Apocalyptic pirates 2, p.20
Apocalyptic Pirates 2, page 20
“He sounds like a good dad.” Ally smiled.
“He’s great,” Shannon agreed.
“I know I told Drew, but I’m not sure if I told you,” Ally said. “My father passed away a few years ago.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Letty frowned.
“Thank you.” Ally shrugged softly. “It was to be expected. He and my mother passed one right after another. It was really sweet, actually. But Shannon, the way you describe your father reminds me of the way I describe my own. Good men don’t push others to be anything but what they want to be.”
“You’re right about that,” Shannon agreed. “I kinda miss him.”
“That’s so sweet that you two both had such good fathers,” Letty sighed dreamily.
“What about your dad?” Shannon asked softly. “Was he in the picture at all?”
“No.” She shook her head. “At least, my biological father wasn’t. My mama, god bless her, she struggled with addiction for a long time. It started after she had me, my aunty says she had postpartum depression, but I’m no doctor to be makin’ that call. All I know is that she left me with my aunty one day when I was about ten months old, said she was goin’ to a job interview, and never came back.”
“Oh, my god,” Ally gasped and covered her mouth. “How awful.”
“That’s shitty.” Shannon shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, don’t be.” Letty smiled. “Everything happens for a reason, right? I wouldn’t have traded my life with my aunty and uncle for anything.”
“So, they raised you after your mom left?” I asked. “That’s incredibly generous of them.”
“They’re good people,” Letty said, and she looked down for a moment and then cleared her throat. “They’ve always been real good to me. My aunty was always a real Southern lady, and she had me in pageants from the time I was little, just like she was. Raised me as if I was her own.”
“What about your uncle?” I asked.
“Uncle Ray,” Letty laughed and shook her head. “He was a card. He died about five years back. Heart attack. But when I was little, oh, man, he included me in everything, much to Devin’s dismay.”
“So, the two of you were raised as siblings, then?” Shannon asked.
“More or less.” Letty smiled. “Devin was a few years older than me, and we called each other cousins ‘cause that’s what we were, but he was basically my brother. He used to get so mad at his dad for letting me go fishin’ or join in their shootin’ practice.”
“You can shoot?” I asked, and my eyebrows flew up to the sky as I stared at the pink-clad woman in wedge heels.
“I don’t claim to be an expert by any means,” she said. “But I know how to load a shotgun, and my uncle taught me to shoot first, ask questions later. That’s about the extent of my gun knowledge, though.”
“Don’t worry.” Shannon grinned and winked. “We’ll work on it.”
“I wouldn’t mind that,” Letty chuckled.
“I could hardly hit a thing before Shannon started working with me,” I said.
“Give yourself some credit,” Shannon scoffed. “You weren’t that bad.”
“I wasn’t great, either,” I laughed.
“Well, no.” She shrugged.
“So, where were you when all of this happened?” Ally asked Letty. “Did your aunty live nearby?”
“No.” Letty shook her head. “I was scouting out some houses for a client of mine when everything went crazy. My aunty lives in South Carolina still, just a few streets over from my own house. If she was close, I would have gone to her place, but with the way things were, I thought Devin was the safer choice because he lived so close. And I was already plannin’ on visiting, though I certainly didn’t plan on stayin’ like I had to.”
“I can’t imagine where some people wound up.” I shook my head. “I mean, I was at the airport when all this happened, and I rushed to the marina and found a boat, but most people probably got caught in the fray. Can you imagine being at the grocery store or at your friend’s house when all this started?”
“I was on a yacht in the middle of nowhere,” Shannon pointed out. “And yeah, I can say from experience that I would much rather have been at home. At least then I would have had my emergency kits on hand.”
“Of course you have emergency kits,” I chuckled.
“You don’t?” she asked.
“I mean, I have a box with some flashlights and matches and stuff,” I said. “But no, I didn’t have any actual emergency kit like the one you’re talking about. I lived in western Washington. The most we get is a lot of rain.”
