Wrecked (7 page)

Andrew stood on the beach and looked out at the rolling
ocean. There was blue sky far off on the horizon and the wind had calmed
significantly. The storm had exhausted itself, although not before destroying
his entire world. There were wood planks and barrels riding the waves ashore,
and his ship was no longer visible, now sitting on the ocean floor not far from
the rocks that had battered it to pieces.

As he made his way along the sand toward the small port that
harbored fishing boats and two other recently arrived naval ships, Andrew
hurried to find Elizabeth. Although looking like he had just survived a
shipwreck, the desire to see her again outweighed any social requirement to
tidy himself up. The first man he saw was a fisherman mending a net and as
Andrew approached him, asking him the way to the Sherton residence, he realized
there was something quite amiss.

“Are you deaf, man?” he screamed, demanding attention.

But no response came, not even a glimmer of respect for the
captain. With anger boiling, Andrew stomped away and came upon a young man
hauling sacks down a gangplank and off a ship.

“Boy!” Andrew yelled. But again, there was no response. It
was as if he wasn’t even there.

Andrew stopped and turned to look back the way he’d come.
There on the sand, just a quarter of a mile down the shore was his body lying
lifeless as the surf tickled his feet. With horror, he looked down at his hands,
all ten fingers accounted for, his father’s ring on his right pinky. He reached
out to clutch the wooden railing and his hand went right through it, as if it
wasn’t even there. Again he grasped at the rail, and again his hand penetrated
the solid object and came through the other side. Andrew found a barrel and
tried to touch it, with the same result. He couldn’t feel it, and looking back
at his body slowly being covered by the surf, the realization of what had
happened washed over him with horror and heartache.

With urgency, Andrew ran up the dock and to the town,
searching the faces for Elizabeth. He looked in the modest store windows and in
the town square where women had gathered to gossip and children played tag. But
there was no Elizabeth.

He continued to wander through the small town hoping to spot
the face he had memorized in great detail. And when darkness began to fall and
he still hadn’t found her, hopelessness settled around him and he fell to the
ground and sobbed.

Time no longer meant anything to Captain Wentworth. It was
irrelevant. Day meant nothing. Night meant nothing. Tuesday was the same as
Friday. April or November, he didn’t care. As the nothingness of his existence
sank in, he heard a commotion and watched as the men of the town congregated
and ran in the direction of the port. He followed, only slightly interested in
what was taking place.

He watched with sorrow as two of his men were pulled from
the water, bobbing next to one of the fishing boats. And then, as if in a state
of sleepy dreaming, he saw two men carry his physical body up the beach and
place it on one of the docks, women crying as the realization of the shipwreck
took hold of the town.

Andrew felt strangely detached as he stood back and regarded
the scene as it unfolded before him. Boats were released from their moorings
with men aboard holding large hooks to pull aboard bodies and supplies. There
was a mixture of grief and relief as they searched the waves for barrels of
food and drink, but finding the bodies of navy men sent to serve their King and
country.  Children continued to play, fortunately oblivious to the dead bodies
being retrieved just a short distance away. The sight may well have been one that
the townsfolk were used to, dealing with the fickle ocean regularly. Even so,
it was odd for Andrew to watch.

As boats began to return to port, the Captain heard a sweet
laugh behind him and turned to see a beautiful little girl picking wild flowers
and holding them in her chubby little hands. She had golden curls that framed
her round face, and a smile that made her eyes sparkle brilliantly in the
sunshine. Andrew was mesmerized by her laugh and took a step in her direction
when he heard the voice.

“Andrea! Andie! Please stay close to me.”

Elizabeth!

Ethan had spent the last forty-eight hours at the hospital.
The night shift doc had the flu and Ethan had thought it was easier for him to
stay than mess around with calling in someone else. The nights were usually
quiet and he was able to sleep in one of the exam rooms for several hours both
nights. He’d missed his bed, but more than that, he’d missed seeing Bess. He
liked finding excuses to see her. It was getting more difficult to come up with
reasons to drop by and invite her to dinner, but he was willing to keep it up
just to spend time with her.

