Tis the Season

There has been so much to do that I have been running constantly. The shopping and cleaning have me almost worn out. I have invited some of my best friends to come to the mansion to spend Christmas Eve with me.  Most of them have families and so on Christmas day, they are all with their loved ones.  I only have a few relatives, and we are so scattered around that we really don't see each other that often. Everyone has a family but me. I am the only one not married, and I really feel out of place at their homes. They are all happy and hugging and kissing one another, that it tugs at my heart that I have no one to do this with. So I just as soon stay in my own home. Go to Mass and worship the birth of Jesus and then come home and spend a quiet Christmas all by myself. 

I have purchased a hugh Christmas tree that will be delivered today sometime and I have purchased all the decorations for the tree and holly and some very beautiful flowers to be put around in the different rooms.  I have decided to put the tree in the large living room by the big bay window, and I have a few men coming to string lights all around the house too.  I want this first Christmas in my new home to be a memorial one. This is my very first home and I do so love it here.

This year I won't be alone on Christmas day. I know the Captain is here and I am hoping that he will spend some time with me so I won't be so lonely. Christmas should be spent with those that you love.

Oh! the doorbell!  It is the men delivering the tree. How wonderful! I can start to decorate it and put on the music I bought to play while I do this. I love decorating the tree. I love looking at all the special decorations and lights shining strung around the tree.  I have saved a few special ornaments that my mom and dad gave to me when I was very young. Dad used to pick me up and tell me to put my special ornament with my name on it unto a branch on the tree. We did this until I was way to big to be picked up , but even then dad would hand me the ornament and say, "Sweetie, put it high so the little ones won't break it." Every year he said that to me. I really miss my mom and dad. Especially at this time of year. All the wonderful memories I have of Christmas spent with my dad and mom. I am lucky to have had such good parents.

I could smell the pine scent from the tree as the men set it up for me.  I thanked them and they left me to my chore. 

I hadn't noticed but while I was humming with the music and putting the lights on the tree that the Captain had entered the room and was standing with his hands behind his back smiling and watching me as I scooted around the tree putting on the lights. My hair was all tangled and hanging down. I must have looked silly, because he began to laugh.

"Ah Lass, Let me help ye now." He said. "Seems ye are losing that battle with those strings of lights." "Ye have them all tangled around yourself and ye might fall into that tree." His smile was wide as he walked over and started to untangle the lights from around me.  He took them and strung them all around the tree with out a single word as I stepped back and watched him. I couldn't help but smile and feel wonderful as I watched this wonderful man helping me decorate my very first Christmas tree in my new home. 

After he was done,he told me he would be right back, and he vanished. I don't think I will ever get used to him being able to do that.  In a wink he was back and in his hands he had a box that he handed to me.

I opened it very carefully and looked inside. Then I looked up and into those beautiful dark eyes and they twinkled and smiled at me. I had never seen such beautiful ornaments in my life. They had to be hundreds of years old. Precious. I started to say that I couldn't possibly put these priceless ornaments on my tree. That what if they were broken. 

He looked at me and put his finger on my lips and said, "Hush, Hush now, these are meant to be placed on a tree." "It has been many many years since they have been out." "You must put them on this tree for me." "I will help you put them up high so that they will not be broken."

When he said that I could feel my eyes start to tear and he looked at me in a loving way. I knew that he had no idea how much those words meant to me.  He took my hand and walked me over to the tree and he lifted me up like I was a china doll and I put the ornaments near the top by the Christmas Angel that was on the very top.  Then he slowly put me down and turned me around. I did have a tear rolling down m cheek and he looked at me and asked me what was wrong as he wiped the tear away with his finger. I told him about my dad and our tradition that we had every year until the day he died. 

Gently,looking straight into my eyes with those piercing eyes of his, he pulled me close to him and wrapped those big arms around me and just held me. He held me for a long time, and kissed me on top of my head, as he said,"I know that you and your father must have been very close lass, but you have me now, now and forever." 

I looked at at him as the tears slowly slid down my face. Those sweet words filled my heart with joy. He smiled and took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and wipe the tears away and then he took my face in both of his hands and tilting my head he opened him mouth slightly and kissed my lips. I wrapped my hands around his wrists and just closed my eyes. As he deepened the kiss I took my hands off of his wrists and slipped them around his waist and held him tight. He removed his hands from my face and put his arms around my shoulders and drew me toward him and tightened his hold  as he deepened the kiss even more. 

The whole world stopped to exist as I was lost in his embrace. I opened my mouth slightly and he answered by kissing me deeper and tightening his arms even more. Oh! God! help me! I love this man so much. What is going to happen to us?  How can I possibly love a ghost? What can become of this love?

Slowly he broke the kiss and set me away from him. He stood there just looking with those piercing dark eyes of his. He didn't say a word as he picked up a box of ornaments and walked back to the tree and started putting them on. He turned once, gave me a big grin and a wink, and went back to decorating the tree.

I picked up a box of ornaments and started to put them on the tree too, humming the Christmas songs that were playing.

 

 

 

WINTER IN THE COVE/CAPTAIN AND I

The weather has turned colder and I can see from my bedroom window that their is a fresh blanket of snow that has fallen during the night. How beautiful the cove and surrounding area looks. A rebirth of nature and a cleansing of the earth. I have always felt this way when the first real snow comes and covers everything as far as you can see. So beautiful and restful to see.

Dressed and sitting at my desk with my third cup of coffee, I have tried to write but I just can't seem to settle into my novel. I keep looking out the veranda doors at all that beauty below and my heart is telling me to just get out of here and go . Go and walk in all that sweet smelling wonderful snow.

Behind me like a whisper the Captain appears, I am not scared. I have become very used to having him appear out of nowhere. I can tell he is near by the scent that he wears.

I turn and smile as I see this wonderful man before me. He smiles back and we both walk up to the veranda doors and he  opens them and takes in a deep breath of fresh sweet smelling winter air. I look at him with so much longing it scares me sometimes.

He always knows what I am thinking. I swear he does. Because he turns to me and wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close to him. With those dark beautiful eyes staring right into mine he lowers his head and gently kisses my forehead and tightens his hold on me. Not a word is said as we gaze out at all of the beauty before us.

"Now, Lass," he says. "Let's go and take a walk  into the woods in the back and enjoy the freshness of this glorious winter day." "Now off with you , and if ye are real good, I will tell ye another tale."

We can feel the crunch of the new fallen snow as we walk hand in hand and talk and laugh. Suddenly he stops me and points over to the west. There in plain view is a doe and a buck just standing and looking at us. Neither of them moved a muscle as we stood quietly and watched them. How lovely animals look in their nature habitat. The does huge eyes looked as if she could see right through me. I whispered to the captain."Why don't they run?" He said,"Nae, They know that there is no harm coming to them from you and me." "Animals can sense danger and if they felt ill at ease they would have fled before we even had seen them." 

"Now Lass, I promised you a tale." "Let me think for  a second which one to tell."

I looked at this mountain of a man and asked him,"When you are on your ship and the weather turns fowl, how do you handle it?"

He simply smiled at me and said,"I've learned lass, that yae don't try to reason with an ocean current, but simply travel with it." "Ye just do what is necessary and let the currents work for ye not against ye."

"Now that tale I promised to ye." There was a time that we had pulled into port and my crew and I were at the local pub having a meal and some brew when a drunken man became very abusive to a wench at the bar. My man and I did not want to interfere, but when I saw that he was going to strike this child, I no longer could tolerate him." "I walked up very calmly and took the young lass by the hand and told her to get back to her chores." "This angered the drunken sailor and he taped me on the shoulder and said what business was it of mine to send that wench away?"

"I turned very quietly and calmly and the look in my eyes was all that  that drunk needed to see." "He drank up his mug and hurried out of the door."

I was amazed and asked."All it took was one look from you to send him scurrying away without a fuss?"