“Fair point.” She nodded. “But you should always have an emergency bag.”
“You should,” Ally agreed.
“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you have an emergency bag at your house,” I scoffed.
“Is that so hard to believe?” Ally asked.
“Yes.” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Well, would it make it easier to believe if I said that I’ve never actually used it?” Ally asked. “It just sits in the garage just in case. Honestly, I’m not even sure what’s in it.”
“Yep, I believe that,” I laughed and took another sip of Scotch.
“I gotta say, all that plannin’ didn’t do much for y’all this time, did it?” Letty chuckled.
“No.” Shannon pursed her lips and swirled her Scotch. “No, it didn’t.”
Just then, my leg began to vibrate, and I immediately pulled my phone out of my pocket to see that Sam was FaceTiming me.
I swiped my finger across the screen, and it picked up the call.
“Sammy girl!” I grinned as her adorable face came on the screen.
She was sitting on the couch between my parents, and the three of them stared at the phone with concern at first, but as soon as they realized I’d picked up, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
“Dad, are you alright?” Sam asked. “We tried calling you a couple of times today.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” I told her seriously. “I haven’t had service for most of the day. I’m surprised I have it now, actually. It’s only two bars, but still.”
“Okay.” Sam nodded. “We figured that’s what it was, but we were just a little worried, that’s all.”
“Oh, don’t listen to her,” my mom laughed. “She’s been worried sick about you.”
“Grandma,” Sam hissed.
“I worry about you, too, Sammy girl,” I said with a smile.
“I just miss you,” Sam said, and her light-brown eyebrows crinkled. “And we heard some stuff on the news that had us worried.”
“Oh, she’s right, Drew-boo,” my mom said, and Letty nearly snorted out Scotch. “What was that?”
“Oh, um, that was just Letty,” I said, and I spun the phone around so everyone could see.
“Hello,” Letty said as she composed herself. “I’m Letty.”
“I’m Lori,” my mother introduced herself. “And this here is Bill, and of course, that’s Sam. But I’m sorry, you said your name was Letty, is that right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Letty nodded.
“And where did you come from?” she pushed.
“Moooommm,” I groaned and ran my hand down my face.
“Well, I’m sorry,” she scoffed defensively. “You just seem to be accumulating beautiful women at this point. Forgive me for trying to figure out where they’re all coming from.”
“Oh, my god, Mom,” I sighed as my face burned bright red. “I’m not accumulating women. Letty needed some help, so we helped her, that’s all.”
“He’s putting it mildly,” Letty said, and she scooted closer to me. “Drew and Ally and Shannon saved me. I would have died of an asthma attack if they hadn’t been there.”
“Oh, my dear girl,” my mom gasped. “Asthma? And with all the fires? You poor thing. You must be struggling to breathe all the time.”
“I was.” Letty nodded. “But your son is a good man, and he and Ally went into town and got me some inhalers.”
“Oh, good.” My mom nodded. “Yes, he is a good man. Not like one of those flashy guys who throws his money around but can’t be found when you really need him.”
“What kind of experience do you have with men like that?” my dad scoffed.
“I dated before you,” my mom said, and she straightened her shoulders indignantly.
“That was thirty years ago, woman,” he laughed.
“I had some bad suitors in my day,” my mom insisted.
“Alright, enough about your former dating experience,” I sighed. “What was it that you saw on the news?”
“The Coast Guard has gotten even worse,” Sammy said.
“Yes, she’s right.” My mom nodded fervently. “They’re really cracking down harder every day. The news said they’re stopping every boat they see and requiring documentation of ownership. Everyone without those papers is getting arrested and their boats are being seized.”
“They’re stopping every single boat?” Ally gasped. “They have time for that with dragons running rampant?”
“The world is in a state of emergency,” Shannon whispered. “They can utilize their time however they see fit. These are the kinds of situations that lead to corruption and innocent people dying. The government gives the military and police way too much power in times like this. They can basically arrest you just for breathing.”
