Chapter Two: The Crew

Graham "meets" the crew and gets settled in.

Graham stood there for some time, leaning on the railing, looking out into the moonlight. She wasn't thinking about anything in particular, though Ignarro's words had registered quite clearly. Still, at the current moment she had a blank mind but a full heart. She was overcome with so many different emotions it was impossible to pin all of them down, if indeed they all even had a name. She was excited, that one was familiar, but calm, she appeared serene on the surface but was secretly boiling over with glee. And, for one brief moment, she was the happiest creature on the planet; a title which turned out to be short lived as a few hundred thousand dogs around the world experienced the same amount of joy while chasing a tennis ball (not the same one mind you), ushering her out in their tongue-dripping, tail-wagging giddiness. The dogs then being replaced by engagements or babies or whatever else might cause a creature to be the happiest whatever on the planet, as tends to happen. Still Graham took no notice of any of these things, perhaps because she was a single person in the middle of the ocean with no omniscient narrator abilities, she just smiled while the salt breeze ruffled her hair. Graham soon came back to herself and her head full of thoughts and words with which to express those thoughts, the first of which being "I'm cold. I should go inside" She turned away from the railing and began crossing the deck beneath the shadows of the two masts towering into the sky like two great pines that one day decided to uproot and go to sea together. She reached the door at the head of the ship's deck and descended a single flight to find the Galley at the very bottom, well marked and smelling of something delicious. When Graham opened the door the heat immediately washed over her, there was a short burst of the clinking of dishes and grumbling voices before an expectant silence. It seemed to accompany Graham as she entered the room. Before her at a plain but heavy wooden table sat three people; two of which she had never seen before. The two across from her were somewhat difficult to see a one was behind an engineering pad half the size of the table and the other was knitting away from behind Buddy Holly frames that seemed to cover half her tiny face.The third one she had seen before but not met; the young woman from Ignarro's quarters was seated at the far head of the table, legs crossed, a patch over the eye Graham had observed to be scarred over. Behind her was Ignarro, back to Graham, facing a large iron stove, ladling chili from an aluminum pot into a marigold-colored bowl that looked like it had come from the 70's. He turned to Graham, his mustache twitching with glee that she had indeed come down, and asked "Have you eaten dinner?"
 
"No, I didn't get the chance"

"Didn't get the chance," he said, pointing a dripping ladle at her face "or didnt take it?" At this the woman at the head of the table piped in, her eyebrow raised in discontent.

"Oh Ignarro, do give the girl a rest from your challenges. You know perfectly well what she is expressing, let her eat in peace." She turned to Graham "Do sit down dear."

"thank you." and Graham sat down at the bench running the length of the table. She felt strange being called "dear" by someone who couldn't possibly be two or three years older than herself but dismissed this once Ignarro set a bowl of chili down directly in front of her. She clasped the sides of the bowl for a few moments to warm her chilled digits.

 "You must be freezing in those wet clothes" remarked the woman with one eye, and she shot a glance at Ignarro which he seemed to understand since he hopped up and waltzed out of the room.

"We'll give you some things until we have a chance to make port in a city where there are shops."

"Oh, you really don't have to do that. I'm sure I can just pop home and get a few changes of clothes. It'll be much better than having to spend unnecessary money." The one-eyed woman glanced at the two people to her right and gave them both a weary look.

"Yes, well, in any case don't worry about clothes for the time being." At that moment Ignarro came in with a white cloth in his hand and gave it over to Graham.

"Here we are my dear, you can change into this, there is a private room right there and when you've finished just give you wet things to Mauro."

"Thank you, but who is Mauro?" Ignarro looked stunned and upset, as if someone had just asked if his beard was made of whisps of marshmallow. He plopped down next to Graham and slammed his forehead onto the table with a thud.

"I have failed everyone.You would think at this point in my life I could get people to actually be social and introduce themselves to one another but no..." He continued as the short rounder woman across from Graham rose and came to the other side of the table, extending a hand to Graham.

"He'll be like this for a while. Let's get you changed and when you've finished I can take your things. I'm Mauro, the ship's navigator."

The two women crossed the room to the door Ignarro had pointed out earlier.

"Oh! Thank you, I'm Graham. I'm...his apprentice I suppose."

Mauro looked inquisitively at Graham while opening the door, allowing her face to melt into what Graham took to be a sympathetic smile. "Well, welcome aboard dear."

