Chapter 15: Farewell

The small boat with three sailors touched shore where Nani and Loni were standing knee deep waiting to pull the boat onto the beach. As many times as Jake saw the two ladies, he was amazed by their beauty and grace. If there wasn’t so much to do, Jake mused how much he would like to go with Nani and spend some time alone. He was pleased to note he never grew tired of her. Instead, he found his desire and passion for her growing.

After the three men climbed out of their boat, Beecher asked Ben to give the two captains a few minutes alone with their ladies. “Since you would like for us to address the crew,” Jake explained to Ben, “Assemble the whole crew. Send the tender back and make sure all the crew is ashore. The Admiral and I will talk to all of them at the same time.” Jake explained when they were finished with their talk with the women; the two sailors would address the crew. Ben nodded and went in search of Sophia, and to gather the crew.

Destand turned to look at Loni and then took her hands in his as he started speaking in her native tongue. Jake thought he saw fear in Loni’s eyes. She would have no way of knowing what Destand was going to tell her, and it appeared she feared the worse.

“Jake and I have decided we are not going back to England. It is our wish to stay here with the two of you.” The old Admiral paused, and added, “That’s if you would like for us to stay.” As if one, both women squealed and threw their arms around each of their lovers. Loni was a bit more restrained and only took the old French admiral in her arms, put her head on his chest and wept. However, Nani leapt into the air, wrapping her arms around Jake’s neck, and her legs around his waist. Repeatedly she kissed Jake’s face until he put his hand up between them. Laughing, he asked her to stop for a moment.

“Are you really going to stay with us,” Loni leaned back and her eye glistened with tears as she asked both sailors.

“Yes,” Jake said to Loni, and then told Nani, as he kissed her, “I am in love with you. I don’t think you would like it back in England where it is cold and rainy, and besides it has customs you know nothing about. After thinking it over, there isn’t much I miss about England.” Jack put his lips against hers. “You saved my life. You’ve given me so much, and not going home is nothing to give up.”

Nani still had her arms and legs tightly wrapped around Jake, and he could feel the tears on his neck. She leaned back and looked him in the eye, “Thank you. I thought I would always be an outcast because of my...” with one hand she pointed at the scar on her cheek. “But it never made a difference. You told my people my face is a sign of power, and they should think of me as a princess. My people ask for my advice instead of treating me like an outcast. You gave me a life, and you are my life. My people see me as some powerful woman who has great powers because of you. However, the best thing is you see me as your lover. Jake, you are my life.”

Jake kissed her lips and hugged her tightly, and whispered in her ear, “And you are my life, as well. Had it not been for you, I’d be dead. And you are special. You are a princess. You are my princess. Because you saved my life, Destand and I were able to save you and your people from the pirates. You have every right for everyone to think of you as something special; because you are.”

Destand was also whispering softly to Loni. Jake couldn’t hear what he was saying but it was bringing more tears to her eyes. Jake gave Nani a final big hug and told her he needed to speak with the ship’s crew and explain why he wasn’t going back to England.

Ben gathered the ship’s crew. Destand and Beecher addressed them, Jake spoke first. “I can’t see any reason to beat around the bush. so I’ll just tell you right out; Admiral Destand and I are not going to return to England with you.” The crew immediately started to mumble among themselves, and a couple of the men said, “No! You can’t.”

Jake held up his hand to still the crew. “Please, give me a moment.” He waited until the crew was quiet again. “The Admiral and I do not want any of the treasure and it will be divided evenly among all of you.” A hearty cheer went up. Jake waited for the crew to become silent again. “But it comes with a price,” Jake paused, and then continued, “The price is your silence. Admiral Destand and I want to stay and live here on this island. We do not wish to have anybody come and look for us, or perhaps think there is more treasure.” More chattering ensued among the crew and Jake waited for them. “Like I said, the price is your silence about our location. Each of you is wealthier now beyond your wildest dreams and all of you know and understand the price. If anyone asks you a question about us, just tell them you don’t know what happened.” Jake waited a moment to let the words fully sink in. Finally, he asked, “Is that fair to ask?”

The crew all stood quietly considering what Jake was asking. Ben stepped forward and the way he fidgeted made it obvious he was not accustomed to speaking before a group. He started to speak as he looked at Jake. “Ah, I know I speak for the rest of the crew when I say this.” The man wrung his hands as he tried to express his feelings. “You are really something,” And then he waved his hand at both sailors,” Actually both of you.”

