Forever and Always

Chapter 7

"That plan...is actually quite brilliant," Delbert admitted.

I smiled at the compliment. I hadn't actually had this plan when I first attempted to board the ship alone. I only came up with it when my friends tagged along. One of them was essential to it, and while there was some danger involved, I believed we were perfectly capable of handling it.

"Yes. It is quite a clever idea. But it's also quite risky. Are you sure you all want to do this?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, we are," Jennifer answered for everyone.

"Alright then. We shall allow you to come along. But, we are going to go back to Montressor so that you can bring more than the meager supplies you are currently sporting," Amelia responded.

So we headed back to Montressor so that we could bring more supplies. I was fine with that, but I had a feeling we would get scolded by Mrs. Hawkins.

I was pleasantly surprised when she didn't scold us. We were practically adults, she had said, and we needed to make our own decisions. I didn't agree with the 'practically' statement, but I appreciated her understanding.

I went upstairs to my room to pack up some more stuff. I grabbed a few extra pairs of clothes and headed back down the stairs. I walked into the kitchen and found Jim and his mom talking. She had a huge smile on her face, and Jim had a smaller content smile, but I could tell from the way he was smiling that he was holding back. Sarah was holding her son's hands in her own.

Mrs. Hawkins turned her head and slowly released Jim's hands when I walked into the room. Jim turned his body around to look at me, since his back had been facing the door. They both stared at me intently, their emotions impossible to decipher.

"What?" I asked, their stares making me uncomfortable.

"Nothing," Sarah said, trying to hide the cheeriness in her voice and getting up from her seat. "I'll be right back with that for you, Jim."

She left the room and started up the stairs.

"What's she getting for you?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, just some stuff that could help us on the trip," he answered quickly.

"Like?" I prompted.

"Like...a telescope and a compass," he answered hesitantly.

"Why would she have those?" I asked.

"They were...my father's," Jim said slowly.

"Oh, I see," I said, dropping the subject.

Jim's father was a sensitive subject, as I had learned over the years. Jim never talked about him unless he wanted to. If he wanted to tell me, he would. He didn't say anything, so I let it drop.

I went back to the ship, which I discovered was the same ship Amelia had used last time to rescue me from Alex, to drop my stuff off and claim a hammock in the crew's quarters. I came back outside to say goodbye to Mrs. Hawkins, who was at the end of the pier. That's when I saw B.E.N. and Morph boarding the R.L.S. Glacier.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked them.

"The Captain has asked me to help with navigation," B.E.N. said proudly.

"That's great B.E.N.," I congratulated.

Morph flew around the deck of the ship, exploring every nook and cranny. I figured he was just there because he could follow us around and he wasn't really a nuisance to Captain Amelia.

I saw Jim saying goodbye to his mother down on the pier. They were hugging. I waited until they pulled apart before I came down to say goodbye.

"Be careful, sweetheart," she said, giving me a hug that lasted longer than our usual goodbye hugs.