That amazing smile reappeared and he said,"Aye", he said giving my shoulder a squeeze."Ya might want to keep that in mind in the future. The more furious I am, the calmer I get." He winked and gave me that mischievous smile and threw his head back and laughed. 

Gosh! This mountain of a man is so magnificent! Just looking at him turns my insides to jelly. Head thrown back as he laughs his deep throated laugh with his long hair flowing in the breeze, takes my breath away.I could spend my whole day just looking at him and feeling the warmth of his hand holding mine sends tingles up and down my body.

Slowly we walked the land and talked till I became very chilled. He noticed that I was shivering and wrapped his arm around me and we headed back to the house.

Once inside he walked up to the fireplace in the office and snapped his fingers and the fireplace glowed with flames. My mouth dropped open and he laughed at me once more. Walked over and with the tip  of his finger under my chin closed my mouth. Smiling he kept his finger there and gazed into my eyes. I could see myself reflected there and I was hypnoized with the sight of the flicking flames of the fire and sparkles I saw there. A slow smile spread across his face and he dipped his head down and opened his mouth slightly and kissed my lips so softly I wasn't sure he even touched them.  Then he stepped back , turned and left the room. I hadn't realized that I was holding my breath and it came out in a swoosh!

I sat down by my desk and enjoyed the warmth of the room as I started to type the tale that the Captain had told me as we walked in the new fallen snow. What a wonderful feeling of peace and serenity over came me and I began to hum a song from a time when I was very young.

Captain and I wander

For days now I have been at my desk tryng to finish this book of mine because it is so close to the deadline. My publisher has been on the phone three times already asking when the final draft will be ready. I have spent the last three days right here in this office except for when I went to the kitchen for more coffee and a couple times to refresh my self.

I think the captain is hiding. He hasn't been around for the last three days. I think he knows that I am not in the mood for any visitors now. I have even taken the phone off of the hook. 

Thankfully this is the last chapter and this book is done. Then I can start on the one I really  want to do. The legend of this mansion and its captain. I have gathered so much information already but I will need more. I have to fill in the gaps so to speak. There all done and ready to go to the post office in the morning. I will just call the office and tell them that it is on its way.

Now for a nice shower and change of clothes and a relaxing day. There is still plenty of day left for me to enjoy.

Standing on the verenda looking out at the fields of lavendar, it is so beautiful it is hard to describe. Rolls and rolls of the most beautiful colors all in a row. Gorgous!!

The deep blue water of the cove and the sailboats weaving in and out of the harbor such a relaxing and wonderful sight.

"Well, is it safe to come in now lass?", the captain said. I must have jumped a foot because I didn't hear him come in. "Ha! Ha!"He threw his head back and laughed as he reached out and grabbed me so that I wouldn't fall off the verenda. His hands around my waist felt so good. I just looked into those mischievous eyes as they danced in his head. How wonderful this man was. So tall and broad and yet gentle and kind. So polite but I wouldn't want to be in his path if I had done wrong to him. He is very capable of taking care of himself and all under him.

"Now, lass,"he said. "How would you like to come with me to a special place and I will tell you another story for your book?".

I nodded my head as I went to the desk to get a notebook and some pencils to take with me. I looked back at him and noticed that he had a picnic basket in his hand and he gestured toward the door with his head and a big smile on his face.

We settled down on the top of a cliff were we could see the cove below and the fields of flowers. What a beautiful spot he had picked out for our picnic. As he spread the blanket and started taking things out of the basket he had brought he began to tell me his story. I sat down and started to write.

He looked over at me and smiled."Now lass this is the way it happened, so many years ago, but to me it is like yesterday." "We were sailing home from India with our cargo of fine silk and spices when we came upon a pirate ship off our port side. "They were going full sail and catching up on us so I told the men to get the cannon ready and prepare for battle should they try to board us."

I looked up at him in awe, he said these words like this was an ordinary thing that happened. But his face was taunt and his lips tight. No this was no ordinary day.

"We came side by side and I ordered my man to fire their cannon and be prepared to board if necessary." "You can imagine the battle that took place, on both sides men fell and we finally jumped over to their ship and I managed to grab their captain." "I put my knife to his throat and yelled to his man to put their weapons down or I would slit his throat."

I gasped and put my hand to my throat. He wouldn't. he couldn't. But then again this ship attacked his.

"Well, when they saw that their captain was taken, they dropped their weapons and my man gathered them up and we put them in the hold of their ship." " The captain was taken aboard our ship and put in the hold there, separated from his man." "I left a crew aboard his ship to sail it to port with us and we began the journey back home again"

I asked what happened to those men and that ship that he had taken. He told me that when they got to port he handed them over to the constable and he took the ship as a reward for capturing these criminals.  He had the ship taken to his shipyards and he had it restored and repaired and used it for many years going across the oceans.

We sat on the blanket and talked and laughed and the day turned into dusk and then night. It is so beautiful looking at the cove in the moonlight. He looks so wonderful in the moonlight. His dark wavey long hair shines and glistens in the fading light. He has a musky scent that he wears and it drifts over with the breeze in the trees. I look at him and can only think of Adonis. A God. How could I be so lucky to have him here.

He must have read my thoughts for he turned and looked at me so seriously. His jet black eyes staring into mine. He leaned over and cupped my neck with his hand and pulled my head closer to him. Still looking directly into my eyes he gently kissed my lips once and then fluttered over them again and again., I sighed and closed my eyes. He drew me closer and I wrapped my arms around his neck as he took the kiss deeper. It was as if the world stood still and there was just him and I . Even the sounds of the surf and water seemed to still. I don't know how long we kissed, but then he gently let me go and stood up.

"Time for us to go back lass, it is getting chilly and I don't want you getting ill."He said'

 He picked up the blanket and put the things back into the basket as I stood there watching him running my fingers over my lips.

We started back up the cliff and he held out his hand to me and smiled that beautiful smile of his. We walked silently back to the mansion and he opened the door for me and walked past me into the kitchen . I stood there just watching him walk away as if this was what we did every day. When he got to the kitchen at the end of the hall, he turned and smiled that mischievous smile and very slowly blew me a kiss and then disappeared into the kitchen.

Exhaustion got the better of me and I went up the stairs to my room and undressed and climbed in bed. I was so tired I fell asleep immediately dreaming of purple flowers, moonlit nights on the cliff overlooking the cove and a handsome captain holding me in his arms and kissing me.

 

 

Captain Tells a Story

It feels so good to be back home, aha, home what a nice ring that word has on my lips. I have been in my office all morning working on some new ideas for my book and I was so completely engrossed in my work that I never noticed the Captain come in and sit down on the plush chair in front of my desk. I was turned to the side of the desk where my computer is and I was typing and not really paying attention to anything but my work.  I don't know how long he was there , but when I finished typing, I turned and jumped with a start. He just laughed and straigthened up in the chair more. Whoosh!!! I let out a very large breath. This only seemed to amuse him all the more as he started to laugh in that deep voice of his and he was smiling from ear to ear. I just sat at my desk looking at this magnificent speciman of man. His hair was slightly wet and a small piece of it hung over on his forehead that he quickly pushed away with his hand. He had on a pair of jeans and blue shirt that was open all the way and he had a gold chain hanging from his neck and it had a beautifully engraved cross attached to it. The chain itself was thick and looked like twisted rings joined together. How beautiful it was. I stared at it for a long time. He unwrapped himself from the chair and came toward me and wanted to know if I would like to hear one of his stories. It took me a minute to understand what he was sayings as I was still entralled in his appearance. He noticed that I was staring at him and his smile widened and he came closer to me and bent down and snapped his fingers in front of my face. I jumped and he reared his head back and laughed. I was blushing because of the things that had been running through my mind.

