Nothing Means Anything Unless I Have You

Allison Salkie

I. June 2, 1800

As I went to bite into the morsel of homemade apple pie, they kicked down the door. And

before I could turn my head, their hands were on me. That fork, the one thing I could’ve used as

a weapon, clattered onto the ground and left a ruddy streak on the wooden floorboard. They, the

three men I could now see, pushed me onto my knees. One of them held me firmly while another

pushed a handgun into my temple.

“Where is she?” the man with the gun asked. I didn’t answer. My heart had stopped, and I

had forgotten how to breathe. He pushed the weapon harder into my head, causing me to cry out

in pain. Before he could question me further, her voice rang out from upstairs.

“Tom, darling, are you all right?” For a moment, her warm voice made me forget about

the current situation I was in and I breathed once more.

And then she walked into the room. Her radiant smile immediately faded at the sight of

the gruesome men surrounding me. The leader of the group removed the handgun from my head

and walked towards her. I tried to jostle the guy off of me, but he was much stronger than I am

and easily shoved me to the ground, placing his heavy boot upon my back. I watched as this

leader came to stand right in front of her.

“Hello, Rosie.” He said gruffly. I watched her frown deeply at him.

“And who are you?” She stated calmly. In an instant, he brought his gun up and took a

shot at the wall right beside her head. The wood exploded into splinters, but she did not flinch.

She merely responded. “Hello Charles, it has been too long, hasn’t it?”
 I am aghast. She knows this man? A million thoughts enter my head, but I am interrupted

by my Rosie. “How about you release him and come join me at the table.” Her voice was sweet,

but she wasn’t asking. Her steely gaze fell upon the man holding me down and he immediately

lifted his foot and pulled me up. At this moment, I was able to regain my voice.

“Who are you and how do you know Rosie?” I spit at the leader, who ignores me. The

man holding me brings me to the table and pushes me into my chair forcefully, as if warning me

to watch my mouth. We are joined by the remaining men and Rosie. She took her spot at the

head of the table and turned her attention to the leader.

“How did you find me?” She asked. The leader sneered before answering. “It wasn’t too

difficult.” She smiled back sweetly before stating, “It’s been 7 years, Charles. It seems it

certainly took you long enough.” His smile dropped and he angrily leaned forward. “We’re here

to take back what you owe us.” Rosie leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “And what

would that be, exactly?”

“The chest we took off the Santa Ana back in 1793.” He replied. “You know very well

that the trunk was thrown overboard during the storm.” Rosie fired back. Their banter back in

forth left me with so many questions. I looked at Rosie as if I were looking at her for the first

time. Who was this woman I had promised my love to?

“Yes, the chest was thrown overboard. However, I don’t believe there was anything in it.

We believe you kept the gold hidden away and all for yourself. Why else would you have

abandoned your own ship at the next port?” Rosie’s nostrils flared and she jumped from her

chair. “Because that wasn’t the life I wanted! You know damn well I never wanted to be a part of

that. I can’t help where I was born and how I was raised, but I knew that I could change my life

the day I snuck off that ship.” That was the first time I had ever heard Rosie swear. Today was a
day of a lot of firsts for me. The leader rose to tower over her and replied curtly, “I don’t believe

you.” Although she was much smaller than he was, Rosie stood her ground.

“Fine. Search the place. Rip open the floorboards for all I care. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

The leader glowered at her, but she kept a poker face, challenging him to make the next move.

After several moments, he turned towards his men and nodded. The man guarding me kept a

hold on my arms while the leader and his other goon made their way upstairs. In the midst of the

movement, I lost sight of Rosie, and the man guarding me must have as well. As soon as we

could no longer hear the men upstairs, she was upon us. I could only hear what was going on

behind me, but from the sound I assumed my guard had been knocked unconscious. My notion

was confirmed as I felt the weight of his hands leave me. I turned to see Rosie with a handgun of

her own. Her wide eyes pleaded with me to stay quiet.

