Chapter 8

Jenni and Anh had only the one night with their men; the following day, Thursday, (Maundy Thursday) would be for tidying up the minor maintenance work that the short cruise had shown up, then the first party of the year would arrive in the evening, so they made the most of it and emerged from their cabins well after half-past eight, They found Tom in the galley, all ready to prepare cooked breakfasts for them. He blushed when they praised him, and even more when Jenni kissed him on the cheek. They spent a couple of hours making sure everything was 'shipshape'; there wasn't much to do, really; Jenni and Marty stitched at a seam on the mizzen sail that had lifted, Terry and Anh tidying cabins and checking life-preservers and other safety equipment. Around mid-day, Marty called Tom.

"You've done very well," he told him, "and I think I can trust you. How do you feel about being left on your own on Emily Jane for the afternoon? I'll leave you a list of little odds and ends that need doing, but the most important thing is the delivery of stores for our next cruise; that should be arriving between two and four. I'm expecting the party from Birmingham to arrive about six. I ought to be back by then, but if they're early, you may have to greet them and get them assigned to cabins."

Tom looked at him. "You trust me like that?"

"Certainly. You've worked hard, learned a lot and I think you really want to make a success of this. I want to spend some time with my wife, and Annie and Terry would like some time together away from the barge. So, what do you say?"

"Thank you, Skipper! I don't mind ... I'd like to do that."

"Just one thing, Tom. If there're any visitors, you know ... people interested in the ship or the charity, they're more important than the bits and pieces I'm leaving you with. You know enough to explain things and there are brochures you can give them – you know where they are."

The two couples left to get some lunch, do some personal shopping and walk together. Tom began by making himself some lunch, then went on deck to replace the serving on an eye-splice on one of the stays. He was deeply engrossed in that when someone coughed behind him. He jerked round, dropping the serving-mallet; a hand shot past his shoulder and grabbed the serving to stop it unwinding.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you." The voice was warm, a sweet soprano. He looked round. "I should pick up the mallet and tighten up that serving, if I were you."

He recognised Amy, but wasn't sure how to relate to her; he picked up the serving-mallet, rewound the marline (a sort of coarse twine) and took up the tension again so she could let go of the work.

"They've left you all on your own?"

He nodded as he concentrated on completing the serving and finishing off.

"That's a lovely bit of work," she praised.

"Thank you," he said, a little awkwardly. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Thank you, I'd love one, if I'm not interfering with your work."

"I'm supposed to welcome visitors," he said, not quite sure how to treat the young woman.

"Then, I will be a visitor and have a cup of tea, and you can tell me all about Emily Jane. I know Jenni and Marty well, but I really don't know much about the barges."

When they had their tea, he said, "would you mind sitting on deck to drink it? I'm expecting a delivery of supplies for the next cruise."

"Surely. I'd be happy to help with them, if you like."

The young man, that John had difficulty getting one-word answers out of, was positively garrulous when he began talking about barges. He'd obviously devoured every scrap of information he could find about them and talked excitedly to Amy until the truck arrived and they had to carry bags and bags of food aboard. The driver wanted Amy to sign for the delivery.

"Oh, no; I'm just visiting. Tom, here, is in charge."

The driver did not look convinced, but let Tom scribble his name on the electronic pad. He left, and the food and drink had to be stowed away.

"Will ... would you like to stay for tea?" Tom asked her once they'd finished.

"I'd like to, Tom, but I need to get back to my children. They're with a friend at the moment, but I'd prefer not to leave them too long; they'll be expecting me back."

Watching his face, she saw ... disappointment, perhaps, sadness, maybe – and what else?

The minibus carrying the party from the Birmingham inner-city youth-club arrived at the dock-side just before five-thirty. Ten assorted young people, several larger than Tom, with a man and woman in charge of them clambered out with kit-bags, holdalls, rucksacks and sleeping bags in stuff-bags. Tom met them at the gang-plank; the man was in the lead.

"Good afternoon, sir," he said. "I'm Tom Carmichael, Third Hand. The Skipper and Mate are saying goodbye to their wives and said they'd be back by six, and if you arrived before, to invite you aboard and help you sort out berths for everyone."

The man suppressed a smile, offering his hand to shake. "Thank you, Tom. I'm Rob Clark; my colleague bringing up the rear, there, is Susan James." He turned to his group. "Come on, people, come aboard."

They all assembled on the deck, looking at Tom, who raised his voice to address them. "There are lots of ways to get hurt on any boat. The Skipper or the Mate will give you all a safety lecture when they get here. In the meantime, please make sure if you're on deck that you have someone with you. If you'll follow me, I'll show you below to the cabins and the life-preserver storage. Please take a life-preserver and wear it when you're on deck. They are self-inflating if you do go overboard, and they aren't too uncomfortable. You'll soon get used to them." Turning to Rob, he asked, "Have you had a cooked meal today? If not, we'll need to get something in the oven."

"I think we'd all appreciate something hot to eat," the man said.

"Baked potatoes and chilli con carne?" Tom asked.

"Sounds good, if you could do some beans or something for a couple of vegetarians."

"I think so. Won't you all come below?"

Tom pointed out the life-jackets at the bottom of the companionway.

"There are six cabins," Tom said. "two of them have a double bunk and a single, two of them three singles, and two with two singles. There shouldn't be a problem finding a comfortable berth for everyone. We are only allowed twelve passengers, but the extra bunks are for flexibility. If you'd like to settle who goes where, I'll make a start on supper."

Tom had about finished scrubbing baking potatoes and putting them in the oven and the kettles were boiling when Marty and Terry returned. He explained what he'd done.

"Excellent work, Tom. Can you make tea and start heating the chilli and beans while I talk to the group? Terry can deal with the tea and find biscuits to keep them going."

"Sure, Skipper." Marty noticed that Tom was much more comfortable than he had been.