Honest Work
Kitten's New Life pt. 2
I sit back in the Captain’s chair. The smooth stained wood and cushioned leather seat was a true luxury, which was hard to come by on these days. I looked over the manifests and bills of lading. This ship was running too light, therefore, so was our pocket book.
“Cap’n…uh…mate…uh…beg’n pardon, sir, I don’t know what to call ye.” The man was older, his clothes a bit ragged. He stood wringing his hat.
“Just Fisher,” I reply. I tap the numbers a with my fingers hoping to shake some loose.
“Mate Fisher, sir. Cap’n requests your presence on the quarter deck, sir.”
“Thank you.” The ruddy man slaps his hat back on his head, turns on his heal leaves.
Captain Kitten they call her. I know her as Katherine, or Kat for short. I laugh to myself.
I had always known there was something different about her, that was what drew me to her in the first place. There was an air about her. She walked with her chin high, never shying away from folks. She had always held a boldness that I admired. Still, it was strange how easy it was to accept her story. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. He’d never known a woman to drink rum neat. I’m just glad she finally shared that with me. She was so scared I’d look at her differently, treat her differently. It only made me love her more.
I tapped the numbers again, but they didn’t change. I stood and pushed the chair under the desk and made my way to the quarter deck. Kat stood at the ready in her Captain’s uniform, regal and beautiful. Her blond chestnut brown curls dancing in the wind beneath her tri-corn. Her eyes closed, feeling the heat of the sun and cool mist of the sea. Shooly was at the rudder. I pat the gargantuan of a man on the shoulder as I pass behind him and stand next to Kat. She slides her hand into mine and holds tight, taking deep breaths. I love seeing her shine.
“I have a feeling you’re going to ruin my good mood with bad news,” she says, exhaling. Shooly grunts.
“I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news…but, here we go. We are running too light, not making enough money. We lost three of our crew in the last port. If we continue as we are, there will just be the three of us.”
“These shallow water ports don’t pay much do they?” Kat pulled her tri-corn off and pulled the hair up on her scalp before replacing her hat.
“No, most of them have established land routes to avoid pirates.”
“There is only two jobs left on the sea: pirate and pirate killer,” Shooly maintained his gaze on the horizon, the wind, the sails. “I have done both and neither would be called ‘honest’ work. We could find some jobs that are…less bad?”
“You can’t swim in the sea and not get wet. We need to find a better way.” I let go of Kat’s hand and begin pacing. The movement helps me think. “How did it come to only those two?” I ask.
“Extreme returns,” Kat replies. I gesture for her to offer more. “Pirates become rich stealing, so people become pirates. Commerce crashes because shipments can’t be made, so rich merchants hire protection and mercenaries to secure their shipments.”
“Does it always come to a fight?”
“Nearly.” Kat turns and leans her back against the railing. “It usually depends on the Captain, or in our case, the first mate. Shooly can read the wind like no other. He would put us on lines that other ships just couldn’t escape. I’d say it was mostly luck if any of them had out run us.”
“Out run them…” I pace a few more times, then head down the stairs. Kat turns and watches me from the railing above. I head into the Captain’s quarters and begin foraging for a piece of paper. I find one roll it up. I return to the deck and survey the ship. The main mast was in the middle of the ship. I paced it off in all four directions. The rigging was a pully system that could be easily replicated. Focused, I walk back to the Captain’s quarters, sailors hopping out of my way. I pull the chair out and sit, rolling my blank piece of paper out. I list the measurements in the top right corner for reference. I draw the ship and my idea begins to take shape. I draw and calculate, draw and calculate, draw and calculate until the strain on my eyes is too much. It’s dark now. I look up and Kat is lounging in a hammock watching him. I hadn’t noticed her come in.
“I love watching you when you’re like this.”
“Like what?”
“When you have an idea. Like a dog with a bone, but…in a good way.”
“I think I know how we can do some deep water work and not have to fight.”
“Ok.”
“Do you want to hear about it?”
“No,” she says plainly. “I want you to show me. We make port tomorrow. You can get what you need there, right?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Ok, Shooly and I will get a deep water contract while you work.”
I stand and make my way to her. Her trust was worth more to me than any gold that would come. I lean down and kiss her. She wraps her arms around my neck then pulls me to the hammock with her.
The sun woke us both as it made it’s way through the small windows. A short knock at the door.
“We’ve made port, Captain.”
“Aye,” Kat called back.
“Time to get to work.” I jump from the hammock and leave her swinging in rhythm with the waves.