"Well, Lass, today I am going to tell you about my uncles Castle on the top of the hill in a town called Ballymena. It was many centuries ago and he was a great man." "He was the Laird of that land and he had many of his clan living all around him . " "They had times when the crops would be dying because of a lack of water." "one day as he was walking throughout his land looking at the crops turning brown from a lack of water, he came across a stone that was sitting all by itself in the middle of the grassy knoll behind the castle and close to the fields. There was water in that stone and it seemed to be a very deep hole. " "He sumoned his men to call the farmers and told them to take what ever water they could get out of this stone and pour it on the crops." "He felt that even if they could save a little is better than none at all." "Well , the farmers were leery of what their Laird wanted them to do, but they followed his orders, and formed a long line and passed buckets of water down to the crops." "They were still doing this when the sun started to go down in the west and it seemed that the stone would never be emptied." "So each day they went back to the fields and each day they would form a long line and hand buckets of water down and water all the plants." " They began to call that stone the  "Witches'Stone". No matter how much water was taken out, it always filled back up by the morning and it never ran out of water." " "Here are two pictures of that stone and to this very day it still fills with water no matter how much you take out of it."

I took the pictures from him. They were a bit tattered and worn, but with my scanner I knew I could fix them up and they were going to be in my book . I was thrilled to have this new addition to add to my book. We talked there for a few more hours about the farmers and the witches stone.

All of sudden, he grabbed my chair and spun it around and put his hands under my arms and lifted me up and spun me around and around and as he did this he started to laugh and laugh, I couldn't help myself, I started to laugh too, after the inital surprise of being lifted up and spun around. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed being in his arms and smelling his wonderful scent as he whirled me around and around.

All to soon, he put me down and just held me there with his hands on my waist as I was a bit woozy from all that spinning. He smiled and laughed at me as I tried to get my balance back.  His eyes twinkled like a million stars in the skies. Brilliantly glistening and smiling at me.

"Now Lass," He said, "Enough work, time to get something into that stomach of yours so that you don't waste away to nothing, and I will be here all alone again ."  "Come, I will sit and watch as you make yourself something to eat and we will then take a nice walk and smell the heather growing in the fields."

So we went into the kitchen and I started to fix myself some soup and as it was warming we talked and I asked a million questions about the castle and the stone.  I turned to see him smiling at me and and he just laughed and said,"Ah Lass, It is good to have you home."

Welcome Home again

I am so tired, I had to pick up my car at the airport and drive home and it was a long trip from New York city to Maine and Cutters Cove. I am so happy to be pulling into my driveway and I don't even think i will unpack today. It was so beautiful driving on the coastline and I just feel like relaxing  and enjoying my cove.

As I  got out of the car, I felt hands under my shoulders and being lifted and put on the hood of the car.I  was so surprised to see that it was the Captain that had lifted me  and he was standing between my legs and holding me by the waist. He took my hands in his and just stood there looking at me with those charcoal black beautiful eyes. They seemed as if they were looking through me. I sat quietly and just stared at him.

He finally spoke as he looked into my eyes and held both my hands with his. "Ah, Lass, I have missed ya so much these two weeks. The house is na the same without you in it now." "I was so afraid that you would not come back here to this quiet cove and me after the big city and all its glamour." "I shouldna let you go, I should have told you to have those people here and put up with their nonsense, because I didna think I would miss you so much." He said.

He leaned over and gently kissed my forehead and looked back into my eyes and pulled me towards him and kissed both of my cheeks. I wrapped my arms around him and he and i just held each other for what seemed like eternity. Oh! It felt so good to be in his arms and I didn't move an inch. I loved the way he felt and I didn't want him to let me go.

He pulled back and went to the trunk and took out my suitcase and motioned for me to walk ahead of him to the house. I did as I was bid and walked into my home with a big smile on my face. 

There were flowers all over!!! On the mantle of the fireplace and on all the tables. In the main hall there were vases of roses. The house smelled wonderful and I turned to look at him. He was smiling and standing as proud as a peacock . I knew he had done this for me and he knew my favorite flower is roses. How beautiful the whole house seemed to me! I walked through it and the smell of all the flowers wafted through each room.  I asked him how he knew I was coming home a day earlier and he said that he didn't, but that he hoped he wouldn't have to go and pick flowers everyday to fill the vases.

I was dumbstruck. No man had ever done such a sweet thing for me in my life. They usually expected me to do things for them. I was filled with so much admiration and love for this man. This tough seafaring Captain, that is a ghost in my home.

I simply was overwhelmed and so I walked up to him as he stood there in the hall with my suitcase in his hand and put my hands on his shoulders and raised up on my tiptoes and kissed him very gently and slowly on his warm lips.  I moved back afterwards and just stood and looked at him as he smiled and winked at me, and proceeded to carry my case up the stairs and to my room.

"Now lass", he said as he climbed the stairs."Tomorrow you will tell me all about your adventure in the big city as we enjoy a picnic by the waterfall." "But for today, will ya come with me and go for a walk by the cove?"

"Yes", I said, "I am tired and just need to relax and I was thinking of doing just that as I was driving home along the coast."

"Did ya now lass?" "Well, than that is what we will do.""Come with me now and lets take that walk and sit in the cove on a blanket and watch the boats and the ocean ." "There be no finer way to relax than watching the boats go in and out and the water lapping on the beach>" "Come now, take my hand, and lets go ." "Come!"

 

Thoughts of you

I have forgotten how busy and hectic New York is after being out in Cutters Cove for all this time. I can't wait until I can get back there. I don't like this life any more. I want my quiet and peace and .......my heart is not here. I miss the Captain. I miss his gruff voice when he thinks I will get hurt . I can see his face when I try to fall asleep here at night. Dreaming of him all night.

They have taken me out for the night to a very nice club. The singer is singing all love songs and I am becoming more alone with each song. My mind can't concentrate on what they are saying to me. I just want to be done here and go home. I miss the sights from my veranda. I miss his presence in the room telling me all about his life. They can't understand how I can stay out there in that little cove. I only smile at them and keep silent. I can't tell them that there is someone there that I miss so terribly and that he has become so very important to my existance. I can't imagine not being there and not having him near.

They keep telling me that I am not there with them that I am daydreaming. If they only knew what and who I was dreaming about they wouldn't believe me.

Two more days, only two more days and I can leave. There is nothing they can say or do that will make me stay here. I have all the work done and the meetings too.

I need to go home. It is as if I can here him asking me to come home. Even in the daytime, I can see him on the veranda and looking out to see if I am coming home.  Oh! Let me go home! Nighttime is worse. I can't stop thinking of him and his smile and how he stands and glares at me when I do something dumb. HaHa. I can't help but smile. I close my eyes and can feel his kiss on my forehead.

This is ridicules! I want to go home! Tomorrow I am telling them that I have had enough and I am leaving. There is nothing more to do. They just want me to go out with them and celebrate the winning of the poetry contest. Well, tonight is it for me.  Enough fooling around. I am leaving tomorrow morning and going back to Cutters Cove. 

I hope the Captain misses me as much as I miss him. Well, either way, it is time to leave and return to sanity. 

Goodnight to New York and hello Cutters Cove!!!!

Missing You

Ahh!! I miss that lass. It has only been 10 days but each day seems like a lifetime to me. I will not see her for another 4 days at least. This is important to her work and I know that, but I cannot let go of the way I feel now. I didna think I would miss her so much. I felt that I would be back in control of my home and enjoy the quiet and peace without her threading through the house and in her office for hours on end, but now I realize that these are some of the things I have become used to hearing every day and now I miss her and the sound of life in this big place. Look, even the sun does not shine as if it knows she is gone and is sad for her not being here too. I stand at this veranda and look out so many times during the day hoping to see that she is coming back sooner than she said, but alas, I am standing alone. Watching the sheep down in the valley and the moutains off in the east. 