The "private room" Ignarro had pointed out turned out to be the dry stock. Graham had tripped over some beets and bumped her head on some hanging garlic ropes upon entering. She peeled off her wet clothes and unfolded what Ignarro had handed her to find the white clothing was one gigantic moth-eaten dressing gown wrapped around a sunken-in par of slippers. She put it on in any case and shuffled out, feeling much better out of the sopping attire now crushed into a ball. Mauro came over to her and relieved her of the unpleasant orb.

"Thank you" Graham said as she placed her soggy items in Mauro's outstretched hands, and she took her place once more at the table. Her chili had disappeared and in it's place was an empty cup of tea. On the table sat a large tea kettle, a sugar bowl, a creamer pot and a plate of biscuits.

"Chamomile tea?" The woman with the eye patch offered as she picked up the kettle.

"Oh, yes please." Graham extended her cup and noticed a broody Ignarro next to her sipping from a mug donning the image of Charles Darwin riding an oversized beagle. She smirked at the sight and took two biscuits handed to her by the woman with one eye.

"A cup of tea always sets him right after he has one of his moments. He'll be back to normal in no time. See?"

This time Ignarro was deep in thought, brow furrowed, mumbling to himself.

"...mmrgrphmer hanam pontr read shobnmabnerself..." His face began to soften into a smile, his eyes all alight.

 "YES! Quickly! Palissy, come with me!" At this the man who had been covering his entirety with a large pad of engineering paper shot up and slammed the pad down, sending a breeze across the table. He was young and muscular but covered from tip to toe in grease and dirt. The only thing that stood out blindingly were his blue eyes that had apparently been covered by the blackened goggles hanging from around his neck. He swung hs clunky work boots over the bench and ran after Ignarro who was trotting flamboyantly from the room leaving the two women alone.

"Hunh." the eyepatched woman slumped over onto one propped-up fist. She looked over at the door curiously and then sat up once again, eyes focused on Graham. "Well, since we're alone together I suppose we should get to know each other a little." She extended a small hand with long gnarled fingers towards Graham "I'm Averroes. I'm the ship's doctor"

Graham extended her own hand and felt Averroes' unusually strong grip take hold. She quickly blurted "I'm Graham." Averroes let go of Graham's hand.

"Nice to meet you Graham, and what has Ignarro decided to bring you along for?" She sat back in her seat.

"Ah, yes, well, you see he's taken me on as an apprentice but I'm not quite sure what that means. I mean, I know what the word means but I'm just unsure as to what it will entail."

Averroes emoted the same inquisitve look that Mauro had had earlier, or perhaps not the same one, but a similar one. She folded both hands in front of her mouth and looked over them at Graham for a moment, her one hazel eye scanning her face.

"Well I'm sorry to say I don't know what your apprenticeship will involve. Ignarro has never taken on an apprentice before, nor has he ever mentioned the subject. But that's how he is, very impulsive, sometimes childish, and secretive. You'll have to wait and see what-"

But Averroes never got to finish her sentence. In burst Ignarro, bright red in the face, smiling like a half-shaved cheshire cat.

"Come my dear! It's time we sent you off to bed." And he hauled Graham up by the arm, Leading her out of the room, her arm looped through his.

"Sleep well." Averroes called calmly as she watched Graham being dragged off.

Graham was suddenly very confused. Where were they going now? How did she get back to the deck? What was this hallway? Is there a bathroom near here? She had so many questions but no way to ask them as Ignarro had not stopped to breathe since he had burst into the galley.

"...so it's obvously not done yet. You can tweak it however you want but we should be able to have it sunk and ready for you to live in by the end of the week. Granted it will take some time for you to make it more homey once we can get to a port with a market of some kind. Oh, it's always nice to redecorate. I'd love to do it myself but I am just so fond of the regal sea captain look. Of course you don't have to go with that-AH! here we are!"

They were standing outside a large sliding metal door, like the entrance to a garage or a not-so-favorable loft.

"Uhhhh, where are we?" Graham looked to Ignarro

"Palissy's room of course! Haven't you been listening? You'll be staying with him until he finishes building YOUR room."

Just then the door began to slide open and a muscular young man peeked his head out.

"Thought I heard people out here, come on in, I just finished setting up a place for you to sleep." Graham raised an eyebrow at his grease-drenched body

'This guy made my bed? Fabulous.' Her disapproval was clearly felt as Palissy tucked a whisp of his long black hair behind his ear, at least, Graham was pretty sure his hair was black, and added "Well, I did the heavy lifting and Mauro helped me by making the bed and arranging the other things. It's just over here."

