They gathered together, eagerly awaiting Clarence's explanation. After a few minutes he appeared with several maps under his arm. "I knew I saved these for a reason," he said. "It wasn't just that I couldn't let them be destroyed." He unrolled one and laid it out on the sand for them to see.
"What are we looking at?" Cal asked.
"This," Clarence said, pointing. "This is where I think we are."
"La ile Antoinette," Rose read in a perfect French accent. "So?"
"So, the French used to own most of this area." Clarence swept his hand over a corner of the map. "All these little islands were havens for pirates."
"That's why you think there's treasure here?" Cal said skeptically. "Wouldn't they have taken it with them? Or wouldn't someone have found it by now?"
"Not necessarily," Clarence said. "There's lots of reasons to hide it instead. And why come out here unless you're looking for it? But how many people believe it's even here anymore?"
"That's a good point," Jack said. "You don't think these two were trying to come here, do you?"
Clarence shrugged. "Who knows? With the storm, it's probably just a coincidence we ended up here."
"It's a funny coincidence," Samantha said.
"Yes, but it's one that doesn't help us very much," Cal pointed out. His excitement over the prospect of treasure had dimmed considerably. "What does it matter if we know where we are? We still have no way to contact anyone or to get off this island."
"Maybe we do," Rose said. "There's more, isn't there?"
"Yeah," Clarence said, unrolling another map. "You see this?" They all leaned forward and studied the map. "These are the islands closest to us. They're much bigger. People live on them. They aren't that far away."
"But's Cal's still right," Rose said. "We don't have a boat. We could never swim that far, and what are the odds of anyone coming here?"
"You want to build a boat, don't you?" Jack said.
"Do you really?" Samantha asked, turning to Clarence. "That's impossible, isn't it?"
"Just difficult," Jack said. "Between the five of us, it could be done."
"Exactly," Clarence agreed. "It would take a few weeks even if everything went smoothly."
"But what makes you so sure this is where we are?" Cal asked. "We could build a boat, and it could actually float, but then we all drown or starve to death in the middle of the ocean."
Clarence tightened his jaw. "The landmarks we found today are why I'm sure this is where we are," he replied. He hadn't been certain until Cal questioned him. "With good weather, we could be at one of these other islands in a day or two, three at most."
"But it isn't certain," Rose said. "Another storm could catch us."
"It could," Clarence conceded.
"Should we take that risk?" Samantha said, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "When we're fine where we are?"
"Are we?" Jack said. He looked around the group.
"I'm happy," Rose said. "Mostly, now that I'm used to living here."
"It could be worse," Cal said grudgingly.
Jack grinned. "Thanks, Cal. I know how hard that was for you to say."
"Sure we're fine," Samantha said. "What do we need that we don't have?" Caught in the first glow of love, Clarence agreed with her. Not only did he not care if anyone else was around, but he tended to forget they were.
But the more she thought about it, the more Rose knew what Jack was talking about, and so did Cal. They needed other people; they needed to socialize. They needed new clothes, medicines, things to do. They needed so many things listing them was impossible. And always, the future awaited, yawning before them like a great, gaping, black hole. It was terrifying. Filling the days got harder all the time.
The meeting ended with no decisions made, but they all thought about the possibility of getting off the island. For Jack and Rose, it was a thrilling prospect. She dreamed of simple things, a hot bath, meat that wasn't fish, the violet perfume she'd long since run out of, even though she used it only occasionally, putting a few drops behind her ears for Jack to smell in bed. Jack dreamed of blank paper, sidewalks filled with people, ground that didn't shift under his feet constantly. He dreamed of Rose in a new dress, her hair swept up in some complicated way he couldn't understand but admired, rooms filled with music and dancing, holding her, spinning with her. \
For Cal, it was as terrifying as it was thrilling. His businesses were in a shambles; he was sure of that. His family would have declared him dead. They would have wasted no time doing it. His cousins would be only too happy to take over and put their own sons in control. He scowled at the thought of it. Everything he'd taken such pains over, everything he'd helped grow, destroyed in an instant by his moron cousins and their offspring. If he did return, what would happen? Would there be a struggle?
And what of the rest of the world? What would they say when they found out his wife and left him, and for a sailor, no less? He was getting over his own feeling about it, but the thought of being an object of pity, of scorn, was shameful. It was too awful to be borne.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked, the next morning, as they walked together. When his arm hurt the most he forced himself out of bed. Being active helped him ignore the pain.
Cal pretended not to hear Jack's slow, deliberate breathing. He knew better than to bring up his injury. "I've been thinking about what it would be like," he answered. "If we were able to get off the island."
"You don't want to."
"It isn't that. I'd love to go back home. I'd love to have a real bath. Sit in a chair. Eat at a table. But the world has already passed me by," Cal explained.
"Your family—"
"Is rejoicing over my death. They have control over everything now. For all I know, if I appear again, they'll have me killed. Or try to."
"Do you actually believe that?" Jack said.
