Leaving New York

Chapter 9

Early the following day, I made a ton of German baked goods: Weizenbrotchen, the simple lunch rolls, and the Bethmannchen. I had to control my tasting, or I'd blow up like a balloon. During a break, I went to the bridge. The captain was presiding from his marine version of an elevated Laz-y-Boy.

"Jack, my good man, what's up?"

"Hey, Cap. I was wondering if I could stay on after we make Le Havre."

"Well, I wish you'd gotten to me sooner. I already hired another man to take your place."

"Oh."

"You could try another ship."

But I liked Carlos, Wolf, Marisio—I'd never see them again.

"I like this ship."

"You should do some traveling like you'd planned, then come back to work—the companies got eighteen freighters. You'd be more than welcome—I'll give you a good recommendation."

"Thank you." I was crestfallen but found courage when I felt like crying.

Cap said, "Oh, Carlos made contact with Henry's brother in North Carolina. He can stay there."

"Great! That's awesome news!"

"Thought you'd want to know—now I've got to plot our course into Le Havre."

"Yes, sir."

My mind whirred with so many changes coming up. After finishing the after-dinner chores, I high-tailed it back to the cabin, but Henry was gone. Then I remembered he was going to play cards. I flipped through my "around the world" guidebook. I'd planned to go to Paris, but I wasn't sure what I'd do. Would Henry get the serious care he needed? Would my mood stay stable through all the upheaval? For a moment, I thought I could take Henry with me to travel together. I went out on deck to get some air, checking out the stars. I said to myself, "I have to make this land trip work. I knew nothing about working on a freighter twenty days ago, but learned to bake, made friends, helped a very sick man. I can learn how to travel."