Woman Overboard

Chapter 15 : Goodbye (1)

Edward

August 31st, 1820

(8:15 AM)

Edward found himself wishing he was Afiba.

He knew there were plenty of disadvantages to being a woman and black, but he thought he could have endured it all if only Aless would look at him that way.

He figured what he saw in Aless's eyes was only the flame of new friendship which he saw through a distorted lense of unrequited longing. Why would a woman be looking at another woman that way, anyhow? Edward found the idea too strange to even consider.

Either way, all this only took place in his subconscious. On the surface, he just wished for the ease and confidence Afiba radiated when she strode up to Aless and draped her arm over her shoulders. He wished he could do that: hold her without being afraid she would push him away.

Just beyond a stretch of cloudy, gray-ish water, the coast of South Carolina waited for them. Edward remembered spending long summer days as a boy playing on a shore not much different from this one, tucked away behind his parents' estate in Georgetown. The biggest difference was that here, beyond the beach, there was not a house but a perpetual tangle of trees and foliage. The woods.

If he remembered correctly, those woods were slated to get them all killed in the near future. He could already predict the nature of the casualties: sunburns, fevers, fatigue, dehydration. The crew had an entire lifeboat packed pull of provisions, but Edward couldn't help but wonder if it would really be enough to go around.

The captains had opted to bring the entire crew with them. In the event that South Carolina did have a military presence at the Broderick Manor (which seemed likely), they would need a strong force to fight back.

Over by the mast, Aless was saying goodbye to Danielle who would be staying behind with Chris and Taonga who Abigail had deemed too sick to come along. The little girl disputed the arrangement, but her mother wouldn't budge. Now, she stood stiff as a board while Aless wrapped her arms around her, stroking her hair and caressing her cheeks. Aless didn't seem to notice the lack of reciprocation.

A couple feet away, Afiba, Reece, and Taonga were chatting between bursts of quiet laughter. Abigail stood by, watching Tao with concerned eyes. To their right, Nia and Edwin were caught in a tight embrace, their arms locked together like links on a steel chain. And standing apart from all of them was Jaiye, who had taken to leaning over the wall opposite the beach, brooding silently as the ocean rushed by.

Edward, Jackson, Pedro, and Jamie had claimed the poop deck where Pedro had produced a bottle of rum and they had been drinking ever since. The three men tried to shoo the teenage cabin boy away, but he insisted on hanging around. When they weren't paying attention, he would slip the bottle away and chug as much as he could before the other three noticed. It was never more than a bottle cap full.

"Aye," said Pedro, a little tipsy by this point, "I don't ever see the sea again, there ain't a soul to blame but that damn woman." He tipped the bottle's neck toward Aless, who was now herding her pouting daughter toward the hatch.

Edward took the rum from him but didn't drink it. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I agree," Jackson put in. "I always thought that Alessandra a sensible lady, but this? No way are we getting out alive. And for the negroes, of all the people to die for."

He furrowed his brow, tucking the bottle under his armpit before Jamie could grab it. "We are going to save our men, too," he reminded them.

"Bah!" Jackson gave a harsh laugh. "Naw, them negroes stand a chance, as we're just sailing up to their back lawn. But us -- our guys? They're all the way across town! Tell me, Eddie, how're we gonna get all the way there without setting the militia on us? Huh?"

Edward didn't have an answer. "You know Aless," he argued. "She's stubborn as a rock. I don't see a way in hell she'll leave these here states without every one of our crewmembers, alright?"

This seemed to be a satisfactory answer. Jackson nodded. Pedro shrugged and said, "Pass the rum."

Edward passed the bottle and spun himself around with a sigh. He was greeted by the sight of the seemingly endless sea with a tiny freckle dotting its surface. They had finally caught a glimpse of the ship's name last night: The King James. The King James, they supposed, was one of the navy ships the governor had sent after them and would probably end up being their undoing. If those men got to shore, they would alert the authorities immediately. In fact, perhaps they already had. Aless had reported hearing a shrill whistle in her sleep last night, but by the time she woke up she was too late to see the flare. It was likely that King James had a special signal they were to send up when they found The Brookes, and that might have been it.

Edward looked back down at Aless. There she was, still trying to coax the girl below deck. Danielle had her face set in a scowl, her arms crossed, and her feet planted firmly in the ground. Aless, from the looks of it, had begun begging.

Across the ship, Reece also saw her struggle. He excused himself from his group and lumbered over to the hatch with his usual lackadaisical grin. Squatting down beside Aless, he joined the verbal fight. Edward couldn't hear what they were saying, but Aless and Reece seemed to have two very different tactics. Reece spoke with soft, sympathetic eyes, while Aless clipped off words with the beginnings of anger brewing in her irises.

Edward sighed, resisting the inherent urge to join them. He knew Danielle had never liked him much, but he still felt like he might help, if only to make her mother look like less of a villain. But he didn't. Instead, he took another swig of rum and turned to watch water skim out from under The Brookes like a flock of birds freed from their cage.