#odyssey

"Of course." Art agrees.

"those ARE nice, Judge" She admires the salad forks "Did you craft them yourself? I mean, they'll have to wait obviously" agree with Thistle

"The Redfin chief... what's she like?"

He shakes his head to Gladiola. “Obeah is my only craft, but I do it well. These are from those on the island. Other islands with more tourists, they bring in cheap goods and call it handmade. Here, I sell what is real.”

He considers Thistle’s question. “She is old, not so old as old Judge, but she has seen a ting or to. A grandmata, she is. Tough as old jerky, but when she swim through the water, she's still a sight to see. Not that anyone is supposed to be lookin’.”

A nod of respect

“She do what she think she need to do to keep her people safe.”

A frown

Thistle chews on her lip and nods. "I don't want to hurt her people."

"But that is my sister."

"Safe from what?" A confused look "How is kidnapping a child from the womb keeping the Redfins safe?"

Snort. "From the cradle, but close enough."

Judge shrugs. "You askin' the wrong fae, chile. Ain't no fins here."

"Sorry, but if you have a theory?"

"We make the Chief chick answer that."

"To my fuckin' FACE." Glare!

The old sluagh just smiles. "Nice day t'day, isn't it?" Gazing out into the weather in the manner of placid old folks the world over.

"I don't know" Gwen eyes her friend's face "looks like a hurricane might be coming "

"Thank you very much for the help and advice, Mister Judge."

"Weather, she always changing. " He nods to Gwen.

A nod "Judge, I don't know the future, but if we get through this, I think I'll be making some purchases from the folk here you're selling stuff for. Even if I have to pay shipping. Thank you" She rises

Art puts down the carved lizard he was admiring and nods.

"Let's find a place to stay for the night."

...

It turns out that there are quite a few lodgings available - the AirBnB type that are willing to take guests, especially those who pay cash, American, under the table to avoid taxes and fees. Mentioning that Judge recommended them gets a further discount, but they still had to break the $100 that Nadeen sent, with only a bit left over.

A meal is included, if they are interested, and even though it's described as "Goat Water", what shows up is a hearty stew that is savory and filling.

Gwen had thought hitting the kids up for a tent would have worked, but there is something nice about getting a shower!

The flavors hit Thistle a bit - she never used to really like Janice's cooking, but... a twinge of homesickness, perhaps?

"This is surprisingly familiar."

And with everything else, familiar isn't bad!

"I think your step mom makes it" Gwen says having cleaned up to join them "Shower's still got hot water, well hotish"

"You don't see goat very often in Watertown."

"But she makes something close with beef."

Their host hums to herself as she stirs the pot and sets the table.

Two twos and the pot a boil
A head, a yam and banana tip
Meanwhile quarters a gwan
Like me goat, and meh take a sip!

Ram goat liver good fi mek mannish water
Billy goat teeth mek the earring for you daughter
Curried goat lunch put de bite in your bark
It mek you daughter ... It mek your daughter walk and talk!

Somehow Little Louis has joined their table for dinner, but it doesn't seem out of the ordinary - neighbors are family around here it seems.

"Where's Watertown?" He asks, ever curious.

"Suprisingly NOT near the ocean" She smiles at Little Louis

"How can you not be near the ocean?" Asks the young boy who has lived all his life on the island.

"It's in America, in upstate New York. Near Canada."

"Islands are wonderful, but there are even bigger land masses called contienents, and while they touch the ocean on the edges, they're so big you can go hundreds of kilometers away from any ocean. Where the only water sources are fresh water rivers ,and lakes.. and the like. You can even find deserts where there is hardly any water at all. We come from an area with green forests and hills, though the trees are different sorts than down here. We get snow, and not just in the high area. The world is huge and.. well, there's some kind of land for every kind of heart"

"And the GIANT Lake - Lake Ontario. It's big enough to have tides."

"No, I mean, how." He shakes his head, unable to wrap his mind around it. "The ocean is life."

"...I like to see snow, though. You know, we have Christmas too. Fata Christmas, he visit, and scares away the duppies that roam. An there be a big party, with dancers, dressed all up in masks, goin' house to house. I was scared when I was little, but now I saw, the devil woman, and ol' horse head? It was Uncle Debois and Aunti Aisling under them masks. Still, there be real monsters out there. It's good that old Judge, he like you."

"But you look strong. Never saw a lady so big." From the mouth of youth. "I bet you could take a duppy and twist them sideways until they cry."

He looks impressed at the idea of a lake with tides!

"What's a duppy?"

"Some kind of... ghost? Monster?"

He looks surprised, then nods to both. "Duppies, jumbies. They go bump in de night."

Clearly everyone knows about them.

"Ohhh. I bet the Judge is good at handling those."

"To quote the great Jeff Goldblum, life finds a way. There are fish in Rivers too." She has the spear from the boat in a corner here too. Didn't show it to the renters "I'm glad the judge likes us. And Fata Christmas sounds cool." A shrug at the comment on her size "I am strong, though there are stronger people than me. One can never be sure they are the smartest or strongest or fastest so if you want to get good, just try to out do the you you were yesterday"

He nods, and will chatter on until he is scolded by the host and reminded that his mother will be waiting for him, at which point he runs off laughing.

The accommodations are simple but comfortable - definitely better than the sailboat, which listed alarmingly and took on damp puddles through the night. There IS a shower, thank da'an, though Gwen has to crouch a bit to fit, and plenty of hot water.

Art takes a couch, leaving the twin beds for Gwen and Thistle - in fact, he was almost falling alseep during dinner, and passes out as soon as he hits the cushion.

Thistle does not sleep well, despite the relative comforts of their lodging.

The next morning, Thistle finds that she is not alone in her bed. A trio of colorful chimerical lizards have curled up around her - one has a tail flung over her face like a moustache under her nose.

Gwen had something of a nightmare herself.

But she shakes it off

Art? He slept long, and deep - having spent the last 24+ hours awake charting the stars will do that! In fact, he's still asleep after the girls are up and finding their breakfast. Their host has set out coffee and fresh juices, savory bright yellow patties filled with beef, banana fritters, and johnny cakes with saltfish.

Thistle expresses appreciation to their host - she does, in fact, know the proper way to eat saltfish.