“Ally, you mentioned before that this is your ex-husband’s boat, right?” my mom asked.
“That’s right, Mrs. Peeltin.” Ally nodded.
“Lori, please, dear.” My mom waved a hand insistently. “You wouldn’t happen to have the boat title, would you?”
“No,” Ally said, and she shook her head sadly. “I don’t. And I know for a fact that it’s not on the yacht, either. Lonnie was always so paranoid that someone was going to try and steal it, so he never kept it on the boat. He had a special safe in his house where it was locked up, and he just kept a picture of the registration on his phone.”
“I see.” My mom frowned.
“I tried to tell him it didn’t matter,” Ally muttered and crossed her arms. “It wasn’t even the most expensive yacht in the harbor. I don’t know why someone would steal this one over another.”
“Because they couldn’t figure out how to drive the other one,” I said with an amused look.
“Oh, right,” Ally sighed. “I guess you chose this over the other yachts.”
“And I’m glad I did,” I said before turning back to my mother. “Thank you for the tip, Mom. We’ll be sure to stay clear of the Coast Guard.”
“Yes, just be safe out there,” my dad said. “I’m sure it’s been wild.”
I could have told him how we’d killed an entire small gang earlier in self-defense, but my daughter was right there, and I didn’t want to concern her any more than she already was, so I just nodded and agreed.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s pretty crazy out here. But we’re making it work. How are you guys doing?”
“Oh, we’re fine,” my mom insisted.
“Food?” I asked.
“We’ve got food,” my dad answered. “Sammy and I caught more fish than we needed today, too, so we took them to the neighbor and traded her for a box of fresh produce from her garden.”
“Our plants are growing, though,” my mom added. “We’ve already got little sprouts.”
“You know, if you’ve got some leftover fish parts, you can use ‘em as fertilizer for your garden,” Letty said.
“Is that right?” my mom asked, and she cocked her head with interest. “I had no idea about that.”
“Oh, you absolutely can.” The Southern woman nodded. “Just use the stuff you don’t want. And you can use the bones, too, after you boil ‘em to make bone broth.”
“I hadn’t thought about that, either.” My mom blinked.
“My aunty had a big ol’ garden growin’ up,” Letty chuckled. “And my uncle liked to fish. I know all the tricks.”
“Well, that will certainly come in handy,” my mom said.
“I’ll do some more research on it after we get off the phone,” Sam said, and she jotted something down in her notebook. “Thank you.”
“Oh, of course.” Letty smiled. “I sort of hitched a ride here, so I’ll be as useful as I can be.”
“I’m sure you’ll be plenty useful,” my mom chuckled, and then she locked eyes with me. “I like her.”
“More than me?” Shannon teased.
“Weeeellll,” my mom teased back, and Shannon laughed.
“It’s the accent.” Letty grinned playfully. “It reels people right in.”
“Whereabouts are you from, Letty?” my dad asked.
“I’m from South Carolina,” Letty answered.
“Oh, I see.” He nodded. “Well, the more, the merrier. I assume you’re sticking with Drew and Ally and Shannon all the way to Niihau?”
“If that’s alright with you, Mr. Peeltin,” she said.
“It’s just fine with us, dear.” My mom smiled. “And as long as you keep giving us pointers for the garden, we may even have some homegrown food for you when you arrive.”
“Don’t get greedy, now,” Letty warned. “It ain’t about how fast the fruit comes, only how juicy it is.”
Everybody laughed then, and I glanced over at Letty to see that she was eating this up. Maybe it was the pageant queen in her, or maybe it was her years as a realtor, but she was incredibly personable, and it was absolutely downright intoxicating.
“Well, you’ll have to see for yourself when you get here,” my mom chuckled.
“Oh, I plan to,” Letty laughed. “The garden is probably where I’ll be the most useful. I ain’t worth my weight on this boat.”
