Chapter 4

A week later, I was on deck asleep. I had fallen asleep on my feet next to Jack at the helm and had apparently been carried back to a couple of chairs where I lay. I opened my eyes and found the sun directly overhead. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was on deck and not in my cabin, but once I woke up a little more, I sat up and went over to Jack.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked through a yawn and a stretch.

"About 10 hours," Jack replied, turning to look into my eyes. "You seemed really tired yesterday." I had been. For the past week, I had gone through the days on a little under four hours of sleep each day, so my lack of sleep had finally caught up to me. I figured that Jack had put me where I had been when I woke up, so I didn't ask.

"How long do you think we have until we get to Aruba," I asked, scanning the horizon line for any signs of land. I found none.

"Oh, probably another five hours or so," Jack replied, scanning the horizon with me. That seemed like an eternity. I really wanted to see Aruba. I had always heard that it was a beautiful paradise with snow-white beaches and crystal clear water that stayed at around 85 degrees Fahrenheit year round. And gorgeous coral reefs that you could snorkel on. Sadly, I knew I wouldn't be snorkeling, seeing as the snorkel and goggles hadn't been invented yet. I decided to go down to my cabin to start reading The Far Side of the World. I gave Jack a quick hug, informed him that I'd be in my cabin if anyone needed me, and took my leave. Once I was in my cabin, I took my shirt off since I was hot and sat on my bed in my bra, pants and boots and started reading my book.

About two hours later, there was a knock on my door. Just as I was reaching for my shirt, the door flew open and Jack charged in.

"Holy crap! Jack!" I screamed, holding my shirt in front of me. I rose from my bed and turned my back to him and threw my shirt on. "Ever heard of waiting for permission to enter! Good lord! You're lucky I didn't have any less on!"

"Sorry love," Jack replied. "Just thought you'd like to know that land has been sighted and we should be in port in Aruba within the hour."

"I thought you said we'd be there in five hours," I responded, a bit shocked.

"Well…I lied." I gave him a stern look as he continued. "Only jokin' love. I didn't know how far out we were, so I gave it the best estimate I could." I rolled my eyes and put my book on my nightstand. I followed Jack out of my room, and on my way out, I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on top of my chest of drawers.

We arrived up on deck and everyone was bustling about, preparing the ship for when we arrived in Aruba. I walked up to the bow while Jack took the helm from Anamaria and I watched the horizon as the island drew ever closer. As I was looking out to sea, thoughts of what Jack had told me back in Tortuga began to float through my mind. My aunt Roxanne was here somewhere and I was going to meet her. This wasn't just any aunt, this was my mom Isabella's sister. Anything I wanted to know about her before she met Jack I could find out. Like how old she was when she met Jack, how long it was until he married her, when did she die, why did she die.

As Aruba loomed ever closer, I began to get nervous. What if she didn't like me? What if I didn't like her? I was so deep in thought that I didn't hear Jack come up behind me. A hand landed rather suddenly on my shoulder and I jumped.

"AAHH!" I whipped around and came nose to nose with my father.

"Oh, Dad, it's just you," I breathed in relief. "Sorry."

"You're nervous about meeting Roxanne aren't you," Jack said. Was I really that obvious?

"What are you talking about? I'm not nervous," I replied, trying to sound nonchalant. I either didn't sound nonchalant enough, or Jack had figured it out before he came up to me. Either way, he rolled his eyes.

"Alright, fine. I am nervous," I confessed after a stare down between Jack and myself. "I just don't know how we're gonna react to one another is all." Jack pulled me into a one-arm hug as he looked out at the approaching island.

"Everything's gonna be fine. Trust me," was his only reply. I rested my head on his shoulder and we stood together for a few minutes. Soon, a harbor was visible, and Jack began to make his way to the helm to bring us in. I followed, even more nervous than before. As I stood next to Jack, he must have sensed my nerves because he put an arm around my shoulders and told me to relax.

We pulled into the harbor twenty minutes later and a gangplank was brought forward from the docks. Clearly Jack was well-known here because when we appeared at the top of the gangplank, a cheer rose up from a crowd that had gathered on the dock. Jack and I were halfway down when a woman called out.

"Jack!" We both turned and that's when I saw her. A tall, thin woman with a finely toned tan body, jet black hair, and emerald green eyes was jogging toward us in a golden brown peasant top, black pants and boots. I did a double-take because it looked like my mother, Isabella, was jogging toward me. Before Jack could say anything, I knew who this woman was.

"Roxanne!" Jack called back. He released my arm and embraced the woman.

So this is my aunt Roxanne, I thought. She looks exactly like my mom. Roxanne glanced over Jack's shoulder and our eyes met. She released Jack and

walked around him, surveying me.

"Oh my God. Angel. I haven't seen you in years." I smiled my best smile and replied.

"And you must be my mother's sister."

"Aye, I am. You look so like Jack it's unnatural," Roxanne said, still looking me over.

"And you look so like my mother that when I first saw you runnin' toward us, I thought I was seein' her instead of you." I replied. She smiled. We hadn't known each other five minutes and I already liked her. Jack invited her to join us for lunch on the Pearl and she gladly accepted.

We boarded the ship and while Anamaria went to get food, we all sat down, Jack at the head of the table, me on his left, and Roxanne on his right. We talked for some time about me and my life in the 21st century and my life with Jack for the past two years. Roxanne was very eager to hear anything and everything about me, so I told her as much as I thought necessary. After about fifteen minutes of conversations, Anamaria arrived with lunch. It was a simple lunch of pork, rice, sourdough bread with jam, wine and ale.

An hour later, we finished eating and headed out onto the main deck. Jack gave Roxanne a "grand tour" as he called it, of the ship while I headed for the bow with a bucket of soapy water and a hard brush. I stepped out onto the bow spar and slid carefully down on a wooden swing so I could clean the figurehead. I was just about to start scrubbing it down when a loud shot rang out rather close to me. I looked around wildly, trying to figure out what the noise was. Then I saw it. An officer from the British Royal Navy on shore, holding a musket with smoke coming from the barrel that he was reloading. I scrambled back up to the bow spar, bucket in hand, and ran screaming for Jack.