Chapter 26: Something Off the Horizon

Captain's Log - 

I hear little from Muriel, who lives in town but visits only when she needs money.  Mairin never visits, having invested herself into a busy career.  

If it weren't for Una and Ursula, my eldest and youngest, who have stayed home, I daresay Delia and I would be lonely.

I don't know why Una and Ursula decided to stay on just as much as I know why Mairin and Muriel felt the urge to leave.

But I am grateful for them, for they have brought me joy.

 Una has turned her creativity into a job.  She has found a niche in the literary world, publishing her writing.  She generally writes dramatic works, full of a little bit of everything.  She has even been selling some of her artwork on the side and has been featured in the local art gallery.

 Ursula has grown a modest garden, and won a few blue ribbons for her vegetables.  She sells the excess vegetables at the local market, but we use much of it in our day to day cooking.

 Ursula even got a job at the local fire station.  I saw her off, on her first day.  And even then, she was brave.  If she was nervous or afraid, it never showed.
Ursula and Una have even settled into a peaceful, though not necessarily friendly existence.  For what has seemed like the longest time, we are able to have meals together without a fight.

Although sometimes, Una had to bite her tongue on an occasion or two when she turned her nose up at Ursula's choice in job.

For whatever reason, Una felt Ursula was showing off.  Despite my talks with her otherwise, she believed no different.  I think that Una is a little jealous of Ursula's notoriety about town.  It wasn't long into her career that she was awarded for her bravery and given a few promotions. 

Nonetheless, I am very proud of both my girls, and their decisions.

 Save one --
Una's choice in men has left a bad taste in my mouth - one that has me worried about the outcome and if I'll be here to protect her from heartbreak if it happens.  Like a wind that changes direction before a storm, like the pink clouds of dawn before rain, I sensed something beginning to change in the house - something not all together for the better.

 Una has become attached to Carey Verona, her childhood playmate.  His mother Veronica, an old flame.
I thought for sure they would realize their love for each other didn't go beyond childhood infactuation.  They had never dated anyone else besides one another.  But inevitably, Carey proposed one morning after staying the night and Una accepted.

And when the news was shared, Una expressed her desire to marry soon.  And until the wedding, she wanted Carey to move in with us.
I balked at this - move in, before marriage?  It was something not done in my day.  But times change and I want to see my daughter happy.  So I begrudgingly agreed as long as separate rooms were kept, and the wedding was indeed soon.
With days before the wedding, and me readying for retirement now that I had reached the highest level of work in law enforcement, I attempted to get to know Carey more by treating him to one-on-one talks and outings with me.
We didn't have much in common.
I enjoyed the popular Barnacle Bay sport of baseball.
Carey wasn't a sportsman.

He seemed even a little weak, where I believed I was strong even in my dotage.
Carey didn't really care for art, when I enjoyed it as well as Una who painted so much of it.
In fact, the only thing of common interest between me and Carey was his line of work.  He had become a rookie cop at the local station and he seemed to enjoy it.
The wedding day draws closer and I worry more and more for Una and Carey both.  They are still so young, so impressionable.
Maybe it's the old seaman in me, but I feel a storm brewing just off the horizon, graying out sunlight and joy.

~Tom Calico
Captain of the Mistral