"Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun
It's not aimed at anyone
It's just escaping on the run"
"Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan
Syl sat at the breakfast table with Kathy as general Crumb chaos ensued all around, but her thoughts were far from their conversation.
She watched Bash absently as he and Smiley ribbed each other and laughed in the kitchen.
His joy was usually contagious, but today Syl had too much on her mind to participate in the merriment, even though there was an ongoing bet she was hoping to win that morning.
As a rule, Syl Krista did not respect many people because very few people deserved her respect.
Bash was not one of those people.
If it weren't for him, Syl would either still be scrounging for food on the streets of the East End or, more likely, have joined the Russian mob outside of London.
Bash was a person who didn't need to be thanked. Who did things not only because they were right, but because he had a genuine care for human beings that perplexed and awed Syl.
It wasn't that she was the opposite of this, she was simply unused to kindness. It had never been shown to her until she met Bash.
In Russia, even though she knew her family loved her, they were a cold, unfeeling people. Syl was raised to look out for herself and spit in the eye of anyone who tried to rob her of her pride.
She saw now how sad it was to live in a world all alone and she had Bash to thank for showing her otherwise.
All of this only added to her guilt. She'd secretly been entertaining thoughts of spying on the Mad Teddy's ever since Bash had mentioned their new competition.
Try as she might to change his mind, Bash was firmly set on not causing any unnecessary confrontation.
But it wasn't a confrontation that Syl wanted. It was an advantage on the enemy.
What was wrong with seeing what they were up against? Syl saw opportunity where Bash saw danger, so she told herself that she would wait.
She'd thought about involving Smiley in her scheme, but the last thing she wanted to do was pit the two brothers against each other.
That only left Kathy...
Patience, Syl told herself. For now, she'd have to wait and see how the coming days unfolded. Perhaps Bash would end up being right and the Teddy's weren't as big of a threat as they'd assumed.
Though Syl was hardly convinced of that.
For now, however, she had a bet to win.
Sundays aboard Wolgemoth and Sons were the only days when the radio took a break, which meant The Crumbs did as well.
Bash and Smiley worked on a breakfast of beans and ham, Kathy and Syl talked at the breakfast table, and a new record Bash had bought spun on the player.
"All I'm saying," Kathy argued, "is that his voice just isn't good."
"It isn't about his voice." Syl shrugged. "Bob Dylan is a lyrical and musical genius, even for an American. Just listen."
Everyone fell silent, listening to the record.
They were quiet like this for a long time as "Mr. Tambourine Man" played. Some were dissecting the pentameter, some were following the guitar, some were simply being still in the moment of the lyrics.
"My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet, I have no one to meet, and the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming..."
Bash and Syl had worn down the needle on the record player listening to this album. Smiley was indifferent to it while Kathy had vehemently opposed Bob Dylan's voice.
Once the song ended, though, Kathy dashed a tear away from her eye. "Alright, alright, you win."
"Bash, you owe me a tenner!" Syl cried, standing up from her chair and going over to Bash.
She held her hand out expectantly.
"You took bets on me?" Kathy asked, pretending to be hurt for the dramatic effect, but taking bets on one another was simply a part of the Crumb life.
Bash fished around in his pocket for the money. "Syl bet me she could make you cry over Dylan before breakfast was over." He handed Syl the tenner grudgingly, but couldn't hide an amused smirk as he did so. "I said you've had a dislike for him ever since we got his first record, so you'd not cry out of spite."
"You were wrong," Syl eagerly pointed out.
"Bash, the beans are smoking," Smiley reminded him.
"Blast!" Bash yanked the pot off of the stove and held it out the porthole to avoid filling the wheelhouse with smoke.
All in all, it was a normal Sunday morning on Wolgemoth & Sons.
After breakfast, they lounged about the deck, listening to their own favorite songs instead of the ones they always played on the radio.
