A/N: A quick "thanks" to all of you who are following this story!
Edgar had been aboard the Northwestern for almost two weeks. During that time, his body had slowly become acclimated to the rolling motion of the ocean. He was happy to leave the rest of the Dramamine tablets safely in the bottle, celebrating the fact that he didn't feel so drowsy anymore. The young teen stood on the deck, leaning on the rail and staring out into the endless ocean horizon. The sky was clear and sharply blue, without a cloud in sight. Even though he was getting tired of wearing it, the life jacket was secured tightly to his body. Sig had laid down the law as far as safety precautions on the boat, and for the most part Edgar had done a pretty good job in following orders.
Only once had his big brother caught him on deck without the life jacket in place. From the look on Sig's face, Edgar had thought that he was in for it for sure. But Sig had just walloped his rear end once, kind of halfway between a love tap and a real smack, promising much worse if he found the boy on deck without a life jacket again. By this time, the effects of the spanking Sig had given him that first day had been long gone. The memory was still very fresh in his mind, however, and he'd had no desire for his brother to reignite that fire.
So here he stood, safely bundled in the orange jacket...with anxious thoughts swirling around his brain. Sig had just informed him that the boat would be docking in Dutch Harbor early tomorrow morning. Edgar now had to face the reality that not only was he going to be leaving his big brother... he would soon be facing his father.
Sig promised that he would try to talk to Dad...tell him that I already got punished. Dad was probably sooo pissed at me when he found out what I did. Hopefully he's cooled down some in the time I've been with Sig. Although he was grateful to his big brother for promising to try...Edgar did not hold out much hope that he would be off the hook with the Old Man. He sighed. I'm gonna get it, for sure. How am I gonna make it without Sig? It'll be 3 months before I even see him again. This was bothering him even more than the prospect of facing his dad.
Unbeknownst to the boy, his older brother was watching him from the rear window of the wheelhouse. Sig had known that hearing that they were almost to their destination would be upsetting to Edgar, and he'd wanted to give his brother some time to get used to the idea. Little by little over the last two weeks, Sig and Edgar had talked several times about the future...namely Edgar's future which held several more years of school. He hoped that he'd been able to make it clear to his brother what was expected...he needed to buckle down and focus on graduating from high school before he could join Sig on the boat.
Sig's attention was diverted from the window by the arrival of Neil, climbing up the steps into the wheelhouse. Ready for some downtime, the oldest Hansen brother was relieved to see him. Relinquishing the comfortable captain's chair, Sig watched as the older man sat down with a sigh. Neil glanced at the control panel of instruments and then looked out the windows, inspecting the deck. Spying the young teenager standing at the rail, bright orange life jacket securely in place, Neil jerked his head toward the boy.
"He okay?"
Sig sighed, "Yeah, I just brought him up to speed on the fact that we'll be docking in Dutch tomorrow. I think he needs some time alone."
"He worried about facing your dad?"
Sig knew instinctively that Dad's response to his actions was not the only thing worrying his brother. Over the last couple of weeks, Sig had confided in the older captain...telling him much of what had happened over the summer. Therefore, he knew he didn't need to explain further when he answered.
"Yeah, I'm sure he's worried. I know I would be. But there's more. I think he's upset because he doesn't want to...leave me."
Neil completely understood this statement. He had known the Hansen family for many years, and was fully aware of the emotional upheaval that they were going through. After the death of his mother, Edgar had latched on to his oldest brother for comfort and security. Neil knew that Sverre had been emotionally unavailable to his sons during the most intense time of the grief; in fact, the man had never been much good at showing his emotions at all. Sverre's old friend was glad to see that his oldest son had stepped up and been willing to provide what Edgar needed. Still, it was a heavy burden for an 18 year-old to bear.
"You know, Son...I'm proud of you. You've been a strong support and example for your brothers during this hard time, especially that boy out there. It's easy to see how much he loves and admires you. But, it's time now for your father to step up to the plate and be what Edgar needs. I know he's not a guy to wear his heart on his sleeve, but he loves you boys more than anything." He continued to watch Edgar through the window as he spoke. "Now, I think that you and I both know that your dad is going to give Edgar a good licking when he gets him home...even though you already gave him one. This was a serious thing that he did, and Sverre knows that. And-as hard as it is for Edgar to let you go...I think it's proving to be even harder for you to let him go. Am I right?"
Sig sighed again. Geez, he hit the nail right on the head. "Yeah...it sucks. This summer I got closer to him than I ever have before...I'll really miss having him around. I don't want him to have to take another spanking. I won't even be around to comfort him after, and I don't have a lot of faith that Dad will."
Now it was Neil's turn to sigh. "There's not a whole lot you can do about that. Just make sure to explain to your father everything you did with Edgar these last two weeks, and why you did it. As hard as it is, Son, you're going to have to let him go. You need to focus on First Mate school and this upcoming trip. It's gonna take a lot out of you, and you'll need your whole head in the game. You've got tonight to spend with the kid...I'll man the wheelhouse until 4 a.m."
Sig's words were quiet, but his tone of voice spoke volumes. "Thanks, Neil." The oldest Hansen brother made his way down the steps and toward the galley, content to wait until Edgar finished his "thinking time" and sought him out.
