Chapter Two
Tortuga Tavern
August 4, 1779
Katrina Preston-Sparrow took a deep breath, blowing a strand of her
thick, wavy blonde hair out of her eyes as she hunched over one of the
wooden tables in the Tortuga Tavern, wiping the surface with a damp
cloth.
"Ye sure ye don't want me to stay, lass??" she glanced up at her two best
friends, who were ushering a somewhat older gentleman out of the tavern.
"I think I should stay so we can start the revelation! You want me to
help with the revelation, don't ye?"
"Of course, Mr. Sorenson!" Mary insisted. "Some other time though......... why
don't ye go home to Mrs. Sorenson and get a good night sleep and we can
talk about the revelation tomorrow; what say you to that?"
"Sounds......... sounds like a brilliant plan, doll," he slurred.
"Alright, nighty-night then," Sarah shoved him out the door and locked it
behind her, pushing her dark brown hair out of her eyes. "I swear to the
Virgin Mary if I have to endure one more night of that man's babblings, I
will be forced to drop him off a cliff into Davy Jones' locker!"
"Oh come now, dear, surely you don't mean that," Mary sighed, pulling a
chair up on top of a table.
"And what was that revelation business he been talkin' about??" Sarah
asked, her eyes wide with confusion and frustration.
"How should I know," Mary replied. "Katrina, luv, is somethin' botherin'
ye? Ye've been awfully quiet this evenin'," she said as she hoisted her
dress up a bit and moved behind the tavern's bar, wiping down the counter
and brushing away peanut shells and cracker crumbs.
"Oh, I suppose it's nothing," she tossed her cloth in the wastebasket and
grabbed her jacket off one of the chairs, sliding it onto her shoulders.
"I think I'm going to head home."
"Long walk, isn't it?" Sarah asked sarcastically. Katie smiled.
"The longest," she replied, turning up the tavern stairs to the small
flat she and her daughter shared above the bar.
"See you tomorrow, Kat," Mary called after her. Katie pushed open the
heavy door and stepped inside the room, lighting a lantern in the corner
giving her just enough light to see where she was going, but not too much
so as to wake up Annie, her eleven year old daughter, who slept in the
spongy queen bed in the center of the room.
She quietly slipped on her nightgown and crawled into bed, kissing her
daughter gently on the forehead. She was about to blow out the lantern on
the nightstand when she heard Annie stir beside her.
"Mummy?"
"Hi sweetie," she propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at her
daughter. No doubt she looked more like her father everyday. She had his
dark eyes, his smile, and his natural sense of direction and adventure.
"I had a dream about dad," she whispered in a tired voice.
"You did?" Katie swallowed hard. Just the reminder of Jack made going on
everyday that much harder. "What about, luv?"
"I dunno, just stuff," Annie replied. "He was just here. 'Cept......... 'cept
I didn't know what he looked like. It was like I couldn't see his face or
nothin'. Mum? How come you never talk about him?"
"Well, I don't......... I don't know, sweetheart, I just miss him is all." She
whispered. "Why don't you go to sleep?"
"I wanna know about him," Annie protested. "I don't even know his name,
mom! All I know is that he was a pirate. That's all you've ever told me."
"His name......... his name was Jack Sparrow," Katie started, realizing Annie
was right. She deserved to know about her daddy. "Before you were born,
your daddy and I lived on his ship."
"His ship?"
"Yes, luv, he wasn't your average pirate. He was a captain," she told
her, brushing some hair away from Annie's face. "He owned the biggest and
prettiest ship in the Caribbean; it was called the Black Pearl. It had
belonged to your grandfather and when he died, it belonged to your
father."
"Was he a fearsome pirate, mummy?"
Katie chuckled. "He sure tried to be, darling." She smiled down at her
daughter as her eyes fluttered open and shut in tiredness. "I'll tell you
more tomorrow, luv. You have school tomorrow, get some rest."
"No......... I wanna hear more........." Annie tried to protest but was far too
tired. She succumbed to the ravages of sleep.
--- --- ---
Tortuga Bay
August 5, 1779
"WHERE IS JACK?!" Gibbs looked up from the dagger he was sharpening to
see Annamaria come roaring out from below deck, an empty flask hanging in
her hand. He glanced backwards at Mr. Cotton who stood behind him, also
watching the furious young woman. The rest of the crew stopped whatever
they were doing and joined in to watch.
"JACK?!" she boomed, banging on his cabin door. She didn't wait for him
to invite her in and twisted the knob, pushing against the door with her
body weight and stepping inside. He was lying on his bed, his eyes
staring up at the ceiling. He carelessly tossed a coin into the air,
catching it, and then tossing it again.
"Jack, I want a word with ye!" she growled. "Ye swore ye wouldn't, Jack!