“What are you doing? Are you trying to get us killed?” I panickily whispered. “Take this

and stand watch. They could be down here at any moment.” She replied, pushing the gun into my

hands before getting to work. Having never held a gun before, I nervously held it pointed

towards the doorway and watched Rosie rush over to the fireplace. She bent beside it and pried

open a loose floorboard, producing a knapsack. I notice that it takes her a second to get up and a

flicker of pain flashes across her face. Before I can ask what’s wrong, she turns back to me and

held out her hand.

“Come on, let’s go.” She says. I hesitate. My whole world has just been flipped upside

down. She can see the inner conflict passing through my eyes. She places her hands on my

trembling ones before speaking once more. “Let me at least get you somewhere safe. Then you

can choose to do whatever you please.” I look up and into her eyes, before letting her take the

gun from me and leading me quickly out the back door. We go out into the yard and through the
trees. As we go, I take one last look at the house. Our house. I know I’ll probably never see it

again. We make it into a clearing right along the docks. I follow her past boats of all shapes and

sizes until the very last one. A small schooner peacefully tucked away, almost completely hidden

behind the large dock. She easily pulls herself onto the deck before turning and offering her hand

to me. I take a look at her tiny hand, a hand I’ve held for so many years, and then look back up to

her. “I’ll explain everything.” And just like that, I grasp her hand and join her aboard.

***

The tiny boat rocks back and forth against the waves. Our house slowly gets smaller and

smaller the further we go out to sea. I turn my attention to Rosie, who expertly works the boat to

get it to go where she wants. I don’t know a thing about sailing, but Rosie does. Yet another

thing I’m learning about her. After making a few adjustments, she walks over to me. She takes a

deep breath and sits down. I follow her lead.

“There’s a part of my life that I tried to forget. It’s the part you met today.” Rosie looks

down at her hands and I wait patiently for her to continue. “I never told you about my past

because I just wanted to live a quiet life with the man I love.” I take her hands in mine and she

brings her ocean blue eyes to meet mine. I reply, “I love you no matter what. Even if you were

a… pirate? It was pretty chaotic in there, but I think that was what you and those men were

talking about.” Rosie chuckles.

“Yes, they were my… piratical associates. I was born on that ship and I knew if I didn’t

make it off, I would die on that ship. So, I… stole that gold from the chest; I know it was the

wrong thing to do. But I also knew I needed money in order to survive. The next night after we

docked, I snuck off and tried to make a living for myself. And that’s when I met you.”
 “And I’m grateful you did. I just can’t believe you stole all that gold. Where have you

been keeping it all of these years?”

“You’re sitting on it.” I raise my eyebrows at that statement. She laughs before

continuing. “I bought this schooner with it and the rest is hidden underneath the bulkhead. I kept

it here for safe keeping in case something like today ever happened. I just can’t believe they

finally caught up to me.” I reach over and pull her into my arms. “It’s going to be alright.” I tell

her.

She looks up at me. “How can you say that? You were just forced to leave the only town

you’ve ever known. Your job, all of your students. You love that job and now it’s gone. What

makes you think anything is going to be ok?” Her eyes search for the answer in mine. I merely

smile back. “Because I have you. Life is so unstable, but I know if I have you, then eventually

everything will be ok. Besides, I may like the change of scenery.”

She snuggles closer into my side and we watch the sun begin to set, the streaks of red,

orange, and purple lighting up the sky. After a couple of minutes, Rosie shifts to her side and

groans in pain. I move so I’m in front of her, my hands on her shoulders. “Are you alright?” I

ask, worry infused in my words. She places a hand on her belly and smiles up at me. “Yes, I

am.”

II. February 18, 1801

Daniel Louis is born, and he is the greatest thing to ever happen to us. After 9 months

aboard our boat and keeping ourselves hidden away and safe, we had taken to land to find Rosie

help for the birth. I push Rosie’s hair back as she holds our newborn son. He is healthy and after

a few days we make our way back to the boat, where we will raise our wonderful son. Our
family thrives within the ocean. Daniel grows bigger every day and I thrill at everything he

accomplishes in: crawling, eating, smiling. Rosie glows as a mother and our love for each other

grows. I gently push for information of her past and slowly she lets me in. I learn that although

her mother gave birth to her on the ship, she passed during the process, which left Rosie as the

only girl onboard the ship. Her father and his mates had to raise her. I revel in the exciting stories

and I’m excited to finally learn about Rosie’s past. Her real past.