I dress and gather my notes and the small amount of money we had left. I will not break the trust that she has given me. I rush to the deck and begin pacing as the crew slowly brings the ship into port. The gangplank drops and I push my way to the front. I hurry across the dock. I stop and look down the street. My head spins a little as I reset my bearings. I had always been warned about sea legs, but no one warns you about land legs. I shake my head and continue scanning the shop signs until I see the shipwright. The man is startled as burst into his shop.
“Sir, I have an idea and I need your help.” I set my drawings down in front of him. He looks them over, then looks me over.
“I’m gonna need some coffee for that.”
“I make a mighty fine cup, if you don’t mind. I’ll make the coffee, you make the sails.”
I set about brewing coffee and discussing details of my idea as the shipwright added small notes to my drawing. I set a cup in front of him and pulled up a stool. I poured myself a cup. We sat holding the hot tin mugs, smelling the roasted aroma, and dreaming of a ship like no other.
“Aye, I think I can do it.” I lift my cup and the shipwright taps his to mine then takes a sip. “huh, that’s good.”
It takes most of the morning to gather the supplies. I enlist the crew to help the shipwright with labor. The few men we have left grumbled but did as they were told. Port was normally their day off.
The moved across it’s apex and began it’s decent. The crew had all been excused for leave. I, hands blistered and bleeding helped the shipwright tie the last knot.
“I’m going to keep the design close to the vest, I hope you understand.” I say. “But, I would like you to continue thinking on it. I will bring my business back to you.”
“We have an accord.” The shipwright shook my hand and I paid him his wages. I clenched my leather purse to hide the lack of noise it made. “I can’t wait to hear how she does.”
Exhausted, I head to the Captain’s quarters and lay in the hammock. Shooly’s heavy footsteps are the harbinger of Kat’s return. She enters the quarters and hangs her hat, then her jacket.
“Any luck?” I ask.
“Indeed.” She pulls her boots off. “It’s an entry level contract, but pays double what we’ve been getting.”
"When do we set sail?”
“In the morning. Some folks said the major merchant ships made sale a few days ago, so hopefully that means the pirates will follow them and not us. What about you?”
“I think so…I hope so.”
“Well, we’ll know soon enough.”
The next day came too soon. I was nervous to set sail. I paced on the quarter deck and Kat and Shooly called orders and brought the ship to sea. We had not so much put our bow on the deep water that the call came.
“Pirate ship.” Shooly confirmed.
“Can we get out of the way?” Kat asked.
“Not without returning.” They both turned and looked at me.
“We can make it.”
“All ahead, Shooly.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Shooly, you said that pirates take lines to intercept?
“Aye.”
“Can you tell me when we would want to be crossing their line so as to not be intercepted by them?”
“Aye.”
I began pacing again. Kat stood watching the pirate ship, knuckles white as she clenched the rail. I prayed that it would not fail.
“Now is the the time.”
I grabbed Kat by the hand and dragged her down the stairs with me. I placed her before a pully and showed her the lever to kick when I gave her the signal. I took my place at the pull on the other side of the deck. I held up three fingers…two fingers…1 finger. We both kicked the levers and the pullies began to whir as rope zipped through them. Two smaller sales flapped and popped as they caught the wind. The ship dug deep, water crashing over the bow. Then the Morning Star began to pick up speed. I looked up to Shooly who was fighting the rudder and loosing. I ran, taking the stair to the quarter deck two at a time. I leaned into the wheel to help Shooly. The ship felt like a rock skipping across the water. Shooly began to hoot and howl, laughing maniacally. I looked over the railing and Kat, along with the rest of the crew were hunkered down, holding on for dear life.
The wind died down and ship slowed. I hurried to the deck and began cranking the pullies to pull the sails back in. The crew saw what I was doing and began working the other. I tied off the sail and looked for the ship.
“Pirates turned,” Shooly called from above on the Quarter deck. He leaned on the wheel, breathing heavily.
Everyone stood in silence, unsure if what just happened was good or bad. I jumped and cheered, causing the crew to jump.
I stood looking at the deck, covered in sea water. Pride filled my heart to the point of bursting. Hands gripped my upper arm. Kat stood beside me, she was a pale color I had never seen before.
“I knew you would do it,” she said, raising to her toes and kissing me. “We are going to talk about letting me know next time.”
“But…you said you wanted me to show you?” Kat waved me off as she stumbled in the direction of the Captain’s quarters. I looked to Shooly who gave me an approving nod. We were going to make this new life work.
If you would like to read the first story, you can find it here:
This was a Flash Fiction Friday prompt from
on his Substack
What a piece ❤️🍿
I'm glad you enjoyed. It was fun to write too