“I’m sure Drew can find something for you to do.” My mom waved her hand dismissively.
“I’m here to help however I can,” Letty promised. “And I gotta say, Mr. and Mrs. Peeltin, you’ve done a wonderful job with your son. He’s a perfect gentleman, and I appreciate everything he’s done for me.”
“Aww, well, thank you, Letty.” My mom smiled and put her hand on her chest.
“I’m starting to feel like we’re chopped liver over here,” Shannon laughed and nudged Ally.
“Oh, we still love you two,” my mom told them with a little tongue click. “Don’t be so jealous of the new girl.”
“I told you,” Letty chuckled. “It’s just the accent. It’s quite the charmer.”
“How much longer does the GPS say, Dad?” Sam asked.
“We’re still looking at a few weeks,” I told her, and my heart sank at how her face fell. “I know, baby. But we’re going to be there just as quick as we can, alright?”
“We really are trying to go as fast as possible,” Ally added softly.
“That’s right,” Shannon agreed. “We’re going to get your dad to you, Sammy girl. Just hang in there.”
Letty smiled at Shannon and Ally, and I sensed that she longed to join in but didn’t feel quite comfortable enough doing so.
“We’re heading to you, Sammy,” I said. “We had a bit of a detour into town today, but we got the hose we needed to fill the tank, so we won’t have to stop again. It’s just smooth sailing from here on out.”
I smiled, but I knew it didn’t reach my eyes.
There was no such thing as smooth sailing in the world now. No matter how quickly we tried to move, there was bound to be someone in our way every now and then. We could handle our own, but even still, all these fights were definitely slowing us down.
“I know, Dad.” Sam took a deep breath and nodded. “I just miss you, that’s all. I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, baby girl.” I smiled as my mom pulled Sam close and kissed her head.
It felt good to know that even if I couldn’t be there for her right now, my mom and dad were. And I knew they treated her with the same respect and love they’d raised me with. She wasn’t with me, but she was in good hands.
And that was almost better. My mind went back to that little boy with his mother, and my heart sank at the thought of Sam being on the ocean with me right now. She was better off with my parents, where she could live a moderately normal life. It might not last forever, but it was better than the piracy and gunfights we had out here on the ocean.
“Well, I’m about to get started on some lunch for us,” my mom announced. “Why don’t we let you go, and you all get some rest? I’m sure it’s getting late over there.”
“It is.” I nodded and looked at Sam. “But we’ll talk soon, alright? You can call me whenever, and if I don’t answer, it’s probably just the service. But feel free to text or send me pictures or whatever, alright? I love you, Sammy girl.”
“I love you, too, Dad.” She smiled. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay, baby.” I nodded. “Talk soon. Bye Mom, bye Dad.”
“Bye Mr. and Mrs. Peeltin!” Ally shouted. “Bye Sam!”
“Bye Ally,” Sam said. “Bye Shannon, and bye Letty.”
“Goodbye, sweet girl,” Letty said. “So good to meet all of you.”
“Keep your chin up, girly!” Shannon smiled.
“Love you, Dad,” Sam said.
“Love you, Sam,” I said, and with that, I hit the end button and hung my head.
“Aw,” Ally cooed, and she rubbed my back softly. “I know you must miss her.”
“Like crazy,” I said. “But I’m glad she’s with my parents. I keep thinking about that mom and her kid we saved earlier. I can’t imagine having Sammy out on the water right now, it would be horrible for both of us. At least I know she’s safe.”
“Your parents are great,” Shannon said. “And they have such good relationships with their neighbors.”
“You’re a good father,” Letty said with a soft smile. “Sammy really loves you, anybody could see that.”
“She’s right,” Ally agreed.
“Thanks.” I shook my head and reached for my drink. “Alright, enough sappiness. We’re supposed to be partying, remember?”
“That’s right,” Shannon chuckled and grabbed her own Scotch.
“Um, before I continue partying,” Letty said. “I noticed that none of you seem particularly… dirty.”
