the subject delicately. “Um, why don’t you take a little break and let me help you out today?”
Before he could answer, I took the skillet and dumped the contents in a mixing bowl. I then put some much needed cooking spray in the empty pan and set it to low heat.
“Ah!” He smacked himself in the head. “I always forget that part!”
I laughed. “That’s okay. At least you managed to turn on the oven. That’s further than my Dad or brother would have gotten.”
I sighed. It had been a couple of years, but maybe I could pretend this was summer camp and this was the same sort of homesickness I was feeling.
Concentrating on the egg batter, I whisked it with some salt, pepper, and milk, feeling the beginning of an idea sprout in my brain.
“Hey, Polo, are there any open cans of vegetables in the fridge?”
He ran from the room screaming, “Time me! Time me!”
Seven seconds later he came back with the two large open cans, left again, and returned in eight seconds with another can.
“How’d I do, Addie?”
I just nodded at the clock and started scooping in diced tomatoes. “Nice.”
After some broccoli, cheese, mushrooms, and cloves, I even found the lid for the skillet that Polo claimed had been M.I.A. forever so the food might stay warm without burning. It felt good to accomplish something for the first time in several days, even if it was only making eggs, and I felt revitalized enough to try something bold.
“Polo, where are we right now exactly?”
He shrugged and started whistling some loud tune. “Beats me. Ben keeps track of all of that stuff.”
The mention of Ben Walden unsettled me a little. I had gotten the impression he was a ringleader, and if what Yuri had said was true about throwing me overboard, then it was surely the logic of a leader that had promoted the idea. I struggled with several breaths when I remembered how cordial and polite he had been at our first meeting, but it was clear that Ben Walden would kill without reservation if the situation required it. It was frightening how completely different two sides of the same coin could be.
“You guys all take jobs around here, right?” I grabbed the broom and dust pan and started sweeping the floor.
Polo jumped on the table and used it as a step to get to some hanging pipes. From there he started doing pull-ups. “Yup. Yup. Yup.”
“What do Charlie and Ben do?”
“Oh! Right, Charlie works with the guys in steering. He makes maps and stuff to drive around the Coast Guard check point. He’s real good at it ‘cause he’s good at drawing. Ben does business things with the inventory, ours and other people’s. Reid is like an electrician, and Yuri is a mechanic for stuff in the engine room. I’m just a steward, but I’ve got my projects in the engine room.”
“What kind of projects, Polo?” I emptied the dust pan full of dirt and tried to remain nonchalant, but the answer to this question was important and I had a feeling it had to do with the noises I’d heard coming from the basement and the smells I couldn’t place.
He jumped from the table onto the floor and tried to skid across. “I’m not supposed to talk about it, but if Charlie says you’re okay, then you’re okay. Come on!” Without any warning he grabbed me by the hand and yanked me out the doors. The most frightening part of this was that he wasn’t as cautious as Charlie. The sudden pull on my arm hurt my shoulder immensely, though he hadn’t intended me harm.
As we descended a staircase, painted yellow for caution, I pulled back on Polo and held onto the ramp for leverage.
“Polo! Hold on a second! Stop!” I practically had to yell over his incessant whistling.
“What now?” He seemed genuinely confused and even a little hurt. I almost felt bad for my harsh tone.
“What would happen if I was caught as a stowaway, Polo?”
His foot tapped the ground impatiently. “Well, unless Ben said so, the Captain would probably have you locked in the confessional until we made port. But it’s cool because Charlie just gave everybody a pay out to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
I swallowed hard. There were so many questions I hardly knew where to begin. “Wh-what are you talking about, Polo?” I thought about the way Charlie had avoided answering my question about the consequences of being found aboard the ship,