The Widow's Walk (21 page)

They were standing topsides on a huge sailing ship in the dark of night. There was a terrible storm raging, the likes of which Garrett had never seen. He knew very little about ships, but even he could tell that this vessel was in dire straits.

The ship seemed to be powered only by sail, for he saw no smokestacks. Two of the masts had already come crashing down and lay atop the deck, hopelessly entangled in their own sails and rigging. Crewmen were scrambling across the decks and up the remaining masts, trying to secure everything as best they could, but even to Garrett's untrained eye, their efforts seemed too little and too late. When he turned to look behind him, he saw that the ship's wheel had been tied off.

Suddenly, another lightning flash cracked across the sky, followed by even more fierce thunder and lashing rain. While he and Constance did their best to hold on to some rigging near the starboard gunwale, the ship lurched violently again, nearly capsizing in the angry sea.

Just then he saw something glint during another of the lightning flashes, and Garrett narrowed his eyes, doing his best to see what it was. When at last he understood, he could scarcely believe it. It was a brass plaque, affixed to the forward wall of the wheelhouse. The plaque read:

T
HE
A
MERICAN
W
HALING
S
HIP
I
NTREPID

B
UILT
AND
C
OMMISSIONED
IN
THE
Y
EAR
OF
O
UR
L
ORD
,
1830 A.D.

M
AY
G
OD
W
ATCH
O
VER
H
ER

Despite the storm howling all around him, the name
“Intrepid”
spurred something in Garrett's memories. Moments later he remembered, and although he knew that he was right, he still couldn't believe it.

Can all of this actually be happening?
Garrett's frantic mind shouted at him.
Are Constance and I actually standing on the deck of the
Intrepid
on the night she met her terrible fate? And if that's true, then—

Garrett immediately turned to look at Constance. She was still standing right beside him, holding on to some of the rigging for dear life. As the ship lurched drastically again, it was all the two of them could do to keep from being washed overboard. But through it all, Constance seemed to be quite mesmerized by something. She stared straight ahead toward the bow of the ship, her gaze unmoving despite the continuing terror. When Garrett tried to shout at her, she refused to answer, even though his lips had been mere inches from her ear. It was as if she had become hysterically frozen in the moment, all her thoughts and energy focused on a single thing.

Trying to understand, Garrett turned and looked through the blinding rain in the same direction. When the next flash of lightning arrived and its radiance dashed across the deck, at last Garrett saw the reason for Constance's supreme stalwartness.

Adam Canfield, captain of the
Intrepid,
was standing in the bow of the ship and peering intently into the darkness. It had to be Adam, for something in Garrett's heart told him so.

Garrett could not see Adam well, because Adam's back was to him. Adam stood almost proudly in the bow, his arms outstretched to either side, his hands grasping opposing rigging lines to help keep his balance. The bravery being displayed was overwhelming, and like Constance, for a time all Garrett could do was to stand and watch. It was at that exact moment Constance let go of the rigging and tried to scrabble her way forward across the pitching deck.

As Garrett realized what she was doing, his heart was torn between allowing her to try and reach her beloved husband, or grabbing her up to keep her as safe as possible while the
Intrepid
pitched violently in the hellish storm. He could not know for certain whether what he and Constance were experiencing was real. If he let her go and she went overboard, would she truly drown?

He had always heard that it was impossible to die in one's dreams, which lent credence to letting her try and reach her husband. But this felt like no dream, Garrett realized. The cold was mind numbing, the harsh storm wind and rain stung his face like a thousand needles, and the groaning hull and masts called out to him torturously, as if begging to be released from the storm's terrible fury. He knew in his heart that this beleaguered ship would soon end up on the bottom of the ocean.

Suddenly a wave clambered up the port side and literally exploded over the gunwale. It washed across the deck with such force that it literally picked up a crewman in its maw, then swept the screaming man directly across the deck and tossed him over the opposite gunwale like so much debris. People were dying here, and Garrett knew that he could never forgive himself if something happened to Constance.

For better or worse, Garrett reached down and grabbed her by the waist then held her to him, imprisoning her tightly. While trying to keep her immobile with one arm, he used his other arm to again grab some rigging in an attempt to keep them both from being swept overboard.

Enraged, Constance screamed at him and banged on his arm with her fists in an effort to free herself. When she found that she could not break Garrett's grasp, she began screaming Adam's name at the top of her lungs.

It was then that Garrett first realized none of the crewmen could see or hear them. For the time being at least, he had again joined Constance in her anonymous netherworld. But then to his great surprise, he saw Adam suddenly turn and stare directly toward them. However, instead of looking
at
them, Adam seemed to stare straight
through
them. After several more moments of this, Adam gave up and returned to searching the dark sea lying up ahead.

When Constance saw Adam turn back around, she began screaming and hitting Garrett again with even greater ferocity. It was all he could now do to keep control of her, and hold on to the rigging at the same time. And then, from out of nowhere he saw a giant wave bearing down on them. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Towering nearly thirty feet high, the deadly, froth-tipped giant raced directly toward the
Intrepid'
s port bow. When it hit, Garrett and Constance watched in horror as it took Adam overboard.

Just then Garrett felt his consciousness slipping away again. With Constance still wrapped tightly in his arms, they too splashed into the cold, dark ocean.

Chapter 20

When Garrett awakened, he found himself lying on the dining room floor. Constance lay on her side next to him, still unconscious. Instinctively, he placed two fingers against the side of her neck, checking for a pulse. To his relief he found that she was alive, her heartbeat steady but slow.

