Chapter Five
His face was pressed into another woman's neck, his lips, no doubt,
kissing her long and slender neck. Her hair was a deep auburn, pinned up.
One hand was around her waist, the other on her thigh, scrunching up the
skirt of her dress. He obviously didn't know she was standing there, why
would he? The poor man probably expected to die on that island and
probably never expected to see her again.
And it HAD been 11 years.
There was no doubt in Katie's mind that this woman was a prostitute and
that there was no real relationship between her and Jack; it was all in
the way she dressed and the intense amount of makeup on her face. Her
heart still ached with pain like she had been betrayed by him, but at the
same time couldn't really blame him.
Her chin began to shake and she tried not to break down right then and
there. She was about to turn into the crowd and try her hardest to forget
she ever saw him when he pulled his head up, his eyes instantly catching
her figure in the crowd.
"Katrina........." she could barely hear him say her name over the shouts of
the crowd, but the way he moved his lips told her exactly what he said.
His jaw dropped and shock crossed over his face.
She bit her lip to keep from smiling at him, happy he was alive, but at
the same time distressed to know that they could never have what they
once had. All she could really do was let the tears start to fall--and
run. Run away from him, from her, from everything. When she turned around
and pushed past the group of people, she didn't really know where she was
going. She was just running. It'd been a mistake; she shouldn't have gone
looking for him, she just should've let her imagination run wild and
fantasize about him being alive rather than go looking for him.
She began running towards the beach. Her entire life she'd always found
solace near the ocean, which she guessed was why she found it so easy to
transition into life on the Black Pearl when she married Jack.
Whatever her reasonings were, it didn't matter. She reached the beach and
collapsed into the sand, sobs escaping out of her body. Half of her was
unbelievably thrilled that the man she loved was alive and presumably
healthy, the other half this mangled shell of a person knowing that he
had buried his love for her when she had tried so many times to bury her
own only to fail.
But there was nothing she could do now. She didn't know what was to
become of the future, if she ever would see Jack Sparrow again. But the
glimmer of hope she'd always held onto was gone.
--- --- ---
Jack stood at the edge of the shore, behind a palm tree, watching her
sitting there. His face was a display of emotion. He had been taught when
he was young that men never cried, therefore no tears rolled down his
cheeks. But his face showed how upset he was.
11 years he'd been searching, 11 years he wanted to find her and hold her
again and she'd been here in Tortuga the whole time. It was almost as if
a cruel sense of irony had kept them apart. But she was there now, crying
out in pain with a desperate need to just be loved by someone. He took a
deep breath, knowing he was that someone.
"Katie," he spoke her name slowly and gently, as if he was afraid she
would break if he said it the wrong way.
"Please, Jack," she sniffled, refusing to turn around and face him.
"Please, just go away."
"I thought ye'd be happy to see me," he stood in his place, looking at
his feet in the sand. I really need new boots.
"I am, but........." she rose onto her feet and dusted the sand out from her
skirt. "Jack, this is all a little hard to realize. You're here, alive,
after all this time......... I thought I would never see you again, I didn't
have a speech planned for you or anything. So please, I just need some
time to think."
"I'm not going anywhere," he gave her a half-hearted smile and his hand
touched her arm.
"Then you're gonna be here a long time, Jack," she whispered, still
refusing to make eye contact with him. She pushed past him and pulled her
skirt up a bit, making it easier for her to trudge through the sand.
"Katrina, please."
"Please, what?!" suddenly every bit of anger, every resentment, every
regret that had been building up inside of her for the last 11 years came
flooding out. "You can't tell me that you JUST got off that island, Jack!
And you practically LIVE in Tortuga when you're not on the Pearl, how is
it that you never found us??"
"Us?" Jack gulped. So it was true. Katie's face barely softened as she
walked back to Jack, her face close to his. She lowered her voice to a
meek whisper.
"Her name is Anna Pearl Sparrow. She likes to be called Annie. She's 11
years old and has made it this far without a father and doesn't need you
to come along and complicate things, she's fine," she told him. "I really
was pregnant that day when they marooned you, Jack."
Then everything in Jack's mind clicked. The little girl at the market,
how she reminded him of Katie, there was just something else about her.........
she was his. She was his only child. Suddenly he felt overwhelmed with
more emotion as tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes; he
couldn't help about everything he'd missed: birthdays, her first words,
her first steps, her entire life he was never there.
"Can I......... Can I see her?"
"I can't keep her from you, Jack. She IS yours." Katie began to walk away
again, but stopped one more time. "But she IS also mine. And her whole
life she's been told that her daddy lived with the angels and that she
wouldn't get to see him until she was done living her own life. Let me
figure out how I'm gonna explain to her all of this first." She gave him
a half-smile, still confused but feeling a bit cooled down.
"I never mean to hurt ye, Katrina."
She smiled to herself and brushed a thick clump of hair out of his face.
Here was the man who she would've given anything to see again, just one
last time, standing right in front of her and yet the only thing she
could think of was Annie, how all of this might affect her.
"I know, Jack, I know." She pressed her forehead against his chest and
felt his arms move up, embracing her body and pulling it into his. "But I
can't......... not until I talk to her." She pulled away and gently kissed his
cheek before leaving him standing there, alone on the beach.
