S. Welles - To Ocean's End

“Sorry. I shouldn’t tease you like that.”

He kissed her. “I don’t mind. It feels great. But we might as well eat before we get caught.”

“Yeah.” She bit down another apology as she released his hips.

“Here, pull the mattress out a bit.” Jessie got up and Mido stuck a fold-up chair under the flap, which lined up perfectly. They centered the mattress, then Jessie crawled in first. Mido handed a plate and a set of silverware to her, then snuggled up beside her. Neither of them could sit fully upright so they lay with their plates on their stomachs and gave each other another kiss. “To breakfast in bed.”

“To breakfast in bed.” They clinked their forks together and began eating, the noise machine their ambient sound, and the ship gently rocking. It was a little uncomfortable eating like that, but the romantic company was worth it. And so was the taste of home.

Mido wolfed his food down and set his plate aside on the floor, then slipped an arm under Jessie’s back and let his free hand wander up and down her body as she ate. His wandering hands slowly made her lose interest in her food. She barely finished her frittata by the time she handed over her plate. He set her half-eaten strudel out of sight with a clink, then drew the curtain, plunging them both into semi-darkness. Kissing her, he undid her pants button and zipper, causing Jessie to spread her legs a little. She inhaled his scent.

“This is just for you, my sea goddess. I’m saving my rounds for Paphos.” Working his kisses and playful bites to her ear and neck, he slipped a hand inside her undergarments and began giving her one of his magical massages.

It took Jessie fifteen minutes to recover from her bliss before she could stand again. She more rolled than sat upright as Mido picked up their plates. He looked just as dreamy as her, even though he’d only given. He planted one more kiss, then headed to the galley to wash off and clean up after breakfast. Jessie fixed her pants, ran her hands through her hair a few times, and wobbled her way to the bathroom with a full bladder.

The stall she walked into was unusually shadowy but she didn’t care in her dreamy state. She felt too good to care about anything but continuing to feel good. She relieved her bladder and just sat there with her hands in her lap, too dreamy to move.

Something rustled above her.

Hunched on the shelf that was supposed to be holding extra toilet paper was— “ O’Toole! ” He sat there with his fists in his mouth, eyes twinkling with mischief, and one foot wiggling away with nervous energy. She cleaned up, zipped up, and flushed. “Get out of here!” She grabbed his legs, yanked him to the floor, and shoved him out of the stall. He gibbered and whimpered, and pawed at her shoulder, but she pushed him so hard that he almost fell over. It was taking all her willpower to not beat the crap out of him.

Gibbering, O’Toole ran off, leaving Jessie to wash her hands in bliss-ruined peace. Once clean and thoroughly pissed off, she stormed over to the galley and took a seat with a huff.

Mido looked up from the dish pile he was building. “What’s wrong?”

“O’Toole was hiding in the bathroom stall I used. I am not pleased.”

Mido started laughing, then gave his back to her when she gave him a glare of death. His broad shoulders shook with silent laughter.

“It’s. Not. Funny.”

He doubled over.

Jessie got up and poured herself some coffee. “I need fresh air.”

He caught his breath enough to say, “I’m sorry. That’s our unofficial rite of initiation into the crew. Ted’s the only one left he hasn’t gotten yet.” His face was all red and eyes watery.

“Fantastic,” she said dryly. “And he had to pick when I was feeling all dreamy to do that.”

Mido lost most of his grin. “Aw, Jessie, I’m sorry. I’ll bring you back to that in Paphos. Start dreaming of us making sweet love while you go get some fresh air.” He kissed her forehead and sent her off with a squeeze to her rear. That got a smile out of her but she shooed the pleasant thoughts away, determined to be grumpy for a bit.

Towards the end of the day, Cyprus bore into view on the horizon. Jessie joined Dyne in the wheelhouse to help him navigate to the dock that would lead her home at last. Mido was preparing drinks and treats in the galley. Even though she wanted him up with her, she didn’t mind waiting for some celebratory food and drink to go with her homecoming.

Cyprus didn’t look quite like she remembered it. The northwestern coast was more or less foreign hills and mountains; she’d spent most of her life in the southern half and even visited Mt. Olympus a few times. She could’ve sworn there’d be more flora but maybe her memory had gotten it wrong.

Once the Pertinacious reached familiar shores, she stared in open-mouthed disbelief.

“What’s wrong? Dyne said.

“Where’s all the green?” She studied the distant terrain. “There should be more green than that.” Dread crept into her chest but she refused to believe anything terrible could happen to her home. “Go around the jetty about a mile in front of us and you should see a network of docks. Drop anchor there.”

“Alright.”

She left the wheelhouse and more glided than walked down the stairs. What she was seeing couldn’t be right. There was too much brown. However, like her disbelief when she’d watched Dyne slowly transform into the water demon, she had a sinking feeling her eyes were telling the truth. She jogged to the bow and stood in the Harpy’s open-air cockpit. Paphos just couldn’t be this brown. Maybe this portion of land had simply been plagued by an airborne floral parasite and the rest of her home was fine. Just get around the bend and all would be well…

The Pertinacious putted around the jetty as Mido and several others joined her at the bow. Her heart raced in anticipation of finally laying her eyes on home for the first time in two years…

… and then it sank into despair at the sight of a charred husk of a village that stretched to skeletal orchards blanketing the blackened hills. “No.” She dropped into the Harpy’s chair as her brain tried to sort out the devastation.

“Whoa,” Scully said. “What happened here?”

“I don’t know,” she said in a hoarse whisper. “This can’t be right.”

Dyne’s voice sounded over the loudspeakers. “I don’t see a dock to pull up to. Are there any others nearby?”

Jessie shook her head.

Mido shouted, “She says no!” He reverted to normal volume. “Jessie, come down.”

She took in her immediate surroundings, then slid off the Harpy and landed on her feet on the deck. Her feet carried her to the railing. She hadn’t told them to do that; they just brought her to the side of the boat of their own accord. She was too busy gaping and taking in the devastation to think of anything else. House after house was burned to the ground, the dirt roads deserted, and the citrus orchards barely more than army of charred stumps. A few carrion birds circled overhead. The sea carried the smell of burnt wood and salt water. No stench of rot. How long ago had this happened? Who had done this? And why? Why destroy her sleepy little farm town?

Mido came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Ed and Ted stood on either side and wrapped their arms around both of them. She just let her arms hang limp. Her chest felt hollow.

“I’m so sorry, Jessie,” Ed said.

Dyne said, “Jessie, do you still want to go ashore?”

Jessie pivoted and the three boys moved with her. She could make out Dyne’s face through the wheelhouse window. She slowly nodded once. She hadn’t come all this way to just never set foot in Paphos again.