The fire in the hearth had gone out, and the dining room had grown cold. The night sky was still visible through the windows, and when he checked his watch it said a little past 2:00
A
.
M
. He was almost surprised he and Constance weren't soaking wet, again causing him to wonder whether it had all been real, or just a dream.

When he stood up he had to shake off some lingering dizziness, but he soon recovered. Bending down, he picked Constance up in his arms and carried her to the sofa. For a time he debated whether to try and rouse her. It would be another five hours or so before Jay and his crew arrived, which gave him ample time to try, should Constance not awaken on her own.

After bringing in some more kindling and firewood, he set another fire and nursed it until it was burning strongly. He checked on Constance again, then walked into the parlor and made a fresh pot of coffee on Jay's setup. There were some leftover doughnuts in the box, and although he knew they would be stale, he didn't care. Next, he went out to the veranda and brought one of the folding chairs inside the house so that he could watch over Constance, then returned to the dining room with a cup of black coffee and a rather dry cinnamon doughnut.

Despite the poor quality of the food, he was so hungry and thirsty that they actually tasted good. Once the doughnut was gone he went back into the parlor for more coffee and then returned to watch Constance again. She had changed position on the sofa but had yet to awaken.

As he sat staring at her lovely face, his mind became crowded with questions that had no answers. Clearly he had experienced another flashback. Coupled with the one from the night before, this now made two events in as many days. But why had they happened? And when Constance awakened, would she remember it as he did, or had she perhaps suffered an entirely different experience all her own? Totally stymied, Garrett sighed deeply then scrubbed his face with both hands.

Just then he remembered the plaque that had been affixed to the wall of the
Intrepid'
s wheelhouse. Part of it had read: “
May God Watch Over Her.”
Garrett shook his head.
God certainly wasn't much help that night,
he thought.

Now more than ever he knew that he must find the answers, despite his trepidation. These psychic events were coming faster, which concerned him deeply. Did this mean that their lives would eventually become nothing but a nonstop series of these bizarre occurrences? he wondered. Although Garrett had never been afraid of much, the awful nature of such an existence terrified him.

Constance groaned a little, separating Garrett from his thoughts. He looked down at her lovingly and gently stroked her face. How much he cared for this woman! She had come into his life as if on a summer breeze, yet still seemed equally capable of vanishing just as quickly. Even so, he no longer worried that she might abandon him. But he also knew that if she did ever leave Seaside and strike out on her own, not only would he worry about her all the rest of his days, but his heart would be irreparably broken, as well.

He shuddered to think of the pain she would feel when she awakened. Knowing that Adam had died was awful enough, but actually going back in time and seeing it happen was horrible beyond imagining. For several moments he tried to understand why such a thing would be forced upon her. Had the powers behind all this actually wanted Constance to witness her husband's death?

At last she groaned a little more and opened her eyes. As she gazed at her surroundings, a confused expression overtook her face. He immediately reached down and took her into his arms. She did not fight him, and he could feel her tears moisten his cheek as she clung to him. After a time, she raised her head and again looked into his eyes.

“Are you all right?” he asked gently.

“I watched him die . . .” she said softly.

“I know,” Garrett answered. “I was there too. Do you remember?”

“Yes,” she said, “I remember. You kept me from going to him. I was so angry that I struck you. I am sorry, Garrett, but it was just so awful . . .”

Trying his best to comfort her, he reached down and stroked her face.

“I can't begin to know how you're suffering,” he said, “but if I had let you go to Adam, you both might have died. That was something I just couldn't risk. Even now, we still don't know whether what we experienced was real, or just a dream.”

Constance sat up on the couch a little more. As she did her head swam, but after a few moments the dizziness abated. She looked longingly at Garrett's coffee cup.

“Is there more?” she asked.

He smiled at her.

“Yes,” he answered. “But don't tell me you're actually thirsty?”

Constance shook her head.

“I just want to taste it. And are there additional doughnuts? One of those would be welcome too.”

Garrett laughed a little.

“Yeah,” he answered, “but they're stale as hell.”

“No matter,” Constance answered.

“Okay,” Garrett said. “I'll be right back.”

While Garrett was in the parlor, Constance took a moment to look around the dining room. The new couch and cocktail table were certainly a blessing, and the fire that Garrett had set was comforting. But as she thought back to the episode aboard the
Intrepid,
she again felt chilled by what she had witnessed. Like the two times before, seeing Adam again had been a great shock. But this latest episode had been vastly different, in that she actually saw him die.

Garrett returned with the coffee and a doughnut. After finishing them both, she set the cup on the table.

“Thank you,” she said.

Garrett leaned back against the sofa and looked at her. Despite the pain she was feeling, he knew that she was trying to be brave. He didn't want to push her, but he also felt that they should discuss their experience now, while it remained fresh in their minds.

“I have a lot of questions about this,” he said. “And I don't suppose you have any more answers than I do, but I'd like to ask you a few things, just the same. Given everything that you've just been through, do you feel up to it?”

Constance nodded. “I will try,” she answered.

“This was my second flashback,” Garrett said, “and the first episode we've shared that we both remember. Do you have any idea why that might be?”

Constance shook her head.

“We slumped to the floor unconscious,” Garrett added, “and I tried to break our fall. We woke up in the hold of that ship, which brings me to another question. You said that you knew where we were. How was that possible?”

“I have visited the
Intrepid
several times,” Constance said. “Never while Adam was out to sea hunting whales, but he enjoyed taking me aboard sometimes, when she was tied up at the pier. How he loved to show me all the things that made such a grand ship work! Even so, I am not sure how I knew that we were in one of the holds. I guess that's just another of our unanswered questions.