"I don't know. It's the sort of thing I might have done once, if given enough reason."
"Is that the only reason you don't want to go back? This doesn't have anything to do with Samantha, does it?" Jack asked.
"I'm too old for this," Cal said. "Too old to start over again, left by another woman, and this time everyone will know about it. I don't know that I have anything to go back to."
"Sure you do. You'll get your life back, if that's what you want," Jack said. "Maybe it won't be easy or quite the same, but you can't feel bad for yourself and stay here forever just because some people might talk."
"It's not the same for you. You don't understand this."
"You think I don't hear people talk?" Jack said. "You think they never look at me and Rose and wonder what a guy like me is doing with her? They've been talking about us for years. Saying she'd leave me, I'm not good enough, that she isn't."
"Well, you're not." It was said without malice.
"You think I don't know that?" Jack said. He increased their pace, and Cal wondered if his arm was getting worse.
….
"Stay in bed," Rose said. "Please, Jack."
He settled in next to her again. "Alright." She lay her head on his good shoulder, her arm draped across him. His good hand rested on her hip.
"What can I do?" she asked.
"Nothing you haven't done already. It'll take time to heal," he replied. "I'll be fine."
"You don't have to pretend you're not in pain, Jack. No-one will think any less of you."
"I don't know if I can get through it if I talk about it every time it comes," he said.
"It never stops, really, does it?"
"No, not really," he admitted. "I'm just getting used to it. It's not as bad sometimes."
"I hate seeing you like this. I hate not being able to help."
"You do," he said. "Don't worry so much, Honey-Rose. You kept me alive. You and Cal."
"Those are words I never expected to hear you say. I still can't believe he pulled the bullet out of your shoulder. Or that you and he are friends," she said. "Sometimes I think all of this is a dream, and I'm going to wake up, back in our bed, the one we had before, remember?"
"I remember. I've thought that too."
"What if we were dreaming together?" she mused. "Do you think such a thing is possible?"
"Could be. I wouldn't say it can't happen."
"But this isn't a dream," she said.
"No, it isn't."
…..
The room as hot and stuffy. The skylight had been blown shut during the night. A thin layer of sweat covered them. But Jack didn't get up to open it. Rose was asleep next to him, her body curled protectively around his. Getting up would disturb her. He could smell her hair; she was warm and heavy in her sleep. He remember all the times he carried her to bed, carefully, so as not to wake her. She was always heavier when she slept, but still so easy to pick up.
Rose made a soft sound, like a distressed kitten. Jack knew that sound. He gave her a comforting squeeze. "It's alright, Rose," he said softly. "It's not real." That seemed to do it. She settled back into peace.
Jack knew they couldn't stay there, but he wasn't sure he completely trusted Clarence's plan. He made a convincing argument. The likelihood of finding the same markings on another island did seem low, but then again, what did any of them really know about the area? Maybe those sorts of markings were common; maybe they were everywhere. And Clarence knew plenty about running a boat, but how much did he know about building one? If it had been just him, Jack wouldn't have hesitated. Why not take the chance? But there was Rose. He couldn't take chances with her.
…..
"I thought of something," Jack said. He sat on the edge of the lake. Rose and Cal were rinsing out the laundry.
"What?" she said. Cal turned, intrigued as well.
"Why don't we try finding that treasure?" Jack said. "If it's here, that means Clarence is right, and we're not as alone as we thought."
"Or it could be a coincidence," Rose said. "We might still sail off to nowhere."
"Or what if someone already found it?" Cal said. "Or moved it sometime during the last few hundred years? He might still be right, but we won't know that."
"I thought about that too," Jack said. "But it still seems worth a try. If we have a chance—"
"We should take it," Rose finished. "Otherwise, we'll always wonder if we could have made it home."
Jack looked into her eyes. He saw his own doubts and hope reflected in them. "We aren't doing anything unless we're sure," he said.
"I'm not convinced we ever will be," Rose said. "We'll never be certain enough to feel safe setting out anyway. But I don't suppose we're much safer here, are we?"
"Nothing is safe," Cal said quietly. "No-one. Don't the three of us know that by now? I understand the others not realizing it, but we should know better."
"It sounds pretty gloomy, but Cal's right," Jack said. "We know what can happen, how bad it can get."
"Then isn't that all the more reason to stay?" Rose asked. "We know what the ocean will do. She let us escape twice. Are we really prepared to risk a third time?"
"You talk about the ocean as if it could hear you," Cal said. "As if it were alive."
"Isn't it?" Jack said. In the distance they heard the faint roar of the waves.
…
Jack brought up the idea to Clarence. Rose and Cal seemed to be waiting for him to do it. There was an unspoken agreement that the two of them would follow his lead. This made Jack even more careful than he normally would have been. Clarence listened to the proposal and thought for a long minute before responding. "Why not?" he said. "And if we do find it, then we'll have the money to start new lives away from here."