Norman walked down the front steps of the high school, just one in a sea of humanity as classes let out for the day. The sky was cloudy and overcast, and he shrugged on his grey sweatshirt jacket as he walked toward the school parking lot. Feeling the sprinkling of fine rain drops, he pulled the hood up over his head and quickened his pace. Rain again. That's Washington for you. Seems like we never have even two straight sunny days in a row. I wonder how the weather is where Sig and Edgar are. I know that Dad is expecting to hear from Sig any day now...they should be almost to Alaska. At least it's not winter yet...the weather shouldn't be too bad at this time of year...Lost in his thoughts, Norman didn't notice the uniformed police officer standing next to his truck.
He was startled as one of his friends called out, "Hey Norman, what'd you do?"
Looking up quickly, Norman's eyes widened as he saw Patricia waiting by the truck. She was dressed in uniform and her hair was pulled back from her face in a business-like bun. He blushed at the attention that was being generated by the sight of a uniformed police officer in the parking lot of the school.
"Ooooh, Norm, you're in trouble now..." was characteristic of the comments being thrown his way as he approached the truck. Patricia looked around at the crowd with a glare.
"Move along, please. Everything is fine." She glanced apologetically at Norman. "I guess maybe I should've just come by your house, huh?"
Norman shrugged. He was actually kind of enjoying the attention.
"Naww, that's okay. It helps to promote my "bad boy" image. What can I do you for, Officer?" he asked with a charming Hansen smile that reminded her of his older brother. Norman had a feeling that he knew why she was there.
This feeling was confirmed by her next words. "I never heard from your father about Edgar. I've been hoping that it meant good news...that you found him. Is he okay?"
Norman felt bad that she had been worrying all this time when he could have easily eased her mind.
"He's fine. Actually, he's with Sig on the Northwestern. He stowed away on another boat and got them to take him to Sig."
Patricia gasped. "Oh my God, are you serious? No wonder his bike was left by the harbor. That was a pretty risky thing to do...I can't think that your brother...or your father...are very happy with him. How did you find out?" Norman explained the whole story in detail...from the conversation in the hardware store to the phone call from the Coast Guard telling them that Edgar was safe.
"We're expecting to hear from Sig any day now. The boat should be docking in Alaska soon."
Refraining from asking how Sig was doing, Patricia just smiled. "I'm so glad that Edgar is safe." She raised her voice slightly with a twinkle in her eye as she glanced around. "I'll let you off with a warning this time. Have a nice day."
Norman's eyes widened, and he fought to keep a straight face as he answered in a serious voice.
"Yes, Ma'm. Thank you, Officer." Grinning broadly, he jumped into the silver Ford and slammed the door.
Sig sat at the table in the galley, drinking steaming coffee from a travel mug. Glancing through a fishing magazine, he absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the table top. Edgar had not yet appeared and the older brother was starting to get a little worried. Just as he was about to go look for the kid, the entry room door swung open. Shivering from being out on the deck for so long, Edgar shuffled over to the table and slid into the bench seat across from his brother. Sig pushed the magazine away and sipped his coffee. He regarded his brother over the rim of the cup.
"You look pretty cold. Want something hot to drink?"
"Okay," Edgar answered morosely, eyes on the table. The older brother stood up and walked to the stove, talking as he did so.
"You stayed out there pretty long. I guess you just needed some thinking time, huh?" He wasn't going to beat around the bush. If he had learned anything this past summer, it was how important it was to talk about things...and not bottle it all up inside of you.
"Yeah," was the monosyllabic reply. Edgar was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he would be leaving Sig either tomorrow or the next day. Once they docked, Sig would call their father from a pay phone and arrange Edgar's flight back to Washington. Blinking back the tears that had been threatening ever since he'd heard the news, the little brother avoided Sig's gaze as he set the steaming cup of hot tea in front of him.
Sig sat back down with a sigh. "Edgar, look at me." The boy obeyed immediately, a lone tear sliding down his cheek as he looked into those clear blue eyes.
"Listen, you're gonna be fine." Sig figured if he said it enough, he would come to believe it himself. "I know you're worried about what Dad's gonna do...but there's not a whole lot you can do about that. I'll talk to him tomorrow, and we'll just have to go from there." More tears were falling, and Sig slid out of the booth. Sitting on the round blue stool, he spread his knees and opened his arms.
"C'mere, Kid." Edgar scrambled out of his seat, bumping the table and sloshing tea out of his cup as he flew into his brother's arms. Feeling safe, he nestled into Sig's arms and tried to stop crying. I need to man up and just deal with this. I don't want to keep making Sig feel bad...it's not his fault that I'm here. It's MINE. Resolved, he pulled his head back and looked at his brother.
"I'm ok-kay, Sig. I'm glad you're gonna try to talk to Dad, but if I get another lickin', I get another lickin'. There's nothing either of us can do about it. I don't want to spend this last night with you all upset and worrying. Maybe we can have popcorn and play poker or something?" Sig smiled at the hopefulness in his little brother's voice.
"I love you, you know that? And I'm proud of you...you're facing up to your mistakes and learning from them. Let's make some dinner, and then the poker game is ON."
Edgar smiled his signature movie star grin. "Get ready to lose, Big Brother."