Still, he wanted her to stay so he could bring her to some cave in Australia. What the heck was that about? And what curse? No one had laughed about any of it. They were as dead serious as the funeral from last night. And a little afraid. Should she be too?
If she hadn’t seen the water hands take the cremation jars and a giant water fish take her sneakers, she’d have concluded they were all a bunch of lunatics with some manners. But no. They were all a bunch of strange men who dared not speak her given name. Now she couldn’t say it either. However, she wasn’t too afraid to demand answers. She would bug Sam for an explanation. She needed to get to the bottom of what her name had to do with Dyne’s curse. That, and what was with locking him up for five days?
Jessie tried to shoo away the questions buzzing in her head so she could get some sleep, but her brain refused to cooperate. She slept fitfully, more dozing between bouts of tossing and turning. She managed a few hours by the time Rammus announced via the sound system that the sun was up. She groaned and pulled her covers over her head.
She dozed while they bathed and went about their routine, hoping to grab a little more rest, but knowing the sun was up tricked her lagging brain into wakeup mode. Her mind resumed buzzing with questions by the time the second wave returned. Jessie grabbed fresh clothes, slid her feet into the shower sandals Sam had given her, and headed to the shower.
The ship’s interior was extensive, yet easy enough to navigate. It was one big hallway with everything branching off it. The bow housed a huge cargo hold stuffed with crates and boxes, and a workout station, which smelled strongly of sweat. Sitting adjacent to the hold was the galley and a pantry. Past the galley lay all the sleeping cabins, followed by the bathrooms and showers, and then a large, sweltering engine room full of pipes, gauges, and carefully stowed fuel pellets.
Jessie ended up waiting outside the shower room for a few minutes. Sam was busy getting O’Toole to brush his hair and teeth. She knew Sam hadn’t returned to the cabins but she’d assumed he’d went elsewhere to go about his day. She could’ve waited inside on the bench that lined the lockers but she didn’t want to feel like she was intruding, even though neither of them would have cared. Well, she didn’t know what O’Toole would do. She didn’t trust herself not to punch him.
Sam bade her good morning on his way out as O’Toole scampered off towards the galley. “Don’t be too long,” Sam said with a warm smile. “Breakfast is soon.”
Jessie nodded, then entered the shower room and closed and locked the door behind her. She eventually might relax enough to stop locking it but, until she trusted every last one of them, Dyne wasn’t getting his key back. She might even use it for leverage to get answers.
Rammus was back on the wheel while everyone but Dyne and Jacobi gathered for breakfast. Jacobi was confined to his bunk for several days and everyone at the table had scooted close enough together to keep Dyne’s spot empty.
Mido was turning four loaves of texas toast into French toast with cinnamon. Butter, syrup, and two bowls of chopped fruit sat in the middle of the table. The men snacked on bananas, apples, pineapples, blueberries, and strawberries while Mido worked on flipping his third loaf on the griddle.
Jessie sat in her folding chair near the fridge. O’Toole watched breakfast get made with childlike fascination as he sucked on one of his hood strings. The mood in the galley was light with a nervous tension underneath that emanated from those Dyne had pulled aside in the night. They ate with their usual enthusiasm but they seemed to be overdoing trying to act casual. Tension aside, she watched everyone bring pieces of fruit to their mouths. She wanted some but lacked the courage to approach the table with so many there.
Ted brought a piece of pineapple to his mouth, then stopped and looked at Jessie. “Come sit and eat.”
She fervently shook her head.
Ted gave her an injured frown, then spooned a fresh bowl of fruit and held it out to her. “Here you go then.”
Jessie stared longingly at the bowl. Once she decided to get up, Cancer spoke.
“If she’s going to eat, then she needs to join us at the table. There’s no excuse not to. Sam?”
Sam sat next to the empty spot. He considered Jessie a moment, then nodded. “I agree. Jessie, you’ve been with us a few days now. That should be plenty enough time to see that we’re not Tethys and his crew. Now come over and eat.” He patted the cushion.
Jessie wrung her hands and looked at the floor. “He spent a month building my trust in him before… before showing his true colors.” She folded her arms, feeling a need to cover herself.
The room fell silent, minus the toast sizzling away on the griddle. She could feel their eyes on her.
“Okay,” Sam said, sounding taken aback. “Then for now you can take your turn eating after us. I don’t want you to get in the habit of hiding in corners. You’re eventually going to join us to meals.”
Jessie opened her mouth to protest but Sam held up a calloused hand.
“It’ll do you good. We’ll not let you live a life of fear and playin’ the victim. We all know you have plenty of fight in you. The sooner you go back to normal, the better. Do you understand where we’re comin’ from?”
She understood. “You’re right.” Memories from the beginning of her imprisonment with Tethys surfaced. “You’re very right. I—” She gathered her thoughts in hopes of clearly expressing how they could trust her to let go of the last two years of her life. “When the… raping…” Ugh, that word made her want to vomit. “…first started, I fought. I fought it as hard as I could. But after a few months I stopped and just took it. I couldn’t fight it anymore. Didn’t see any point. But I never gave up trying to escape. My being here is proof enough. I’ll fight my fears. I won’t give up.”
“Good,” Sam said with a warm smile. “The captain would approve.”
Mido scooped his third batch of French toast onto a heated plate sitting in the oven, then battered and placed a fourth loaf on the griddle, and sprinkled them all with cinnamon.
“Speaking of,” Ted said, “where is the good captain?”
Jessie looked up. A few men stiffened.
Cancer said, “Sleeping. He got sick in the night. He should be fine within a few days.”
Jessie searched the techies’ faces for signs of suspicion they’d been lied to, but they nodded in satisfaction. How could they suspect anything was amiss when the ship medic announced Dyne’s “illness?”
With aid of oven mitts, Mido set heaping plates of French toast on both sides of the table and slid them in. Six hands shot out and snatched up slices for their awaiting plates. The crew more tossed than dropped their piping hot slices, then shook out singed fingers. Mido flipped the fourth batch, then held the third heaping plate in front of O’Toole before bringing that to the table as well. That pile dropped to half in a hurry.
In an attempt to force herself to be braver, Jessie scooted her chair closer to the table, but only a couple feet closer. Still, it was enough to get another smile out of Sam, along with Ed and Ted. It would do for today. She did her best not to stare while the crew ate. The mix of fruit, cinnamon, and coffee wafting through the air made her stomach growl.
Mido divvied up the fourth batch and a few slices from the third onto five more plates. He set two plates in the oven, then handed off two more to Sam, who gobbed them with butter and syrup. He hastily finished his meal, then disappeared with the plates towards the cabins. Mido followed with a third plate and three bowls of fruit carefully balanced in his big arms. O’Toole snooped around the griddle but touched nothing.