Chapter 2 – "Am I?"
Far from feeling pity for him, the Captain just sighed and answered flatly, "No, no indeed Claymore, what you are sensing is not death, merely a pause in your physical existence that is all. Hardly the same thing, I think."
"How long do I stay here?"
"I doubt anyone knows in truth Claymore. Your ability to return to your body depends upon many factors. You at least have the option, the hope to return. Carolyn and I were at the hospital, and you are under careful attention and care, but they said your body was in a coma. I believe that is a state where your body shows no response, and it remains a mystery to the medical professionals. It is perhaps why they say doctors practice medicine, since it is even now, hardly an exact science."
"If you entered this plane, this particular sphere of existence on your own accord, returning to your physical self, that is if you are sure really thought it worthwhile to return to. . ." the Captain noticed gratefully that Claymore was only paying minimal attention, and that Carolyn wasn't within earshot. "Returning," he said clearing his throat, "is quite simple, but due to your injury, you might be here for quite some time, or at least until your body is recovered. Come Claymore, we should head back to Gull Cottage, it doesn't do to have you sit and just stare like you are." "Why, what else can I do?" he asked. "For one thing, you can quit feeling sorry for yourself," the Captain grumbled, finally losing his patience. "You are injured man, not dead! I should think the difference would be understood even by you!"
The two walked in silence up the beach. The Captain let Claymore walk ahead a few paces. He desperately needed to regain his composure and hopefully some patience. Over his years at sea, from time to time he had met weak-spirited souls, like Claymore, men (and he used the word loosely) who only could perceive their own needs and interests and nothing beyond. But if he could deal with those broken souls at sea, he supposed he could do the same here, for a while at least.
"Captain, Captain!" Claymore called, in what had to be considered a nasally, somewhat whiney tone, "Explain, if you might, why YOU are the one here with me, if I am not your relative?" "You addle-paited fool" the Captain shouted, clearly recognizing patience was no longer an option, "Do you imagine I WANT to be here?"
The Captain was shocked by Claymore's response, the look on his face clearly had hoped there was a personal desire to help him, and the sense of despondency was obvious. "Well, uh, I supposed, no matter our history, I had hoped, that maybe, you kinda, still wanted to be here for me?" Claymore stammered. Stepping back one full step, the Captain looked Claymore squarely in the eye, "You sad excuse for a man, it is not my duty, thank God to help you find yourself. I might suggest, in this interval, you no longer look to your personal fancies and imaginings, but to how you might live your life as a man, and God help me a Gregg. To date, even with pressure or sometimes even blackmail, you have done a poor job – I only hope this time allows you the ability to be far better a man than you have so far."
They looked silently at each other, then Claymore studied the sand, and recognized his message had easily been accepted, understood and tossed back in his face. "Yes, of course," Claymore continued as if the Captain had not spoken, "I need to focus on getting back, getting better, getting back to making sure I've been getting all the rent I'm entitled too of course."
"You money grubbing miserable cur," the Captain growled, "this is the second time I've attempted to show you the error of your ways, how to be a better man, and this is all you can think about?" "Yes, I remember it Captain, and I remember lots of other things too, so don't pretend I wasn't useful to you, you know I remember it all," said Claymore in a petulant voice, "Remember it all?" said the Captain, with his own guess what that may indicate. "YES, all those times you abducted my body for your own needs. I know you didn't do it just for me, no matter what you said." Holding up his fingers, he counted the episodes, "First, during the Centennial games to get back your tea service, then before the ball, you took over my body when Mrs. Muir was trying to teach me to waltz." "Belay that you insulting incipient insect, if I stepped in it was to save her from physical injury due to your inept inability to dance." Wagging a finger at the Captain, "I said I remember EVERYTHING, and I could hear everything too, but I could only remember it once I arrived here. And just because you admitted it today, it's been going on for a long, long while."
Claymore's eyes went vacant for a moment, as if he were struggling to recover a memory, "And, and you even took over at the dance didn't you? You DID! You talked about that when that singer was at the Cottage and performed that song, oh ho! So it was your words he sang, that makes sense. You two talked about how you cared for her, how you cared for each other." Pausing, he continued to connect even more memories, "Even when her cousin Hazel was here, you meant every one of those words to her, didn't you? What was it now, 'a heart that is heavy with the despair of having to leave the one I cherish,' and, oh yes, I remember, 'finding someone as gracious and loving as you,' you meant it all, now I'm sure you did. You've been a busy ghost Captain!"
