The next week for Dinah was all hazy for her. She and her mother had been running around the town trying to get everything done for the wedding. Dinah had no time to think about anything but the wedding except for at night. That was her and Ana's time. Ana told Dinah about her day with Douglas and James, since Ana didn't want to be with a crazy Beatrice and neither did Douglas or James, they stayed together.
Every night she would come home, ask if Danielle fed Milton and then get him and go to Ana's room and talk.
"It's getting close…"
"Yea…" Ana nodded. There really wasn't much to talk about anymore, Ana had covered the basic topics and Dinah had told her that was the last they were going to talk about it. "You're finally getting married…"
Jack sighed and rolled over in the bed. The bare hand slide across his chest as he did so and a female voice called to him quietly, "What's wrong, Jack?"
He shrugged and frowned. "Why would you think something was wrong luv?"
"Well last night wasn't your best…performance if you know what I mean…"
Jack frowned again, that really got him down, "It must've been the rum…you weren't serving the best last night."
"I think it's something else, or in better words, someone else." A brunette exited the bed and went for her clothes.
Jack sighed and turned to face her, "There's no one else." He said stubbornly.
"Well not anymore there's not. What happened?" She asked, slipping into her dress.
Jack stared at her; he found it hard to believe she knew all that just from spending the night with him. "She's getting married…and I don't want to get in the way for that! That's something solid, something firm...something…"
"Bogus?"
Jack smirked and nodded.
"Well, I never thought I'd see the day where Jack Sparrow fell in love…" She said putting on her make-up and looking in the mirror at him. He frowned, "Sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow."
He nodded, seemingly satisfied. When she finished she walked over and kissed him on the cheek, "Thanks for an okay night…I hope she finds you," and left.
Hopes she finds me? SHE find ME? Give me a break, Dinah wouldn't come after anyone, especially someone that she had rejected. And I'm certainly not going after her again. That woman is a bloody nuisance. But I still love her…but that doesn't change anything…I don't even know if she loves me! But I guess the whole 'rejecting' thing kinda proved it.
Jack got up and dressed and left the Inn quickly. "Set sail, Gibbs, Tortuga has lost its charm."
"Cap'an?" He asked, confused and a bit amazed that Jack would say such a thing.
"Just go to Port Royal, Gibbs." Jack sighed.
"Aye Aye, Cap'an."
"Oh c'mon! You don't expect me to do that do you!?" Dinah asked the night before the wedding. All her bridesmaids had thrown a 'girls party' for her, to celebrate her last night as a virgin. Also joining the crowd was Ana and Danielle. Ana had been suggesting the dares they ask Dinah and of course all the girls would never think of such a thing, but agreed anyways.
"No, no course not…let's think of something else." Ana said, the girls huddled and a cousin of Dinah's, Melanie, popped her head up.
"I got it!"
"Fine, go with it lass," Ana allowed, hoping it wouldn't be anything stupid like the last thing she suggested: dressing Dinah like a bride but in paper and string. It didn't work all that well and Ana stayed out of it from the start.
"Who was that pirate? It's all over town that he got your mother and brother drunk! And that he seduced you! SO come on! Give us all the juicy details!"
The room grew quiet as all the family and friends sat at the edge of their seats, awaiting the response.
"You know," Ana said, breaking the silence, "that's not a very good question, let's pick something else."
"I beg your pardon! That's a great question; you just resent it because you're a pirate too," Melanie spat at Ana. Ana narrowed her eyes and drew out her knife and pointed it at her, all the girls gasped and Dinah rolled her eyes.
"I'll beg your pardon if you don't watch it lass."
A knife flashed in Dinah's head and she told herself to remember to ask Ana about it, "Now Ana…put the knife down…" Dinah said getting up and going to Ana. Ana looked at Dinah, her eyes full of concern. "It's fine…I'll answer the question." Ana put the knife away and sat down, Dinah sat next to her and she began the answer.
"Ladies, his name is Jack Sparrow…"
"JACK SPARROW?!" All the girls squealed. Ana plugged her ears.
"You mean the Captain Jack Sparrow?" One girl asked.
Dinah nodded, "Well a few years back we had a…friendship. And then he left to go do…piratey things. The man is sweet, nice and charming, but also a pirate addicted to rum. And the only reason my mother and James got drunk is because they got carried away with the stories Jack was telling them about his adventures in the Caribbean."
"How did you meet him?"
"A friendship? Is that all?"
"Charming, huh? Interesting."
"LADIES PLEASE!" Melanie said, standing up, making the questions stop, "The obvious question is, have you ever fallen in love with him?"
Dinah paused, why tell these girls? Sure, they were family and friends, but gossipers no less. If she told them this, the minute she and Douglas got back from the honeymoon, it'd get to him, "No Melanie…I told you, we were just friends…"
When everyone left a little after eight Dinah invited Ana to see something in her room. "Oh! Can I come?" Danielle asked.
"Sure, but get a bottle for Milton, he must be hungry." Danielle obeyed and the three went up to Dinah's room. The minute Ana walked in she asked, "Is that what you're wearing?!" She was pointing to the wedding dress. Dinah ignored the question since it was obvious. No Ana, I'm going to wear pants and sea boots.
