Just when West didn't know how to respond to his mother, he saw Chef Plank waving at him in the distance and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, Mother, my friend is calling me, so I'll just…"
"Go ahead, go ahead, you're an adult now, you should have your own friends. Just remember to come back early."
"Yep! I'll definitely be back by 10 p.m." West ran off towards the chef.
"Plank, thanks for getting me out of that one."
"What do you mean? Everyone's just drinking at the Anchor Pub, want to come?"
"Of course!"
West followed Plank to the bustling Anchor Pub and sat down on a wooden stool. A chilled beer went down, and he felt extremely comfortable.
Around the round wooden table in front of him were his companions, all sailors on the Unicorne and crew like assistant chefs who had joined later.
A sailor named Buck put down his beer mug and said in a lowered voice, "Hey, have you guys heard the news?"
"What news? The news that the Captain is blind?"