He slid the door wider this time so they could see the whole room at once. It had an enormously high ceiling and was wall-to-wall metal, just like an airplane hanger. There were free standing curtain barriers covering different sections of the spacious interior, blocking off what Graham assumed to be projects. To the left was a staircase leading up to a walkway that circumferenced the room and lead to an office/bedroom.

"Here, I even set up a little curtain for privacy" Palissy walked over to a browned-with-time maroon curtain and pulled it back. Inside looked very cozy, for what had obviously been a storage area. There was a desk that ran along the right wall with a little lamp, the bed was tucked between a small bookshelf and a dresser along the left wall. The bed itself looked like a giant fat caterpillar had died between the sheets, it was practically cylindrical it had been wrapped and stuffed with so many blankets. The bookshelf was no higher than Graham's thighs but it had at least 40 books already packed into it. She felt the excitement rush to her heart.

"I know it seems like a lot of books but I need you to study before we can actually go on any hands-on lessons. I'm not saying you have to read all of them but-"

"Oh, I will." Graham shot back at Ignarro. Expecting him to be upset at her for cutting him off she looked back apologetically only to find his eyes twinkling and his mustache twitching with joy.

"Well then, I'll leave you two to get rested. Lots to do and only all the time we have left to do it in." And he turned and left without another word.

After a moment of browsing the books Graham realized Palissy was still there, likely becuase he cleared his throat roughly and said "I, uh, 'm gonna take a shower. Do you need anything? I left you Some things to take to the wash basin if you need it."

"Actually yes, where's the bathroom?"

"Oh! I'll take you there. It's on my way to the shower."

"Thanks. Um, I'm Graham by the way." She extended a hand cautiously

"Maybe wait until after I get cleaned up." He smiled brilliantly at her through the grease. "I'm Palissy, the ship's engineer." He added as they entered the hallway yet again.

"Nice to meet you"

"Thanks you too. There's the bathroom right there on the left and the shower is just a little further down on the right."

"Thanks. I'll probably just head to bed after. See you in the morning"

"Yep, sleep tight."

After freshening up a bit, as it is more politely known, Graham headed back to get a good look at those books before bed. After thumbing through a few she took one out and squeezed herself into her caterpillar cot. Propping the book up onto her mountain of quilt she cracked open the blank front cover and began, "The End of Eternity" She read aloud. With a title like that,she imagined it to be a book about the phyical sciences. She opened to the first page with caution and carried on turning leaves until there were no more to be had. The back cover closed, he doused the light, rolled over, and tried to sleep but the synapses in her head were firing by the trillions, glittering and streaking across her eyelids like stars across the sky.

Author's Note

Please tell me if the story is flowing together. I've been working hard to keep things progressing naturally but I know at times parts can be a bit jumpy. Is there something should elaborate on?

Reviews

[HayleyLemore]

Hi Jay,
I’m back to happily read more.
The second chapter starts out well with Graham contemplating. In reference to her happiness compared to the happiness of dogs chasing a tennis ball… perhaps you might rephrase this in simpler terms. It reads like all dogs around the world are playing ball at this very moment. And maybe dogs aren’t really important to the story right now. That’s just my thought. Please don’t let me change your writing. Her happiness could be like a warm fuzzy sweater on a cold winter day. Maybe? Right before she feels cold.
I love the name ‘Ignarro’!
You wrote: “thank you,” and Graham sat down…. Capitalize the T of Thank you. And perhaps it could read… “Thank you,” Graham said as she sat down…
After “wet clothes” you need a comma. I noticed this in more than one place.
Oh, how I laughed at his beard made from whisps (wisps) of marshmallow, and then he plopped his head on the table. Your witty humor is fun! Tripped over beets and bumped her head on garlic. I am still laughing. Is Monty Python’s Flying Circus far behind?
You wrote: After freshening up at bit, as it is more politely known. I think you can leave the second phrase off as that’s redundant. I recently listened to an editor and she stressed the words ‘whispered softly’ or ‘yelled loudly’. The second word is redundant as the first word provides the image.
As your last paragraph ends I’m wondering if there is some secretive meaning to the book ‘The End of Eternity’. Is there some relevance that we, as readers, need to read more into? If so, you could play it up more and give us a second tease to keep turning pages. If not, it is just an interesting point. Imagine the reader sitting up at midnight. Do you want them to close the book or draw them curiously into the next chapter?
Love this book. Keep going!
Hayley