The galley was a good size room, it was divided from the mess hall by a counter, on which food was passed over to the crew at mealtimes. Josh was busy in the galley, cooking up the breadfruit that he and some of the other men had gathered that afternoon. They were preparing the dish in expectation of serving it with fresh fish this evening. They had also gathered plantains, coconuts and guava fruit. They had followed the trail inland, passing the stream Vi and Betsy had followed the day before, and came upon the fruit trees in their explorations. Knowing the children would need a more diverse menu than simply salted pork and breads, they were pleased their trek had produced results.
There were now stores of the breadfruit, which would keep, as well as the coconuts. They had only taken as many plantains and guavas as they would need over the next couple of days, and would be gathering more of those before they left the isle.
One of the men was shucking and splitting coconuts, retaining the liquid, to be mixed in with the mashed breadfruit and plantains. It would also be used as a liquid for cooking rice when they were back on the sea. The meat of the coconuts had to be pried out of their shells, which was then grated or dried in large pieces to be added to recipes, or snacked on later by the growing boys, who knew no end to their appetites.
As the breadfruit was cooking and needed time to soften, Josh cut up some guava fruit, filling a plate for the tots who sat in the mess hall with Paulie. Since Paulie's men had the meal preparations well in hand, he had elected to watch over the wee ones so Betsy could give the cabin boys who wanted to learn, their shooting lesson.
Paulie was making boats and fish, snakes and worms, turtles and even little people shapes out of the dough. The children were making a mess, but Paulie had them well in hand. They were suitably impressed by his creations, trying to copy all that he made.
"Wook, Paw Paw, is you!" Jonah held his blob up, for Paulie to admire, his face wreathed in a smile that matched Paulie's own.
"Why, 'tis, Jonah! That be looking jus like me! A fine job, ye be doin' there, boy." Paulie then encouraged Jonah to make a pile of worms for the bird that Paulie was making next. The girls wanted to make worms too, so the bird would have plenty to eat.
Sarah sat on Paulie's left, she reached over to pull on his sleeve, "Paw Paw, help me, too!"
Paulie was in heaven, he could not remember ever having so much fun, he did not miss his job, and had no desire to leave the tots to attend his duties. Actually, he did not even remember he had duties, as supervising the children's play would now take up a large space of his every afternoon. He had found some short crates to boost the children up on the benches. Jonah would also use his, at mealtimes, to eat at the table with his brother and the other men.
Josh brought them the fruit to snack on, and as he set it on the table in the midst of all the dough creations, he tried to hide his smile at the transformation in the older man.
"Thank ye Josh, aren't ye all going to thank Josh fer bringin ye yer snack?" Paulie looked around at his little subjects, who all piped up with their thanks to Josh, also.
"Ye be more than welcome, but do not eat too much, we shall have a fine supper before too long." Josh chided.
"We won't." Paulie and Lila said at the same time. They smiled at each other, Paulie winked at her, and she blinked back at him, then they bent to their dough once more.
Josh could not contain his smile as he made his way back into the galley.
Pete, Sam and Timothy entered, each carrying a bushel of the ocean's bounty. They were loud and boisterous, feeling quite proud of themselves, and their catch. The men had netted a fine amount of salt fish, which would go far in feeding the crew their chowders and stews. Timothy had bagged enough lobster and conches for their dinner that evening. They would be feasting tonight, and in the days to come, until they quit this isle and would have to ration their stores once again.
"And this is not even all of it, we need to empty these, and get the rest from the boat, t'was a good day for fishing today, Josh!" Pete emptied his bushel into the barrel Josh directed him to, then set it down to take Timothy's basket from him and empty it, also. Bart did the same, then the three of them filed back out, going to gather the remaining catch from the boat.
Josh shook his head at the situation he now found himself in. He would have to recruit some men to clean and prepare the fish for salting. He had never had a bounty such as this to deal with. Josh realized, as he looked into the barrel, there had been more good abounding since that little Miss joined the ship, than there had ever been before.
Just the change in Paulie amazed him, not to mention the state of the ship itself, and the overall moral of the men. They were being blessed in so many ways by just one little lady and her positive attitude. She was loving and kind, cute as a button, and he could see that she and Violet had fallen madly in love.
Josh had stood at the rail for a short while earlier, watching Violet give her the swimming lesson. He had seen the love and care they felt for one another, and it had made him miss his own sweet bride at home. He was glad they would be setting sail in a few days, as he was more homesick on this trip than he had been on any other. The sight of Vi and the Miss together, along with the children aboard, made him vow to never leave his own again. This would be his last trip abroad, his family needed him home, and he would figure out a way to boost their coffers without leaving them ever again.
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This chapter was cut off, lost and rewritten :) It continues in part 3
Blessings!