Come Home Safely to Me

“Come Home Safely to Me”

Suzanne Marsh

The cool, soft breeze caressed my face; I could almost feel Lucas’ hand. It was a day of great anticipation for me. I went up the stairs to the widow’s walk to watch for his four-masted schooner Miss Jenny. The breeze suddenly became cold, and I wrapped my shawl tighter around my thin shoulders. Something was wrong! I could feel it in the cold breeze. Lucas’s last letter to me stated that he would be home today, May 20, 1885. Black storm clouds loomed overhead; a sign of foreboding, as the wind began to whip the sea into a frenzy. I stared at the open sea, I should be able to see the Miss Jenny, but I don’t. The squall lasted only a few moments, but it scared me.

Captain Lucas March stood on the main deck, his large hands gripping the ship’s helm. The gale was tossing Miss Jenny around like a toy boat. He was not sure she would make land. He thought of his wife, Jenny, her slender form dressed in widow's weeds; she was only eighteen. He felt inside his jacket pocket, the locket contained a small oil painting of Jenny and a lock of her blond hair. Fear gripped Lucas. What would happen to his wife, Jenny? Lucas, his yellow oil slicker soaking wet, gave the order to abandon ship. The first mate, Jimmy Sloan, lowered the small wooden boat. The waves tossed the small dinghy around, and it began to sink. Water was overflowing the deck of the Jenny. She plunged to the bottom of Cape Cod, three miles from port.

Jenny, her slight figure shaking, flew down the steps of the widow's walk; she thought she caught a glimpse of the Jenny. Two days later, a letter arrived in Lucas’s handwriting. Her hands shook as she opened it:

My dearest Jenny,

If you are reading this, I am gone forever from your sight. I leave our home to you and any other material things. You made me a happy man, and I will always love you.

Lucas

Jenny wondered who sent the letter for Lucas. Fear gripped her; the Jenny was a sturdy ship; the chances were good he might have survived.

Morning dawned, the sky a blood red. Jenny rose with the sun; she had to go to Lawyer Dagget’s office with the letter from Lucas. He had provided well for her; she would be fine. She ate mechanically; everything seemed surreal to her. She stopped at the dressmaker’s to be fitted for widows' weeds, which she would wear for a year to mourn Lucas. She arrived at Lawyer Dagget’s offices early and was promptly told that Dagget would be in his office shortly. Jenny twisted her handkerchief and thought of Lucas. Lucas was her world. Lucas, the broad-shouldered, bearded captain, the man who rescued her from a fate worse than death. She began to sob once again as she clutched the letter to her. Dagget, although slightly weaving from the whiskey he had consumed for breakfast, arrived at the office. As he strode past Jenny, he motioned her into his office:

“Jenny, what brings you here this lovely day?” Jenny handed him the letter from Lucas, with a sob, then the tears began to tumble down her cheeks. Dagget scanned it quickly, his mind thinking about the amount he would charge Lucas’ estate. Jenny began to sob once again as she waited for Dagget to explain the will to her. Dagget told Jenny the estate settlement could take a few months, but she would have all that Lucas gave her.

The sole survivor of the Jenny, Jim Sloan, strode toward the captain’s house. Unsure of what to tell Jenny. He hated the thought of telling her he saw Lucas go down with the Jenny. He knocked on the door, and a black wreath was placed on the door that morning. Jenny answered the door, dressed completely in black, and Jim barely recognized her.

“Come in, Jim, thank you for coming.” Jim Sloan cleared his voice as he began:

“Jenny, there is no easy way to say this; Lucas went down with the ship. He tied himself to the

mast. I...I am so sorry, Jenny.”

Jenny began to swoon, Jim quickly looked around for smelling salts, but he did not see any. He went into the winter kitchen to fetch water. Jenny sipped the water, her color returning to her pallid face. She smiled wanly at Jim: “Thank you, Jim, I am all right now.” Jim stood to his full height of six feet; a strange feeling passed over him. He was ready to leave, but that same strange feeling once again told him to stay there; Jenny’s life was in danger.

Dagget waited and watched; he thought: ‘That damn Sloan, he needs to leave NOW!’ Dagget supposed that Lucas’ estate would go to Jenny; he plotted to marry her. Lucas had two schooners; Jenny only knew about the Jenny. Sloan knew about both ships; he and Lucas were friends. Lucas trusted both Sloan and Dagget with Jenny’s life. Dagget, his mind reeling with thoughts of his last meeting with Lucas.

Dagget was a strange, odious little man; he liked women, especially blonds with blue eyes. He smacked his lips as he thought about Jenny. He decided that if she would not marry him, he would take her life. He disliked Sloan, always had. Sloan stood between him and a rather large estate, money he would make good use of. He thought about purchasing at least two more schooners. ‘Yes’, he thought, those would be a start to building his empire.

Sloan was being drawn to Jenny, as if she were a magnet. She was beautiful, her eyes of azure blue, flaming red hair, skin of alabaster, and a smile that would melt a man’s heart. Jenny needed protection; she was only eighteen. Lucas extracted a promise from Sloan: “Should anything happen to me, protect Jenny, marry her.”

Jenny brushed her long blond hair as she prepared for bed. Sloan took up a position on the opposite side of the street. Dagget moved silently through the darkness of the night; the candle in the window was in Jenny’s bedroom. A rose trellis located close to Jenny’s window; Dagget began his climb.

Sloan moved with the stealth of a panther, running silently toward the trellis that Dagget was climbing. Jenny, hearing the commotion outside her window, promptly grabbed Lucas’ sword.

Sloan grabbed Dagget’s foot, attempting to pull him down from the trellis. Dagget kicked Sloan with the heel of his boot. Sloan punched Dagget in the belly. Jenny, Lucas’ sword in her small hand, came clunking down the stairs from her bedroom to find Dagget and Sloan fighting. Both men turned when they heard the sword dragging on the ground. Dagget’s face turned white as Sloan stared wide-eyed. The sheriff arrived momentarily, arrested Dagget for unlawful entry. Sloan stepped toward the trembling Jenny: “Jenny, will you marry me?” Jenny was taken aback. In the past month, she had come to care deeply for Jim Sloan; he was not Lucas but a good man. They would together build a shipping empire. One year to the day Lucas passed with his ship, Jim Sloan stood together with Jenny on the deck of the Jenny II. Jenny stood silently for a moment before she turned to face Sloan: “Please come home safely to me.”