Chapter 34: Capturing a Myth Part 2

Sir Shillingsworth joined him at the rail. They stood in silent companionship. In every one of their expeditions, there was a moment when all the world stilled and Pentam marvelled at how he was part of it.
"Be careful with Cal's heart, Son."
A chill ran down Pentam's spine.
"You saw?"
"We're on a ship." Sir Shillingsworth's lips bent into a faint smile. He wrapped his arm around Pentam's shoulder. "She's got good taste." He shook Pentam gently then wandered off leaving Pentam staring at the ocean without seeing a thing.
***
Cal woke with a smile and took a moment to lie in the sunlight and recall every moment of that kiss. She'd walked past her father and given him a look. He'd smiled back at her, though he looked a little sad.
She refrained from entering details of the kiss in the expedition's log. Instead she wrote in one of her sketchbooks, drawing a picture of Pentam's face in the moonlight. She couldn't get the eyes right. Cal doubted paper and pencil could capture that glow.
Time to get to work. Cal got up and dressed, checked her satchel, then headed for breakfast. She resisted the temptation to sit beside Pentam, deep in discussion with Henrichs. Her father waved her over.
"You all right?" He stared into his tea.
"More than all right." Cal couldn't keep the grin from her face.
"He's a good man." Sir Shillingsworth wrapped his arm around her and squeezed. "Be careful, hearts are fragile things."
Cal leaned her head on his shoulder for a bit, relishing the contact with her father. He'd never been one for hugs.
After breakfast Cal rescued her sketchbook from the lab, using a large piece of paper to copy the drawing. She wasn't going to risk losing Pentam's drawings. He'd be furious, but they were precious, the moment when they began to reconnect.
The rest of the day she spent sketching as Pentam directed the team in putting the equipment together. He found her larger drawing and walked around comparing it with the growing pile on the deck. At one point, he saw her sketching him and blew her a kiss.
She captured it then stared at it a while, letting the warm feelings run through her.
At supper Pentam sat beside her and gave her hand a squeeze. Prof Orthin winked at her and she blushed, but she didn't let go of Pentam's hand.
That evening, all the preparations were done, and it was a matter of waiting for daylight. The team sat in the mess telling stories while Pentam held Cal's hand. Everyone knew, and it didn't bother them. Cal sighed and smiled up at Pentam, transfixed by Dr. Franklyn's tale of finding a never-before-seen orchid in the jungle.
As they started wandering off to bed, Cal dragged Pentam out to the bow. They stood watching nothing for a while.
"You'd better get some sleep if you're leading this thing tomorrow." Cal sighed. "I wish I could stand here all night with you."
"Your father might have something to say about that."
"Father knows." Cal wrapped her arms around Pentam's arm and hugged it tight. "He just wants us to be careful."
"I would never hurt you." Pentam turned and lifted her chin.
"People hurt each other all the time." Cal smiled at him. "Mother and Father sometimes got into awful fights, but they always made up." She stood on her toes and kissed him. His arms wrapped tightly around her and in that moment, she'd never felt safer.
"Be careful tomorrow." Cal brushed her hand across his cheek. "I won't say it as you get in the boat, so I'm saying it now."
"Nothing's going to keep me away from you." Pentam leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. Cal shivered and watched him walk through the door to the men's berths.
"You can come out now, Father."
Sir Shillingsworth stepped out of the shadow and walked over to her.
"It's good to see you happy."
Cal hugged him.
"You never hugged me much before. It was like it pained you to be touched."
"In some ways it did. I miss your mother so much sometimes it's like she only died yesterday. I let that get in the way of being a good father for you." Her father held her close.
"You've always been a good father. You've been fair, you listened to me, you let me run around in dresses covered with pockets and charcoal on fingers. I must have been a terrible embarrassment to you."
"I've always been proud of you, and never more so than on this trip."
Cal gave her father one last hug and headed to bed.
***
Cal's fingers were busy capturing the scene on the deck. Henrichs stood on the deck with a harpoon in one hand. She'd dressed in plain whites.
"Spent some time spear fishing here and there. Thought I'd bring her for backup."
"You sure you want to command the boat?" Sir Shillingsworth came up beside her.
"Wouldn't send a man out if I weren't willing to go myself."
Sir Shillingsworth nodded and stepped up to talk to the six who were set to hunt the sea serpent.
"I'd like to come along myself, but each of you has been chosen for your skills. Be careful. I'd rather lose a specimen than any one of you. Now, Pentam go through the plan one more time."
Pentam looked at Sir Shillingsworth in shock and Cal giggled.
"Your plan, your command." Sir Shillingsworth said with a smile.
"All right...." Pentam got over his nerves as he got into the plan they'd developed from his initial idea. As he finished, the seagull a sailor had snared the day before squawked loudly. Pentam laughed. "See, he knows his part."
The men climbed into the smaller boat and were launched. As Pentam waited with Henrichs and Dr. Franklyn, Cal slipped up and gave Pentam a kiss.
"For good luck. I'll be watching."