I wander from room to room not knowing what to do with myself. She has come into my very being and there is only thoughts of her to sustain me for these next few days. I donna know how I will do this lass, I donna know why I sent you away when I knew all I had to do was say   stay    stay   and let them come to you.  But I couldna do that to you. For I am starting to feel you so deepy in my heart. I hurt in my chest, when I should not feel anything there. I hurt in my dreams and canna rest for you are always there. Smiling at me and the wind rustling your hair and softly walking on the grass in the valley. There is no peace for me until you return and I can see you again,.

Ahh! Lass, hurry back to me and this home. Do not let them talk you into staying longer for I dread being alone now. You have become my salvation. More than that. You have become more than I thought possible to me. Is this real?  This overwhelming longing for you? Can I be capable of all these many feelings I feel?  I donna know. All I know is I miss you. Hurry back. Hurry back. If you can hear me lass, hurry back.

JOurney to the city

I decided to sit at this desk today and read all this mail that is going to fall off the desk pretty soon if I don't get to it soon.

I had sent in a folder of poems that my publisher asked me to send and there is a letter from her here that I had better open and read.

She says that this one poem that I wrote is perfect for the piece that the city newspaper is going to write on the subject of Happiness. It seems that they have a contest running and she has entered that poem in the contest and they have informed her that I have won . How wonderful is that?  I am pleased that they liked it and she wants me to come to the city because they want to do a story on me and take pictures and I will be taken out for the celebration and given a plaque and it will have my poem on it. The poem will be syndicated and put in all the newspapers that Mr. Jones owns. She wants to know if I can come and stay for about two weeks so that after all the ceremonies with the paper ,she and I can go over this book that I am writing about Cutters Cove. The papers I have already sent her have made her anxious to talk to me and see the outline I have made for the book. Also if I have any more written she wants to see that also.

Wow! I am honored and yet I hate to leave. I am happy but sad. I don't understand. I should be thrilled that I have this opportunity to let myself be seen and it will help sell my books for me if people see me and remember me. I hate leaving here. I wish they could come here instead.

I think I will go for a walk on the beach and look at that magnificent for masted boat that sailed into the cove today. It is about 65 feet long or more and it is a boat that takes people on it for vacations touring around the ports. It is so huge and beautiful. There are alot of boats in the cove today. It is a perfect day for sailing. I will walk down there and just calmly think about how happy I feel that I have won. I am happy about winning. Especially since I didn't know I entered.

(Well, were did that lass go now? Oh! I see her walking down to the beach and cove. She works to hard it will be good for her. I will not bother her now. Ahhh, I see she finally is looking over her mail. I have never seen anyone like her before. Usually people tear at their mail. She just pushes it in a pile until it is ready to tumble to the floor and then she wearily gets to it. Whats this on the floor here?  Seems like a poem. Let me see, ahhhh, yes it is a poem . I wonder what she wrote. I will sit down and read it.

BEAUTIFUL TO ME
By Janice Marie

Getting up just before the sun rises and watching as it does
Seeing its glory and brilliance shinning from above
Looking out into the fields and admiring the acres of wildflowers
Gently waving back and forth in the breeze
Rainbows of colors stretching as far as the eye can see
All of this just waiting for us to enjoy and all of it for free

A walk along the beach letting the sand sift through our toes
Feeling its softness and silkiness as we slowly stroll
Gazing out at the water as it glistens in its slumber
Looking like a sheet of glass not a ripple to be seen
Just the silence and sweetness of the sea
Gentle lapping as the water touches the shore

Mountains reaching up into the clouds covered with snow
While we all gaze in wonderment here down below
Dressed on its sides with trees in different shades of green
Acres of wildflowers thrown here and there in between
No artist alive could paint a picture of this glorious scene
In wonderment we look upon this creation by a superior being

Not judging people by their outer appearances
Because all their beauty lies within their heart
Strength, kindness, honesty, doesn’t show on ones face
It is deep within the heart that is its home base
Given freely and without expecting anything in return
Hands reaching out and holding on as our hearts yearn

These are the beautiful things that I see everyday
As I go about my work and when I am at play
There is beauty abounding all you have to do
Is open your heart and eyes and look around you
Embrace what has been given to you within reach
And by doing so maybe others we will be able to teach

 

Well, this is really wonderful and this letter attached says that her publisher has sent it in and she has won. She has to go to New York for about two weeks to take care of all her business. Two whole weeks!! I will miss her terribly.  Ahh here comes the lass now. I will put these back and pretend I haven't seen them. I will go and come back in the office in a bit.)

Wow! I don't know what to do, maybe I should call her and ask if they can come here or if she would like to come here and stay and work with me on this book. I don't want to leave. I really don't.

I looked up and there was the Captain standing in front of me with a scowl on his face and those eyes penetrating through me, his hands on his hips and legs spread apart. What is wrong now?

"Well lass, did ya have a nice walk then? You seem to be out of sorts, what is bother ing you ?"the Captain said.

I explained all about the letter and my publisher and having to leave for New York for two weeks and that I didn't want to go. I rather they come here and let me stay in my home.

The Captain just shook his head and stood his ground. "I'll not be having a bunch of people staying in me house, you will go and take care of your business and then return when it is all done." "Do ya understand me lass?" "If they come here I will not have the run of my own home and I will not have that.""Besides you have been coped up here for ever and need a break." "So now, lass, you be calling that publisher of yours and find out when you are to be there and get your stuff together and go." "The sooner you go the faster you can come back and I'll be watching over things for you here, you can be sure of that."

I reluctantly picked up the phone and dialed the number and talked to my publisher and we made the plans for me to leave the next day and be in New York and get everything settled. I looked up and the Captain was standing by the patio window with his hands behind his back and just staring out at thecove.

I told him that I had to go and pack and they were making all the plane reservations for me and I would leave in the morning. He never turned around and never said one word. But as I walked out of the room I heard him say very softly,"I will be waiting for you lass, hurry back to me."

Saved from the Ocean

Oh! today I did a foolish thing! It was so beautiful in the cove and I decided that I would go for a swim and so I hurried and got my suit on and went down to the sandy beach area.

The wind had picked up and the waves were roaring as they rolled into the shore, but I had always loved the roar of the waves and I have always loved jumping and diving in them. I spread out my blanket on the sandy beach and put my umbrella up and my container of drinks and my book on the blanket. My towel I tossed down too as I ran down the beach and jumped into the frothy waves as they came rolling into the shore. I hadn't realized that they were quite that strong or high. They didn't seem that high from the house, but now that I was in the water they looked awful big as they were coming in. I got a little frightened and I wanted to get out and back to shallow water as I had drifted out quite a bit and I  was having a very hard time swimming because as I swam back the waves were taking me futher out. I started to panic and yelled for help hoping against hope that someone would hear me before I was taken so far out that I would drown. With each huge wave that came in I couldn't help swallow some water and it was hard to hold my breath as they cascaded over me. I yelled a few more times, and then I felt so weak from fighting, that I just tried floating to see if I could retain some of my strength.

All of  a sudden out of nowhere, I was lifted up and a very strong musculer arm was around my neck and holding my head above water. I started to panic and a voice said."Nay! Lass!! Stop that now! I've come to rescue you from the depths of this ocean." "Just float in my arm and let me take ya to shore ya silly woman."

I immediately relaxed because I recognized that it was the Captain and he was here to help me. He got me back to shore and lifted me up and carried me to the blanket and laid me down on it very gently. He sat down next to me as I coughed and coughed and he took out one of my water bottles and told me to have a drink and wash my mouth out of the salt water and spit it out. I did as he told me and it did help alot. I was tired and so ashamed for causing so much trouble. If he hadn't seen me I know I would have drowned and it was my fault, I knew better than go out when the waves were so high and roaring with the winds whipping the trees branches around.

He sat and looked at me with those piercing eyes of his and he had such a worried look on his face as he asked me how I was and if I was ok. When I said I was okay but that I felt dumb for what I had done and that how lucky  I was that he had come along I could see his eyes cloud over as his worried look turned to anger.