Ye drank the last of that sweet wine we got in Singapore!" she spat,
throwing the flask at him. It hit him in the chest and bounced off,
hitting the floor with a thud. He didn't flinch. "Jack! Jack, are ye
listening to me?!"
"Annamaria," he sat forward and right away she knew. His eyes were
bloodshot, red and puffy. The dark charcoal under his eyes was smeared
like it'd been wet. His skin was paler than usual, and he almost appeared
to be shaking. She'd never seen him like this before, but she knew why he
looked the way he did. "For bleedin' Christ's sake, I'll buy ye more
bloody wine. Now leave me be."
"Jack, I'm sorry," she lowered her voice to a whisper and sat next to him
on the bed, her hand reaching for his. He didn't say anything, but merely
stared back up at the ceiling and continued to play with his coin. "If
I'd've known........."
"Well, ye didn't," he spat. "So don't bother being sorry for yerself."
"Jack, I know ye miss her," Annamaria took a deep breath and tried to
ignore his hostility. "I know ye love her. I know that. But it's been 11
years. Ye should try to be happy now, Jack. I know this is going to sound
harsh, but she's probably moved on. I mean, she did think ye were dead,
so she probably found someone else. I'm sorry, but ye know I'm right
about this."
"I know," he took a deep breath, his reality coming easier to him than he
had expected. "I jus' miss her, is all. 'N I know she's out there in the
world somewhere. It's just a matter of time 'till I find her." He sat
forward again, letting the coin hit the wooden floor. "What if she was
tellin' the truth when she said she was carryin' my child? What if
somewhere out there she and my kid are strugglin' to make ends meet?
Huh?? What do I do then?"
"Stop with that rubbish, Jack," Annamaria soothed. "You know Katrina
better than that, or at least I thought ye did. She's a strong girl, she
CAN take care of herself and you know it."
"I know that........." Jack squeezed his eyes shut, imagining Will accusing him
of being the real whelp in his mind. "I just need to know fer sure." He
flopped back onto the bed, his eyes still shut.
"Well, we're not gonna stop looking, are we?" Annamaria said, a grin
forming on her face as she squeezed his hand, talking to him almost like
he was a child. "Now whatdoya say we go ashore and get ye some more rum
to take yer mind off it?"
Her grin spread when Jack popped an eyelid open, splitting into his most
charming of all grins.
Tortuga Tavern
August 4, 1779
Katrina Preston-Sparrow took a deep breath, blowing a strand of her
thick, wavy blonde hair out of her eyes as she hunched over one of the
wooden tables in the Tortuga Tavern, wiping the surface with a damp
cloth.
"Ye sure ye don't want me to stay, lass??" she glanced up at her two best
friends, who were ushering a somewhat older gentleman out of the tavern.
"I think I should stay so we can start the revelation! You want me to
help with the revelation, don't ye?"
"Of course, Mr. Sorenson!" Mary insisted. "Some other time though......... why
don't ye go home to Mrs. Sorenson and get a good night sleep and we can
talk about the revelation tomorrow; what say you to that?"
"Sounds......... sounds like a brilliant plan, doll," he slurred.
"Alright, nighty-night then," Sarah shoved him out the door and locked it
behind her, pushing her dark brown hair out of her eyes. "I swear to the
Virgin Mary if I have to endure one more night of that man's babblings, I
will be forced to drop him off a cliff into Davy Jones' locker!"
"Oh come now, dear, surely you don't mean that," Mary sighed, pulling a
chair up on top of a table.
"And what was that revelation business he been talkin' about??" Sarah
asked, her eyes wide with confusion and frustration.
"How should I know," Mary replied. "Katrina, luv, is somethin' botherin'
ye? Ye've been awfully quiet this evenin'," she said as she hoisted her
dress up a bit and moved behind the tavern's bar, wiping down the counter
and brushing away peanut shells and cracker crumbs.
"Oh, I suppose it's nothing," she tossed her cloth in the wastebasket and
grabbed her jacket off one of the chairs, sliding it onto her shoulders.
"I think I'm going to head home."
"Long walk, isn't it?" Sarah asked sarcastically. Katie smiled.
"The longest," she replied, turning up the tavern stairs to the small
flat she and her daughter shared above the bar.
"See you tomorrow, Kat," Mary called after her. Katie pushed open the
heavy door and stepped inside the room, lighting a lantern in the corner
giving her just enough light to see where she was going, but not too much
so as to wake up Annie, her eleven year old daughter, who slept in the
spongy queen bed in the center of the room.
She quietly slipped on her nightgown and crawled into bed, kissing her
daughter gently on the forehead. She was about to blow out the lantern on
the nightstand when she heard Annie stir beside her.