I sit with Rosie as she tells a story of a piratical raid she took part of when she was only 8

years old. Daniel rests in my lap. A huge ship comes into view and my heart drops.

“Rosie, we’ve got company.” I quip. She leaps to her feet and heads towards the cabin.

She reemerges with a handheld telescope. “Take Daniel below deck. I’ll check it out.” I hurry

below into the darkness of the hold and wait. All I can hear is the sound of waves crashing and

the steadiness of Daniel’s tiny breaths. After what seems like an eternity, Rosie calls out for me

to come up. I carefully come out, blinking in the sun and readjusting to its shine.

“The coast is all clear. It’s just a passing whaler.” The ship is now close enough that

we’re within hearing distance of the fellow crew. Rosie and I wave and are greeted by the fellow

working men.

“What a beautiful family you folks have got there!” shouts one the older gentleman

standing near their ship’s railing. I yell out my thanks and our ships, now having passed at the

closest point begin to separate as we each go our own way. I’m handing Daniel over to Rosie

when I hear a faint commotion sound from where the ship had gone off to. We turn to see that

one of the unlucky workmen had gotten too close to the railing and had accidentally fallen over.

The men onboard were trying to get a rope out into the water to rescue him but were having

difficulty doing so. Rosie looked upset, knowing there was nothing we could do at this point. I
made a mental note to keep Daniel away from the railings, especially as he got older. The ocean

could be a dangerous place. And I wanted nothing more than to keep my family safe.

III. September 7, 1805

A cold metal pressing into my temple wakes me from my slumbers. My eyes open and

staring back at me is the very man who stood guard over me those many years ago. My hand

distinctively reaches out for Rosie, but is met with the smooth, cotton sheet. Daniel’s tiny bed is

also empty and emotion floods over me.

“Where is she?” I’m enraged. After all this time, I thought we were safe and now my

family is in danger. Why couldn’t these men leave us alone? I’m sick of this.

“You tell us where the gold is, and we’ll give her to you.” I can hear others out on the

deck. Low muttering and then the sound of a smack followed by a yelp of pain from Rosie

makes my blood boil.

“You leave her alone! Leave my family alone! You all need to- “A swift punch to the

stomach silences me, and my former now present guard drags me out to join the others on the

deck. My eyes search wildly and find Rosie. She is pinned against the railing and her face is red.

Another man holds Daniel, who is crying softly and attempting to get away. I struggle against

my captor but once again, I find myself underneath his boot. The leader of their pirate pack paces

between Rosie and me. “Now, I’m going to ask you both again. Where is the gold?”

“I’ll tell you again, I don’t have it.” Rosie spits back at him.

“That’s not the answer I wanted to hear.”

“Well, it’s the truth.”

 “Hey boss!”

The banter is interrupted by one of the pirates emerging from below deck. He holds up

the remainder of the gold we had been living on. The leader turns to Rosie, fuming. “It seems

like that wasn’t the truth at all, now was it?” He marches over to Rosie and pushes her body, so it

hangs halfway over the railing. The waves rush up, slapping her hair. I can only watch in horror.

“All this trouble, and most of the gold gone. I out to put you where you belong.” I watch

as the leader finishes his threat and shoves Rosie’s, screaming, over the rail. The men all make

their way back to their ship, not seeming to care about the one thing in life that mattered most to

me. The man holding Daniel releases him and he runs over to me. Once freed, I grab Daniel and

hold him tightly before rushing to the railing. But I’m too late. I can’t see her anywhere and even

if I did, I wouldn’t be able to get her. I fall to my knees and gaze helplessly out into the water.

Orders barked on the pirate’s ship lead their huge boat away from the schooner. What was once

our schooner. I close my eyes and lean my head against the railing, defeated. A wet hand grabs

onto mine and I scream. A soaking wet Rosie grasps onto the boat’s railing.

“Aren’t you going to help me up?” She sputters.

“How on earth are you here?” I exclaim.

“It’s called swimming, darling, and I taught myself. It really came in handy just now,

don’t you think?”