"Lass, it was by dumb luck that I heard you yell for help." "I was looking out the window of your office and wondering where you had gone to, when I decided to take a walk on the beach and enjoy the wind and listen to the roar of the waves as they crashed into the shore." "That is why I heard you yell and it took me a few minutes to find you out there in those huge waves. I dove right in and came for you." "Ya silly lass, donna ya be doing that again, you scared me half to death.",He said.

When he said that I looked at him and he must have realized what he just had said and we both laughed. He was dead wasn't he? We laughed and laughed and he stopped suddenly and pulled me into his arms and held me tightly and made me promise never to do such a foolish thing again. I did promise. I had no intention of living those moment ever again.  I liked being held in his arms. He was strong and musculer and he smelled like the ocean and the wind.

As he held me he gently brushed his lips over my head and kissed my forehead, as he said so softly that I almost didn't hear him."Don't be scaring me like that again lass, I donna want to lose you too." "I have become very attached to you being here with me."

Then he let me go and looked in my eyes for what seemed forever as I felt the shock waves from that sweet kiss on my forehead.  Oh! How I was starting to have feelings for this man. What was I going to do, after all he is a ghost,? Right?

He smiled that beautiful smile of his and he got up and gave me his hand and pulled me up and started to gather my things and told me that I had enough adventure for one day. We walked back up to the house and he didn't say another word all the way back. Myself, I was speechless too. I just walked along side of him and quietly had my own thoughts. He looked magnificent in his jeans and his muscled and wet body were a sight any women would sigh at. His long black wet hair glistened in the afternoon sun, and I could see red highlights in it that I had not noticed before. His mother had red hair and his sister Mary too. So , he had a little of his mothers color of hair. What a beautiful family they were I thought as we neared the house and he helped me carry the things and put them in the kitchen. 

When I turned to thank him, he was gone. That man frustrates me sometimes. One minute he is helping me and the next he is holding me and kissing me and then he is scowling at me and being angry at me. But this confounded disappearing without warning is the worst. I wish he would have stayed so I could have really thanked him for helping me. Well, the next time I see him I will be sure to do so.

Now for a nice hot bath and rest. I am all tired out from fighting those waves and I feel like a fool for going in them when I knew they were dangerous. Thank Goodness for the Captain or I wouldn't be able to write all this down for you to read.  Time for a bath, I am all salty and I feel as if I drank half the ocean too.

 

The Captains Brother

I was wondering around the house today and decided to look in some of the other rooms and see if there was anything of interest in them. On the second floor is where the immediate family slept and had their rooms. The Captains room I took over because I loved it from the first time I saw it. Then there were other rooms to look into. One had  a large picture of what looked like a pirate on the wall. I stood there and looked at it for a long time trying to figure out where he fit in this family. As I was lost in thought, I started to notice a very manly scent filling the room and it smelled like a musk cologne that men wear. It seemed to fill the room and I started to feel a presence in the room. I was a liitle scared as I turned around and looked behind me and let out a whoosh of air as I saw that it was only the Captain standing there in the doorway and smiling at me. He walked in and pointed up at the picture and turned to face me.

"That scroundrel on that wall is my brother, Jim. " "he was the Captain of many of my fathers ships and quite a sailor he was." "He could sail any ship that was made and handled her like he knew every inch of her by heart." "A good man my brother Jim was." "He lived to be an old sailor and I had this picture made of him so I would have something to put in this room of his when he came for a visit." "When he saw it he pretended like he didn't care but I knew that he really liked it that we had it made and put in his guest room." "My Katherine loved him and he loved her too.""She was a kind and generous woman and loved all that came here and was a great hostess to all my family and friends." "You see that album over there on the shelves?"

"Yes," I said, "I do."

"Well, if you want to see some things about my brothers life go and get that album down and take in  your office and have a good look at it." "I think you will be happy to see all the ships that he captained and pictures of him and his wife and kids.""Oh! Yes! he had a wife and kids and they are all gone one now too." "He had two girls and twin boys. hellions I called them." The Captain smiled and watched as I took down the old tattered album very carefully. This was quite a treasure he was letting me look into. I turned around to thank him and he was gone. Darn! that man had a way of coming and going before I was finished talking to him and besides I enjoyed being with him.

I took the book down to the office and sat in my chair and very carefully turned the pages. They were yellow with age but still you were able to see the pictures very good. There were two lovely young girls and two mischevious looking twins in one picture with his brother and his wife standing behind them. As I turned the pages I saw the family growing up and all the things they did for enjoyment. The parties and people they loved. There were pictures of others and there was one that said mother and father.So this is what his parents looked like. What a handsome pair they were. He looked just like his father . Same dark wavey hair and dark mysterious eyes. That small smile on his face and the look in his eyes as he looked at his wife gave me goose bumps. I felt like I was intrudeding on a private moment between two people so much in love. I sat and looked at that picture for a long time. Such love, you could feel it. I sighed and sat back and closed my eyes and started to drift off into my own daydream. Me and the Captain alone in that room where his parents were.

I don't know how it happened but I fell asleep and when I woke there by the patio window stood the Captain with the book in his hands and he too was looking at the picture of his parents . When he saw that I was up , he turned and started to speak.

"I had forgotten that my mother and father were in this book too." "They were very much in love and they were very good parents to me and my brother and sisters. " "Oh! I didn't tell you I had two sisters and a brother before." "My older sister was named Mary and the younger one was Jen short for Jennifer"''. My brother you know was named Jim."

I got up and walked over to him and looked at the book as he showed me his two sisters and his brother and him with their parents at the park. They were in a handsome buggy being pulled by huge black horses. The whole picture was magnificent. Together we looked through the rest of the book with him telling me all about each picture and where it was taken and what event they were at and celebrating. I loved the one with the family by the Christmas tree and they were all dressed in their best clothes and going off to church for mass. What a beautiful family he had. HIs brother and sisters were all attractive but he was the best looking of all of them.  He was the spitting imagine of his father. I kept looking at the picture and at him. I didn't notice him smiling at me, and then he put his hand on my shoulder and gently ran his hand down my arm and up again. I could feel chills and stood very still . I didn't move a muscle just enjoying his gentle touch. He turned me around and looked at me very intently and leaned over very close to my ear and whispered,"You are as lovely and outshine anyone in that book."

I was speechless, and just looked into his eyes as he stood up and took his hand off of my arm and smiled and very slowly disappeared before my eyes. must have stood there for at least ten minutes just looking at the spot he had stood in and I put my hand and rubbed my arm where he had so gently ran his hand and I could still feel the goose bumps there.

I decided to take a walk down to the cove and sit on the chair there and just look out into the ocean and dream a dream. It has been such a wonderful day. I love the ocean and soft breezes and the peacefullness of the whole cove. I knew how the Captain felt about this cove and his home and I was feeling the same way.

 

The Squall

I was sitting in my office and typing some of the notes from my conversation with the Captian from our morning walk. He said that he would be right down with a picture and a poem that he wrote about an adventure that he had at sea. I was typing for quite awhile before he came into the room and brought a huge picture in a frame into the room and a sheaf of papers. I smiled because as the picture was quite large, he had trouble handling all the papers he was carrying and he started to drop some of them. I looked at him and I could see that he would not appreciate me laughing, so I bit my lip and got up and approached him to take the papers out of his hands and pick up the few he dropped.  He just looked at me with those beautiful eyes and it was as if he dared me to say something about his awkwardness. 

He proped the picture on the wall and settled down in the chair and started to tell me all about his night on this clipper. It seems that he was on one of his many trips to deliver cargo to a port on the other side of the world when a terrific storm broke out and he and his men had all they could do to keep the boat afloat. The story was so enthralling that I listened without making a sound or asking any questions. The more he talked the more antimated he became and waved his arms around and started speaking louder and finally stood up and paced back and forth as he neared the end of the tale. He then handed me something that he said he wrote after he returned home and that no one had ever seen it before, but he wanted it to be in this book of mine.  I am going to share it with  all of you here.