That was something the rest of them hadn't considered, not even Cal. Rose wondered why they hadn't. Did she and Jack simply care so little about money? But what would they live on if they made it off the island? Suddenly that was a question which needed an answer. Only Samantha had nothing to say. She didn't share in the excitement. She had no dreams of a life away from the island. Her life had begun there, Leaving was unthinkable.
There was the problem of Cal. They would have to divorce. It would be public knowledge; it would be in the papers; all of their friends would know. What would she say? How would she explain Clarence? What would they live on? Would he go back to sea, leaving her behind? These were questions she couldn't answer or even share with the others, and to her dismay, she realized they were questions she wasn't sure she wanted answered. Why did the others insist on changing things? Hadn't they all gone through enough?
"Who will go?" Rose asked.
"Won't we all go?" Cal said.
"You don't think someone should stay behind and guard the camp?" Rose said. "And keep an eye on those two?"
"Why?" Cal shrugged.
"It's a good question," Jack said. "Can we leave them here alone?"
"We could take them along," Clarence suggested. "According to the maps, it'll take a few days to get there."
"Why do we care what happens to them?" Cal said irritably. "Are you all forgetting everything they've done?"
"No-one's forgetting anything," Rose said. "But they're our responsibility now."
"I don't believe what I'm hearing," Cal said.
"Don't misunderstand me," Rose said meaningfully.
"Could we really do that?" Jack asked. "Take them along?"
"It sounds dangerous," Samantha said.
"It's dangerous either way," Clarence pointed out. "At least if we take them we'll know what they're up to."
"Are you saying they could escape?" Cal said.
"No," Clarence said, giving him a hard look.
"Then why not leave them?" Cal argued.
"Because-" Clarence began.
"They can escape," Cal interrupted.
"No—"
"Stop it," Jack ordered. "Both of you. This isn't getting us anywhere. We have to figure out what we're gonna do." He spoke authoritatively, as if he were used to giving orders and having them obeyed. His back was straight, despite the pain. "No-one wants to stay behind," he went on. "So that means everyone goes, including those two. We'll just have to watch them closely. Sleep in shifts. If we want to know it's safe to leave the island, this is what we have to do."
No-one had an argument with his pronouncement.
…
Samantha kept quiet as long as she could, but as they began preparing for the expedition she took Clarence aside. "I don't like this," she said.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Taking those two with us? Trekking off into the woods, searching for a treasure that may or may not be there? It's dangerous. Why are we taking these risks?"
"So we can leave, hopefully," he said. "Go home. Don't you want that?"
But where is home? she thought. Out loud she said, "But what if something happens to one of us?"
"It won't," he said reassuringly. "Is that what this is all about?"
"Does it need to be about anything else? And how can you be so sure? We thought were safe before, but we were wrong. They nearly killed Jack, and they would have killed us all if they had the chance," she said.
"But we're fine," he said. "Jack's getting better. Everything's under control." He kissed her forehead. "Don't worry so much."
…
"Do you think this is a good idea?" Cal asked.
Rose knew what he was referring to. "It's better than doing nothing, I suppose," she answered. It was just the two of them. Jack was asleep. Clarence and Samantha were off somewhere. Since Jack's injury, there were more and more times like this. Rose didn't quite know why, but Cal was always there now.
"It doesn't scare you?" he asked. "Or give you a bad feeling?"
"No. Not really. Not any more than anything else. Why? Do you think it should?"
"I don't know," he said. "Samantha is set against it."
"She doesn't want to leave the island at all," Rose said. "She wants to stay where everything is simple."
"What gave you that idea?"
"It's obvious," she said. "Can't you see it?"
"I haven't spent enough time with Jack, apparently," he said drily. "I don't have his gift for perception yet."
"I have my own gifts, thank you. I don't understand why you haven't noticed it."
"I try not to pay more attention to my former wife than I have to," Cal replied. "I find it helps with letting go."
"Letting go? Of what?" she said. "You were barely married. Don't feel so sorry for yourself."
"You said thing are simple here."
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed that either," she said.
"No, they are," he agreed. "But not in a way I necessarily like. You're saying it's easy for her to love him here."
"There's no-one to question it."
"That isn't worth staying on an island, alone, forever," he said.
"I used to think Jack and I could stay alone forever."
"You don't anymore?"
"This is a different kind of alone," Rose said. "This isn't the kind you choose, where you're surrounded by people but ignore them. This is…oppressive."
Cal just nodded. He knew what she meant.
…..
"You don't have to go if you don't feel up to it," Rose said. "I'll stay here with you."
Jack shook his head. "No. I can manage."
"Jack, I know you're in pain."
"It's not so bad. I'm getting used to it. I'll be all healed soon," he said cheerfully.
"Why won't you let me fuss over you?" she asked. She brushed a lock of hair away from his eyes. "I just want to know you're alright."
Jack kissed her hand. "I'm fine, Rose. Or I will be. Besides, you don't want to miss all the fun, do you?"
"At this point," she said. "I'm not sure I'd mind."