Outraged at the personal intrusion, the impertinence of the accusations, the Captain's hands were clenched and knuckles starting to go white from strain. "How dare you impugn her, or my own intentions, this is unbearable! If you were alive and well, I'd strike you down myself!" In the midst of his raging fury, he was astounded to see Claymore sit down on the nearest stone wall and begin to laugh to himself.
"My heavenly mercy," he chortled, "I always wondered, but now it all makes sense, it goes back to when she first moved into Gull Cottage. Some how I must have figured it out though when I made her my next of kin, but really, I should have called her my Aunt. It's true, if you could you two would have been married long ago, wouldn't you?"
Totally overwhelmed by the turn in the conversation, the Captain dropped onto the wall beside Claymore. Momentarily at a loss for words, he sat, trying to come up with a reasonable response. "Come on Captain," Claymore said reaching over the nudging him, "it's true. No wonder none of the men in Schooner Bay ever had a chance with her. I always guessed you loved her, but she's always been in love with you, hasn't she? Aw, tell me. You might as well; you can't frighten or harm me here, right?"
Growling the Captain looked daggers at him, "I can try Claymore!" Seeing that in this state, Claymore had at least some self-confidence, no matter how little, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Repeat this, refer to it, ever admit out loud that I shared any of this with you Claymore and you'll regret it to the end of any life you live. But it is true. All of it and far more, certainly far more than you have any right to know."
Rocking back and forth on the wall happily, Claymore then took a slight jump back onto the path, "Oh Captain, you have nothing to worry about, you know me," and he drew a line across his neck, "silent as the grave!" Shaking his head, the Captain commented, "I could only wish." And they resumed their trek back up the path toward the cottage.
Silently thankful that she was able to leave Claymore's whining, she had tried to move quickly, but found she underestimated the time needed to arrive home. When she finally made it up the stairs to Gull Cottage, the unseen Carolyn Muir silently promised herself that she'd master the technique of 'popping' from place to place while she was on this plane. What was the point of being here and walking around when there were faster and more efficient ways? By the noise inside the house, it was clear the family was up and about. It was even more unsettling to realize she was just as invisible in this state, as the Captain, a reality made even more evident by Jonathan running straight through her on his way down to breakfast. "Gee Martha," he grumbled, "it got cold all of a sudden, can I have some cocoa?"
Heading up the stairs, she slipped through the bedroom door, settled down into her physical self, and after taking a bit to awake fully, got dressed and went down to tell the family their news about Claymore and his condition. Although, she needed to limit her comments to just what happened at the hospital, at least until the kids left for school, and she could talk more openly with Martha who knew about a few of the adventures she and Captain had when they were on the astral plane.
"So Mrs. Muir," Martha said after putting down the phone, "Ed wanted to know if he can see Claymore in the hospital. He feels terrible that he didn't work on that roof, is there anything he can do?" "I don't think so Martha, when we left the hospital they didn't understand why he was in the coma and were going to continue to run tests." Standing to pour herself a cup of coffee, she continued, "Daniel said he couldn't sense his spirit anywhere in or around his body, so we crossed over to the 'plane' last evening to see if we could find him, and we did, over on the beach beneath the rental cottages." "Really Mrs. Muir, I'm glad you've explained these journeys you and the Captain make from time to time, but to go through all that for Claymore?" "I know, but Martha we are the nearest thing to family he has, and if he went so far as to name me his 'next of kin', what else could I do?"
"Nothing, if you ask me," said Martha with arms crossed. "It's what he'd do for you! He just knew you'd be kind, and do the right thing, and you did, didn't you?" "Indeed she did," the Captain said appearing in the kitchen, "and as I've lead him back here, that insignificant petty conniver has learned nothing from the experience so far. In fact, he's gotten to be an even more irritating gnat. Personally I think we should leave him to flounder on the shoreline."
