The Cook and the Coxswain

It took over two hours but Ipellie and Kireama finally decided to head back to their hammocks to sleep, leaving Noah a few hours to rest. The steward took a rare afternoon nap of his own, after washing the mornings exertions away and changing the bedding on his bunk yet again. The Kuniq lasses had truly ‘worked’ him quite hard, as they had promised to.

By now Noah was used to a few winks and jokes from the crew, and when Macha and Lisa teased him for his impressive performance based on the noise he simply nodded and tried not to blush too much. He had a late mid-day meal by himself at the table near the galley while Fatima - one of the few women on board who never seemed inclined to in any way mention his job - prepared that evening’s fare.

While he sat and ate a heel of bread, Noah was thinking of the Empty City, and what he hoped to find there. But his reverie was broken by a figure walking past into the crew quarters.

Yutu paused, as if surprised to see anyone there, then quickly continued to the small cupboard of a room he shared with his twin sister. They had two hammocks strung up as most of the crew did, with a couple of sea chests and a small wardrobe for their things. Yutu, his back to Noah, quickly opened his chest and withdrew a leather wrist brace before turning to walk back to the hatch leading back to the deck.

“Hi Yutu,” Noah said simply. The other man, despite being a year or two older than Noah, froze as if unsure how to respond.

He settled on a small, crooked smile and replied, “Hello, uh, Noah.” His voice was quiet, but his smile was genuine, if a little strained.

“Working on something?” Noah didn’t have much to say, so instead he pointed to the brace.

“Yes, we have some barrels to sort out before we get to Currielle, and this stops my wrist hurting from too much hammering and such,” the man said, reminding Noah that he and his sister were mostly responsible for the casks that carried much of the cargo on these boats.

Noah nodded. Yutu looked much like his sister, the same narrow but handsome features in addition to the colouring they shared with the other Ice Islanders. Yutu had his long black hair in two braids, and his lean frame was evident in his loose tunic and trousers.

Perhaps he was looking too hard, because Yutu suddenly looked away shyly, turning as if to leave.

“I’m sorry Yutu, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, we just haven’t spoken much. Or at all.” Noah rubbed his hair and laughed wryly, “But I did want to tell you that tonight I have a spot available. In the evening.”

Yutu looked at him again, his face blank. “Oh. Well, my sister said, that is, she told me after, you said…” He trailed off, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he stood.

“I told her to let you know if you were interested I am amenable,” Noah said with a grin that was perhaps more confident then he felt, “I’m not terribly experienced in that way, but if you don’t mind you should come by and visit. We can talk, if nothing else, just have a conversation and see.”

The other man stood as if holding his breath, then he gave a curt nod and quickly left. Noah sat there for a moment, wondering.

“It’s good you told him.” The voice startled Noah so much he almost dropped his mug of tea. Fatima stood in the entry to the galley behind him, her normally stern expression softened. “The man is in a tricky spot. I don’t envy him, honestly, but he’s a good soul. If he does show up at your room tonight you better treat him right.” Ahh, there was the stern look again.

“It must be a strange world for him,” Noah said slowly, “and where I am from it’s not terribly easy for anyone who only desires the same sex either I’m sure. But I would never lie about something like that; if he is interested, I am more than willing.”

The cook studied him, then quietly said, “That’s good steward. I hope he takes you up on that then.”

The evening meal over, the crew settled down for their usual nighttime pursuits. A card game began below decks, a few women pursued other hobbies in the few hours they had before it was time for bed, and Alexandra walked on deck packing a small pipe.

As she walked towards the anchor near the front of the boat, the coxswain heard a splash of water, then a sharp intake of breath. The small piles of gear formed a semi-private spot on deck, which was why it was often used for bathing and grooming for anyone who didn’t have the time or desire to haul water to the tub below decks and spend an hour heating it up. She leaned up against a pile of ropes and canvas and grinned, “Nothing so cold as river water after dusk, ney?”

Her red hair wet, Hannah grimaced, “Tell me about it, freezing my ass off here.” She sat naked on a small stool next to the where the anchor was lashed to the railing. Placing the empty bucket down, she picked up a thick hunk of soap and began to rub it under her arms, shivering the whole time.

Alexandra chuckled and turned away to give the woman some privacy. Lighting her pipe, she mused, “Lot of this going on, come to think of it. The girls were bathing last night, and I was sure they had done already a few days before.”

Hannah snorted as she rubbed the soap around briskly, “Yeah, didn’t take long for the women to notice that Noah bathes every day. He washes after every time too, they must be fanatics about it overseas. Naturally, since tonight is finally my turn I don’t want to be covered in dirt if that’s not what he’s used to.” She finished scrubbing, then picked up another pail of cold cold water and unceremoniously tipped half of it over top of her head.

Smiling, Alexandra said, “You know, I have a bottle of jasmin oil. Smells lovely, I rarely use it though. If you want, I can grab it for you, see if our steward likes the scent?”

Gasping at the cold, Hannah began running a brush through her hair and said, “That’s very generous! I’ll take it, certainly. Never thought to bring perfume on a trade run before!”

Alexandra’s smile faded, “Yeah I’ll go grab it. I won’t be needing it anytime soon I’m sure.” The first mate didn’t quite know what to say to that as she continued brushing her hair.

With a sigh, Alexandra continued, “I know everyone must have heard Fatima and I arguing the other day. I said something dumb about having a baby, and she said… well she doesn’t like it when I talk about men. So, she made these little barbed comments about how I’m wanting to jump the steward and the baby is an excuse and well, I guess it was time for our twice a year big fight about whatever. We both apologized but, well shit who cares. I’ll go grab you that jasmin.”

“Alex, you and Fatima are a wonderful couple,” Hannah said before she could go, “and I’ve seen a hundred times elsewhere how hard it is to work with your wife on a boat. You’re with each other every hour for weeks at a time. Just be honest about what you’re really arguing about and I’m sure it will all be good.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Alexandra said, “ah hell, probably. I’ll get you that oil. Have fun tonight!”

“Oh I plan to,” the first mate laughed.