The Schooner Bay Home for Invalid and Indigent Seamen
"Fires"
Chapter 4: Cooking Fires
After a few days Charlie was able to move into Wren Cottage with Peter and Red and Amy took over their room upstairs in what Daniel Gregg had originally designed to be a nursery. They moved the nightstand, pushed the two beds together and settled in. Next to their room was the largest bedroom in the house, originally the Captain's cabin. It housed Nate and Hannibal, and the senior man, with his bed closest to the "young" couple, quickly became aware of how active a marriage they really had. After the third night of being awaked by the squeaking of their bed, he remarked to Hannibal that perhaps a cradle might be needed in a few months.
Hannibal was one of the more gregarious of the men and he enjoyed a good laugh over the thought as he quietly dressed early the next morning. He almost always was in the kitchen before Martha, getting the oven lit and punching down the dough left to rise the night before. With his big and strong hands, mixing the bread dough, kneading it, and rolling it out was easier for him than for her and he had essentially made the task his own. Since the house easily went through a large loaf every day, every morning a new bread filled the air with its warm and appealing scent.
As usual, Martha entered the kitchen, still tying her clean and starched apron around her waist. Her first task was to start the large pot of coffee. After greeting Hannibal, she set to grinding the coffee beans. Their scent combined with the yeasty aroma of the unbaked bread into a flavor that seemed to define Gull Cottage.
"Hope you slept well, Martha," Hannibal began as he finished his kneading. "Nate says that the 'Love Birds' enjoy their nights together and it wakes him up! Pass me the melted butter on the stove, please."
"What did Nate say? I don't think I heard you clearly….here's the butter and the brush for it."
"You heard what I said, you just want me to repeat it. And you're blushing."
"Well, it's not like I wasn't married, you know. I just didn't expect Nate -or you- to comment on what a married couple do in the privacy of their room."
"Ohhhhhhhhh? And is that why you're blushing, Martha?"
"Mr. Booth, I have no idea what you are referring to, and even if I did, it is extremely impolite of you to be having this conversation with me. This is a home for old seamen, not a bawdy house, after all. And at our ages, even thinking of such things!"
"What things, Martha?" asked Carolyn Muir as she came into the kitchen, hoping the coffee was ready for consumption.
"Why, I wouldn't know, Mrs. Muir!" answered the housekeeper innocently.
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For once in their lives Charlie and Peter could legitimately share a bed, but all they dared do was lie together. Dr. Everly had been very clear about Charlie not doing anything more strenuous than walking about.
It would be another century until medicine could provide support beyond digitalis and nitroglycerine for damaged hearts and coronary arteries. Until that time, the best medical advice was to reduce all possible exertion, anxiety and eat a light, bland diet free of stimulants (and taste). Therefore, once they had moved into Wren Cottage, Peter would take Charlie on easy walks morning and again in the afternoon if it wasn't too hot. Other times of the day they might putter around in the potting shed, play chess or checkers, or read on the generous front porch of Gull Cottage. After lunch was nap time, or any time that Charlie didn't feel well, or looked unwell, or if Peter just thought he needed a rest.
Although Dr. Everly had casually mentioned the "bland diet" to Martha, she had her own ideas about what "bland" actually meant. She was determined that it wouldn't be the same as tasteless. And while Hannibal had taught her his curry recipe (which had to be modified, since they couldn't get all the correct spices), she generally wasn't one to cook spicy dishes anyway. Martha was a master at coaxing flavor out of foods, enhancing it with gravies and other toppings and making her dishes look inviting as well. Being summer, her food was lighter as a matter of course, and now that they had a well-producing garden, there were plenty of fresh vegetables, greens and herbs that were beneficial to everyone.
After the breakfast dishes were put away and the skillets and pans hung up to dry, Carolyn, Martha and Hannibal would sit down and look at the menu that had been previously planned for the day. Depending on the weather and the food stocks, it would likely be adjusted accordingly.
On this particular day, it had dawned bright, hot, and humid. Even with every window in the house completely open, it was already steamy by 9:15.
"I was originally planning a chicken fricassee over rice, I see," began Martha, "but I can't see boiling all that food in the hottest part of the afternoon."
