Days At Sea

Chapter 6 - I'm Squeezing Your Worries Out

It had taken Isabella all afternoon to mess with the men's hair. Louie had agreed to let her wash it, but it was still longer than hers.

"Please let me cut it short!" She begged. "It'll be a pain to wash and brush on a pirate ship!"

"If long hair is a bother, I suppose Celeste will need a haircut, too?" Louie suggested. That shut her up, and she silently brushed his hair back into a low ponytail and tied it with a thin scrap of shirt. Louie felt his hair to ensure she hadn't cut it all off. He seemed satisfied and got up, holding Celeste's hand.

"Look at us; we've both got fetching hairstyles now." He said to her. Celeste beamed and stroked her braid.

Hugo hadn't needed as much convincing. After five minutes of Isabella desperately tugging the comb through his matted hair, he shouted in pain and insisted that she cut it short. She snipped the knots out and attempted to give him a presentable haircut. Unlike Louie's silky golden locks, Hugo had coarse, wavy hair that liked to stick up in various directions. She washed it over the bucket, and when she was done, it looked pretty presentable. Hugo seemed delighted.

"It feels great! It's so clean!" He marvelled, running his fingers through his fresh hair. He did a spin to show it off and slipped. Isabella only just managed to grab his shoulder before he fell.

"Careful! The floor is soaked." She spluttered. Hugo's surprise turned to amusement, and he snorted as well. Stifling their giggles, the pair looked around at Louie, who peered at them disapprovingly.

"Stop acting like children!" Louie scolded, glancing at Celeste sitting on a chair and playing with her teddy like a little angel. Hugo gave another loud snort.

"Sorry, Papa," he said, grinning. Isabella grinned, too. Louie exhaled loudly.

"I'm only three years older than you, Hugo, but you'd think it was 10!" He said disapprovingly.

"What can I say? I've got a young heart!" Hugo declared. Isabella smiled at the bickering men, who were acting like real brothers. 

"Would you like me to wash yours, Isabella?" Louie asked politely, gesturing to her curls. Isabella waved her arms.

"No, I'll manage," she replied. Glancing at the soaked floor, she wrinkled her nose.

"On second thought, maybe I would. I've got water all over the floor." She said anxiously. Louie grabbed a mop and mopped most of the water to the back door and into the garden. Isabella knelt over the bucket and grabbed the bar of soap. Louie poured a mug of water over her head, making her body tingle as the cold water ran down her neck and back. It brought back frightening memories of lying soaked on a hard stone floor, water droplets crawling along her skin like bugs. She shivered, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Want any help?" Hugo said eagerly, stepping over to them and slipping again on the wet floor, knocking the bucket and making water slosh over Isabella's undergarments.

"No!" Isabella and Louie shouted simultaneously. Hugo looked thoroughly embarrassed.

-

It was getting dark now, and they were packing the last of their essentials. The men had filled Isabella's pockets with rags and soap to cleanse their wounds as they healed. Hugo tried to shove the bottle of rum in there as well - she realised at once because the sudden weight of the large bottle had pulled her sideways and she had nearly toppled over.

"We don't need to bring that! They're pirates; they'll have rum on board to clean our injuries!" She protested.

"This isn't for the injuries." He said off-handily. Isabella grabbed his hand.