Chapter 27 Dinner and Beyond

Well it was official. Minnie like shrimp, loved shrimp, like a lot. She was currently in a food coma in their cabin, having been carried there after falling asleep on her plate. Will set her on the bed, pulled off her boots and covered her with the blankets. Heading back to the mess he heard long snores behind him, well she’s out for the night he thought.

As he and Naomi cleaned up the mess she asked “is Minnie still changing?Or is she all done growing?”Will thought for a bit, Minnie had changed fast when they first boarded the Rose, but nothing since really.He said as much but added “I think she’s getting smarter, and stronger too.We have both changed since we got here, I became younger, a lot younger so far.Not sure when it will stop.”.

A final sweep up and wipe down and the galley was done.Will still had several things to do on deck, so he headed up to see.The light was dimming fast so he hurried to secure the deck.Lashing down the cranes, hanging the nets to dry, tossing a few buckets of water over the deck to clean up the shrimp mess.The rest could wait til tomorrow.A final check in the wheelhouse to see the barometer reading, all holding steady.Will headed back below decks.

He could hear that Naomi was still awake in her quarters, playing her violin.Hopefully he could find a penny whistle for Minnie, it would make her so happy.Maybe make one, whittle it, if he could find the right wood.Settling in the mess he pulled out his notebook, that he finally remembered to start carrying, and jotted some items on his to do list.The tea from dinner was still warm and this is where he missed microwaves the most.Not for cooking because yuck, but rewarming came in handy.

He worked on his lists, wrote down some song lyrics, some more story ideas until his eyes were drooping and decided to head to bed. Minnie as still snoring gently when he entered so he kept as quiet as he could. Undressing and doing the necessities took a few minutes and he slipped into the warm bed. His little friend must have felt the bed move and she moved her hand until she found his. This simple touch relaxed him and he drifted off.

What an odd night will thought as he woke.Dream after dream, of his old life, his first car, first house, pets, book collection, all fading away now as he sat in the edge of the bed.Minnie was up and gone but he could hear her and Naomi talking in the nearby corridor.He was so glad he didn’t need hearing aids anymore, uncomfortable itchy things.Or glasses, his vision had improved far beyond what he had anytime before in his life.Not superhuman at all, just perfectly able to see.

He took a very quick shower as there was a lack of hot water because the boiler was still cold, dressed and tidied the cabin…sigh.Heading for the mess in search of coffee he was happy to find a fresh pot on the galley stove.Again he seemed to have just missed Minnie and Naomi, but could hear feet on the deck above.Pouring a steaming cup, he sat and planned for a bit.They were continuing on their voyage today, and he was looking forward to getting to it.

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They needed to fire up the boiler, load the coal and start steaming.Next would be…..A clatter of feet on the ladder and Minnie came tumbling into the room, followed by a red-faced Naomi.“She flung shrimp goo at me dad, get her”, laughed Minnie, “Well you dumped water on me and I just finished braiding my hair, tell her off Captain Will.” Naomi said with a giggle.Will looked at the messy pair, “looks like a draw to me, I declare a truce.”.They looked at each other and nodded, shook hands and laughed.

“I see you survived shrimp night Min, I was worried for a while.”, Will eyed Minnie, “Wasn’t sure you weren’t ever going to stop eating.”.“I love the shrimpies, with butter and with noodles things, and fried with stuff oh yeah and boiled ones in butter and fried potatoes…yummy yum.”.While Minnie was explaining how much she loved to eat shrimp, Naomi had started breakfast going. Toasted bread with eggs and fried ham was todays meal.

Will and Minnie joined her in the galley to lend a hand, Minnie fried the ham, Will made toast and Naomi was in charge of the eggs. All was carried into the mess and enjoyed immensely. Min did not care for washing dishes much, probably because of how much it messed up her neat fur. But she didn’t mind wiping down tables and counters. After the kitchen was cleaned Will headed to the engine room, and Minnie went on deck.

He fired up the boiler, checked the coal supply, made sure all the oil levels were good. Before heading up he stuck his head in the galley and let Naomi know they were going to be weighing anchor soon.”I dumped all the leftover shrimp, they won’t keep, same with the ones we didn’t cook.”, Naomi informed him. “That’s all good, I don’t think I could face another one anytime soon.” Will replied. “ Meal planning is up to you, I trust you not to poison us.”. At that moment a whistle come from the voice tube connected to the wheelhouse.

Uncapping and answering he heard Mins voice “Did you fall asleep again dad?”.“On my way Min, just making sure we have enough shrimp for dinner tonite.” Will smiled in anticipation.“…can’t we just have eggs, I don’t want the shrimpies again.” came the sad reply.When Will told her he was just kidding he heard a grrrr and she capped off.“See you later Naomi, lots to do still, come up whenever ok.”.Will waved and left.

There were anchors to lift before moving so he headed to the wheelhouse to let Minnie know they were starting off.Opening the door he was met with a mighty splash from a bucket of water in the face.A laughing Minnie was behind it.“More shrimp huh…nope nope, you’re a funny guy dad.”.Sputtering and laughing Will chased Min until he cornered her and gave her a thorough fur messing.

After the chasing was done Will headed to the bow and started winching in the anchors. As soon as they were free from the lake bed Will signalled Minnie and felt the engine engage and the Rose slowly made way. After he had brought both anchors in he waved again, felt the boat surge to half ahead and they were on their way again.

From the vantage point of the wheelhouse he could see clear skies and clear water ahead, so he got Minnie to rope the wheel in place.Now they could relax while travelling.Perhaps do some sketching and writing, play some cards, at least for a couple of hours.

Will got lost in writing at first, trying to remember book titles.Time was he could look at his books, run his finger down the name on the spine and remember all the details.Sadly that time was long gone, before he came here that is.Now if he could remember a title then he could at least get the story down.He hoped Minnie would like the books he was writing, there were some he would never write for her, some he wished he could un-know himself.Beside him Minnie was sketching anything that caught her eye, a gull wheeling overhead, her dinner plate, Naomi.Her skill was growing, in fact she was growing in every way possible.

Their companionable silence was broken when Naomi entered the wheelhouse with a tray of tea and cookies.“Just made these…anyone interested?” she asked, setting the tray down.“Oh yeah, we sure are.” said Minnie, “always interested in a fresh cookie, how about you dad?”.Reaching over, Will took a couple, “Never met a cookie I didn’t like.”.Naomi laughed “The way you two talk sometimes, I have never heard the like.”.

“I learned from dad, blame him.” Minnie managed to say around cookies.