Regina was his ally and often clued him in on any
perceptions she had, as she wanted to see them both happy and she was sure that
together they would enjoy total bliss. She just had to help make it happen. And
she told him so.

“She is perfect for you,” she informed Ethan while they sat
and ate lunch during her break. “There is not one thing about her that I don’t
like.”

“Except that she doesn’t seem to like me!” Ethan chuckled.

“She likes you,” Regina argued. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“As a friend, yes, I think she does. But I don’t think it is
anything more than that.”

“You have to give her time, Ethan. And besides, you can’t
expect her to rush into anything. Just think about all she’d been through since
she got here, and that doesn’t include everything she experienced before she
arrived in Port Lincoln!”

“I know. I know. It’s just that…”

“What?”

“Why am I even talking to you about this?” he chuckled. “I
sound pathetic!”

“You’re a man and men need help when it comes to capturing
the heart of a woman,” Regina grinned.

“We do, do we?”

“Yes! And I can help you. But you’re gonna have to listen to
me and do as I say. Can you do that?”

“Maybe,” Ethan smiled cheekily.

“And this is the Emergency Department,” Taylor, the HR
Manager, said as she walked through the double doors and towards the nurse’s
station where Regina and Ethan sat. “Oh, and Dr. James is here.” She turned and
motioned for Bess to hurry up.

Ethan smiled brightly as Bess stood before him. “Well, hello
Bess!”

“Oh! You already know each other?” Taylor asked.

“We do,” he replied happily. “And we’re neighbors.”

“Oh, okay then,” Taylor nodded. “Well, let me introduce you
to Regina. Regina? Why are you in the ER?”

“I’m having lunch with my favorite doc,” she replied. “And Bess
and I already know each other, too.”

“It seems as though you already fit in here,” Taylor
laughed. “Let me show you the radiology department and then we can head back to
my office.”

Bess smiled at her friends and Regina gave her the thumbs up
as they walked away.

“Well, that’s going to help us out tremendously,” Regina
happily declared.

“What?” a confused Ethan asked.

“If Bess is working here every day, getting her to warm up
to you should be no problem at all!”

*****

Bess stood in front of the bathroom mirror brushing her hair
and pulling it back into a ponytail. Not only was she offered the job at the
hospital, but they provided her with five pairs of blue scrubs to wear to work
– the hospital administration was tired of having to pay the ER registration
employees for their ruined articles of clothing – so scrubs were the perfect
solution… and free! And even better than that, Bess could wear whatever
closed-toe shoes she wanted, so tennis shoes it would be, the most comfortable
shoes she owned.

Her first couple of days would be spent in training and
becoming familiar with hospital systems, software, and policies. Then she would
shadow for two days so she could learn the ropes and be ready for running solo
the following week. Although she was nervous, there was nothing in the job
description that Bess couldn’t handle. She was thrilled that she’d been given
the opportunity to earn her way and get back on her feet.

Andrew had not shown himself again, to both Bess’s relief
and disappointment. His story was fascinating and she told herself that if she
saw him again, there was a list of questions a mile long that she wanted to ask
him. Her research on him and his ship had only sparked more curiosity. But
alas, the good captain would have to wait because she had a job to get to, and
she most definitely did not want to be late on her first day.

One of the benefits of wearing scrubs to work was
immediately fitting in… looking like she belonged - working in a hospital with
everyone else. Another benefit was that she was incredibly comfortable. She had
room to move and breathe, and her shoes would enable her to work all day
without her feet getting sore. She was given a locker in the bathroom of the ER
where she was advised to keep a pair of clean scrubs, just in case, and any
personal items she brought to work each day. Amazingly enough, she was allowed
to keep her cell phone with her, but was asked to keep it for emergencies only.
Bess didn’t know anybody who didn’t work in the hospital, so needing her phone
was unnecessary.

