Getting Ready to Go

About two and a half weeks was all it took for Polly to be absolutely convinced she was not fit to work in retail.

Word soon spread about Croix’s delicious sandwiches, and it didn’t take long for business to get booming. That proved a bit troublesome for Polly and the birds because practically overnight they went from salesmen to full-time waiters. The kiwis held up a bit better than Polly thanks to the bit of experience they had shuttling food around during their island days, but their small stature made getting around and dropping off plates a real workout.

And Polly? Dealing with people had never been her strong suit, and while most of the customers were sweet as pie, there were a few who were as nasty as cherry flavored medicine. Polly had plenty of patience for things like ship maintenance, but for talking to entitled pests she had none. While she had improved some since she started waitressing, there were more than a few times she had floated out of the restaurant to cool her head before she did any serious damage.

Then, about two weeks and five days after they had landed on Sea-Island 6, Polly received a message from the mysterious lad who had taken it upon himself to fix up The Birbalinda.

The message came in the form of a pigeon who had flown to Croix’s restaurant, ordered himself a sandwich and announced that The Birbalinda would be fit for sailing in two days. He then asked Polly if she would tip him a few coins for his service, and so she did.

Two days passed, and Polly found herself on her way to the dock.

Much to her own surprise she hadn’t visited the dock even once since she had arrived. Between running around Croix’s restaurant like a chicken with its head cut off and her daily visits to Yellow and Brown’s shop, she simply had not the time nor the energy. Yet, The Birbalinda was never far from her thoughts and sometimes at night before she would clock out for the day she would picture her beautiful ship looking better than ever.

x x x

The pier was busy as merchants, travelers, and the like bustled around on the fine afternoon. Polly’s eyes narrowed in part to keep her poor eyeballs safe from the sun’s bright rays and in part to focus her vision.

“I’m over here,” she heard a voice call.

Turning to her left she saw the sandy brown hair and gangly figure of the lad who had offered his help, and he was waving an arm while standing atop the ship.

When she had first seen it, Polly had felt that The Birbalinda was an undeniably beautiful wooden craft. She was large, but not massive, with boards that were a warm timber and three ivory sails that helped carry her across the seas. It really had been love at first sight.

Somehow despite the damage done to The Birbalinda’s sails and hull in the storm, the lad had worked his magic and she was looking even better than she had before being placed in Polly’s possession.

Polly weaved through the crowd and made her way to the lad.

“Wow, she’s looking good.”

“Of course she is. I know my craft.”

“By the way, I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“Oh that’s right, my bad. I’m Bagg Et. And you?”

“Polly, nice to meet you. Are you sure you don’t want any payment? I’d feel a bit bad having gotten so much work done on my ship for free.”

“Absolutely sure. If you see them again let those fish know Bagg Et paid his dues.”

“If it’s really alright with you, I guess it’s alright with me,” shrugged Polly. “By the way, mind if I get on her for a bit?”

“She’s in your hands now,” replied Bagg Et. “I’m pretty much done with her.”

“Right, well thanks again then.”

Bagg Et nodded curtly and in moments he had become one with the crowd.

Polly gave The Birbalinda another admiring look over before making her way onto the ship.

As she walked along the upper deck, she felt as if the salt in the air had become sharper, the breeze had become crisper, and the water had become a surface of sparkling crystal. The sea was calling her name and she knew it was time to go.

However, she couldn’t leave just yet for she had some goodbyes to say. Tomorrow, then was when she would wave her last wave to Sea-Island 6 and continue her travels.

So, Polly descended from The Birbalinda, and when she was standing on the pier looking at her ship, she was overcome once more with just how majestic the craft looked. Three weeks had been quite the while.

For the first time since her first visit, Croix’s Crispy Crunches was empty save for the owner himself and a young fellow who leaned a bit to the shorter side and had a puff of dark hair. Croix had given Polly and the kiwis a day off so he could scout some new workers before the four left.

“Welcome back Polly,” said Croix as Polly walked in. “This here is Muff Hin, a fine young lad if I do say so myself. He starts tomorrow.”

“Oh wow, I actually wanted to stop by and say that I’d be leaving tomorrow. The Birbalinda is up and ready to go.”

“I see. I’ll miss you and the birds for sure. Will you stop by tomorrow before you leave for good?”

“I sure will.”

“That’s wonderful. It wouldn’t feel right if you didn’t,” nodded Croix.

“It really wouldn’t,” agreed Polly. “Especially not after you were such a help to us since we first arrived. And you even paid us pretty well for helping you out.”

“Aw shucks, well I wouldn’t have work if it wasn’t for the help of you fellas. Really, I don’t know why you’re thanking me when I should be doing all the thanking.”

Polly had the strangest feeling she was about to end up in an intense battle not unlike the ones she had witnessed as a young’un where people would just about fight to the death to pay for the bill at restaurants. Polly’s mettle was weak so she decided she’d call it quits, and although she was very thankful, would let Croix have the final word.

