Chapter 9
Jo woke up the next morning wrapped in something warm.
She snuggled in further still not fully awake. ‘Why does my pillow have a heartbeat?’ She thought before remembering the previous day.
“Andy?” She thought out loud remembering, her eyes still closed and still hugging what she presumed to be a living pillow, aka Junior.
“Yes, Princess?” She heard his gruff morning voice say.
“I like your hugs. You are my living pillow,” Her voice almost childlike.
He laughed out loud, making his chest moving up and down.
“Stay still!” She whined poking his stomach, only making him laugh harder.
“Andy, I can’t sleep if you are wiggling,” She complained.
“I am sorry, Princess, but we have to get up. We need to go to town before the boat leaves port,” He told her regrettably.
“Believe me, I would love to lay here all day with you but we need to get up and go before dad decides to set of early.” He sat up, but she just flopped on the bed next to him.
“I’ll stay here. Bring me back something nice,” She said falling back to sleep.
“Nooo,” He said in a sing song voice and pulled the blanket off them both.
“Meany. I’m cold.” She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them.
“Jo?” Junior said nervously.
She prided her eyes opened and looked through hooded eyes at him now standing beside the bunk. His eyes were looking at the ground.
“Yes, handsome.” She grinned when she saw his cheeks redden.
His eyes didn’t move from the ground as he asked her shyly. “Why aren’t you wearing your trousers?”
She looked down at her legs and thought back to last night.
“I probably took them off. They are uncomfortable to sleep in.” Her jumper ridden up. She stood up, pulled it down and straightened herself up.
Seeing her trousers on the ground she picked them.
“You sure you don’t want sex?” She grinned looking at him, him still looking away shyly.
“I am sure. But you prancing about in like that is making it hard for me,” He groaned looking at her legs for a moment.
“If you want to marry me you will be seeing a lot more of me than this,” She grinned flashing her thigh.
“Does that mean you’ll marry me?” He asked, looking at her hopeful. Forgetting her lack of clothing.
“That depends…”
“Depends on what?” He asked her quickly.
“Do you promise to continue being my pillow and a sweetheart?”
“I’ll be anything for you, Joanne,” He said wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Then I will marry you if you still feel the same when my dad comes.”
“Really?” He asked excited.
She chuckled, “Yes.” He picked her up and spun her around.
“You will never regret it!” He covered her face in kisses.
“You know you still have around a month,” She laughed.
“But you are going to be my wife and that all that matters. I know I will feel the same. I love you, Princess.”
“I love you too.” His eyes sparkled with happiness.
“Do you mean that?” His voice almost a whisper.
“Maybe. You have until my dad gets here to make sure,” She played.
“Please do not tease me, Princess. I know you probably don’t love me yet, I just want to know. I promise either way I will make you love me before your father arrives,” He pleaded.
“I don’t know how, but yes, I do love you. I guess we are just meant to be.”
“I think so too,” He placed kisses on the side of her neck. “I am just happy you are not as young as I thought.” She giggled.
“That would have been a little awkward. Even more if I was a boy.”
He laughed. “Yes. Very awkward,” He continued kissing down her neck.
“Andy,” She tried to warn against it, but it came out more like a moan.
Before either knew what was happening she had her legs wrapped around his waist and he had his hands thread through her hair as they now kissed each other’s lips fiercely.
“No no no no!” Junior said pulling back and placing her back on the ground. “We can’t do this, Princess. Not yet. I want us to wait. For it to be special.”
“I am so sorry, Andy. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t mean too. I mean, I want too. But not yet. I… I… I’m sorry,” She rambled embarrassed.
“Do not be embarrassed. It was just as much my fault as it was yours.” He stroked her cheek, unsure he would be able to stop himself next time.
“Let’s put your trousers on and get breakfast,” He said still slightly embarrassed despite almost just having sex.
She bent over and picked her trousers up for the second time, flashing her backside unintentionally to him.
His eyes widened and he quickly looked away. When she had pulled them back on she turned to Junior to see him with his back to her.
“All done,” She chimed and he turned around red faced and avoiding her gaze.
“Why aren’t you looking at me?” She frowned.
“Did I do something wrong? Is it because we almost… You know?”
“No. You never did anything.”
“Then why aren’t you looking at me?”
“I’m sorry, Princess,” He said looking at her but blushing more.
“It’s just when you bent down I saw your…” Her eyes widened and she blushed too.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look. But your under garments are so small it was hard to miss,” He said quietly.
“I honestly didn’t mean that to happen,” She replied shyly, hiding her face in his top.
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” She asked him seriously, but it can out muffled.
He didn’t want to admit it but he more than like it. In fact, he felt the starters of how much he like it in his trousers.
“It was superb,” His voice came out slightly huskier than intended. “It made it even harder for me to keep my promise.”
She blushed further. “Are all women’s knickers that small in your time?” He asked.
“These are considered modest. Most are smaller,” She told him.
He looked at her in disbelief. “That can not be true.”
“It really is,” She said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small plastic packet and a hair brush.
Junior sat back on the bed and silently watched as Joanne loosened her hair and began to brush it through, before again putting it back up.