THE SQUALL

                                      by    Captain McCain

SLIENTLY SLIPPING THROUGH THE SWIRLING FOG

IT’S SAILS FULL AND STRAINIING IN THE BILLOWING WIND

TOSSING VIOLENTLY FROM  STARBOARD TO PORT

ROCKING BACK AND  FORTH FROM BOW TO STERN

SEASONED SAILORS ONE AND ALL

NO THE DANGERS AWAITING THEM IN THE SQUALL

WAVES RUSHING OVER THE BOW WITH A THUNDEROUS ROAR

SAILORS  LASH THEMSELVES TO THE RAILINGS AND MAST

PRAYING TO THEIR GOD THAT IT WON’T LAST

SECURE THE BOATS STORES FROM THE GREEDY HANDS OF THE SEA

IT REACHES OUT FOR THEM IN ANGRY MOCKERY

“COME TO ME!”, IT SAYS, “FOR YOU ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO FIGHT MY RATH!”

BUT THE MEN WILL NOT GIVE UP THEIR LIVES SO EASILY

AS THEY BAIL THE WATER FROM THE SHIP CARGO HOLD

THESE MEN THAT ARE STRONG, ABLE-BODIED AND BOLD

FOR THEY HAVE SEEN MANY A STORM AND HAVE LIVED TO TELL THEIR TALES

OF STORMY NIGHTS AND FLURRING SAILS

MUSCLES FLEXING AND STRAINING AGAINST THE ROPES

NO WEAKLINGS HERE  TO GIVE UP  THEIR HOPES

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT AND INTO THE DAWN

THE WEARY SAILORS BATTLE ON

LOWERING THE SAILS AND LASHING THEM DOWN

THE SUN RISES IN THE EAST

THE WRATH OF THE STORM HAS CEASED

NO ONE HAS DIED ON THIS JOURNEY

ALL THE MEN WILL GO HOME

THE SEA HAS LOST AND THEY HAVE WON

SAILORS BODIES ALL TIRED AND WORN

GO TO SLEEP WITH THE UPCOMING DAWN

DREAMING OF HOME AND OF FIRES BURNING

DREAMING OF HOME AND FOR LOVED ONES YEARNING

 

I was so entralled in this poem that I hadn't noticed how intently he was watching me. His eyes glistened like coals and he sat stroking that wonderful face of his. He had such an amazing way of looking at you. Almost as if he could see inside and knew just what you were thinking. Sometimes, I swear he knew what I was thinking, and with that thought I started to blush. Oh!! dear!! I wouldn't want him to be able to know some of my thoughts about him. 

He smiled and chuckled . and got up and walked out of the room. Was he able to read my mind?? Oh! I hope not because I would have a very hard time not thinking about him and some of my thoughts were mine alone.

 

 

Adventures of the Captain

The Captain and I are in the office and he is going to tell me about one of his favorite voyages that he made.

I settled down by my computer and got everything ready so I could take down every word he said. Gosh! he looks so dashing today! He is wearing a tee shirt and jeans and nothing on his feet. Lounging on the over stuffed chair and he is so big that he over fills it and makes it look small.  I have got to stop this and start thinking of what he is saying.

He smiled at me, and asked me if I was paying attention, which only made me blush and stammer.  I nodded and he chuckled a bit and said "ok,lets get on with the adventure."

"I was sailing out of India when I noticed a young lady walking down the path some distance away. She was so beautiful and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. "I started to walk along side of the boat so that I could see her better , but we were already moving out of port and it was hard to make out all of her features." "I wanted to turn that ship around and run up that hill and find out who she was, I don't even know why I was so possessed to do so."  Well, I didn't  stop the boat, but I couldn't stop thinking of that girl and I promised myself that the next time I came here I would find out who she was and where she lived and most important if she was available."

"It wasn't for another two months that I was once again in India and I left the boat in search of this maiden. " "I looked high and low all through the town and asked all I saw about this shadow of a woman I saw when I was leaving two months ago."

One shop keeper seemed to know who I was talking about because when I discribed her to him, he smiled and said it was Miss Katherine McDonald and she lived with her mom and dad in the house on Topper ST. I asked him if she was engaged or spoken for and he smiled again and his eyes twinkled a bright blue. "No,"he said,"Miss Katherine is a free woman and not easy to make do as  you want her too , she is very strong willed, you know." 

"his made me smile now, because when it came to stubborness I am the master of it and I have a very strong will also. I usually get what I set out to get." He stated.

I just sat there and listened to what I was beginning to believe was how he met his wife Katherine. So that was her name. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, because he just glowed when he talked about her.

"Well,"he said,"I got directions to that house on Topper ST. and took off in that direction to meet this woman that had plagued my dreams for the last two months." "As I walked, I kept thinking how I was going to get into that house to meet this girl when I didn't even know the family or the girl for that matter." "All I knew was that her name was Katherine and she was a vision, a angel."

"Well, I got to the door and gathered up my courage and knocked and waited there like a condemmed man waiting for the axe to fall." "You can't imagine my surprise when the door was opened by a good friend of mine that I did alot of business with." "I actually grinned and laughed out loud and at the same time sighed a sigh of relief." Here was my way into the house. It seemed he was a cousin of hers and was visiting that day and that she and he were going for a buggy ride in the park. "Well, to my good fortune, he had come to take her out and asked me along."."I of course agreed and he bid me enter and he introduced me to her mom and dad and I waited in anticipation for this vision to come into the room." "When she did, I could feel my breath quicken and it felt as if my heart was racing." "I had never in my life ever felt that way about a woman ." "She was beautiful beyond words and so tiny and petite and gracious."

"myfriend introduced us and I fell in love with her the moment I looked into her beautiful eyes. I would do anything in the world for her."

"She smiled back and offered her hand to me and I took it into mine and kissed her tiny fingers gently. " "She blushed,"he chuckled." I guess she was surprised that I did that ."

"Well, we went for that buggy ride and many more after that." "Oh! She was stuborn and so was I but when I looked into her eyes I just melted and would do anything for her." "Many months later I asked her father for her hand and he slapped me on the back and said that he couldn't think of a better man for his daughter than me."

"We were married the following year and in the mean time, I had this house built for us and purchased Cutters Cove. I gave it to her for a wedding present and she was overjoyed." "We spent many happy moments in this house and we love each other without end."

"We didn't have children right away, we wanted to wait until the business was better and we had the house all done and everything in its place as she always told me." "So, it was five years before we decided to have a child and she was doing ok and every day that she was pregnant, she grew more beautiful to me.""I could not wait for that child to be born and neither could she."

He stopped there and just stared out the window of the room. He sat and didn't say a word, and I just sat too, not wanting to interrupt his memories as he thought back. He had told me how his wife had died and his child. I already knew this tragic end to this beautiful marriage. So I didn't pressure him.

All of a sudden, he got up and looked at me and said." You know all the rest. I don't want to go into that again." I shook my head yes, and he nodded and strolled out of the room.

I typed way into the night and got all that story down and read and re read it many times. How sad that someone that was so loved had to be taken away like that. Life is strange and death is stranger. I felt grief for the Captain and for Katherine and the baby boy he never saw alive.

 

 

Return home and surprise

I was breathless when I returned from my junt into town to pick up a few things I needed for my office and some grocery shopping as well. Those two bags were heavy as I walked down by the water back from town. I had to stop and look out at the ocean and it was such a beautiful day and the water was so blue and it looked so inviting. 

I didn't stay though because the Captain said that he would tell me another of his adventures today and I didn't want to miss that opportunity.  So I hurried alot faster than I should have and here I am breathing like I ran a marathron.

