Heavy drama warning!

Chapter 10

Brad and Emily Williams arrived soon after the children came home from school. Everyone talked about the wedding on the tropical island. Jonathan was dismayed that he couldn't take a few lizards home.

For supper, Martha cooked her best meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn. She made a custard for dessert. Everyone was seated at the kitchen table and enjoying the meal.

"So, Martha?" Emily asked. "Have you heard anything from Carolyn and the Captain?"

Martha picked up the coffee pot. "Yes and no."

"What does that mean?" Brad looked at the housekeeper.

"It means that 'yes' we have heard from them and 'no' not with words."

"I don't think that we understand, Martha." Emily offered up her cup to be filled.

"I guess that I'll have to show you. Kids. Don't touch anything until your Mom and the Captain get home. Follow me."

Everyone got up from the table and followed Martha.

"Elroy and Lilly brought these here and told us that Captain Gregg sent them to bring it home." She pointed to the pillowcases of booty that lay in the alcove.

"Great Scott!" Brad exclaimed.

"Good Heavens!" Emily was just as shocked.

"Wow! Cool!" The kids said as they tried to run over to it.

"Leave it alone Candy,…Jonathan," all of the adults responded.

One of the pillowcases tipped over, spilling treasure on the alcove floor.

"I don't think that we'll need to worry about Carolyn's finances anymore, Emily." Brad smiled.

"No. I should say not." His wife was in agreement.

"Maybe I should throw a blanket over the top until they get home." Martha went to the closet.

"Good idea." Brad and Emily headed back to kitchen with the kids.

—

Captain Gregg continued to hold his dear wife, but the worry over her plagued his thoughts. He really didn't know that much of Carolyn's past. It would be improper to pursue the information without her consent. He would have to wait until she was ready to share. He left her laying on the sleep cushion for a few minutes to close up the cabin for the night. After securing everything on deck, he turned to go back down. Pastor Edmond sat in the open hatch snacking on a bag of potato chips.

"If these were around when I was alive, I would be much bigger than I am now!" He crunched down another chip.

Captain Gregg sat opposite the chunky man spirit.

"You missed our wedding, Edmond." He sounded disappointed.

"No, I didn't, Daniel. You just didn't see me. I was there!" He pointed out.

"Really? Where?"

"Oh. Here and there." The pastor was being vague.

"Carolyn and I were looking for you. It would have been nice to know that you were in attendance." Daniel was blustering.

"Now, you know. I wouldn't have missed it. You had a lovely ceremony, a lovely church, and a lovely bride."

"Yes. I must agree." He stroked his beard.

Daniel Gregg turned a serious face. "What are you doing here on our honeymoon, Edmond?"

"I came to encourage you, my son." More potato chips left the bag and entered the spirit's mouth.

"Encourage me?" Daniel gave the Pastor a bewildered look.

"Yes. Your lovely bride has been through some difficult times and needs your patience." Crunch.

"This, I know, Pastor." The Captain was starting to get annoyed.

Pastor Edmond put the chip bag down and looked his fellow spirit in the eye.

"This may be hard for you to understand, Daniel, but I want you to know something. Nothing gets past The Almighty. Nothing. He knows the beginning from the end. We tend to see things as linear. He sees all things in a circle, therefore nothing takes Him by surprise."

"And by this you mean…" Daniel just wanted him to get to the point.

"Faith and trust must walk hand in hand, my son. You can't have one without the other." Edmond picked the bag of chips back up. "I'll be checking back with you. Go tend to your wife."

The bag of chips vanished with the spirit pastor.

Daniel Gregg secured the boat hatch from the inside of the cabin and crept back to his sleeping wife. She reached over to him and cuddled up in his arms. He pondered the pastor's words for the rest of the night.

In the treetops, a dark shadowed figure watched from above the bay.

—-

The next morning, Captain Gregg was up and making more breakfast for his wife. Her favorite English tea was steeping.

Carolyn arose and used the small ship's commode and sink. She picked her brush up from the cabinet and quickly ran it through her hair. Walking over to her husband, Carolyn put her arms around him while he slid the last fried egg onto her plate.

"Thank you for understanding about last night, Daniel. I will talk to you more about what happened. Just not now. I don't want to drown in old memories when I can make new beautiful ones with you."

"I realize that, Carolyn. When you are ready, I will be here." He brought her in for an embrace then a kiss.

"What memory can we make today, my Captain?" She held him close.

"I am going to teach you how to swim and snorkel." He took his shirt off.

"Didn't we try this yesterday and got distracted?" She remembered the previous morning wasn't really a swimming lesson.

"We'll have to focus today. I believe that you would enjoy seeing the marine life that resides in the reefs. First, you must eat your breakfast. I will get our gear together."

Carolyn had already been working on her meal. "You don't need it, do you?"

"No, but I have to look like I do. At least to some degree," he added.