After Croix thanked her graciously again, which she expected he’d be doing more before she left, Polly decided to return to Melonpan Motel and let the birds know what the game plan was. She figured she’d take the super suspicious route that Fethar had recommended way back for old time’s sake. Three weeks was the longest amount of time Polly had spent on an island that was not her own, and she’d be lying to herself if she said she hadn’t gotten even the slightest bit attached.

“We ride at dawn,” announced Polly as she entered the kiwis’ room, swinging the door open like a king who had just heard enemy forces were approaching and was informing his generals that it was time for them to rally in defense of their beloved kingdom.

“So soon?” asked Ed, who was currently buried beak-deep in a blanket.

“I mean yeah? We did get a heads up about two days ago that The Birbalinda would be ready to sail soon.”

“Hmmm.” Ed sank down a little deeper into the blanket.

It had not occurred to Polly until now that the kiwis might not want to leave.

“We could stay here for another day or two,” offered Polly tentatively.

“Hmmm,” said Wiki who was sitting in a corner of the room spinning tops that she had bought with her share of waitressing money.

“Right,” began Polly slowly. “Well I just thought I’d let you guys know that I’d kind of like to leave tomorrow. There’s a lot of islands we haven’t visited yet and I’m sure they'll also have cool stuff worth checking out.”

“Hmmm,” replied SAT who was hanging upside down from the ceiling like a bat.

“I-,” floundered Polly. She wasn’t quite sure what to say. She had not expected this lack of enthusiasm from the kiwis and it was unnerving her.

“Err, yeah, well I’ll just be walking around The Capital for one last time,” she said at last.

Polly wandered around The Capital til the sky darkened and the bread-themed lamps began turning on one by one. It was a sight she had not seen before today, and as she watched them flicker then glow, she felt herself understanding why the kiwis might want to stay. Sure life on the ocean was nice, but being on land surrounded by life was pretty good too.

It was about time for dinner so Polly headed back to Melonpan so she and the kiwis could pick a restaurant to feast at like they had been doing since the start of their stay.

“I don’t think we ever brought Ed to 'Not Half Bad Food',” chirped Wiki.

“You know what, I think you’re right,” responded Polly. “Ed, you’re in for a treat.”

“You really are,” squawked SAT. “Those noodles, why I can’t believe we haven’t gone back already.”

With all the council members agreed, the four trooped over to the restaurant in high spirits.

“Welcome back,” beamed the owner, who Polly figured had to have the fantastic memory of an elephant to be able to remember them.

The restaurant was considerably more full today than it had been during their last visit, and so it looked like all hands were on deck.

“Hi,” returned Polly. “We’re back with a friend this time!”

“Glad to hear it! Have a seat at any table that’s free and I’ll be with you as soon as I can.”

There happened to be a table with enough room for the four of them near the door, and so that’s where they sat. True to her word, the owner was with them in a jiffy and wasted no time in bringing them menus, utensils, and water.

Polly decided she’d be adventurous and try the pad see ew, a major change from the beef noodle soup she had ordered the last time. SAT and Wiki also switched up their orders, SAT going with pancit and Wiki going with wonton noodles. Ed decided on fettuccine alfredo.

Even with the increase in customers, the service of the staff stayed top notch and their food was out in a flash.

“These noodles are simply exquisite,” commented Ed. “I do declare that if a deranged serial killer were attempting to bury me alive by shoveling these noodles on top of me, I’d be able to slurp them up faster than they could pile them.”

“Why thank you for the compliment my dear,” smiled the owner who had roller-skated herself to their table. “Though I can’t say that’s one I’ve heard before.”

“‘Tis my pleasure ma’am. These noodles are undoubtedly a work of art.”

The owner skated away after having given her thanks as there were no plates or bowls in need of collecting at the moment.

“Polly,” began Wiki hesitantly.

Polly’s heart dropped. Not once had the kiwis ever called her by her actual name, they pretty much just squawked at her or called her fledge, so she had a feeling whatever Wiki was about to say couldn’t be good.

“I have, no we have, been thinking about this, and we have decided that we’d like to stay here.”

The bird paused for a moment as if to gauge Polly’s response. The girl was silent.

“This island is kind of close to what our home was like before The Dictator. There’s fun ingredients all around, people who love cooking, and people who love eating. Of course we aren’t asking you to stay, we know you belong out at sea. And also we don’t mean to abandon you, not after you saved us from our island. We simply would like to extend our stay, and when the time comes, if you ever feel like paying Sea-Island 6 another visit, we’ll be here and more than happy to join you on your adventures.”

“We really appreciate everything you’ve done for us fledge,” added SAT. “We didn’t know how to spill the beans about it, and now seemed like as good of a time as ever.”

“I really did miss cooking in the kitchen of a restaurant,” said Ed, looking at Polly apologetically.

“Right,” replied Polly who was at a loss for words. “But this isn’t goodbye forever or anything, right?”

“Of course not fledge,” huffed SAT. “We’ll just be splitting up for a bit.”

“Yeah.” Polly poked at the noodles on her plate. There weren’t many left. “Let’s go back to the motel.”