Ledgers and Kisses

Writers: Miriah, Yvonne
Date Posted: 20th March 2019

Characters: Taril, Humari
Description: Humari finds problems with Taril's ledgers, but gives him a surprise.
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 10, day 8 of Turn 9

Humari

Humari studied the ledgers at the table with a critical eye as she
made the tallies once, then again. She paused, looked at the marked
candles to check the time, then stared down at the hides in front of
her. She had hoped she would have it finished before her husband came
home, but this one was particularly difficult. She dug through the
hides, double checking the amounts, and then frowned.

"Mama! Snack? P'ease?" Her son, now nearly two turns, tugged at her skirt.

"No, Tumaril. It's nearly time for supper." She turned away from the
ledgers and picked him up, amused at displeased frown on her son's
face. Every day he resembled his father more and more." You're getting
heavy, little one."

"I not little! I big!"

"Yes, you're big. " She nodded with mock seriousness, then grinned.
"But not big enough to escape from Mama!" She tickled his belly with
nimble fingers and at the delighted laugh, she pressed a kiss against
his head. "And your father will be home soon. Then Mama will surprise
him. "

"S'prise?"

"Oh yes, but go pick up your toys, please before he gets home." She
set him down with a little pat on his bottom.

Just as she said the words, there was a knock on the door and Taril
stepped inside. "Evening," he said to Humari, and he broke into a grin
at the sight of his son.

"Papa!" His toys were completely forgotten as Taril stepped through
the door. Tumaril ran to his father as quickly as legs could carry him
and bounced with his arms up.

Smiling warmly, Humari rose to greet her husband with a soft brush of
her lips against his own. There was a glint in her eye and a satisfied
little twist to her mouth as she pulled away. "Supper will be on the
table in just a moment."

With an ease borne of habit, she began to clear the table, setting
the ledgers to the side. "Taril, you're going to have to speak to
Captain Falcher. You've lost marks on the last three of his shipments.
Either he's not storing the perishables properly on board or he's not
checking them when he gets them. It's not much, but it'll add up."

"Wait until I'm in the door," Taril told Tumaril. He ruffled the boy's
hair, then leaned his crutch up against the wall to pull off his coat.
Every time Tumaril looked happy to see him was a gift. Even just last
week he'd had a tot about his son's age take one look at him and burst
into tears. "What was that about Falcher?"

Humari's brow rose at Taril as she set the table and placed the
steaming fish pie at the center. She hurried to pick Tumaril up,
handling the squirming boy with ease. "The ledgers, Taril." She set
the boy in his chair and served Taril's plate first, then her son's.
"Falcher is costing you marks. Not much, but enough to the point that
it may become a habit that gets worse."

"Mama's got s'pise." Tumaril offered.

"Shh." Humari stroked his blond hair and waited for Taril to join them
at the table before she sat.

"Falcher's been late twice in the last six months," Taril said
thoughtfully. He sat on the chair near the door to unlace his one
boot. "I've been using him for turns to do the run north... how many
marks?"

"Since the hurricane it's been at least one or two marks per shipment,
but the last two shipments it was five. There was more spoilage than
the others."

That was about eight marks in the last Turn. Taril frowned as he put
on his slipper, grabbed his crutch and made his way over to the table.
Falcher was a good captain, or had been. But eight marks was a lot.
"The last lot was wheat. Remind me - what did he spoil on the trip
before that? Wheat or barley?"

"Wheat." Humari replied quickly. "There was mold on half of the
shipment." Her brow furrowed. "Perhaps the weather is a factor. Don't
the hulls in the ships get rather humid?"

Taril shook his head. "Hulls shouldn't get bad enough for mold if
Falchar maintains it well enough, although there's always going to be
some loss to wet while shipping grain. The weather shouldn't be a
factor. There haven't been any major storms worth worrying about on
that route since the hurricane."

"I don't know much about ships, Taril. Perhaps his ship needs to be
fixed or..." She had to remember the right word, " ...refitted?"
Humari offered him the fish pie and a serving knife. "That does have
to happen regularly, doesn't it? I've not seen anything in the ledgers
lately about any repairs he's requested."

"Hmm. He should be doing maintenance. I'll inspect his hold myself
next time he's in port." Taril picked up the serving knife. "I have
literally been thinking about this pie all day."

"Good." Humari nodded, a faint, rather pleased smile on her face. "You
don't need to be losing all that much, especially now." She turned to
help Tumaril with a bit of his own food. "Use your fork, not your
hands. "

Taril didn't say anything as he helped himself to a slice of pie.
There were the shipping books that Humari kept - and kept well - and
then there were the loan books that he kept himself. Between the two
businesses, both he and his little cothold were doing just fine.
"Well," he said after taking a bite of dinner, "thank you for bringing
that to my attention. Maybe next time I'll see if I can source
something a little less sensitive for Falchar to move for me on his
next voyage. Wheat can bring in good marks, but not with that rate of
loss."

