Silly man! What pirate would want your booty? she had asked him. There was a new deal, since he would not comply. She promised to make him work so hard protecting his treasure that he had not the time to raid other men's chests. I don't like that idea at all, he had proclaimed. In less than a year, she had become a bad wife, a very, very bad wife. But he had been a lousy husband for years.

Sigh. Pirates should never marry, he admonished himself, yet he had. And she knew that his new shipmates had gotten him into the kind of trouble his old ones never had. How was he to continue sailing the seas with them now? If he continued, she would certainly leave him. She was already packing, just in case she caught him looking at his treasure maps again. Several times, she had asked to go with him, but he had told her 'no.' Some other pirates brought their women occasionally, and it was always awkward to have females aboard the ship.

It was a tough decision for him to make. He was trying to hang onto both of his worlds. He needed her, of this he was certain. But his mates! They were fun, adventurous, exciting! And they took all of his time and attention. He had little left to spend on her. That is why she had been threatening to leave him for more than three years.

Just threats, he had thought. Then she began behaving as though she were no longer married - like he had been doing. He hoped slight effort on his part would fix everything. Sadly, he had continued to carry out misdeeds (and thought she would not notice) and failed to put forth even the slightest effort much of the time.

Now she was packing. And not just her clothes this time. She was packing trinkets, baubles, dishes even! A few paintings she had collected would go, too. She was selling other items for which she had no use. The enormity of goods I would have to deal with is one of the excuses I've had for not leaving, she told him, so I will have one less excuse.

Money, he knew, was another excuse, as was her naivete. Why, she will be taken advantage of! She knows hardly anything about how the world works! Damn! What is a pirate to do? He swore again and banged his fist on the table in exasperation. The commotion startled the parrot who flapped his wings against the wooden bars of the cage and squawked in a tremendous shrieking mock "What is a pirate to do? Damn!"