The Song of the Sea

40. Home

Everything was so familiar yet so strange to Jacob. It felt like he was dreaming. Certain things were just as he remembered, like the harbour wall, the white chain link fence along the path, the lawn in front of the row of neat little shops, Old Ma's bakery with it's red and white awning. But some things had changed. Like the new gate at the end of the jetty, the boathouse that used to be painted white but was now a dark grey and his brother David who now had a beard. And children! Not a baby with another on the way, but two actual walking, talking children!

There had been one awkward moment when Liza, David's wife, had introduced him to her friend Jessica. It was obvious from both Liza and Jessica's expressions that there had been an ulterior motive to the introduction, but Jacob wasn't one to be rude, so he'd been as polite and friendly as possible without leading the poor girl on. He would have been more worried about it if it wasn't for the fact that they would probably be back out at sea again within a month. He made a mental note to avoid her as much as possible.

Jacob and his men were swept up in the excitement of their homecoming and were herded into the local tavern. The energy of the room was infectious. Everyone was talking. The locals wanted to hear about their travels and Jacob and his men wanted to catch up on everything they'd missed at home. And just when things started to calm down, more friends and family would come bursting into the tavern and another round of hugs would ensue.

As much as Jacob was enjoying himself, he was also waiting for an opportunity to excuse himself so he could go and find Raephier.

He'd spent the last hour cursing himself for not thinking this far ahead and figuring out a way to integrate Raephier in with the gathering. He was sure that Raephier wouldn't want them to know what he was and Jacob thought this was probably for the best. As much as Jacob loved his home, the people on the island were ignorant of many things. Magic included. And when people didn't understand something, they tended to fear it.

Homosexuality was also a topic that was never dicussed. There weren't any laws against it, like Jacob had seen in other lands, but he knew several of the inhabitants who would undoubtedly make his life difficult if he introduced Raephier as anything that wasn't platonic.

He hadn't really been too concerned about it before. Mainly because he didn't intend on staying here. Jacob loved the sea and saw his ship as his home just as much as the island. And then once they were back at sea they could be what they wanted. Men, who spent years at sea with only other men for company, were a lot less judgemental about same sex relationships.

Jacob thought he was keeping his concerns about Raephier hidden until Pete sidled over to him and quietly said,

"Are you ok? You seem a little distracted."

Jacob sighed and turned to Pete.

"I'm just concerned about Raephier. I'm not even sure where he is. Do you think anyone will notice if I slipped out and went to see if I could find him?"

Pete laughed and slapped Jacob on the back.

"Not notice the hero of the hour leaving his own celebration?"

Jacob felt his heart sink at Pete's words.

Pete shook his head and patted Jacob on the shoulder.

"I got this," Pete said before he stood up and banged his hand on the bar grabbing everyone's attention.

"I hate to break up the celebrations," he said addressing the crowd, "but we have a boat load of supplies sitting in the dock which we need to unload."

A general groan went up from Jacob's men.

"Can't we do it tomorrow?" James asked.

"And risk it being pilfered away from under our noses?"