The sailor pointed at Jake, “A couple of us saw you fall into the sea when you were fighting the pirates, and we were positive you were dead. When you came down into our dungeon and I saw you, my first thought was I’d died, and you were there greeting us into heaven. However, when I realized we were still in that stinky hold I decided you were there to welcome us to hell.” The crew laughed.

The crew grew quiet, and the sailor continued, “Every one of us owe both of you our lives since we feel you saved us from a certain death from the pirates.” Again, the crew mumbled in agreement. “You and the Admiral led us to victory over the pirates. Now you want to give up all claims to any treasure. And all you ask is for our silence.” The man paused while the beach fire crackled in front of them. “I am positive I speak for all of us when I tell you, you have our silence. I promise we will take the knowledge of your location to our graves. Treasure or not, simply because none of us would be alive without the two of you, you have our silence.” There was another rousing cheer from the crew.

________________________________________ The next morning several of the natives stood on the beach with Jake and Destand and their two women. Everyone watched as the ship weighed anchor, and then as one of the massive sails was pulled up a mast, the sail filled with wind. The bow dipped into the oncoming waves, and they hoisted more sails on the other masts. With the winds now expanding the rest of the sails, the ship headed towards the open sea, and eventually home to England.

Destand turned to Jake and asked, “Do you regret not going with your crew?”

Jake stared after the departing vessel for a moment, took a long breath and then let out a deep sigh. Turning to face the old French Captain, he said, “In a way, I do. However, what I have found here is so much more. I don’t know if I ever told you, but I was an orphan, and now, because of Nani and you, I have a family. I have a lovely woman to share my life and I feel like I have a father.” Destand couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

The two men continued to watch the departing ship and Kekoa stepped up to them. Destand easily understood what the large Chief was saying, and Jake knew enough to follow. “We want you to know we are pleased both of you stay. We wish to thank you for what you have done. You made the pirates go away. You have done so much for us. You are welcome to live with us.” With great care, Kekoa removed a large shell, which he had tied around his neck, and placed it around Jake’s. The Chief continued, “Nani has made a wise choice. She has picked powerful medicine.

He bowed at Jake, and then turned to Destand. “You have brought us the gift of peace. We are not like you, but you treat us like your family. Loni is a lucky woman to have had two brave and good men in her life. We were sorry she lost her man, but we are more pleased she has you.” Loni squeezed Destand’s hand and put her head against his shoulder.

That evening Nani took Jake back to the waterfall and they bathed together. When they returned Nani begged him to make love to her vagina with his mouth. Her screams of delight filled the night with several orgasms. Jake too roared with pleasure. Both fell asleep in each other’s arms; happy they were together.

________________________________________ Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, and eventually all the tribes moved to the island they previously called “the Forbidden Island.” The other tribe joined Kekoa on the island, along with Jake and Destand, and their women. The two men found two knolls not far apart looking off to the south, and over time, each built a house complete with a large deck across the front. Although it took some time, Jake and Destand slowly dismantled the two old remaining ships still resting on the rocks surrounding the lagoon. They used most of the wood to build their homes on their new island.

Seven years passed, and Nani presented Jake with a boy and a girl. Loni continued to care for the old admiral. But, as time passed, Jake was saddened to see Destand losing his eyesight as the ravages of a life at sea slowly destroyed his body. Movement was painful for the old man, and he spent a lot of time just sitting in a chair one Jake was able to rescue from one of the old hulks before it finally rotted away.

One evening the two men were sitting on Destand’s deck and Jake watched a ship sail slowly into their lagoon. Once the vessel was in the deepest part, they dropped anchor. Jake told Destand to stay on the deck and he would go and see who was onboard. Several curious natives accompanied Jake down to the beach.

Because the island was so far off the beaten path, even seeing a passing ship was rare. During the entire time since Beecher and the old crew left, not one ship had come to the island. To have a ship in the lagoon was something new and exciting for the natives.

Jake was just as dark as a native and he dressed in the same style as they did. When the group stepped out of the jungle onto the beach, a ship’s tender was pulling ashore. The crew from the tender were dressed in smart uniforms and when the small craft touched shore, a man jumped off the bow and started walking towards the group. The man from the tender looked at the approaching group and all he saw were several native men. One of the natives had a couple of shells around his neck and he carried what looked like an old cutlass. When the man off the ship drew closer, Jake realized it was Ben Stakewell. Ben didn’t know who this strange native was coming down the beach towards him. When Jake stepped forward, Ben placed his hand on one of the pistols pushed into his belt.

