Tears with Dinner

Writers: Eimi, Vanessa T Sommerfeld
Date Posted: 25th October 2007

Characters: Supaka, Renner
Description: Supaka gets a disturbing report at the evening meal
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 6, day 8 of Turn 4

"Selka, get back in your chair." Selka obeyed her mother, but slowly.
"Now, finish your tubers and eat three more bites of meatroll. Then you can go play." She reached over to brush a strand of hair that was threatening to make its way onto Selka's plate. Selka froze. Her eyes widened on something behind Supaka and then dropped to stare into her lap. "What's wrong, little fish?" Supaka looked over her shoulder to see Journeyman Renner approaching. She turned back to Selka as the child began to cry.

Renner felt a little guilty as the child burst into tears. He knew she must have recognized him. Still, she was a tiny little thing and it made him feel like a complete wherry for her to burst into tears just at the sight of him. "Um... May I speak with you a moment, journeywoman?"

Supaka instinctively reached for her wailing child. **Perfect timing** she thought. She already felt a bit uncomfortable around Renner being that she was the one brought to Dolphin Hall to replace him. She never heard the details of his breakdown--only that he had lost his dolphin partner and did not take it well. She had nothing but sympathy for the man and hoped there were no ill feelings on his part. Of course the moment he wanted to talk to her, Selka decided to collapse into tears. She struggled to pull the growing girl's limp body into her lap, reigned-in what seemed like endless arms and legs, and began a rocking motion to soothe the child. Supaka looked up in exasperation. "I'm so sorry. Of course. Please, sit down. I don't know what has gotten into her. Just let me..... Selka, shhhh, shhhh."

She pulled back to look at her daughter. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Selka refused to answer. Supaka followed the child's line of sight to her new guest and fixed Renner with a puzzled stare.

"I think it might be me," Renner admitted with an apologetic half-smile.
"I believe I scared her this morning."

Supaka bounced Selka on her knees and patted her back as the crying became forced. "Selka, that's enough." She looked at Renner. "What happened?"

The journeyman was relieved the child seemed to have stopped crying, at least for the moment. He hadn't thought he had been _that_ hard on her... "Well, I found your daughter alone in one of the training sailboats this morning. She had just cast off from the dock when I spotted her."

"You...what?" Supaka gasped, choking on her heart. She looked at her baby.
"Selka what were you doing?"

Selka started to cry in earnest again. "Mama, I wanted to go see Da. I miss Da."

She hugged the child tightly pushed back tears of her own. "I know, little fish. I miss Da, too, but you are too young to take a boat by yourself." "I can do it Mama. I really can."

"Selka, you cannot go in a boat by yourself! You know better than that.
Besides, how were you going to find Da?"

"The dolphins'll show me, Mama. They'll help me."

"Yes, I'm sure the dolphins could find your Da if they needed to, but they are very busy helping rescue people in trouble. If the dolphins are taking you to your Da, they won't be able to help people who need them." She tried another angle. "Besides, Da will be here soon for a visit. Promise me you will not do this again, Selka." The girl sniffed. "I promise."

"You know what a promise means? Right?"

"Right, Mama."

Supaka felt as if she could finally exhale and looked up a Renner. "I am so sorry. It's hard on her without her father. It's hard on both of us," she added. "She was raised on a boat and her confidence is--well, not always a good thing." Hoping her explanation was enough that Renner would not think her an irresponsible mother, Supaka chanced a pained smile.

"I understand. But I thought you should know in case she tried it again.
She seemed rather reluctant to return to shore. If I hadn't been close enough to swim out and catch her, I can't say for sure she wouldn't have gotten it out of the harbor." He had to admit, she certainly had seemed fearless alone in that little boat. Renner would have to watch the boats much closer from now on, and warn the others on dock duty to do the same. This was getting worse. "So you not only tried to take a boat out by yourself, but you disobeyed Journeyman Renner when he hailed you back?"
The child again relied on her tears to belay any explanation. "Journeyman Renner, I need to get her home so we can deal with this. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention. I am terribly sorry that she caused you so much trouble. I can _not_ believe you had to swim after her. I am_ so_
embarrassed. Please know that we will have a long talk tonight about listening and minding grownups, and there will be severe consequences for her." As she stood, she shifted the child to her hip and thought, **I just don't have a clue yet what they will be.** "Selka, apologize to Journeyman Renner and tell him you will not go near the boats again."

"I w-w-won't," Selka cried. "I didn't hear an apology."

"I'm s-sorry." Selka buried her head in her mother's shoulder.

"Thank you for catching her before she got into serious danger. And thank you for telling me."

Renner nodded, glancing between mother and daughter. Hopefully this was a scene that wouldn't have to be repeated. "I'm just glad that no harm was done and your daughter is safe."

"Good Evening, Journeyman Renner."

Last updated on the October 25th 2007

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Tears with Dinner