did in our Christmas dream!" Jonathan shouted excitedly. Daniel smiled at the boy's enthusiasm.
"I found a footlocker full of clothes in the wheelhouse, and this sweater was in it," Daniel explained. "And my chart rack from the admiral is up there. Oh, and I have something to show you." He led the children out to the porch. "Look over there", he said, pointing to the tree. The monkey-puzzle tree he had planted in the last century was standing in its original place, pruned and cabled to prevent it from damaging the house.
"The monkey-puzzle tree! It's back!" Jonathan cried excitedly. He ran into the yard to look at it. Fortunately, the rain had stopped. "Cool! But how did it get there?"
"I don't know, it's a mystery. Lots of things have changed, not just me. Let's go back into the house before you get chilled, and I get into trouble with your mother." The squall had been part of a cold front, and the temperature had dropped dramatically in the past hour. Carolyn was walking down the stairs as the trio were returning to the house.
"What were you doing outside?" she asked.
"The monkey-puzzle tree, the one I planted, is back," Daniel replied excitedly.
"What? That's not possible!"
"Come out and see it!" The kids, of course, wanted to join them, but he convinced them to stay inside. He led Carolyn out into the yard.
"Well, it's nice to see it was pruned, so it won't hit the house. This is so strange. Look! There is the one I planted," she said pointing to a much smaller tree further away from the house.
"I also found my chart rack from the Admiral in the wheelhouse," he told her. "And I found two modern footlockers containing clothing and navy uniforms."
"Whoever put them there must have known about the Christmas dream, judging by the sweater. Do you think it might have been Claymore?"
"It's a possibility, but can you really imagine Claymore hauling two footlockers up all of those stairs, let alone him buying the clothing? And how could he have purchased the uniforms, or found my chart rack?"
"This is strange. Are you sure we're not dreaming?" she asked. They had returned to the spot on the porch where they had shared their first kiss, both real and in the dream.
"I don't know, but I'm not going to waste an opportunity!" he replied, kissing her once again.
They rejoined the children in the kitchen. Martha had made coffee, and boiled water for tea. She had discovered his fondness for tea after he had finally revealed himself to her.
"Have any of you noticed unusual changes today, besides my transformation?"
"Yeah", Candy replied. "A boy I didn't recognize pushed me after class today, and Miss Stoddard called him 'Claymore'. Actually, not just 'Claymore', but 'Claymore Gregg'! I heard her say 'Claymore Gregg, you sit back down in your seat!' I'm sure she kept him after school for pushing me. Captain, do you remember that Star Trek episode we watched, where Spock had a beard? It feels like we beamed into a parallel universe, where you are alive, and a bunch of other stuff is different."
"Except this universe is better than our old universe," Jonathan chimed in. "I hope we don't have to go back."
"You and your science fiction shows," Martha gruffed.
Daniel chuckled. He understood Martha's distaste for this particular show. It had taken awhile for the children to convince him to watch it. However, once he began to see similarities between it and his adventures on the sea, he became an enthusiastic viewer.
"I do see what you mean about it being a parallel universe," Daniel replied to Candy thoughtfully. "So, in this universe, Claymore is still a lad. I wonder about his parents, if they are still living now."
"What if the Claymore in this universe has a son named after him?" Carolyn asked, hoping she was understanding this parallel universe thing correctly.
"I know, let's check the phone book!" Jonathan said excitedly. He ran out to the foyer, and took the directory from its place near the telephone. He returned to the table, and looked in the directory for all of the Greggs in Schooner Bay. "The only listings are for Gregg Realty, and Annabelle Gregg.
"Annabelle!" Daniel cried. "Annabelle is my sister, or was my sister. Do you suppose she could be living in this time as well, and is perhaps Claymore's mother?"
"Why don't you call her and ask?" Carolyn suggested.
"What if she turns out to be someone unrelated?" Daniel asked.
"I suppose you could claim to have amnesia from being struck by lightning," she replied.
"You got struck by lightning?" Jonathan asked, apparently impressed.
"Yes, and your mother was struck as well. I thought we might both be a bit barmy from the lightning, but if things seem strange to you as well, we can't be hallucinating". Daniel dialed Annabelle's number. There was no answer.
As Daniel was returning to the kitchen table, there was a knock at the front door. Martha answered it.
"Mrs. Muir, Miss Gregg and Claymore are here to see you", Martha announced from the kitchen door. Daniel followed Carolyn to the foyer. The sight of his sister Annabelle in the doorway struck him dumb. He could only stare at her.
