8
Tennyson
Tennyson woke up the next morning feeling like a new man.
He’d been so deeply asleep that he hadn’t heard Ronan come to bed and hadn’t been awakened by his snores.
He’d taken a long, leisurely shower with no interruptions before leaving his room.
Breakfast was in full swing when Ten came downstairs.
Jude was making waffles and Ten could smell bacon.
The kids were gathered around the table eating.
“Good morning,” Ten said, pressing a kiss to the top of Everly’s head.
“Hi, Dad! Are you ready for a walk on the beach?” Everly looked ready to go.
Glancing out the window, Ten saw the beach and ocean were obscured by thick fog. “What’s the deal with the fog?”
“It’s supposed to burn off soon. Apparently fog is normal on this part of the Cape.” Jude shrugged. “I don’t think the kids should go in the water, but it shouldn’t be a problem to walk on the beach.
“It won’t be a problem, Uncle Jude,” Everly said in a knowing tone.
“Give me a minute to have coffee and a waffle, then we can go.” He grabbed a plate and Jude forked a waffle onto it along with two strips of crispy bacon.
Fifteen minutes later, Ten and Everly walked out of the house onto the back deck, which allegedly overlooked the ocean. Ten hadn’t seen very much of the water since they’d arrived yesterday afternoon. He hoped the entire trip wasn’t going to be spent in a fog bank.
“Don’t worry, Dad. The fog will clear up soon. I promise.”
“Oh, you promise, do you? Did you get your meteorology degree in your dreams last night?”
Everly giggled. “No, Dad. I just know. The fog is here for a reason.” She sounded so much older than her eight years.
“Right, it happens when cool air passes over warm water.” Ten didn’t have an advanced weather degree either, but he knew what caused fog.
“Okay, Mr. Wizard.” Everly made her way down the path leading to the beach.
Ten followed behind feeling a bit unnerved. He could hear the ocean waves slamming against the beach, but he couldn’t see them. This was just one of those times when Ten was going to have to chill out and listen to his daughter’s gift.
“This is so peaceful,” Everly said.
“Being on the beach always relaxes me.” There was no place Ten would rather be than at the shore with his toes buried in the sand.
“I meant the fog. It makes me feel boxed in, like my entire world is smaller.” Everly twirled on the sand, leaving small footprints behind.
Ten pondered Everly’s statement. The fog made him feel nervous because he couldn’t see what was ahead.
“That’s exactly why this is so calming for me,” Everly said, obviously reading Ten’s mind. “All I see is the future, what’s coming toward me, what happens next. Right now, in the fog, all I have is this moment.”
“Is the fog keeping your gift from working?” Ten had never had that sort of problem before. With all of his daughter’s extra talents, he thought it was odd she would be limited by a weather phenomenon.
“No, I can reach out if I want to, but I don’t. This must be how regular people live, you know? Is there a rock ahead to trip over or a piece of sea glass waiting for me to discover? I have no idea what’s next.”
Everly’s explanation of her gift never failed to surprise Ten.
“Do you wish you lived like this all the time, like a regular person?” When Ten was younger, he often wished his gift would go away.
All he wanted back at Union Chapel High School was to be one of the guys.
He didn’t want to know that the other kids in his class thought he was weird or that he was the worst athlete, or how fun they thought it would be to steal his clothes from the locker room.
He would have given anything to have been normal.
“No, I wouldn’t trade my gift for anything. I don’t care if people think I’m weird or that I’m the worst athlete.” Everly giggled. “I’m happy being me. You and Daddy taught me that. You might have been a weird kid, but you’re a pretty cool father.”
“Really?” Ten’s heart felt full to bursting.
There were times when he felt as if he were failing his children by working so much and investigating dangerous criminals, but somehow, his daughter didn’t see it that way.
Her opinion of his parenting meant the world to Ten, which was why he needed to right a previous wrong.
“You wanted to bring me down here yesterday and I wouldn’t listen to you. ”
“Yeah, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“The vision you had at the pirate museum?” Ten asked, taking a seat on the sand.
Nodding, Everly took a seat beside her father. “Daddy told you?”
“He did,” Ten admitted.
“I know I should have told you myself, but it needed to be here, on this beach.” Everly paused, twirling a lock of strawberry blonde hair around her finger. “I think something’s going to happen that we need to be here to see.”