“You would shoot your old captain?” Jake asked.

The look on Ben’s face was total confusion. “Captain Beecher, is that you?” It had never occurred to Ben his old captain would adopt the native way of dress.

“Yes Ben. It’s Jake Beecher. I know I don’t look the same.”

Both men laughed, and Ben took a hard look at the dark man standing in front of him. Ben saw the shell around his neck denoting some sort of authority, and the small wooden cup tied around his waist covering his manhood. If Jake hadn’t spoken, Ben thought he never would have known him. Ben extended his arms and Jake stepped forward and hugged his old shipmate.

“Why are you here?” Jake asked.

“Sophia and her father are still out on his brig. Ever since Sophia and I returned to Europe, her father has been after me to bring him here so he could talk with you and the Admiral. Before I returned with Sophia, he was positive his beloved daughter was dead, and he knew he would never see her again. Some time when we have lots of time, I’ll tell you about the first meeting we all had, but after I told him the tale of you and Admiral Destand, he demanded I bring him here to meet you. Those demands have increased more every year. My task today is to find you and the Admiral and take you out to the ship, as soon as possible.”

Jake placed his hand on the younger sailor’s shoulder and his voice grew soft. As gently as possible he explained. “Ben, I’m sorry, but I doubt if the Admiral is capable of getting to the ship. Not only is his eyesight failing, but it’s also difficult for him to move. Kekoa gives him various herbs, and it seems to help with the pain, but he can only go for very short walks. I don’t think he could make it as far as this beach. And as for visiting the ship, I don’t see how he could do it.”

Ben nodded in understanding. “I will go explain the situation to Sophia’s father. I’ll have him come to you. Why don’t we do this? Tomorrow afternoon could you have some of your men come to the beach, and escort my father-in-law, Sophia, and me to where you live?”

“And I’ll go you one better Mr. Stakewell. I’ll see if I can find something else to wear. I doubt if he wants to meet me like this.” Both men laughed.

________________________________________ Destand was overjoyed to hear they were going to have guests. Loni and Nani both spent the entire morning with the other women from the village preparing a feast. Much to Jake’s surprise, Destand had found and saved an old officer’s coat from the old ship the pirates had captured so long ago. The coat was threadbare in places, but the fit was good, and the rank was still visible. When Jake came over to see how the old French captain was doing, he found the old man dressed, and ready to receive guests. Jake was astonished at the change in Destand’s demeanor. He seemed to stand straighter, and there was a certain swagger to his slow gait.

The two men were sitting on Destand’s deck when the native party emerged from the jungle. They brought the three people from the ship up to the deck and Ben and his party were standing when they arrived. Destand stood proudly at attention. Ben introduced everyone and then Sophia stepped up to Jake and put her arms around him. “I couldn’t speak English when we met, and I never had the chance to thank you for saving my life.” Sophia kissed Jake firmly on the lips, a kiss you could hardly consider the kiss, chaste.

Sophia stepped back and said something to her father as she pointed at Admiral Destand. Sophia’s father was a small round man with a warm smile spreading across his round moon face. His cheeks were red from weeks in the sun and the top of his bald head was peeling from repeated sunburns. His bald head was surrounded with a white fringe, and he looked like a jolly elf. From the moment Jake saw him he liked the man immensely.

Sophia’s father stepped up to Destand, reached up, and placed his hands on the old Frenchman’s shoulders. Sophia’s father pulled the old Captain downward, so he was at the little man’s level. He proceeded to kiss one cheek, then the other, and then motioned for Ben to translate.

Tears were streaming down Sophia’s father’s face and his voice was choked with emotion, as he looked up at the Admiral. “I don’t know if you have any children.” Destand shook his head. “Then you can’t fully appreciate a father’s love for his children. To lose your child is a death I wish on no man. My Sophia was my life. My pride and joy, and when she was taken from me, I wanted to die. I lost all will to live. I thought the pirates had killed her, and I was devastated. But you,” again the father kissed both of Destand’s cheeks, “You returned my daughter to me. You punished those who took her from me, and then you sent her back to me with a wonderful son-in-law. I thought someone had taken my life from me, and you returned an even better one. Sir, I had no choice, I had to sail halfway around the world to thank you for such a gift.”