It was weird to think that she’d be near Ethan all day. What
was even weirder was that she’d been given the day shift - the most sought
after shift, she imagined – when she was the newest employee. Apparently, the
idea of having no patients in the evenings and at night appealed to most of the
other employees in the department, so she was given the day shift because
nobody else wanted it. Just another reason Port Lincoln was odd to her, but she
wouldn’t complain.

At lunch, on her very first day of work, Bess sat with
Regina in the cafeteria and ate a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato
bisque soup. With being ill for so long before she arrived in town, and then
the surgery and subsequent drug trial she was still participating in, she’d
lost some weight… too much in fact, and everyone she knew, well, Regina and
Ethan, along with Dr. Ryder, continually encouraged her to eat. It felt good to
be hungry. It felt good to
taste
food and feel satisfied after a meal,
rather than nauseated. Despite the fact that they’d become good friends, Regina
teased her incessantly.

“Do they have clothes smaller than a size zero?” she asked.

“Hardy har ha,” Bess chuckled. “I am not, nor have I ever
been, a size zero!”

“You know, I’d be happy to give you some of my extra
padding,” offered Regina.

“You know, I think this sandwich is doing the trick,” Bess
grinned.

“So how’s it going so far?”

“Fine,” Bess nodded as she chewed. “This morning was just
filling in all the paperwork. Who knew I would have to sign so many pieces of
paper!?”

“Yeah, there’s a bit,” Regina agreed, trying to remember her
first day on the job. “But I’m guessing this afternoon will be better?”

“I doubt it! I have to read the employee manual.”

“Oh, Lord!” Regina exclaimed. “That should put you right to
sleep!”

And it almost did. Pages and pages of the most boring stuff
on the planet and Bess had to read it
all
and then sign a form that said
she had read it all. At least half, if not more, pertained specifically to the
nursing department, yet she was still required to read it. After three hours,
she closed the binder and stretched, knowing that, more than likely, she would
retain little of what she’d read.

Taylor dismissed her for the day, telling her to arrive at
eight the next morning and the I.T. guy would be getting her passwords and
log-ins all set up for the computer system so she could learn the policies and
regulations of the software specific to patient records and care.
Goody,
she thought.
That sounds almost as fun as the employee manual!

After she’d collected her things from her locker, Ethan
called after her as she was ready to leave.

“Should we celebrate your first day with dinner?” he
excitedly asked.

“You know, you don’t have to help me celebrate all the time.
I’m sure you have things you’d rather be doing?” Bess replied.

“Nope. I don’t have anything I’d rather do than take you
out.”

How could she respond to that? “Well, that’s very kind of
you, but…”

“Please don’t make me celebrate alone,” Ethan pretended to
pout.

She laughed at his exaggerated expression. “Do you think we
could maybe just order in? I’d kind of like to stay home. Actually, there’s
something I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Sure we can order in. Or I could grab takeout on my way
home? Chinese?”

“That sounds really good,” Bess agreed. “Thank you, Ethan.”

And it was better than she had remembered. Ethan had brought
her Chinese food right after she’d been discharged from the hospital. It tasted
even better now that she was well. And Ethan noted, with pleasure, how much she
had eaten.

“I am really glad to see you eating more. You were pecking
at your food like a bird,” he remembered.

“I was just telling Regina today that it feels great to be
able to taste food and enjoy eating,” Bess replied.

They cleaned up their dirty dishes and placed the leftovers
in the fridge for Bess to enjoy another time. She admitted to feeling guilty
that she always got the leftovers but Ethan assured her that he didn’t mind one
bit. She pretended to believe him.

“Now you wanted to talk to me about something?” he asked, as
they walked back into the family room.

“Yes!” Bess stated. “You said that this part of the house,
right where we are sitting, is the original house that was built… when?”