“Something to do with Sam Bellamy?” Ten asked.
“I think so, but whatever it is hasn’t shown itself to me yet.”
Ten was about to ask her to explain the vision when there was a disturbance in the fog.
He paused and focused his gift on the strange way the fog began to shift and swirl.
Seconds later, a young woman emerged. She was dressed in black, with a kerchief tied around her head.
Thin wisps of blonde hair had escaped and hung limply against her face.
As she came closer, Ten noticed her feet left no prints in the sand.
Turning toward the ocean, Ten heard the sound of weeping.
Everly stood up and took several steps toward the young woman. “Hi, Maria, I’m Everly.”
“Hello, lass,” Maria said, as her hands swiped at the tears falling down her cheeks. “I am glad ye’ve finally made it here at long last. I need yer help.”
“What can I do?”
“I cannot find my husband. He promised to meet me here, yet he does not arrive. Perhaps you can help me look for him?”
From where he was sitting on the sand, Ten could hear the conversation between Everly and the young woman. For the moment, he was content to let it play out.
“You’re looking for Sam,” Everly said.
Maria’s blue eyes widened. “You know him? You have seen my dearest Samuel?”
Everly nodded. “I think so. Before I tell you what happened, will you tell me about Sam? I want to hear all about your love story.”
Ten smiled to himself. Everly was handling the situation the same way he would . It was obvious Maria was looking for Sam Bellamy, but what he didn’t know at the moment was if Maria knew both she and Sam were dead.
“Love story,” Maria said, her eyes crinkling.
“The man swept me off my feet, to be sure. I worked at Higgins Tavern, serving drinks to sailors and fisherman. My father was the manager and kept a close eye on me. Many, many men wanted to court me, but he had not said yes to any of my potential suitors. Da wanted more for me than to be a tavern wench. He wanted me to marry above my station so that my husband would not only care for me, but for my father as well.”
Everly nodded along with the story. “My father is pretty strict too. I’m not even allowed to go on a date until I’m sixteen.”
The spirit turned her head toward Tennyson. She seemed to study him for several seconds. “Yer Da loves you very much and would not care to see you hurt, same as my father.”
“Did you meet Sam at the tavern? Was he handsome?”
Maria laughed and Ten got a glimpse of the beautiful young woman she’d been centuries ago.
“Aye, he was handsome. Tall and strong, with dark hair tied behind his back. He looked to be a hard man, one who never smiled or shared a joke. He strode to an empty table and sat down. I approached to ask what I could get for him. I swear his entire face changed the moment I spoke. He ordered an ale. I started to move away from him to fetch his drink, but he took my hand.” Maria stared down at her right hand, turning it over and back again, as if she could somehow feel the ghost of Sam’s touch.
“He said, ‘Be quick, lass,’ and released me.”
Everly’s eyes brightened. “Did your heart tingle when Sam took your hand?”
“Perhaps a little,” Maria said, blushing.
“I did as he asked and indeed hurried back with his drink. He asked my name and gave his in return. There was to be a dance held at the grange hall that evening and asked if I would be attending. I said I would be and he asked me to save him a dance.” Maria paused, she brushed fresh tears from her eyes.
“When Sam walked into the room, he stole my breath. His eyes immediately found mine and he approached to claim his dance. Even though it was not to be done, Sam partnered me for the whole of the evening. I could hear people whispering about us, but I did not care. My father, however, did. At home that night, he forbade me to ever see Sam again.”
“But you didn’t listen to him.”
Maria shook her head. “I did not. We spent every free moment we had together for several months, meeting in secret. Sam told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. I said yes.”
“That’s so romantic,” Everly gushed.
“Aye, lass, it was, until I brought Sam home with me. He asked for my father’s permission to marry me and my Da said no. Sam was a sailor, he worked on ships that traded goods along Cape Cod. He was a poor man and my father would not allow a man of Sam’s means to marry me, but all was not lost.”
“What happened next?”
“My Da told Sam that if he could somehow make his fortune, he would allow us to be married.”
“He wanted you to be safe and happy.”
“I suppose he did, but neither of us wanted to wait that long. Three days later, Sam and I stole away to Nauset and were married in secret there. We spent the afternoon together enjoying a wonderful meal and then pleasures of the flesh.” Maria blushed again.
“I should not be telling a young lass such things.”
“Did Sam kiss you with his tongue?” Everly asked.