FROM DOVER TO PLYMOUTH, AND BACK
Chapter 9
By Kiddo
In Loving Memory Of Jonathan Brandis
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"Don't fix a broken heart. Who really wants to forget?" (Joseph
Fiennes)
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"The wind blows one leaf from the tree,
One of many leaves,
This one leaf, you hardly notice it,
Because one is even nothing.
But only this leaf
Was part of our life,
And therfore this one leaf
Will always be missed from us."
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Disclaimer:
I don't have any rights to "seaQuest DSV" or "seaQuest 2032" and I am not making any money with this story.
A big Thank You goes to my wonderfull beta-reader Jackie and Sam, Samantha Quinn, Dolphinology,Pheniox-skye and Kas for Reviewing.
Feedback and reviews are still the only thing I get for writing. So please review.
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Kristen Westphalen was in one of the rooms below deck. The whole room was full of different things. There was just enough space for the thin woman to walk from one end to the other.
Kristen was searching after something special, and she was sure that it was in this room. After some time, the red-haired woman finally found it. A few rolls of cloth lay in front of her. She checked the quality of the different fabrics.
Finally, Miss Westphalen decided on the blue material; it was perfect for the thing she had planned. She wanted to make a jacket for Lucas. It was too cold to be outside without one and the boy couldn't always borrow a jacket from someone else. It was better if he had his own made to fit him exactly.
The blue cloth would be the outside of the jacket. And she wanted to take one of the old blankets to make the lining for the inside of the jacket. Maybe she could stitch the whole thing in a way that Lucas could easily pull the lining out of the jacket when the weather became warmer, and put it back into when it became colder again. Then it would be two jackets in one. One for cold weather and one for warm weather.
Kristen Westphalen walked in Lucas' direction.
The boy was still leaning on the railing and was looking into the water.
The woman stepped next to the teenager and wondered what the boy found so fascinating about the water. When Kristen saw the dolphin, she knew the answer. "There is our wet friend again," said Miss Westphalen, and smiled.
Lucas jumped slightly; it was like he was waking up from a different word and now saw for the first time that Kristen was standing next to him. It took a moment before the boy answered; it was like he had to try and understand what Miss Westphalen had said first. "Yeah."
"Have you given him a name?"
"His name is Darwin," said the teenager with conviction.
"An interesting name; where did you come up with it?" asked the red-haired woman.
Lucas looked into the water. "I didn't give him the name. His name is Darwin!" Again his voice sounded so definite. Almost like the animal had actually told him its name.
Kristen smiled. "Are you coming for lunch?"
The blond boy only nodded, looked into the water one last time, and followed Westphalen in the direction of the galley.
Benjamin Krieg looked up when the two people stepped into his galley and placed two bowls of soup on the table. He began to speak after Kristen sat down. "I wondered where you two had been. Except for you, everyone's finished eating."
Lucas was still standing next to the table and pulled his arms out of the jacket sleeves. Then, he gave it back to Ben. "Thank you!" After that, he sat down next to Miss Westphalen.
"No problem." Krieg turned to his pots and started cleaning up.
"If you want, you can go and take care of other things. You don't need to wait for us. Lucas and I can clean our plates by ourselves," said the woman to the cook.
"Okay." Krieg dried his hand on his apron. Then he untied the strings and put the apron away. Ben and Crocker would now start getting the small cabin ready for Lucas.
After Kristen and Lucas were finished cleaning up, Miss Westphalen pulled a thin string out of her pocket. "Lucas can you please stretch your arms out to both sides?"
The boy looked at her curiously, almost mistrusting. "Why?"
"I want to stitch you a jacket and I need to know your vital statistics for that," she explained.
"You don't need to make a jacket for me."
"I know, but I want to. So, I don't want to hear another word about it; no contradiction!" said Kristen with a determined air. There was no chance that Lucas could say anything against it. Miss Westphalen took the string and took the boy's measurements. She marked the lengths with knots in the string.
When she was finished, they both sat down at the table. Kristen looked at the boy for a moment, then, she decided to ask him a question. "The captain has told me that you can't read. If you are interested in reading, I can teach you how to do it. Do you want to?"
The teenager thought about the offer and looked Miss Westphalen closely in the eye. He could see that she was serious; this wasn't a joke. "Yeah, that would be great."
Westphalen smiled. "Good, then we can start right now and we will practice a little bit every day. You will see, by the time we are back in Dover, you'll be reading easy texts." It would only take a few days to see how wrong her last sentence was.
To Be Continued...
Written 2003 / Translated April 2004