Chapter Thirty-three
Goodbye
They reschedule the date to leave. Now that Richard is feeling a little bit better, the boys can relax. They've got their leader back. So preparations resume once more, making sure everything is right for the trip. They decide on a name for their sub, Specter, as Ace suggested. A way to honour their deceased friend and the fact that Specter is a good name for a stealth sub.
As the day to depart draws near, Richard decides it's time to say goodbye to his hair for the last time. The hair is so convenient though. It hides his scar perfectly. Then he remembers that his Gift will give him the same ability.
After dinner one day, Richard approaches Elsa. She looks up at him and smiles, tucking back a wavy piece of vivid green hair behind her ear.
"Need something?" she asks.
"I was wondering if you could cut my hair for me," he says.
She peels off the rubber gloves that she's using to wash the dishes. She leaves the room and beckons Richard to follow her. He does.
When they enter her room, Richard is not very surprised. He's known Elsa for almost two years. The fact that her room is very bright and full of colour does not shock him one bit. Since she's been here longer than he has, she's added a few pieces of furniture, such as a vanity mirror and a chair to go with it. He also isn't surprised to see the massive amounts of makeup sitting on the vanity table.
Elsa sets Richard down into the chair. She digs around her room and pulls out a large towel. She drapes it over his shoulders and clips the two ends together behind him. "What type of style do you want?" she says and rummages around on the table to find a comb.
"Can you shave it all off?" he asks.
She drops the comb. "All of it?" she asks, sounding a little surprised. "You mean you want to go bald?"
"Not all of us need hair, Elsa," he responds. "Can you do it?"
She purses her lips and then nods. "Just one minute. I need to get something." She dashes out of the room. A few minutes later she returns with a hair clipper. She smiles and turns it on. "So you're absolutely sure about this?" she asks. With a final nod from Richard, she brings the clipper to Richard's head.
As the clumps of reddish brown hair fall to the ground, Richard makes sure that the scar disappears, becoming skin colour. He doesn't want Elsa to ask about it. That might undo Peter's hypnotism on the girl.
"So you guys are leaving soon?" she asks as she carefully glides the clipper over Richard's head, dislodging more clumps of hair.
"Yeah," he says. "Soon."
"What are you boys going to do out in the big ocean? Gut more fish?"
He rolls his eyes and she laughs. "Please, we've had enough of gutting fish. We're probably going to become prospectors and hunt around for black pearls."
She nods. "So you're willing to go down under the waves for weeks even months at a time?"
He nods. "Nothing better. You never know, though. I probably won't do this forever."
"Planning on becoming a farmer and stake your claim?" She cuts off more hair causing Richard to close his eyes otherwise he'll get hair in them.
"Maybe. I haven't fully decided yet."
A few minutes later Richard's hair is all on the floor, on the towel, or on him. He runs a hand over his head, feeling the fine grains of hair still on his head.
"I can shave that off," Elsa offers. "It won't take too long."
"That'd be great," Richard says.
Once more Elsa leaves the room. She returns with a can of shaving cream and a razor. She applies the cream to Richard's head first. He shivers at the cold contact of the cream. She takes the razor and begins to gently swipe it along his head, cutting off the remaining hairs. Elsa works quietly and diligently. Eventually his head is completely void of hair.
"You may want to wash off the cream," Elsa says as she pulls away the towel.
Richard touches his head and pulls it away, making a face as he feels the slick cream. "That'd be a good idea. Thanks for doing this."
Elsa smiles at him brightly and begins to clean up the mess. "No problem." She straightens and looks at him in the eye. "I'm really going to miss you boys."
Richard doesn't respond at first. He doesn't know what to say. Sure he's going to miss Elsa. She brightens his life as everyone else's in the home. Plus she makes really good food, and he's going to miss that food a lot. None of the boys know how to make food properly. Maybe Peter since he's made food with Elsa before, but other than that they won't have a proper chef on board the Specter.
"I'm sure we'll all miss you after a few days," he says. "None of us know how to cook."
She smiles. "That's no problem. I can give you boys some simple recipes to help you out. Nothing too hard and yet simply delicious. They're good for long trips under the sea."
"Is this your way of saying goodbye?" he asks.
She shrugs. "Perhaps. I'm just going to miss you when you leave. I miss everyone when they leave the home, but you guys are close to my age, and it's hard to find such interesting people on this Trade Station."
"Why not leave the Trade Station then?" he suggest. "Go out into the world."
She laughs nervously and shakes her head. "The world is not meant to behold the beauty such as myself." She bats her eyes and laughs. "Maybe when I'm older and a little more independent. For now I'll stay here and continue to cook and clean. If I leave, this place will fall into ruin."
"You really think yourself so highly in this place?" he asks.
She smiles brightly and nods. "Yes, I do. Now if you would please excuse yourself from my room, Mr. Straid, I have a mess to clean up and you have to wash your head off. Now, shoo." She pushes him out of the room to clean up the mess. Richard leaves the room and off to a bathroom to wash off his head. Yes, he truly is going to miss Elsa.
There is only one thing Richard has to do yet. It's probably going to be one of the most painful things he has to do. He has to let go of Gemma. He can't continue this long distance relationship with her. There comes a time when a man has to let go of his past to live his future. Gemma is part of the past. Richard has a new family to take care of now. He did all that he could for Gemma. She's old enough to take care of herself now. He no longer has to worry about her. It's time to say goodbye.
Pulling out a clean piece of paper, Richard begins to write his final letter.
Dear Gem o' the ocean,
It's been a long time, hasn't it? A lot of things have happened recently. I feel better than I used to before I came here. The ocean has definitely helped. I've decided to stay out here permanently. I know you wished for me to come back to the cities, but the cities aren't for me. I've made my choice and I'm happy with it. I'm staying in the ocean.
I've thought about it and realized there is more to the ocean than just farming and gutting fish. I've signed on to become a prospector. I'll be hunting for manganese nodules. I'll be in the ocean for weeks at a time, possibly months. A prospector's job is a long one. I'll only come up to the surface if I need more supplies, more gear. Other than that, I'll be living on the sea floor. That means our letters will have to stop. I won't be able to get them where I'm going. A prospector's life is a lonely one, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I know you don't want this to be true, but it is. One day perhaps we'll meet up again. You'll know it's me right away when I show you our sign.
I still love you. I always will. You'll always be my little sister, but there comes a time when family has to part and pursue their own paths, their own dreams. We're still family, we always will be. I'll miss you and you'll miss me. That probably won't change. But I want you to know that I'm not leaving you. I'll always be with you in a manner of speaking. You just have to let the physical me go and keep the memories of me instead.
Goodbye, Gemma. Stay strong. I love you.
Richard
He folds up the letter and slides it into an envelope. It's done. His old life is officially over. It's time to become a new person. Richard Straid is no longer. Only a soon-to-be outlaw remains, an outlaw carrying the name Shade.