'This could get interesting,' Carolyn mused. She wondered if he would get flustered by the modern snorkel gear.

After breakfast, they went over the gear together discussing what each piece was meant to do.

"Time to get suited up, dear." He lightly smacked her behind as she passed him.

"You are naughty, Daniel Gregg!" Carolyn was putting on her swimsuit.

"Naughty comes later, my love!" He winked at her.

After some trial and error in the water, Captain Gregg decided that his wife should just keep the thin life vest on. Her swimming skills needed work. They first went to a shallow reef area for her to practice. When Carolyn got the hang of using the mask and breathing tube, the couple went to a larger and deeper reef. Captain Gregg used a face mask but didn't bother with the snorkel tube. The couple snorkeled around the reef observing a vast amount of brightly colored fish and marine life. Not needing to breath, he would go below the surface to get a closer look. At one point, he spotted a large shadow coming over the reef. Spinning around, he saw it hovered just above Carolyn and shot out of the water towards it. Nothing was there. Taking off the mask, he looked around carefully and tried to sense if anything was in the area.

Carolyn came over to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He was still looking around. "I thought that I saw something, but it must have been a large bird or a small plane."

"I don't see anything, Daniel. Just us and a few other people watching the fish. They really are beautiful, aren't they?"

"Yes, and so are you." He gave her a salty kiss and stayed much closer to her side.

—

After a morning of snorkeling, the newlyweds popped back to their rented cutter for lunch. Carolyn also took a nap at her husband's request. When she arose from the nap, they ventured back into Charlotte Amalie. She headed to the public showers first thing.

Afterwards, they went shopping for gifts to bring home like a shell necklace for Candy; shark teeth for Jonathan; hand-dyed silk scarves for Martha and Emily; Cuban cigars for Brad and the Samurai General.

Carolyn found a hand made antique wicker rocker that she fell in love with. They decided to have the rocker shipped home.

After taking the gifts back to the boat, the couple took a walk down the white sand beach. Similar to what they would do back home. The warm waters washed over Carolyn's feet and she wiggled her toes in the surf.

"I could stay here for week! Maybe two!" She took a spot to sit down.

Her husband sat down beside her. "We could, you know. If you really wanted to, darling."

"I can't imagine anything better, Daniel. You, me, and a warm tropical island." Carolyn closed her eyes and listened to the surf wash over the shore.

"Would you like to stay for a while longer, my dear? We still have other islands available to visit." The ghost captain was certainly open to having a longer honeymoon with his wife.

"Let me think about it, Daniel. I don't want the kids to think that we've abandon them." She picked up a shell to look over.

"Whatever you want, my dear." He took her into his embrace.

"Let's call home and see how the kids are doing."

—-

Back in town, they were able to find a phone. Calling collect, the operator rang Gull Cottage.

"Hello? Muir residence." Martha still used her employer's previous name until notified otherwise.

"Will you receive a collect call from Daniel and Carolyn Gregg?"

"Yes! Yes we will!" Martha replied.

"Martha? Is that you?" Carolyn was hoping that they would not be disconnected.

"Yes! Mrs. Mu..Mrs. Gregg. Let me call the family over." Martha called everyone over to the phone.

Many voices could all be heard at once. Each wanting the phone to talk. Carolyn held the phone over to her husband so he could hear the chaos. They both chuckled.

"One at a time." Martha was addressing the kids. "Candy. You're the oldest. You first."

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Captain. Are you having a nice time?" She started out cordial.

"Hi, dear. Hello, Candy. It's wonderful here. So warm and sunny…"

"Mom? Captain? Can we go through the treasure that you sent back? Please!?"

Jonathan started in. "Yeah! Can we? Please let us look at it! Please!"

Now both of the kid's voices combined to beg permission. Carolyn rolled her eyes and grinned. 'They don't care about the honeymoon. They just want permission to go through the treasure.'

"I'll talk to your Dad about it. Now put Martha, Grandma, or Grandpa on the phone." Emily picked up the phone.

"Hello, dear. Hello, Captain. Are you having a nice honeymoon? "

"Yes," they both said. "It's beautiful here, mother!"

"Captain. We were most certainly surprised to see your…loot? Is that what it's called?"

Daniel couldn't help but laugh. "Yes. One might call it that."

"I think that Brad wants to talk to you about it. Hold on." Emily passed the phone to her husband.

"Gregg? Where the devil did you find such a haul?"

"It came from a Dutch ship wreck that I knew about." The Captain looked around to find Carolyn sulking on a chair beside him.

"Captain, I know a broker, personally, who makes private buys for his employer. His employer purchases 'finds' like this for a private collection and will pay handsomely for them if he can get first dibs. With your permission, I would like to see what you have and make contact with the broker."

"Of course, Mr…Brad. Sort through it and divide it into categories. Just don't let the children run off with anything. I think that Carolyn would like to speak with you, sir."

Carolyn gave her husband a thoughtful look.