His face was pressed into another woman's neck, his lips, no doubt,
kissing her long and slender neck. Her hair was a deep auburn, pinned up.
One hand was around her waist, the other on her thigh, scrunching up the
skirt of her dress. He obviously didn't know she was standing there, why
would he? The poor man probably expected to die on that island and
probably never expected to see her again.
And it HAD been 11 years.
There was no doubt in Katie's mind that this woman was a prostitute and
that there was no real relationship between her and Jack; it was all in
the way she dressed and the intense amount of makeup on her face. Her
heart still ached with pain like she had been betrayed by him, but at the
same time couldn't really blame him.
Her chin began to shake and she tried not to break down right then and
there. She was about to turn into the crowd and try her hardest to forget
she ever saw him when he pulled his head up, his eyes instantly catching
her figure in the crowd.
"Katrina........." she could barely hear him say her name over the shouts of
the crowd, but the way he moved his lips told her exactly what he said.
His jaw dropped and shock crossed over his face.
She bit her lip to keep from smiling at him, happy he was alive, but at
the same time distressed to know that they could never have what they
once had. All she could really do was let the tears start to fall--and
run. Run away from him, from her, from everything. When she turned around
and pushed past the group of people, she didn't really know where she was
going. She was just running. It'd been a mistake; she shouldn't have gone
looking for him, she just should've let her imagination run wild and
fantasize about him being alive rather than go looking for him.
She began running towards the beach. Her entire life she'd always found
solace near the ocean, which she guessed was why she found it so easy to
transition into life on the Black Pearl when she married Jack.
Whatever her reasonings were, it didn't matter. She reached the beach and
collapsed into the sand, sobs escaping out of her body. Half of her was
unbelievably thrilled that the man she loved was alive and presumably
healthy, the other half this mangled shell of a person knowing that he
had buried his love for her when she had tried so many times to bury her
own only to fail.
But there was nothing she could do now. She didn't know what was to
become of the future, if she ever would see Jack Sparrow again. But the
glimmer of hope she'd always held onto was gone.
--- --- ---
Jack stood at the edge of the shore, behind a palm tree, watching her
sitting there. His face was a display of emotion. He had been taught when
he was young that men never cried, therefore no tears rolled down his
cheeks. But his face showed how upset he was.
11 years he'd been searching, 11 years he wanted to find her and hold her
again and she'd been here in Tortuga the whole time. It was almost as if
a cruel sense of irony had kept them apart. But she was there now, crying
out in pain with a desperate need to just be loved by someone. He took a
deep breath, knowing he was that someone.
"Katie," he spoke her name slowly and gently, as if he was afraid she
would break if he said it the wrong way.
"Please, Jack," she sniffled, refusing to turn around and face him.
"Please, just go away."
"I thought ye'd be happy to see me," he stood in his place, looking at
his feet in the sand. I really need new boots.
"I am, but........." she rose onto her feet and dusted the sand out from her
skirt. "Jack, this is all a little hard to realize. You're here, alive,
after all this time......... I thought I would never see you again, I didn't
have a speech planned for you or anything. So please, I just need some
time to think."
"I'm not going anywhere," he gave her a half-hearted smile and his hand
touched her arm.
"Then you're gonna be here a long time, Jack," she whispered, still
refusing to make eye contact with him. She pushed past him and pulled her
skirt up a bit, making it easier for her to trudge through the sand.
"Katrina, please."
"Please, what?!" suddenly every bit of anger, every resentment, every
regret that had been building up inside of her for the last 11 years came
flooding out. "You can't tell me that you JUST got off that island, Jack!
And you practically LIVE in Tortuga when you're not on the Pearl, how is
it that you never found us??"
"Us?" Jack gulped. So it was true. Katie's face barely softened as she
walked back to Jack, her face close to his. She lowered her voice to a
meek whisper.
"Her name is Anna Pearl Sparrow. She likes to be called Annie. She's 11
years old and has made it this far without a father and doesn't need you
to come along and complicate things, she's fine," she told him. "I really
was pregnant that day when they marooned you, Jack."
Then everything in Jack's mind clicked. The little girl at the market,
how she reminded him of Katie, there was just something else about her.........
she was his. She was his only child. Suddenly he felt overwhelmed with
more emotion as tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes; he
couldn't help about everything he'd missed: birthdays, her first words,
her first steps, her entire life he was never there.
"Can I......... Can I see her?"
"I can't keep her from you, Jack. She IS yours." Katie began to walk away
again, but stopped one more time. "But she IS also mine. And her whole
life she's been told that her daddy lived with the angels and that she
wouldn't get to see him until she was done living her own life. Let me
figure out how I'm gonna explain to her all of this first." She gave him
a half-smile, still confused but feeling a bit cooled down.
"I never mean to hurt ye, Katrina."
She smiled to herself and brushed a thick clump of hair out of his face.
Here was the man who she would've given anything to see again, just one
last time, standing right in front of her and yet the only thing she
could think of was Annie, how all of this might affect her.
"I know, Jack, I know." She pressed her forehead against his chest and
felt his arms move up, embracing her body and pulling it into his. "But I
can't......... not until I talk to her." She pulled away and gently kissed his
cheek before leaving him standing there, alone on the beach.