I went to the kitchen to put the groceries away, and I noticed that it felt very cold in there. I got an eerie feeling as I went into the room and I felt uneasy. I don't know why , but I felt like someone was watching me. I looked all around and it seemed to get colder and colder. I could see my breath and it made me panic a little. Why was this happening here? I put the bags down and started to put things away and all of a sudden some of the things from the bag fell to the floor and I could smell lilacs in the room. It was a very strong scent. I picked up the groceries and just put them on the counter and all I wanted to do was get out of there and return later. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, after all the Captain was a ghost  and this was his home.  But the Captain never played jokes on me or tried to scare me either.

I was feeling paranoid and rather dumb, so I turned around and picked up the things that were on the floor and put them away. The room suddenly got warmer again and I could not smell the lilacs any more. Strange, I thought, what was going on here anyway.

I went into the office and brought my office supplies in and stashed them on the shelves and sat down at the desk and opened my computer and was writing when the Captain appeared by the window and walked over and sat down in the big chair in front of the desk.  I never was so happy to see him  as I was then. 

He looked at me and asked me what was wrong, because he said I looked as white as a sheet. I explained what happened in the kitchen and the strong smell of lilacs that permeated the kitchen while I was in there.

He just sat and didn't say a word. He rubbed his forehead back and forth with his hand and just sat deep in thought.  After what seemed like forever, he mentioned that his wife had preferred lilacs to any other flower and that it was strange that I should be smelling them in that room as she always had them in the kitchen on the table in the morning when he came down for breakfast.   I stared at him and just listened to every word he said. I didn't move a muscle.

He said that he had been able to hear her voice once in awhile, but never see her. He was not allowed to he thought because he had died the way he did, but he wondered why I smelled the lilacs in the kitchen and he never did. He asked me if I saw anything and I said no, that I was to frightened and it was so cold all I wanted to do was get the things put away and get out of there. I also told him that after the things fell on the floor the room got warmer and the lilac smell disappeared. He looked up sharpely at me and just stared . He was scaring me now.

I don't know what happened in that room and I hoped that it never happened again. Was his wife able to come and go here too? Did she want me gone? Oh! I was not to happy now.

The Captain sensed my unease and got up and walked around the desk to me and said that I had nothing to worry about. His wife was not able to materialize and he only heard her in his head. She had never bothered anyone before and he knew that she would not hurt me. Maybe she just wanted to see who had moved in here and now would go away.  I looked at him, this handsome, strong and gorgous man and thought to myself, that if I was his wife and  able to come back, I would not like some woman moving in my house with my husband, whether I was alive or dead.

After all this termoil we decided to just go for a walk in the gardens and not write anything today. I was too shook up anyway. and the Captain seemed to be deep in thought also. So we   left the office by the patio doors and walked out into the flower garden and stayed out most of the afternoon just walking and enjoying the many flowers and plants that were so elegantly arranged. In the middle of the garden was a gazzabo and he and I decided to sit there and just talk and relax for the rest of the day until dinner time. 

 

The Captains Den

I woke up a little confused. I was fully clothed and in my bed. That was unusal in itself because I remember being at my desk reading the newspapers. How did I get up here? Well, I must have been more tired than I thought I was to have come to bed and not even undressed and wrost not to remember doing it at all.

I was walking down the hall and saw a door ajar and was going to close it when I spotted the Captain standing by a fireplace. I knocked on the door and said hello  and he told me to come in the room.

What a great room this was. I hadn't looked in all the rooms on the second floor and this looked like a library or den. It had a huge fireplace in it and the Captain was standing there in front of a roaring fire. He had some pictures on the fireplace and other nicknaks too. I didn't want to appear nosey , so I didn't really take a good look at them.

"Well, Lass," He said."Did you get a good nights rest?" "I found you asleep at your desk and took you up to your room so that you would be more comfortable." "Your as light as a feather, ya know, you ought to eat more, least you fade away," He laughed as he said this.

So, that is how I got upstairs and in bed. I was a little shy now. He must have picked me up and carried me all the way to my room and tucked me in bed. I must have been very tired not to have felt him pick me up and carry me.  I thanked him for his thoughtfulness and I could feel my cheeks burning red. He looked at me with a wicked smile on his face and winked at me , and said that I was welcome. It was his pleasure, and that it had been a long time since he had carried a woman to bed.  This remark made me blush even more , and I hurridly said that I had better go downstairs and have some breakfast and go and do the shopping I had planned for today.  As I left the room and closed the door, I could hear him laugh as I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. I put both of my hands on either side of my face and it felt hot enough to cook an egg. Oh! that Captain!  I will be more careful about falling asleep in my office again. I wouldn't want it to become a habit of him carrying me off to bed.

I had a cup of coffee and some toast and got my hat and coat and left the house. I looked up at the second floor and there he was watching me  as I left. I lifted my hand and waved goodbye to him and he smiled and waved back. He opened the window and yelled down to me that I should hurry back as he had some more adventures to tell me about his seafaring days.

That was all it took for me to set out at a brisk walk and make up my mind that I would only get what I really  needed and look the town over some other day. It was much more interesting for me to hurry back to be with the Captain and hear about his adventures on his many travels and the places he went and what he did there.

"Ahhh, Lass, hurry back, I miss you when you  are not here. It is too quiet now without your constant questions and curiosity. " He was smiling as he watched her practically running into town.

Captains Explanation and newspapers

I have been standing on the veranda and looking out at the ocean for quite a while today. I had seen the Captain earlier and he had said that he would come and talk to me later in my office if I wanted him to, but that he had to do a few things and would be back later in the afternoon.

I have been thinking about what the Captain had told me yesterday about his wife and child. If they are both gone, why is he here? How did he die? Why isn't he with his family in heaven? So many questions and they are making me have a headache. I hope he will answer them for me and that he won't think that I am being nosey. There has to be a reason why he can't join his family and he is stranded here. Did he want to stay here?  Or is he made to stay here forever? There is more to this than meets the eye.  I will try and be patient and not make him angry . He might not want to tell me all the story. Or maybe he will.

This waiting and thinking is only making my imagination run wild. I should just go in the office and work and wait until he decides to come and talk to me. I don't know how I am going to get anything done until he clears these things up for me.  I am getting chilly , so I am going in now.

Whats this?? An old newspaper on my desk, it is dated 1845. This is really old. I wonder if the Captain put this on my desk for me to read.

The front page has his picture on it and it says that he has come home from abroad and that he is residing in the McCain mansion on the hill overlooking Cutters Cove. There is a whole page spread on the Captain in here. It is so interesting, he has been all around the world and now has returned to stay it says.

Oh! another paper dated 1846. There is nothing on the front page let me look further. Oh! No! the Captain is on the obituary page. It says that he commited suicide by using his gun on himself.  Oh dear!! It says that he became a hermit and would not let anyone in the house and didn't go to town. The only person allowed in the house was his housekeeper that he had since the house was built. She has stated that he became more and more remorseful and at night he would get drunk and dam the heavens for taking his family from him. The housekeeper found him in his den one day, and called the ambulance and doctor but it was too late. The Captain was dead . The house was left to the state as he had no relatives and so it was put up for sale. No one would buy the house because they said it was haunted and that they were afraid to stay there. 

So this is probably why the Captain can't leave this house. He is doomed to stay here because he commited sucide and dammed the heavens. The poor Captain in his grief commited himself to eternity in this house and grounds.  I will ask him just to be sure. I am only guessing by these articles he left for me.

I hope he comes soon. This is driving me crazy. Doesn't he know that a woman can't wait long without losing her mind.  Ahhhhhhhh  Captain. You better get down here fast. I am full of questions and need the answers from you to be sure.

It has been along time and I have been trying to work, but I start daydreaming and lose my thoughts.  Then I feel the breeze from the patio and turn and their he is standing by the doors and looking at me with such a piercing look. I am almost afraid to talk to him.  He walks forward and takes the papers up from the desk and glances at them and then at me.