Kathy always selected The Beatles, Smiley chose The Platters, Bash, of course, played Jimi Hendrix, and Syl liked an odd mixture of John Denver and The Rolling Stones.
After a few hours, Bash and Smiley tried to throw each other off of the boat. Bash always won, except when he'd allow Smiley to hurl him overboard, which typically made Smiley mad.
"I'm almost taller than you!" Smiley warned. "And one day, you'll be lucky if you even get me near the edge!"
Bash was unoffended and only laughed good-naturedly.
Syl always said that every angry atom in Bash's body had somehow been given to Smiley.
"This is a moment, isn't it?" Kathy said as they continued watching the boys show off and muck about. "A moment where you think, this is it. This is the life. We've got the sunshine, we've got good music, we've got laughter. Isn't it nice to know that our whole lives are made up of these little pockets of happiness?
Syl smiled. "I think so, Kathy."
They were quiet for a time until Syl said fondly, "There was a moment in Russia like this, once. It was Christmas and I was making a fort out of snow. We didn't have a yard, so I was just in the street, playing with our neighbors. I looked up and, on the porch, my whole family was there, watching me. I had aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins...and they were smiling as if I were some artist. When I went back inside, I was drinking warm cider by the fireplace. I remember feeling like I do now. Like this was a good life."
For a few seconds, Syl dared to dwell on that happy memory. Then, like a dull knife to a perfect pane of glass, it shattered.
Because, only a few months after that Christmas, Syl's father died. All of those aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins had been on his side of the family and once he was gone, they disappeared. Syl didn't know it at the time, but everyone hated her mother, so when the time came and her mother drank herself to death, there was no one left for Syl to live with.
It had all dissolved so quickly. One moment, there was family and life and love. The next, Syl was on the streets in a foreign country, praying that she got enough food to last another day.
That fear morphed the current scene in front of her into the shadow of a nightmare. Although Syl was usually a rational creature, all she could picture now was losing everything. Everyone. Again.
Except this time, she had the power to stop it.
"Kathy," she said suddenly, in a voice that made Kathy flinch. "We need to spy on the Mad Teddy's."
"What? Why?"
"So we can stop them before they shut us down."
Kathy sucked in a breath. "You think they're going to shut us down?"
"I think we need to at least know what they're capable of. Don't you?"
Kathy chewed on her lip, casting a glance at Bash and Smiley. "I don't know if the boys would approve."
"It'll just be the two of us. And we're not doing it against the boys, we're doing it for them. There's a saying we have in Russia; Kogda bogatyye voyuyut, umirayut bednyye."
She closed her eyes, thinking of the translation, before saying, "When the rich make war, it's the poor that die. Is that what we want to happen?"
Kathy folded, then unfolded her hands. "Well..."
"If they shut us down, Kathy..." Syl didn't have to finish her sentence. Her voice was heavy with desperation enough to explain.
Kathy released a defeated sigh. "What did you have in mind?"
Syl tapped her chin meditatively. A million scenarios raced through her mind, but Bash and Smiley had decided that they'd had enough shenanigans for the day and came up to them.
"What say we go down the wharf and get some chips?" Bash suggested.
"Big spender, you are," Smiley jabbed, but his eyes glittered with excitement.
Kathy sat up. "Can we also go to the fabric–"
She was silenced by Smiley scrubbing his wet hair and sending a sprinkle of water on her.
"Hey!" she cried.
"Oh sorry, I didn't realize you were sitting there," Smiley said innocently.
Kathy kicked at him, but he danced away.
When Kathy got up to chase him around the deck, Bash nudged Syl's arm after seeing the troubled look on her face.
"We can get fish instead?" he suggested.
At that, Syl gave a quiet laugh. "Chips are just fine."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey guys! I hope you're having a good week! Personally, I wish I was aboard Wolgemoth & Sons on a Sunday afternoon with the Crumbs, lol! #kiddingnotkidding
~What do you think of Syl's plan? <.<
~General thoughts on the chapter?
Thanks so much for reading! Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!