Half Share

“Yes, Francis? You have something to add to this conversation?” Brill asked.

“Is this about the bookmark on his tablet?” he asked.

“Why, yes,” she said. “It is.”

“And you think he’s incompetent because he was so distracted by Diane that he doesn’t know what he’s doing?”

“I believe that’s a fair assessment,” Brill agreed. “You yourself brought it to his attention last night, I believe. At least he had sufficient integrity to bring it to attention this morning.”

“But I was just teasing him!” Francis objected. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Oh, Francis, I think you don’t give yourself enough credit. Obviously you are more observant than you know and must have picked up on Mr. Wang’s state of mind,” Brill answered. “The fact remains, that if he can’t keep his head on straight enough to know what bookmark he’s setting on something as simple as his tablet, how can I trust him with the lives aboard this ship? These people trust us to care for them. I can’t overlook the fact that he did not know he’d set his tablet for spec one and during six full weeks he had been so distracted by Diane that he didn’t realize it until you pointed it out to him.”

She was good—very good.

“But,” Francis said, “he didn’t set it to the wrong chapter.”

“Oh?” Brill asked archly. “Then how do you explain this?” She held up my tablet to the page that Francis had last seen me reading. “This is clearly spec one material.”

“True, but he didn’t make the mistake in setting it,” he said.

“I don’t follow, Francis. What are you saying?” Brill asked.

“He didn’t make the mistake in setting it. I set it to spec one the day we pulled out of St. Cloud. I never dreamed he wouldn’t spot it,” he said miserably.

“So this whole fiasco is your doing?” Brill said incredulously.

Francis nodded and I recognized the can I just melt into the deck now expression on his face. I had been wearing it not so long ago.

“Mr. Wang?” she called to me. “Do you have anything to say to Mr. Gartner on this matter?”

“Yes, Ms. Smith, I do,” I replied.

Francis turned to me with a pained and stricken across his face.

“Gotcha!” I said.

There were about four solid heartbeats of frozen disbelief on Francis’s face before he turned to find Brill and Diane grinning at him. “Gotcha!” they both said together.

“But—” he began.

I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Francis. I know, or think I know, what happened.” I nodded toward Diane. “You saw her snatch my tablet and jigger the bookmark, right?”

He nodded.

“Then you thought you’d up the ante by boosting it to spec one?” I asked.

“Yeah, I never expected you wouldn’t spot it, but then watch after watch you came in with it. I’ve never seen anybody wrestle so hard,” he said with what sounded like admiration. “Then you rotated to the next shift and I never got a good opportunity to tell you. To be honest, I didn’t think you’d still be working on the wrong lessons until you mentioned it last night. I couldn’t believe how much of it you’d gotten through.”

“And ribbing me about Diane?”

“Oh, that. I’m sorry but it was just too perfect to pass up. I just couldn’t resist. When it comes to good- looking women, you’re easy to tease, Ish.” He looked at all of us then and said, “I’m sorry. Really I am.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Is that good enough for you two?” I asked Brill and Diane.

Brill nodded. “Yeah. I’m good. What about you, Diane?”

There was something in Diane’s stance that made me think she was going to deck him, but she finally said, “Yeah. Good enough.”

“Okay, well, then I guess it’s good enough for me.” I held out my hand to Francis.

He looked at it and then my eyes before taking it.”You’re a good man, Ish,” he said softly.

“I’m an idiot, but it comes naturally to me. I don’t need to use brilliant women like these two as an excuse. I’m dumb enough on my own,” I told him with a grin. “Good, now? Anybody ready for lunch? I think Cookie’s doing lamb with garlic.”

Diane said, “All ops normal, Mr. Gartner. No maintenance scheduled or performed. You have the watch.”

Francis replied, “Thank you, Ms. Ardele, I relieve you. I have the watch.”

“Kneesies,” Diane huffed as she brushed by him, headed for the lock.

“I’ll catch up with you in a few, Ish,” Brill said. “I’ve got some loose ends to finish up.”

I waved and followed Diane out. I almost felt sorry for Francis.

***

Diane was waiting at the ladder. “You think she’s going to ream him out?”

I shrugged. “She didn’t say much to you. The infraction isn’t worth a reaming. If he’d just left you out of it, I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it. I’m partially to blame as well. I should have noticed. I’ve been pretty disoriented what with changing sections and trying to get used to watch standing and all.”

“Well, what’s done is done. Let’s get some lunch.” As she turned, she asked, “Did you mean what you said about two brilliant women?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, of course.”

“You couldn’t have said beautiful women?”

“Well, that part seemed obvious.”

She stopped ahead of me on the ladder and looked back. “Really? You think I’m as pretty as Brill?”

“Honestly? I think you are both amazing on so many levels that being gorgeous doesn’t even compete with the rest.”

“Damn, you’re good! Do you think that stuff up on the fly?”

“No, I have a team of writers who think it up for me and communicate via an implant in my ear. Now, do ya think you could move it? I’m getting hungry.” I laughed.

She laughed, too, and continued up the ladder.

“And, Diane?”

She looked back again.

“Don’t be too mad at him. He didn’t mean any harm.”

She gave a little I heard you but I’m not sure what I think about it yet shrug and scampered up the ladder.

When we got to the mess deck, we found a table and saved a seat for Brill. Cookie had, indeed, prepared lamb with some green beans and potatoes. The succulent meat was delicately seasoned with just salt, pepper, and a trace of garlic. It was utterly delightful and I ate every bite. Brill showed up about ten ticks later and took the seat we had saved for her.

“I gotta give ya credit, Ish,” she said as she sat. “The section has been plenty lively since you joined us.”

I blushed. “I’m sorry. I really only want to do a good job.”

She grinned and winked at Diane. “It’s okay. We were getting into a rut. This has bounced us out of it pretty well. Now, about that exam…” She pulled out her tablet and pulled up a quiz and started asking me questions.

Diane offered encouragement in the beginning, but the longer it went on she ended up just sitting and watching. Her head bobbed back and forth from me to Brill and back again, like she was watching some kind of tennis match.

Finally, Brill came to the end and grinned. “Seventy-eight!” she said triumphantly.

“Yeah, but what test?” I asked her.

“Spec two.”

“But I haven’t studied spec two,” I protested.

She wagged her eyebrows at me. “Think of how well you’ll do once you have.”