Brandy

.1

"Ship comin' in," the little boy announced, poking his head in the tavern door with a grin.2

"Thanks," Brandy told the boy, smiling in return. "Go on about your way," she winked. 3

"Yes, ma'am!" he said, and scampered away to announce his news up and down the wharf.4

Brandy shook her head and took stock of the whiskey under the counter. If it had been a good sail, she would have plenty. A bad one, and she was going to have to resort to wine for some. She wondered which ship it was, though it didn't really matter, she supposed. A bartender, she knew most of the sailors in and out of the port, and how they liked their drinks. It would be nice if Jim were coming in though.5

The door burst open two hours later, and Brandy looked up with a smile. "Brandy!" the sailors called, waving and winking as they settled in their usual spots. 6

Shaking her head, Brandy waved and started pouring drinks. As she set them down at the tables, she greeted the sailors.7

"Good run?" she asked, setting down their drinks.8

"Best in awhile, smooth seas all the way but not a mermaid to be seen. Least, none as pretty as you," he said, and the sailors agreed, throwing in their comments, all clamoring to be heard.9

"Aye, a good thing for the poor mermaids then, to be blessed with better looks than mine," she teased, "though you'd take her either way, looks or not, wouldn't you Sam?"10

The sailors roared, and Sam grinned, downing his drink and slapping it on the table. "I wouldn't either, I'm waitin' for you, Brandy."11

"She's set her eye on me, Sam," Joe declared, pulling Brandy to stand next to him.12

"She said it was me she loved!" Bill exclaimed.13

Brandy slid away from Joe, and laughed with the men. "I'd not wed any of you, I'll not have a drunkard for a husband."14

The table burst into laughter, and the men shook their heads as they watched Brandy walk back to the bar. "There goes a damn fine woman boys," Joe muttered, and they all agreed, turning their attention to their drinks.15

As Brandy poured the next round of drinks, a shadow fell across the bar. She looked up with a smile.16

"Hello, Jim," she said, relieved. 17

He nodded, and she handed him one of the drinks. He downed it in one thirsty gulp. 18

"Heard you had a good run," she said.19

"Never a better one," he agreed.20

Brandy left him with a fresh drink and handed out the drinks to another table of rowdy sailors. She exchanged jokes and winks, but her mind was on Jim. Even straight from the ship, he didn't look as ragged as the other soldiers. He sat tall where they slumped, and she had yet to see him drunk. 21

When she got back to the bar, she noticed a tiny box sitting in front of Jim. Paying it no mind, she served the men perched at the other end of the bar and walked back to Jim. Brandy picked up the cloth behind the bar and started wiping the bar down, waiting for another drink order. Jim nudged the box toward her. She looked at him questioningly.22

"For you."23

Brandy picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver chain with a silver locket. She picked it up gently, running the silky chain through her fingers, letting it dangle as she studied the locket. Her name was carved on the front, surrounded by ocean waves. There were no images on the back; just Jim's name and nothing more.24

"It's from Spain," he told her.25

"Thank you," she said, smiling happily. Sometimes he brought her gifts from places he visited. She had nothing to give him, except her love and free drinks, both of which he seemed to enjoy. 26

Fastening the clasp, she felt the weight of the locket resting against her chest. She liked the thought of Jim's name resting near her heart. Jim opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a man from the other end of the bar hollering for another drink. Brandy waved to acknowledge him, and poured his drink. Jim watched as she walked away and back. 27

"Leaving in two days," he said.28

Brandy nodded, and walked around the bar with an armful of drinks. Passing him, she walked through a cloud of his scent. All the sailors smelled like sweat and sea air, but he smelled of something else. She didn't know what, but she liked it, and made a point of walking near him whenever possible. 29

"Just in time, Brandy!" Sam called, gesturing to the empty glasses around the table. He saw the chain around her neck. "Looks like she's gone and betrayed us all, lads," he said with feigned sadness. 30

"Don't think that'll stop us any," another laughed.31

Jim watched her with them, admiring how she could be around such crude men and make them seem almost human. She didn't mind the things that appalled other women, but she wasn't the kind of woman who was like a man in a woman's body either. She was Brandy, and not a one of them didn't love her, in their own way. Brandy listened when they talked, poured their whiskey, and wouldn't tell a soul if a man drank so much he turned into a blubbering mess at the bar. They all had, at one time or another. 32

Brandy listened to Jim recount the latest voyage the rest of the night, diverting her attention only when she had to pour drinks. This trip hadn't been any different from the many before it, but she was enraptured as Jim painted her a picture of a cloudless night, stars sparkling above the ship and the moonlight dancing on the glassy ocean. She could almost see what he saw, and she yearned to take a voyage over the ocean. But she knew her place was here, on land, and she contented herself with the sailors' stories. 33

Later that night, when all the sailors had stumbled out of the bar, and Jim had left, Brandy walked through the small harbor town, stroking her new locket. Jim had never told her how he felt, but she knew. She knew, too, that he took women in this port and others, but that he didn't love them. He had never asked her for her bed, and he wouldn't. 34

"The ocean is my life," he told her once, and she told him that she understood. A sailor had one true love, and that was the sea. A woman had to be a fool to expect a sailing man to give up the waves and set his feet firmly in the soil for the rest of his life. Brandy expected no such thing. She was content to love him when he came to town. The other sailors knew Jim and Brandy were in love, and teased them both subtly. They didn't mind. It was their nature.35

"Brandy, you're a fine girl, what a good wife you would be." She could hear the sailors' word echoing in her mind as she walked home.36