"Well, someone needs to bring it in. It's needed after that hurricane
and if your ships don't, then someone else's will. Maybe you can
switch his regular cargo with another captain that doesn't carry
anything perishable. " She wiped Tumaril's mouth carefully. "He wears
more than he eats. " She sighed. "He's just playing with it. I'm
going to clean him up and let him play for a bit." She rose and
glanced over her shoulder at Taril. " Don't go to the docks after
you're finished, please. We have to talk."

Taril nodded and continued with his pie, wondering if he'd done
something wrong. Then he remembered what Tumaril had said about mum
having a surprise and he finished his dinner with a lighter heart -
although he did miss the days when he and his wife had eaten together.
"How was your day with Tumaril?"

"He keeps me busy, especially since he's learned how to run, and
climb, and open cabinets. He had every single pot out on the floor and
was pretending that the biggest lid was a ship's wheel." She began
washing the young boy, ignoring his splutters of protest. It was so
routine that she did it without thinking. When she was done, she set
the boy down with his toys and returned to the table with a sigh.
Keeping an ear open for suspicious silences or loud crashes, she was
able to return to her own meal, though as she looked at it, she
wrinkled her nose. Picking through it, she chose the vegetables and
left the rest.

"Sounds like a busy day." Taril watched his wife eat -- or rather, not
eat. "Are you feeling well?"

"I'm feeling fine. A little stomach upset is all." She picked at a
finger root and a sly little smile played around her lips. "The marks
do worry me, Taril. Because..." She finally took a small bite,
finished it, then continued, "I'm afraid that we're going to have to
move to larger quarters."

Taril blinked. "Wait-- what? Larger-- are you pregnant? You're
pregnant. Right?" he asked hopefully.

Humari looked at him, then a wide happy smile lit her face. "It was
just confirmed this morning." She rose and nudging the heavy table
back, slid across his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck to
press her cheek against his. "We're having another baby, Taril."

"We are!" He kissed her cheek, then her neck, and then paused to try
to wrap his head around the fact that he was going to have _another_
child. One was good fortune for a man like him, but two?! Perhaps
another son. Or a daughter-- he had a son, so it didn't really matter
if their child was a boy or a girl. "That's the best news I've had all
Turn. When? You don't look--" he slid his hand over her still flat
belly.

She couldn't help but remember that it was the same gesture she had
done with the same hand when she discovered that she carried Tumaril.
She laid her hand over his and laughed lightly, her smile so much
brighter and far less nervous than it had been before. "Of course not.
Remember? It'll happen and I'll be waddling around before you know
it." She didn't have to ask this time if he was pleased; now she knew.
"I'm due in month one." She looked down at their hands covering her
belly and twined her fingers with his.

Humari pulled her head back to look at her husband and spoke softly.
"Our baby." She paused, her eyes gentle. He might not have been her
choice initially, but she could no longer imagine her life without
being by his side. Though she never looked at other men, neither did
she look at women more than with a passing, brief interest. She
dreamed of him now, fully welcomed him to her, and enjoyed his touch
more than she had ever dreamed she would. "Taril? I love you, husband."

His fingers tightened around hers and he put his other hand to her
cheek, drawing her close enough to kiss. Her words were sweeter than
music. Perhaps she hadn't imagined a man like him as a husband, but he
hadn't dared dream for a wife who could look him in the eye and
confess to love. He kissed her like he was drowning, until neither of
them could breathe. "I love you, wife," he said against her lips, then
brushed his against hers to remind himself of how soft they were.

His kisses stirred her completely now and the emotion she felt in them
only cemented in her the knowledge that he was the one she was made
for. What had started out so awkward, was now so warm and
so...perfect. Despite everything, her mother, her family, and her
mistakes, he loved her. The look she gave him when he pulled away was
full of tenderness and devotion. To her, he was handsome, he was just
what she needed and wanted. She pressed her lips to his again with a
sigh.

"Mama? Papa?" Tumaril stood, staring at them with a look of utter
disgust."Eeeeewwww...."

Taril finished what he was doing before cocking an eyebrow at his son.
"Isn't it your bed time?"

"No." Tumaril protested instantly. "Mama kissees all mine!" He pouted,
toddling forward to tug at her skirt with offended demand. "Mama, no
give kissees."

Humari hid her giggles at Taril's neck and managed to control them
before looking down at their son. "Papa gets them too. And it is your
bedtime." She pecked Taril's cheek lightly, then sighed as she got up,
ignoring the immediate toddler protest. She bent to whisper in Taril's
ear. "When he goes to sleep, you can find out what's not under my
dress. " She pressed her lips to his cheek and scooped up the
protesting child, before sending her husband a sly wink.

Taril watched the sway of her hips as she left the room and really,
really hoped that Tumaril fell asleep quickly that night.

Last updated on the April 1st 2019

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Ledgers and Kisses