“Um,” he thought out loud. “It was before or during the
Revolutionary War, so some time in the mid to late 1700’s?”

“And how do you know that this is original?”

“The real estate agent told me,” he grinned. “She said that
basically, this room was the entire house. The fireplace did double duty. It
warmed them in the winter, but also was their cooking fire. No running water,
obviously, so no bathroom, so it would have heated all of the water for
bathing, too. And, it is still in its original state,” he added. “It was built
so well that there hasn’t been any need to repair it. And, apparently, if we
were to rip up the floors, we would find the original wooden floor that shows
there were two small rooms where we are sitting now, which would have been the
bedrooms. She said that the pictures of the original floor show where the walls
had been. Why?”

“Well, I’m curious,” Bess said. “I don’t understand
construction and building, but shouldn’t there be a foundation? I’m sure the
original house wasn’t built to code,” she laughed.

“The house was jacked up and footings put in when the first
renovation came. I believe the previous owners also did some major improvements
to make it pass inspections for hurricanes. I don’t know much about
construction either, but I had a home inspection done when I bought the house
and there weren’t any issues that were detected.”

“Good. Good to know,” Bess nodded.

“If you’re worried about your safety, Bess, don’t be. I
would never put you in harm’s way. Never!”

“Oh, no. It’s not that. I don’t feel unsafe. Not one bit.”

“So, why all the questions?” Ethan wasn’t sure what
information she was looking for, nor why she wanted it.

“Do you believe in life after death?”

“Bess.” Ethan jumped from the armchair he was sitting in and
sat next to her on the sofa. “Your surgery was successful. There is no need to
worry. Eric says that you are doing remarkably well with the new drug and don’t
have to worry. Please don’t think about dying.”

He was so serious and concerned that Bess couldn’t stop the
laugh that was bubbling up from her gut. It didn’t go over well.

“I’m being serious!” Ethan scowled.

“I’m so sorry,” Bess sputtered as she tried to stop the
giggles, with little success. “I didn’t mean I thought I was dying.”

“Oh, good.”

“But I want to know what happens after we die. And I know I’m
not dying!” She held up her hand in surrender, but giggled some more.

“Didn’t you ever go to Sunday School as a kid?”

“Ah… no,” Bess choked. “The only time my mom or her asshole
husband ever talked about God was when they were swearing. Did you?”

Ethan nodded. “A few times. It’s not like my parents were
religious or anything, but we went occasionally when my mom was worried about
dying.”

“I didn’t mean to drag up old memories or anything,” Bess
apologized.

“No, it’s fine.” Ethan shrugged and settled back into the
soft cushions on the sofa. “I guess she didn’t want us to be scared when she
died. She figured a little bible reading might help.”

“Did it?”

He shook his head. “She was the most amazing woman, Bess.
Nothing could help to overcome that kind of loss.”

“So, you don’t think that there’s a heaven somewhere and
she’s lounging on a cloud, playing a harp and sipping on champagne?” Bess
grinned.

“Well, she didn’t have much musical inclination, and didn’t
drink, so…” Ethan chuckled.

“She might like both now,” Bess smiled brightly.

“Maybe. I guess it’s possible.”

“Wanna go for a walk before it gets too dark?”

“Yes!” replied Ethan with eagerness.

Walking next to the cliff, the crash of the waves below was
so loud, there was little need for conversation. Comfortable in each other’s
company, they sauntered through the long grass, weaving their way along the
edge until it was getting too dark to guarantee their safety. Ethan led Bess to
the gravel path several feet from the cliffs’ edge and made their way back to
her house. He was just about to say goodnight when he saw the surprised
expression on her face, which then turned into a look of sheer delight.

“Everything okay?” Ethan asked.

“Yep! Goodnight Ethan. Thanks for dinner.” And Bess ran
towards the house, leaving Ethan to wonder what just happened.