"Mummy?"
"Hi sweetie," she propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at her
daughter. No doubt she looked more like her father everyday. She had his
dark eyes, his smile, and his natural sense of direction and adventure.
"I had a dream about dad," she whispered in a tired voice.
"You did?" Katie swallowed hard. Just the reminder of Jack made going on
everyday that much harder. "What about, luv?"
"I dunno, just stuff," Annie replied. "He was just here. 'Cept......... 'cept
I didn't know what he looked like. It was like I couldn't see his face or
nothin'. Mum? How come you never talk about him?"
"Well, I don't......... I don't know, sweetheart, I just miss him is all." She
whispered. "Why don't you go to sleep?"
"I wanna know about him," Annie protested. "I don't even know his name,
mom! All I know is that he was a pirate. That's all you've ever told me."
"His name......... his name was Jack Sparrow," Katie started, realizing Annie
was right. She deserved to know about her daddy. "Before you were born,
your daddy and I lived on his ship."
"His ship?"
"Yes, luv, he wasn't your average pirate. He was a captain," she told
her, brushing some hair away from Annie's face. "He owned the biggest and
prettiest ship in the Caribbean; it was called the Black Pearl. It had
belonged to your grandfather and when he died, it belonged to your
father."
"Was he a fearsome pirate, mummy?"
Katie chuckled. "He sure tried to be, darling." She smiled down at her
daughter as her eyes fluttered open and shut in tiredness. "I'll tell you
more tomorrow, luv. You have school tomorrow, get some rest."
"No......... I wanna hear more........." Annie tried to protest but was far too
tired. She succumbed to the ravages of sleep.
--- --- ---
Tortuga Bay
August 5, 1779
"WHERE IS JACK?!" Gibbs looked up from the dagger he was sharpening to
see Annamaria come roaring out from below deck, an empty flask hanging in
her hand. He glanced backwards at Mr. Cotton who stood behind him, also
watching the furious young woman. The rest of the crew stopped whatever
they were doing and joined in to watch.
"JACK?!" she boomed, banging on his cabin door. She didn't wait for him
to invite her in and twisted the knob, pushing against the door with her
body weight and stepping inside. He was lying on his bed, his eyes
staring up at the ceiling. He carelessly tossed a coin into the air,
catching it, and then tossing it again.
"Jack, I want a word with ye!" she growled. "Ye swore ye wouldn't, Jack!
Ye drank the last of that sweet wine we got in Singapore!" she spat,
throwing the flask at him. It hit him in the chest and bounced off,
hitting the floor with a thud. He didn't flinch. "Jack! Jack, are ye
listening to me?!"
"Annamaria," he sat forward and right away she knew. His eyes were
bloodshot, red and puffy. The dark charcoal under his eyes was smeared
like it'd been wet. His skin was paler than usual, and he almost appeared
to be shaking. She'd never seen him like this before, but she knew why he
looked the way he did. "For bleedin' Christ's sake, I'll buy ye more
bloody wine. Now leave me be."
"Jack, I'm sorry," she lowered her voice to a whisper and sat next to him
on the bed, her hand reaching for his. He didn't say anything, but merely
stared back up at the ceiling and continued to play with his coin. "If
I'd've known........."
"Well, ye didn't," he spat. "So don't bother being sorry for yerself."
"Jack, I know ye miss her," Annamaria took a deep breath and tried to
ignore his hostility. "I know ye love her. I know that. But it's been 11
years. Ye should try to be happy now, Jack. I know this is going to sound
harsh, but she's probably moved on. I mean, she did think ye were dead,
so she probably found someone else. I'm sorry, but ye know I'm right
about this."
"I know," he took a deep breath, his reality coming easier to him than he
had expected. "I jus' miss her, is all. 'N I know she's out there in the
world somewhere. It's just a matter of time 'till I find her." He sat
forward again, letting the coin hit the wooden floor. "What if she was
tellin' the truth when she said she was carryin' my child? What if
somewhere out there she and my kid are strugglin' to make ends meet?
Huh?? What do I do then?"
"Stop with that rubbish, Jack," Annamaria soothed. "You know Katrina
better than that, or at least I thought ye did. She's a strong girl, she
CAN take care of herself and you know it."
"I know that........." Jack squeezed his eyes shut, imagining Will accusing him
of being the real whelp in his mind. "I just need to know fer sure." He
flopped back onto the bed, his eyes still shut.
"Well, we're not gonna stop looking, are we?" Annamaria said, a grin
forming on her face as she squeezed his hand, talking to him almost like
he was a child. "Now whatdoya say we go ashore and get ye some more rum
to take yer mind off it?"
Her grin spread when Jack popped an eyelid open, splitting into his most
charming of all grins.