"Have you read them, lass?", He says. I just nod my head and look at those dark eyes. "Now you know what happened here so many years ago." "I was feeling very lonely and I was very drunk, I  cursed the Gods for taking my family and I got my gun and I put it to my chest and fired it." "I floated out of my body and saw myself lying there and the housekeeper yelling for help and calling the doctor and ambulance." "I couldn't understand why all the commotion because I was standing right there and yet I could see myself lying on the ground.," "Then the doctor and ambulance came and he said I was dead." "Dead. I said to myself, I am here.""Can't you see me I shouted." " I tried to touch the doctor and my hand went right through him. I tried to touch the housekeeper and the same thing happened. I was completely confused and sober now. I have been here for all this time and keeping people out of my home. The housekeeper was the only one I let come in, the bank had hiredher to keep the place clean and I never scared her. In fact, I left the house so that I would not make any noise and she would flee. She is a dear lady and I have known her all her life.  "So. Lass, any questions you want to know?"

I got up and walked to him and touched his sleeve. I could feel him. I could feel the muscles underneath the shirt he was wearing. I could see him and talk to him. I asked him why I could do all these things and others couldn't. He said that he let me see him and that he could feel me too, but he didn't know why himself. It was a mystery to him as well as me.

I wanted to know where he was buried and he said he was buried with his wife and child in the graveyard. The site next to the Cross was his resting place. OF course, in those days if you commited sucide you were not allowed a service, but he didn't care. They just laid him out and then put him in his grave. 

I asked him how he felt about seeing that all happen and he said that he was sad. He never should have done that to himself and now he was  here. He didn't know for how long or what he had to do to go or if he could go even. He spent his days reading and walking and keeping strangers out of his house and grounds.

I wanted to know more, but I decided that was enough for one day. He looked tired and worn and I felt deep sorrow for him. I walked up and looked at him in his sorrowful eyes and rose on my tiptoes and gently kissed his cheek and put my arms around him and told him that everything was going to be alright.

He took me by the shoulders and just looked at me. I felt as if he could see right through me. He didn't say a word, just moved me away and touched his cheek, and slowly disappeared right before my eyes.  I stood there for a long time. Just stood there not moving a muscle.

When I finally came to my senses, I sat down by my desk and started to read all the papers that he had put there for me to read. It told all about the town , his family and others , balls, and his life story . I was so interested that I forgot the time and read  and read late into the night. This was the true story of McCain mansion and the Captain and his family. I read until I laid my head on my desk thinking only to rest for a few minutes and didn't even realize that I had fallen asleep.

"Now look at that lass, she doesn't have the common sense to go to bed when she is tired." The Captain came around the desk and lifted her up and carried her upstairs to the room that she had picked out for her bedroom and gently laid her on her bed and drew the covers over her. "There you go now lass, sleep well." "I'll be seeing you in the morrow." "Sweet dreams lass." he whispered as he closed her door and left the room.

The Revelation

It has been a few days since I have seen the Captain. I have heard noises in the night and when I have gotten up and walked to where I felt the sound was coming from, I would see a light shinning under a door and go to open it and find that it was put out. I have heard footsteps walking down the hall and disappearing into nothing. This is becoming worrisome for me, I worry that something is wrong with the captain and I want to talk to him.

Looking out from the patio I can see where the Celtic cross stands and the burial grounds of his family. Off to the right the Captain is standing and looking at the cross and laying flowers on the grave. 

I hurry down the stairs and run to the graveyard and I have gotten there before he can disappear. I startled him, he must have been deeply in thought not to notice me. I called out to him to please not leave.

He stayed just as he was and I approached him. I could see a sad look on his face and I wondered who this person was that he had come to see here. This gravesite was very well kept and flowers placed carefully at the base of the cross. I looked at him and waited to see if he would say anything.

After what seemed like an hour, he finally spoke. "This is the grave of my wife and child." "She died giving birth to our son while I was away on a sailing trip to India," he said. "The baby was not supposed to be born for three more months and I didn't want to leave, but she made me go and assured me that she was fine and that I would be back in plently of time for the birth of our baby." "So I left and was gone for two weeks. When I returned, she was gone."  "I was enraged and stormed out of the house yelling her name into the night." "They said that she had fallen down a flight of stairs and started to hemmorage and lost the baby and because of a lack of blood she died also." "She was 18 years old. " "Sometimes I feel that if I had been here this would not have happened and she would have lived and my son would have lived." "I have blamed myself for her death all my life." "After she died , I didn't come back here for a long time. " "It was many years afterward that I returned and moved all her things and the things she had made for our son into a room on the third floor."

I asked him if the portrait of him and the lady in the bedroom on the third floor was of her. He replied that it was and that he couldn't bare to see it every day in the master bedroom, so he placed it in the best room on the third floor. He said that every once in awhile he did go there, but of late, he had stopped.

I asked him why he had been gone these last few days and he just looked at me and said that he needed time alone and time to think. I could see by his expression that he would tell me no more, so I let it go.  He had a right to his privacy too.

He asked if I would walk with him down to the cove and sit and watch the boats with him. I agreed, and we set out for the cove silently. Every once in awhile he would look at me as if looking through me and into my soul.  I realized than that I had feelings for this man. This very special and caring and protective man. A man that wasn't afraid to show his love for someone and talk about it.

We sat on the hill overlooking the cove and watched the boats coming and going and never said one word. Just looking and each of us thinking our own thoughts.  His I am sure were sad ones of his lost wife and child, and mine of my new life and my new feelings for a Captain that it was impossible for me to have, or was it? 

 

Finding the blue bedroom

I wasn't able to find the Captain last night. I went to the den and he wasn't there. I called his name over and over and he did not appear. There was a bright fire buring in the fireplace and three or four books on the desk there, but no sight of the Captain. I don't understand why he left in such a hurry.

I have decided to look for him and see if he is in any of the other rooms that I still have not seen. I haven't been up the third floor because it is mostly empty bedrooms for guests and I have had no chance as of yet to explore. I have called and called but no answer on the first and second floors. Maybe he goes to the third floor and feels more at home there because all my things are on the first two floors. 

There are six extra bedrooms here on this floor and each one is decorated so beautifully. I can understand how proud the Captain is of this magnificent home. The first three rooms were empty except for there furniture and beautiful view from their window.  No captain and no evidence of him either. In the fourth room I found that it was more decorated and more lovely than the others. There was a gold hairbrush and mirror on the dressing table and a schivrobe of many gowns hanging on hangers inside. They were so wonderful. Very decorative and long and they seemed to look like something from earlier times.  They reminded me of the dresses worn at court in those castles that I saw hanging in the other rooms.

I looked up on the wall and just in front of this massive bed over the fireplace was a hugh portrait of the Captain and a woman . He was standing behind her and had his hands on her shoulders. She was quite beautiful and seemed so regal in her gown. He looked so protective of her. The way his hands were placed on her shoulders, you could tell he would let no one hurt this person.  I wonder who she was. This must have been her room and why on the third floor? Why not on the second were all the family were?  Oh!! so many questions and no answers.  "Captain!! Captain!! where are you?? Please come out.  I would like to talk to you."I shouted out loud to no avail.

I hope the Captain doesn't stay away for a long time. I am beginning to worry about him now.  Was this his girlfriend? Wife?  Who is this woman? I am going to drive myself crazy if I don't get some answers soon.

I have gone through all the rooms and so far no Captain and no other clothes. They are all decorated beautifully, but no more pictures of the Captain in any of them.  I know he isnt on the second floor, so I am not even going to look in those rooms today. 

I will just have to wait until he wants to come back and then I will try to get some answers to my many questions. It is going to be tough for me, I am a very curious person and this mystery will drive me up the wall. How can I concentrate on writing when I have this mystery to solve?

Darn you Captain!! How can you just disappear without any explanation like that and make me so upset?