"Dad? I'm having a wonderful time. It's a paradise here! I couldn't ask for a better honeymoon. I'm so happy, Daddy." Her voice began to crack.

Brad pulled out a hankie. "I'm so glad to hear that, Carolyn. You deserve to be happy, sweetheart."

"I'll call back in a couple of days, Dad."

We'll be waiting, dear."

They ended the call and Carolyn hugged her husband.

"Thank you, Daniel."

"You are most welcome, my love."

Under the cover of darkness, they popped back to the cutter.

—-

The moon was full and had cast a reflection on the water in the bay. Mr. and Mrs. Gregg were topside on the deck of the boat finishing a delectable dessert. They sat together in the moonlight. She moved over into his lap and laid her head on his chest. He could smell the sweetness of her shampoo.

"My dear, your father may have a buyer for some of the sunken ship cargo. He is going to check with a broker about what we have." The seaman had pulled her closer into his arms.

"Hmmm," was her only response.

"Dear? Do you like this boat, the 'Spirited'?" He was not at all sure how she would answer.

"Sure, I like the boat. It's a little cramped, but it's fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because I am thinking about purchasing it."

"Really? You wouldn't want a brand new one?" She raised her head.

"No. This one appears to be made quite well and handles exceptionally on the water. It just needs some updating. I believe that I can make more room in it too."

"It's fine with me. Where would we put it?"

"We could put it in the back barn where I can work on it over the winter." The Captain was paying close attention to any of her non-verbal cues.

"We could work on it as a family. The children could help too," he further added.

Carolyn already knew her answer, and she was not going to deprive her captain of his sailing vessel.

"I think that is a wonderful idea, Daniel. I know that the kids will be excited too." She kissed him.

"It will be good for all of us, my dear." Daniel was more than content.

Carolyn chucked. "I seem to remember that you thought that it was a good idea if I married Blair Thompson!"

Captain Gregg choked on his rum. "I said no such thing!"

"I think that you did. You said that it would be best for everyone if I married Blair. Best for me. Best for the children." She shook her head at such nonsense.

"Carolyn! You are not remembering correctly! That fair weather dandy and his ice cream britches…!" He abruptly stopped. The words sounded familiar even to him now.

"Just for the record, I'm glad that I didn't marry Blair. It wasn't best for me or the children. I think that I married the right captain," she purred.

Captain Gregg wasn't sure if he should be angry or complimented.

"Let us retire down below, darling. It's getting rather late."

The Captain locked up the cabin and they snuggled in bed.

—

An hour later Carolyn shifted in her sleep. She became restless and panicky. Her legs tried to run.

'Oh no. It's the nightmare again'. Daniel gently tried to awaken her.

"Carolyn, wake up. You're dreaming."

She gasped and went limp. Her breathing had stopped.

Wide eyed, Captain Gregg sat her up and mildly shook her.

"Carolyn! Wake up! Breathe!" He was yelling.

She gasped again and coughed, waking up. Her breathing was raspy, but at least she was taking in air.

Daniel brought her some water and she took a few sips, still coughing.

The look on her Captain's face told of his desperation.

"Carolyn, you must tell me what is going on! No more excuses! Tell me what is happening in these nightmares that you keep having!" His voice was breaking with emotion, and she sensed his grief through their pathway

His wife nodded in agreement but continued coughing. Carolyn focused and went semi-transparent. She thrusted herself inside of her unsuspecting husband. They saw, moved, felt, and thought as one.

Daniel was in her nightmare from a spectator viewpoint. Night terror was more like it. He saw her running as fast as she could in the darkness. Something was pursuing her from a distant fog. Something black and quick. Carolyn was prey. Her predator always within mere inches of capturing her. Fingers would find their way around her throat and she gasped for air. Daniel came to her aid, but his fists passed through the predator. He could do nothing to help her.

Carolyn pulled out of her husband and they were separate once again.

"Now you know what I know, Daniel."

Both were short of breath even though Daniel didn't breathe. They collapsed onto the mattress. For several minutes they did not speak.

They lay flat on their backs. The seaman reached for his wife's hand. She responded and slipped into his arms.

"I do not understand, Carolyn. Why did you not tell me about these…night terrors." His heart ached as he recalled what he saw.

"Tonight was the worst that it's ever been, Daniel."

"My dear, you stopped breathing! It scared me to…" He was up on one arm looking down at her. "Carolyn, until we can resolve the issue, I will be helping you to sleep every night and placing a barrier around your mind so that nothing should be able to penetrate."

"I agree. It's a good idea, Daniel." Carolyn tried not to weep, but a tear slid down the side of her face. Her husband was already worrying enough.

The Captain helped her get back to sleep and set the barrier in place.

Even if he were alive, the seaman would not have been able to sleep.

'My wife has a dream stalker.' It sounded incredulous.

Outside of the boat, a dark figure watched from the treetops.

—