“Do you always wear your hair up like that?” He asked her curiously.
She shrugged, “Most of the time.”
“When we get back to Grimsby and you meet the rest of mine and your family, will you dress as a woman?”
She bit back a smirk as she looked at him. “Don’t you like me like this? You think I’m ugly?” She asked in a teasing tone, but he took her seriously.
“No. I think you are beautiful like this. I would just like to see you in a dress. Also a lot of bigoted people in this time do not think it good to see women in slacks,” He looked her up and down. “I love how are not prissy like other women, but still be feminine at the same time.”
“Why thank you, Andy,” She smiled and opened the small plastic packet and pulled out a wet wipe and cleaned her hands, neck and face.
“I can dress as a woman. I would enjoy wearing a dress from this time. But I have no idea on women’s hair style. So I might have to work on that. But I will try.”
He smiled and continued to watch her. “I would like that… Might I ask what are they?” He pointed to the wipes.
“These are wet wipes they are also good to clean yourself. I have them to clean my hands. There is a special gel thing you can get but it burns my skin.” She finished cleaning herself and grabbed a clean one. Leaned down and wiped Junior’s face.
He scrunched up his face.
“All clean,” She said in a sing song voice and placed the used wipes in a small wastepaper basket.
He opened his eyes and smirked. “You are lucky I love you,” He said. “That smells pretty.”
She grinned, “Yes, you do,” She said picking up her hat.
He frowned and she waved her hand dismissively, “It is not that bad.” She sat on his lap and kissed his cheek.
“Come on. I need food.” As though on cue her stomach grumbled and there was a knock at the door.
He chuckled and stood with her now in his arms. “We’re awake, dad,” He called not needing to know who it was.
“Good because breakfast is here,” The captain called back through the door.
He walked towards to the door still carrying her.
“I don’t think it is really done carrying a woman around,” Jo grinned. “What would your men say?”
“I don’t care. It’s my families boat. I can do as I wish,” He said confidently.
“You are not going to put me down, are you?”
He smirked, “Not until we reach the table,” He said pulling open the door before she had a chance to argue.
Up on entering the captain’s joining quarters his father turned to greet them but stopped when he saw his son carrying the young woman.
“Have you hurt yourself?” He asked concerned.
“No, you son has decided I am a doll and am incapable of walking anymore,” She answered. Junior said nothing as he sat her at the table in the seat next to his own.
The captain chuckled and pushed a plate of food in her direction and Junior took his own.
The plate had fresh bread, cold meat, fruit and a cup of water to drink. This was a normal breakfast when they came into port, every other time it was hardtack and salted cold cuts.
Mainly because the bread and fruit did not last long at sea. So they ended up eating a lot of hardtack and other long lasting food.
Potatoes and cabbage kept a lot longer than other vegetables, so they would stock up on them more than any other produce.
The only fresh food they were guaranteed the whole trip was fish. The same goes for water. When the water ran out or went stale they would drink either ale, beer or rum.
As they all tucked into the food the captain smiled watching how close the couple had grown in such a short time.
“I have to say I am quite shock. I have never seen my son being kind to a girl or woman unless forced or it was his mother.”
Joanne laughed. “It seems a little unbelievable, but seeing how he is with others, I believe it.”
“Dad, we are going to town before we leave Port.” Junior went on to tell him about what Joanne had told him.
“So we do not expect her father for a while,” He finished.
“In that case she will need more suitable clothing,” The captain thought out loud.
“Yes. That is what I thought. That is the reason we are going to call into town,” Junior explained.
The captain offered to pay but his son told him he was paying. Jo said she would pay him back somehow but both men told her she will do no such thing.
“Do you think you will stay or go back when your father returns?” The captain asked her.
“My dad only really has me and my brother there. He has friends but no one close. We don’t really see or speak to my mother’s side of the family. I guess we just lost contact. But we were never close with any of them other than Aunt Lottie, but she married an American and moved away. Now we don’t even speak to her much either. I am positive dad will want to stay. He is always saying how he misses you…” She indicated to Andrew. “… And his other family.” Andrew senior looked happy to hear this.
“But he will want my brothers and me to stay too. I am more than happy too. My oldest brother Adam, he is twenty-five. He is like my dad, he loves the sea and simple things. He will stay. But my other two brothers, Luke and Mike, they are twenty-three year old twins. They I am unsure about. They are both lazy gits. I think my dad could convince them. But what would they do if they did stay? They haven’t got any money or anything… Unless my dad works out how to get some old money…” She thought out loud.
“You do not have to worry about that,” The captain said getting her attention.
“I own several fishing boats, not including this one. All which are very lucrative. I have more than enough money to help out. Your father is part of my family, he is like my brother. That means you are my family too. You are all welcome to stay with me. Our home is more than big enough. As for them – they are welcome to work with us on the boats or I could help them find other employment and the twins…” He and Junior shared the same smirk. “We can help your father out with getting them off their backsides too. Finally you…”
Junior interrupted him, “She will be staying with us and accompanying us on the boat. I intend to make her my wife.”
