8 #2
Tennyson flashed back to Everly telling the story about seeing tongue kissing in Top Gun and nearly laughed out loud.
If Everly thought kissing was what people who loved each other did, that was fine with Ten.
She knew about the birds and bees, thanks to health class, and hoped she didn’t ask Maria anything more personal.
“Indeed he did, lass!” Maria laughed. It was a beautiful and lyrical sound. “I shall not be telling ye more.” Maria’s demeanor sobered quickly. “The very next day, Sam boarded a ship to the Caribbean to seek his fortune.”
“Then what happened?”
“We wrote letters back and forth. I knew Sam had turned pirate and was filling his ships with enough gold to last our entire lives. He wrote to me of the family we would have and the life we would share. What my husband did not know was that I was already with child.”
“Sam must have been so happy to know he was going to be a father.”
Maria shook her head. “I did not tell him. I wanted our child to be a surprise. The child was not a surprise to my father and the people in Wellfleet. I had never seen him in such a rage, saying I had thrown my life away. It did not matter to him that Sam and I had been married in secret, only that I had damaged our family’s reputation.
I did not care. I was in love with my husband and was due to have his baby.
However, the rest of the townspeople sided with my father and shunned me.
No one would offer me shelter or help with bringing my child into this world. ”
Ten knew what happened next and wasn’t quite sure he wanted Everly to hear the rest of it, but he stayed silent, biding his time.
“I delivered my child into this world in a barn near my father’s house. My son was small and bluish in color. He did not look like the other babies I’d seen. Shortly after he took his first breath, he took his last.”
Tears slipped down Everly’s cheeks. “Maria, I’m so sorry you lost your baby.”
“Thank you, lass. I’d named him Samuel, after his father.
I could not move. I could not think. The idea of burying my precious child drove me insane.
I raged, screamed and yelled at God for taking my child from me.
I begged him to take me as well, but my pleas were in vain.
Word got around about where I was and what had happened.
My father brought the constables, who clapped me in irons and accused me of murdering my child.
I was dragged to jail. I do not know what happened to my boy.
Later, I was accused of witchcraft. I am not ashamed to admit I invoked spells in hopes that my child would be returned to me. They did not work.”
Tennyson watched as Everly struggled to come to terms with Maria’s tragic story. He felt her sorrow spark into anger. He listened quietly as Everly ran through several spells in her mind. Her hands balled into fists.
“Do not fret, lass. All is well. I was released from jail and went home to my father. Several weeks later, I got a letter from Sam telling me he would be home soon. He had a surprise for me and to wait for him on this beach. I have waited and waited, yet he has not returned to me. Can you help me find my darling Samuel, Everly?”
“I hope so, Maria,” Everly said, sounding cautious. “I had an encounter with his spirit yesterday.”
“His spirit?” Maria shouted. “Ye’ve lost yer mind, lass. My Samuel is hale and hearty. He is on his way back to me. His ship, the Whydah, will arrive in Wellfleet at any moment.”
Everly turned back toward Tennyson, who got to his feet and approached his daughter. “Maria, my name is Tennyson, Everly is my daughter. May I ask you a question?”
Maria seemed to study Tennyson for a few seconds. She nodded. “Aye, but ye need to be telling yer lass that she’s wrong about my Sam.”
Ten took a deep breath. He knew the one question that would make Maria realize what was happening. “What year is it, Maria?”
“Are ye daft, man? It is 1717.”
“No, Maria. It’s not 1717, it’s 2026.” Ten hoped his answer would help Maria to understand the situation. He didn’t want to tell her that three centuries had passed without Sam coming home.
Maria’s eyes widened. “That cannot be. My Samuel is coming home to me. You just wait and see.” With those words, Maria turned around and walked back into the fog, which swirled behind her.
“Oh, Dad, did you see the sadness in her face?”
“I did, honey. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Maria.”
“Me too,” Everly agreed. “I was hoping that if she told me the story of what happened with Sam that she’d recall the shipwreck and her own death, but I think she’s caught in a time loop.”
“I think so too,” Ten agreed. He was about to ask his daughter what she thought should be their next steps, when the fog broke and the sun came out. The Atlantic Ocean sparkled in the early morning light and he could feel the sun’s rays on his face.
“Beach time!” Ezra shouted.
Ten turned to see his son running toward the water. Ronan and the others were behind him.
“Go fwimming, Da!” Ezra ran to the water’s edge. A wave swamped over his feet. “Da!”
“Are you okay?” Ten asked.
“Yeah, go fwim with Ezzie.” Everly laughed.
“We’re gonna talk more about this later.” Ten headed toward Ezra, who was splashing his feet in the water.
Staring out to sea, Ten thought about Sam Bellamy and the Whydah.
The pirate had obviously been trying to reach Everly with the vision he’d sent her.
He assumed Sam was trying to find a way to reunite with Maria.
It wasn’t a surprise to Ten that Maria wanted to find him as well.
Ten prayed he and Everly would be able to make it happen.
After three hundred and nine years, Sam and Maria’s reunion was long overdue.