"Daniel!" Carolyn prompted, "Surely we could have a little patience with him, think of what he's been through?" "M'dear, you of all people know," the Captain said still fuming over Claymore's on-going monologue about the Captain and Mrs. Muir, "we are still ourselves, no matter what level of existence we have attained. He's a sniveling misfit, and always likely to remain so." She looked at him, as if she wanted to plead his case, her mouth opened, and closed suddenly. "Yet," she finally said slowly, "he does have his moments. I hoped we might be able to help him, but sounds like that's not going to be easy, is it?"
Unheard, unseen by the two women, the Captain noticed that Claymore must have finished resting on the veranda and had entered the kitchen. "Mrs. Muir, Martha, I'm here, don't you see me, why, why aren't you looking at me?" Sighing deeply, and pointing a thumb over his shoulder, the Captain nodded to Carolyn, "He's here. The conniving cipher is complaining again." Her eyes widened, and she spoke to the spot in space he indicated, "Claymore, even though we can't see you, I hope you know we've been trying to help."
Losing his final bit of patience, the Captain turned, "Claymore," he ordered, "I shall endeavor one final time to aid you, but if you insignificant mewling excuse of a man, cannot pull yourself together, and face this challenge, I will banish you from these walls and leave you to your own pathetically puny and parsimonious methods! Do you understand?"
Struggling, Claymore endeavored to straighten his shoulders and meet the Captain's eye. "Aye, aye sir!" "Oh, and Claymore, get rid of those hideous pajamas, put on a man's clothing, that should help I think." The Captain put a hand on his shoulder, "You just imagine the clothes changing and they do. Now DO IT!" The clothing swirled and turned into Claymore's everyday garb. "Hey, it worked!" he shouted happily.
"Captain?" Claymore asked, "So if I don't get better I can stay here, right?" "WHAT!" the Captain bellowed in clear shock and astonishment, "spend eternity here, with YOU? NEVER!" He furiously grabbed Claymore by the arm and they disappeared. A few minutes later, trying to make sense of the now ended one-sided conversation, the women were startled by the ringing of the phone. "I'll get it Mrs. Muir," said Martha, frankly glad to get away from the confusing invisible goings on. Carolyn took a long sip of coffee, and wondered where the two had gone and worried what the Captain might actually do if Claymore irritated him further.
Martha called from the hallway, "Mrs. Muir, it's the hospital; they think he might be coming out of the coma, and asked you to come back as soon as you can."
As she finally arrived again at the hospital, she felt certain that there must be a connection between the Captain's total frustration, their disappearance and Claymore's sudden return to consciousness. As she parked, she turned to see the Captain appear beside her, "It was Benjamin Franklin I think," he said, "who said fish and house guests both smell after three days, but then he never met Claymore of course. No doubt if he had, the quote would be different." "Daniel, what happened? You just disappeared and then not long after the hospital called. Not a coincidence, I'd bet?" "It turns out," he smiled, "you can actually pick up a spirit, shove it back in their body – fastest possible end to a coma you can imagine." "Really?" she said, not sure whether to believe him or not. Laughing, he turned, "I suspect his body was already near to waking, but no doubt the shove I gave him helped in some small measure. At least the doctors didn't seem to be overly surprised."
Breathing a sigh of relief, they entered the hospital and went up to Claymore's room. As she expected, he was already awake and talking rapidly. Seeing her in the doorway, he waved her into the room. "Mrs. Muir, is it you? Or I guess I should call you 'Aunt Carolyn,' with everything I remember. It was real, wasn't it?" "Aunt?" she said with surprise. "Oh you know, we had a long, long chat about the two of you, being so close and everything," and her stomach turned as he gave her a wide wink. Hand pressed to his forehead, the Captain disappeared without a word.
He looked around the room, as if looking for the Captain. "I don't know if I'm supposed to, but I remember just EVERYTHING and I really appreciate all you've done, and to show how much, I won't raise the rent for not one, but TWO whole months. See I have really learned my lesson, tell ol'spookface, will you?"
Carolyn smiled as she heard the Captain thundering in fury over the hospital and taking some small comfort that, for today at least, things had returned to normal. Or what was normal for their lives in Schooner Bay and Gull Cottage.
End