"No, I wouldn't want to do that, if I had a choice," replied Carolyn.
"How about boiling up some potatoes for salad now and later on grilling the chicken outside?" suggested Hannibal "I could make some nice sauces for it. We can even eat outside, you know. And we've got a couple of fully ripe tomatoes and cucumbers."
"And today's lunch?" asked Carolyn. She knew that the plan had been to make a soup out of the left-over beef from the night before.
"Oh, I think I'll just slice it up for sandwiches. A swipe of that cranberry sauce I canned would go well on it." And with a nod of her head, Martha decided on the changed menu and stood up to get a basket of potatoes to peel. Carolyn headed off to look in on Charlie and Hannibal filled the large pot with water and set it on the stove to boil.
It took the two of them more than twenty minutes to peel all the potatoes, with Amy and Red stopping in a few times to ask for their cleaning assignments.
"I want to apologize for my comments this morning, Martha. You are correct, it was terribly incorrect of me to be talking about such intimate things," said Hannibal between the interruptions.
"Oh, you old salt!", Martha grunted. "I shouldn't, but I forgive you. It's nice to see young, or actually middle-aged, love. I remember those days, before I lost my husband." She sighed and looked in the far distance at some of her memories for a moment. Hannibal let her be, knowing that what she was re-experiencing were pleasant thoughts of a time now past. "Were you ever married, Hannibal?" she asked.
"Came close a couple a' times, but never sealed the deal. The ladies objected somewhat strongly to me sticking to a seafaring life and not settling down with them ashore, and I felt sick every time I thought about not going to sea ever again."
Martha spied Captain Gregg semi-materialize in the corner of the galley.
"You see," continued Hannibal, "I'm not just a cook. A sea-cook is someone special. You try cooking in a tiny galley as the ship rolls through the waves or make something that will give the men strength when you're down to next to nothing in your stores and you're lucky if someone can pull up a fish for more than a dozen men to share. Not only that, the cook, along with the ship's captain is responsible for keeping the men healthy and dealing with any wounds or injuries they get. I could have become a cook on land, even open my own eating establishment. But tell me, Martha, would you have been content to only use half your skills?"
She looked over at Captain Gregg, who nodded solemnly at her. "No, I wouldn't. And I was certainly not criticizing you for your choices. I think it's those women who should be criticized for not realizing what a good husband you would have made. But you likely did the right thing. They probably wouldn't have been able to deal with your absences and waiting for you to return home." Realizing what she had said, Martha blushed, and Daniel silently laughed.
Hannibal, however, tilted his head to look at her, a gentle smile forming on his face. "Did you really mean that Martha? That I would have made some woman a good husband?"
Daniel stood and reappeared behind Martha's shoulder so that he could whisper in her ear. "Mr. Booth is a fine man. I would think that he would make an excellent 'gentleman friend', my dear. I think you have an excellent opportunity here for, for…well, for a chance at a little romance again." Martha's large blue eyes opened wide in response to what both men had said to her.
"Yes, I meant that, Hannibal," she replied. "I have a very wise friend who has told me not to ignore the opportunities that come my way. You shouldn't either."
"No. I certainly won't." He dried his hands on a kitchen cloth before approaching her more closely. Before she knew what was happening, Hannibal gently pulled her into an embrace, his lips finding hers.
Daniel looked on approvingly and began to fade away when Amy and Red returned to the kitchen. Neither one quite knew where to direct their gazes, for here were the two cooks entwined in an embrace and a half-visible ghost in front of them.
"Oh dear…What's happening?" wailed Red in total confusion and panic. This caused Martha and Hannibal to pull apart, and Daniel to resume solid form. When Hannibal noticed the mariner from the picture over the parlor fireplace, he became very pale and pulled Martha into a protective embrace.
"Silly! It's just Martha and Hannibal kissing like we do, and that's Captain Gregg. I've told you about him, but you didn't believe me. Maybe now you will!" Amy saucily told Red.
Martha looked back and forth between all the other people in the galley. "Alright, nothing to see here…move along…just a couple of old folks…and a ghost.