John Casey - Compass Rose

The boys left. May went into the kitchen and sat by the phone. She pictured Spartina , then felt rather than saw the cold, gray distance. She thought of Captain Teixeira bowed over his radio. He’d be speaking Portuguese. She’d been unkind about how Catholics carried on, about Mr. Salviatti’s angels, about Captain Teixeira’s big Catholic family, but now she saw Captain Teixeira’s hand holding the microphone like the priest holding that little wand he shook water out of when he blessed the fleet, and in her mind she went down on her knees before Captain Teixeira and confessed her sins, the spite and anger she’d let loose against Dick and his boat.

Sally was at Elsie’s door, knocking and calling; she was inside saying, “Can you come? Can you come right now? Something’s happened. I called your Captain Teixeira. They said he was at the dock because something’s happened. Can you come?”

On the ride over, Elsie tried to reassure Sally, but when they squeezed in behind the people in the radio shack, Elsie became alarmed at the silence. After a while the radio crackled, and there was a rush of Portuguese. Captain Teixeira turned to Charlie and said, “ Bom Sonho’s close. She got her own fix and the Coast Guard fix. She’s close, and she’s looking.”

Sally said, “What’s happening?”

Charlie turned. He saw Elsie, slid his eyes to Sally. “ Spartina sent a distress signal. The Coast Guard sent out a call. Bom Sonho’s the closest boat. She had a fix of her own when Dad called her, but she lost contact. It could just be … it could be a couple of things. Maybe Spartina lost power.” He turned back toward Captain Teixeira. He said, “I sh-should have been on board.” Without looking away from the radio Captain Teixeira held Charlie’s forearm and gave it a shake. Elsie understood it wasn’t Spartina losing power. She hoped Sally hadn’t understood.

Another silence. It seemed to Elsie to grow denser, as if compressed by everyone’s thoughts. Captain Teixeira’s shaking Charlie’s arm was in it; Charlie’s self-reproach was in it. What else was pressing through the silence? Was there reproach in Charlie’s look sliding away from her? Was he thinking, Why is she here and not May? Elsie felt the silence urging her to self-reproach so she would be more cleanly prepared for bad news.

She tried to stop. She couldn’t stop by herself. She leaned against Sally. No help. She imagined Sally reproaching herself for not having protected her son from Jack’s notion of how to make a man of Jack Junior.

She knew hers was a superstitious muddle. Her dumb pleasure in the tower room had nothing to do with what was happening at sea. What was happening at sea was physics, it had its own physics. But what was happening to her in this small room had its own physics, too, a rush of shame into the vacuum of not knowing.

Another crackle, a short sentence in Portuguese. Then four words that she could tell were counting — one, two, three, four. Captain Teixeira said to Charlie, “He sees them; they’re all there. He’s working her around to pick them up.”

In the next silence they all moved a step closer to Captain Teixeira’s broad back. At last another longer set of Portuguese sentences. Captain Teixeira answered, seemed to be giving orders. He didn’t translate. Charlie said, “Did you say ‘helicopter’?”

Captain Teixeira said, “Yes. They’re all on board. Your father didn’t have his survival suit on. The dory was stove in. They were lying across a piece of her. It was awash. Wait. I’ll see if they can ask Tony.” After another back-and-forth he said, “Tony’s not so good, either. He unzipped his survival suit and tried to hold your father against his chest. Tony’s below. They called a helicopter for your father.”

Elsie heard the words. They hung suspended for a moment. Then she saw Dick, Tony clutching Dick; she felt the waves rocking them, washing over them. She felt Dick getting colder.

She heard herself cry out. She grabbed Sally’s sweater, but it slipped through her hands.

When she came to, Charlie had his hand under the side of her head. He said, “Don’t move yet.”

Sally said, “Elsie, are you all right? Did you hit your head?”

“No,” Charlie said. “It came down on my sh-shoe. The top of my shoe.”

Like something to be scraped off, a bird dropping.

Captain Teixeira translated, “They’re waiting for the helicopter. Okay, he’s come to. He’s groggy, but they got a good pulse. Tony’s okay to stay on board. Okay. After they get Dick on the helicopter, Bom Sonho’s going to haul that one line of pots, then come in.”

“What?” Sally said. “Why don’t they just come in?”

Captain Teixeira turned. He said, “Elsie, what happened? Lift her feet, Charlie. Put your jacket under her head and lift her feet.”

Sally said, “Why don’t they come in as fast as they can?”

Captain Teixeira, who’d been leaning toward Elsie, sat up straight. “Mrs. Aldrich, I thank God your son is safe. They got him in a bunk all wrapped up. He’s doing good. Him and Tran and Tony. They had suits on. They got cold, but they stayed dry. I thank God Bom Sonho was close. I thank God she’s a fast boat. And the men on her did the right thing. So now I think it’s okay we let them earn what they got in those pots.”

Charlie said, “Excuse me, Mrs. Aldrich. Can you lift her feet? I’ve got to call my mother.”

“I’m fine,” Elsie said. “I’m going to sit up.”

Captain Teixeira said, “You help her, Charlie. Hold her shoulders. Is your mother alone? If she’s alone, you should go to her. Not a phone call. You see how Elsie keeled over.”

Elsie shut her eyes. Jesus, what else? Charlie put his hands under her shoulders and pushed her as she sat up. She leaned forward and grabbed her legs so he wouldn’t have to go on touching her. She said, “I’m sorry, Charlie. Sally needed me to come.”

He stood up. She heard him shake his jacket. He said, “Mom sent Tom to find Rose. If he finds her, he’ll bring her back to the house. So Rose might be there. Is it okay with you if I tell her along with Mom?”

“Yes.”

Sally said, “May I at least speak with my son?” Elsie was glad someone else was a problem.

“He’s in a bunk, Mrs. Aldrich. The radio’s in the wheelhouse. When he’s on his feet, and when they’re not busy, maybe there’s a good time. Right now I can have someone tell him you’re glad he’s safe. You can say that right now into this microphone.”

“Who will I be speaking to?”

“My grandson. He’s Ruy Teixeira like me. And he speaks English like me.”

Charlie was gone. Elsie was glad that the first words Sally said into the microphone were “thank you.”

At least Sally was redeeming herself.

Elsie tried to concentrate on the hopeful news. She thought of Dick’s blood warming his body, reaching his brain. She tried to think of what could comfort him for the loss of Spartina . She kept being interrupted by Charlie’s scorn for her. She could have defended herself against that, she could have been unashamed of her crying out, unashamed of her graceless sprawl — if she didn’t feel weakened by the echo of her crying out and sprawling in the tower room.

She got to her knees. She said to Captain Teixeira, “ Spartina went down?”

“Yes.”

“But Dick’s going to be all right?”

“Yes. They got him warmed up. You go home. Don’t drive yourself. Mrs. Aldrich, you got a car? Maybe you can drive your sister, make her take it easy. Your son’s okay. Come back after a while. When Bom Sonho’s steaming home, you can talk to your son.”