She got a trunk down from the top self of her closet and opened. Ana and Danielle climbed on to the bed and Danielle kept her eyes on her sister, even though she was feeding Milton. Dinah pulled out the engraved knife that she had found months earlier when she came home. She looked at Ana, she was staring at the knife.
"I found this when I came home…but the weird thing about it is that I dreamed this. That it was on my leg and you pointed it out to me, but when I asked who gave it to me, you thought I was kidding and didn't tell me." Dinah didn't care to reveal the rest of her dream while her sister was there, so that's all she told Ana.
"It was in your trunk?"
Dinah nodded.
"Well it was supposed to be…"
"Huh?"
"Well Jack made it a while ago I guess and was going to give it to you for your birthday or something…since you were getting so good at using one but hadn't had one of your own…so yea. I think. He told me that a little bit after I joined the crew so yea. He kept it there to hide it, but you weren't supposed to find it."
"But it says…"
"Yes, I know what it says mate. He meant it…back then he meant it."
Dinah felt light headed and hurt at the same point. She was getting married in less than twenty-four hours and she now finds out that Jack had always loved her.
"Oh! Dinah! You left something on the Pearl." Ana dashed out of the room and came back moments later with Dinah's harmonica.
"Where'd you find this?" Dinah asked, smiling.
"You left it in our cabin, you're lucky I remembered it."
Dinah nodded, "Thanks Ana."
"Well Dinah, thanks for putting up with me…" Danielle said, getting up, "I'll sure miss you around here…"
"I'm sure you will. Hey, can you take care of Milton while Douglas and I are gone?"
Danielle nodded and hugged her sister. "G'night, peanut."
Dinah looked at her sister, "Where'd you hear that?"
Danielle shrugged, "Jack told me…" and she left. Dinah looked at Ana, she was smiling, and Dinah wasn't.
"Figures he would tell her something like that…but when did they ever talk?"
"Maybe he got her drunk too…" She said laughing. Dinah smirked and threw a slipper at Ana.
"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Ana asked, sitting on the floor a few feet away from Dinah.
"Well Douglas and I are off on The Douglas for about a week…I think we're going to Jamaica. James suggested Port Royal…ever heard of it?"
"Aye. I'm surprised you haven't."
"Well, I don't do much traveling…mother doesn't like it." Ana nodded her understanding and Dinah asked, "How about you? What are you going to do until the Pearl gets here?"
"Actually, plans changed! Jack wrote me and told me to meet him in Port Royal, amazingly enough. He's staying with two friends, Will and Elizabeth Turner, who happen to know your brother!"
"Interesting…" Dinah thought, praying that she and Jack wouldn't bump into each other while on the honeymoon. "We'll get there before you…right?"
"Probably, I'm thinking of either leaving before you do though like right after the wedding. No reception…but the boat I bought isn't that fast."
"You bought a boat?"
Ana nodded, "Yea, while you were out, I bought a boat. It's kinda a ship though…It had two rooms, some storage beneath deck and a little galley. So it's not really a boat, but it's not as big as a ship…so I dunno what to call it."
"Well, call it by its name. What is it?"
Ana snorted, "It's so stupid! It's worse than The Douglas…It's The Daft Maiden." Ana burst out laughing right after she said it but stopped after a few seconds. "I'm thinking of changing it. The man who sold it to me said that he was drunk when he named it…so…"
Dinah smiled, "So it's in the harbor?"
Ana nodded, "Yea, and I would've taken you for a ride, but we were kinda busy today."
Dinah nodded and the girls stayed up talking all night, for this was the last time they were going to see each other, and they knew it.
Dinah got woken up by her mother around eleven. The wedding was at one and Beatrice didn't want to the bride to be late. "Honey, get up! We've got to get you ready! Get you dressed! Get you pretty! Now chop, chop! Out of bed!" Dinah moaned and groaned through the whole process and complained that she was tired, but all her mother replied with was, "Well you look tired, and if you don't sit still, the bags under your eyes will never go away!"
At twelve thirty Dinah was ready. She stayed in her room and talked with Ana as everyone else was outside, greeting guests and getting ready for the wedding. When Dinah's dad came up to get her, Ana kissed her on the cheek and ran down stairs to the yard where the wedding was being held instead of the traditional church.
Dinah walked down the aisle with a off-the-shoulder white gown. It belled out at the waist and got bigger as it went down. She was carrying a bouquet of bright red roses and as she neared Douglas, who was dressed in a black suit, she started to panic.
For John, staying with me during pregnancy was the commitment I needed. For you it's going to be different, but don't figure it out too late luv, savvy? Katherine's words suddenly popped into Dinah's head. Dinah just bloody except it! I love you! I want you here with me! Then Jack's …Let's get married. A light came on in Dinah's head, Oh my gosh, that was the commitment I was looking for and I turned him down…I love him and he loves me and we should be together, but here I am, marrying someone for the wrong reasons.
When Dinah had realized this and knew what she had to do the preacher asked, "Dinah Eileen, do you take Douglas to be your lawfully wedding husband, and to stay with him through sickness and in health, through wealth and poverty, as long as you both shall live?"
Dinah paused. She looked at Douglas, and whispered, "No." His eyes widened and she picked up her skirts and started running toward the harbor.