A Man at Sea

1782

Night faded and the morning came, beginning my first day of freedom.

No more was I a slave to my husband. No more was I to be anchored at the shore, longing to be on the seas. No more was I a possession.

I was Anne. I was me.

Dressed in a pair of calico pants, a cutlass by my side and my red hair tied back low, I strolled out of the cabin I slept in and headed for the docks. The ships anchored there were beauties, though Jack’s stood out the most. Dark, mysterious; it was befitting.

There was only one issue. A woman on a ship is scandalous, a cursed thing. So, a man I had to be; Anne was a man at sea.

They called me Tom the pirate lad and welcomed me aboard; only Jack knew who I truly was.

Mm. I remember them all. Thomas. George. Richard. John. Patrick. James. Noah. A few of these names were repeated in others. Hm. All are lost now; some died in raids, some died from illness and problematic wounds, some were hanged for their crimes of piracy. It matters not; they were all gone by the time I was done with being a pirate. Still, I remember them all the same.

Off I sailed with Jack and his men to live that pirate life. A nuisance it was to pretend I was like them. However, I couldn’t care less to be free of corsets and as a man, I felt like me.

I would hoist the ropes and down the rum as we ploughed the briny sea. I would fight and kill like any man, slashing throats and firing my pistol. I would say that, amongst the casualties, I caused the most; I needed to work harder than any man, too.

Many a moon passed. Day after day, we did the same thing; sailed, raided, killed, drank. And every night in his cabin, Jack and I would meet ‘cause I still liked being a woman, his lover.

And the crew was aware of this. No, I don’t mean they learnt I was a woman; I speak of sharing Jack’s bed. There was no judgement; homosexuality was common in piracy. Many of the crew were having private entanglements between each other.

However, I must admit that, around the fifth month, I do believe they began to doubt and figure things out; you see, my belly started to grow…

APRIL 2025

In the darkness, the patio’s lights shine bright. Sitting on it are Nettie and Lainey; the former is smiling while the latter is squealing and squirming in her chair.

“She got pregnant?!” Lainey shrieks in delight. “Oh, my God! That’s awesome!” Her eyes start watering. “Shit, I’m going to cry again. From joy this time, though.”

Nettie quietly watches her, noting that Lainey’s initial shyness has faded entirely. This has been a very nice night, she thinks.

Unfortunately, she has to ruin the mood.

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Don't forget to read the previous parts of this series!