The Boatman's Wife(36)

Lily shivered, a chill passing through her as if she was cold from the inside out. Her skin was hot, arms on fire, the rash spreading up to her elbows – but inside she was so cold.

Lily went into her bedroom and lay down on the bed, closing her eyes. She wanted to sink into the mattress, through the base of it, and through the floor. She wanted to fall away to nothing.

She was woken by the sound of her phone ringing, but by the time she’d found it she’d missed the call from her mom. She walked over to look out of the window and saw the light on downstairs in her parents’ house. Her mom’s station wagon was parked outside the front. She listened to the voicemail. Her mom had successfully bailed her father out, after a wait of about three hours. Lily couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. She was mad with her dad, yet she didn’t want to see him in jail.

She went downstairs, put her coat on over her woollen dress and slipped on a pair of boots.



Her parents’ back door wasn’t locked. She pulled her snowy boots off and hung her coat on a hook. Her mom had now cleared up everything from the memorial reception. Plates of food were covered with plastic wrap and every surface had been wiped down. Only the light under the stove was on. Lily walked down the hall and into the main living room. Her dad was sitting in his chair. Lily could see a bottle of bourbon and a half-full Old Fashioned glass on the table beside him. He started when he saw her. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was drunk, which felt strange because her daddy never drank too much.

‘Lily, your mom was trying to talk to you,’ he said, his words slurring slightly. ‘She rang your phone, but you didn’t pick up.’

Lily sat down on the couch. ‘I fell asleep,’ she said.

Her dad nodded.

The tension between them was thick. Lily had never felt like this with her father before. She couldn’t bear it. They had to talk about what had happened. Get it all out.

‘What happened, Daddy? Why did Frederickson take you off to Knox County Jail?’

Her father sighed. ‘Man, they actually booked me.’ He shook his head and took another gulp of whisky. ‘I’m being charged with seaman’s manslaughter for Connor’s death.’

‘I know,’ Lily snapped. ‘I heard Frederickson when he arrested you. But what I want to know is why, Daddy? On what evidence?’

‘Honey, you came over.’ Lily heard her mother’s voice behind her, and felt her hand on her shoulder. ‘Jack, you need to go to bed. You’ve had too much to drink.’

But her father stayed put, looking down at his glass of bourbon before draining it.

‘It’s going to be okay,’ her mom said, coming down to sit next to Lily, although she didn’t sound like she thought so. Her voice was trembling. ‘We managed to post bail.’

‘And how much was that?’

‘Twenty thousand dollars,’ her mom answered, in a flat voice.

‘But how did you get the money?’

Her mother turned to her, a colour high in her cheeks. ‘I had to use the money I’d saved up, that I was giving you for your fertility treatment,’ she said. ‘You’ll get it back.’

‘Well, I don’t need the money now, anyway,’ Lily said bitterly.

‘They have to drop the charges. It’s crazy they’re charging Jack with seaman’s manslaughter. He didn’t do anything negligent. Just got caught out in a storm, but because he’s the captain, he gets the blame…’ Her mom’s voice petered out.

Lily looked across at her father. ‘Is that what really happened, Dad?’ she challenged him, feeling her anger raw in her throat like heartburn.

He stared back at her, his eyes unfocused, before turning to pour more Jack Daniels into his glass. She felt her mom watching him, sensed her concern, but her mom didn’t say anything. Instead she turned to Lily, picking up her hand and looking into her eyes.

‘Your dad can’t lobster fish until this gets sorted, and we lost the boat,’ she said. ‘At least it’s the end of the season, so we’ve some money saved, but honey… Do you think you’re ready to go back to work? Could you go out with one of the other crews? We’re going to need the money.’

‘But if it does go to trial, when will that be?’ Lily asked.

‘It won’t,’ her mom said firmly. ‘It wasn’t Jack’s fault.’

‘How do you know, Mom?’ Lily burst out. ‘You weren’t there.’

Her mom looked genuinely shocked. ‘How could you say such a thing, Lily?’ she said, but her eyes were flitting, and she was clearly trying to divert Lily’s attention to more practical matters. ‘The insurance won’t cover us if Jack is found negligent,’ she said in a quiet voice. ‘But I don’t believe they’ll bring it to trial—’

‘Three years,’ her dad interrupted. ‘If they decide to prosecute, that’s what my attorney said.’

‘They wouldn’t even consider prosecuting unless they had good reason for doing so.’ Lily walked over to her dad. ‘So come on, Dad, spit it out. Tell me the truth.’ She could hear the harsh anger in her voice, yet at the same time she was scared. What would happen to her father if he was sent away to prison for three years?

‘Lily! We all need to pull together,’ her mom said, twisting her hands in her lap, her face pale with nerves.