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“Yeah, small island for sure,” said Chris walking over. “Did my guys get started on the roof?”
“They did,” said Mike. “And since I know nothing about roofing, I can’t tell you how they’re doing but I do know they’re hard at it.”
“Good,” said Chris. “They’d better be because I’ve got job requests coming through the roof, pun intended.”
Mike laughed. “Well, I guess that’s a good problem to have. I’m going to enjoy a nice lunch here on the docks. I’m sure we’ll cross paths again at this rate.”
“Probably,” nodded Chris. “Any, um, news for me?”
Mike thought for a moment before he responded. “Well, SeaAnna and Susan both know you’re on the island. It was a very difficult conversation, as you can imagine. I don’t know that either one of them is ready to have contact with you yet. My wife has agreed to the DNA testing. I think for her that’s a first step and she won’t do anything else unless and until she knows the answer from that. And Susan… Chris, I can’t tell what she’s thinking. She pretty much left the room where we were talking and I don’t know anything more. I do know SeaAnna is there with her now, but they have their own issues to work through. Jo is out enjoying some beach time and I think she wanted to have some time to herself.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good thing. We all need time,” said Chris. “That’s why I took my lunch break down here. This place holds a lot of great memories for me. Some things are very different, from what I can see. It’s been a lot of years. But the beauty of the boats and the hold they have on me I guess have never changed. I sure felt it walking along there. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed my time as a mate. I spent a little time with Jo’s friend, Dare. Nice kid. Sharp too. Hope he succeeds.”
“He is a good guy,” Mike agreed. “Well, I will catch you later, Chris. We’re leaving in the morning before the maddening crowd arrives. If anything changes with SeaAnna, I’ll let you know but don’t hold your breath. She’s pretty stubborn.”
“Got it,” said Chris. “Take it easy, Mike, and thanks. This has put you in an awkward position. Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime?”
Mike said nothing but nodded.
Chris got in his work van and headed out. Mike watched him go and wondered where all this was heading. Then his stomach rumbled and he decided to head over to the Tides Restaurant. It was a bit ramshackle but the seafood was fresh and the ambiance at the dock couldn’t be beat. He had always enjoyed watching the activity there. SeaAnna and Jo didn’t realize that in a way he enjoyed his time on the island. It was just always fraught with so much drama. Maybe things would be better now. Maybe. He ordered some fish bites, fries, and a beer, knowing SeaAnna would completely disapprove. But for the first time that day, he relaxed. He watched the pelicans on their perches and heard the gulls squawking and squabbling about something. And he tried to think about nothing at all.
He spent the better part of two hours just sitting, then he decided to walk around and see how storm repairs were coming along there. He was amazed at how quickly things seemed to go back to normal, but here and there were the tell-tale signs of damage. He’d noticed on the drive down the large piles of debris that had accumulated on the sides of the highway, so he knew there had been a lot of flooding people couldn’t see.Storms are like that, he mused.They can devastate one area or neighborhood and just a few miles away it’s like nothing happened.Tornadoes, hurricanes, severe thunderstorms – they all acted that way. Fickle.But if the island was anything, it was resilient, and that resilience was very evident at the docks.
He looked for Dare on theCarefreebut didn’t see him and suspected he had gone somewhere for a late lunch break. Other mates were still working, getting their boats ready for a strong shoulder season. He stopped and chatted with a few of them. The general consensus was that while Hurricane Eva had been rough, the damage could have been worse, and by and large they felt ready to get back to work. There were no guarantees there wouldn’t be another storm, so they wanted to work as much as they could. Mike reflected that his work as a successful accountant couldn’t be more different from what those folks did, but he enjoyed what he did, even if seeing their tanned and toned bodies made him feel his age a bit more. He laughed to himself and took a very long and leisurely drive back to the motel. He could see Jo out on the sand and she looked to be sound asleep. He decided a nap would be a great idea so he walked into the room, stretched out on the bed, and promptly feel asleep.
When he awoke, he realized he had slept quite some time. He opened the door to look out on the beach but Jo was nowhere in sight. Then he glanced at the room clock – 4:30. He took out his phone and checked for messages but nothing from SeaAnna. He took that as a good sign. Hopefully, she and Susan were trying to work things out between them.
For her part, Jo had had a refreshing day which, once upon a time, would have been all she asked for – a quiet day to herself on the beach. But today, her thoughts were continually invaded by Chris, and how she felt about him. Did she feel anything? How could she? She didn’t even know the man. And she didn’t know if he would reciprocate her feelings in any way. She roused herself at about a quarter after four, went for a quick dip in the ocean, and headed back to the motel office. She’d just have enough time to catch up with Lauren and make certain they were ready for tomorrow, jump into the shower behind the office, and then redress and wait for her dad for dinner. A day at the beach always made her very hungry, so the idea of a quiet meal with her dad and some good seafood was very satisfying.
“Hey Lauren, how’s it been going?” she asked as she entered the office.
Lauren looked up. “I swear everyone in four states wants to come and see us if not tomorrow or this weekend, then sometime before Thanksgiving. I have never been so busy. But I’ll tell you one thing. The day has flown by.” She smiled. “However, everything’s ready and all the staff is ready too. Oooh – look at you! Boy, did you get sun!”
Jo walked into the office bathroom and looked in the mirror. He face was tan but the extra layer of sun today had given it that sun-kissed look. Her shoulders had a layer of pink on them as well. She was glad she remembered to turn over at some point or she really could have been burnt.
“You’d think for someone who lives at the beach, I wouldn’t burn at all,” laughed Jo. “But I’ll be stuck in classes soon enough and this will all fade. I’m going to hop in the shower and get dressed and then we’ll go over a few more thing before Dad picks me up at six.”
“Fine,” said Lauren but the phone was already ringing again so she left her to it, and got ready for dinner.
Mike, as punctual as ever, walked in to the office at six. He introduced himself to Lauren and thanked her for filling in.
“No problem, Mr. Leonard,” she said. “This is a great place to work. I hope Miss Susan will keep me on once Jo is gone during the off-season. I heard she took a fall during the storm. Is she coming along?”
“It would take more than a hurricane to stop Susan,” Mike chuckled. “Thanks for asking. She’s walking pretty well and I expect you’ll see her in a few days. She’s about to bust a gut to get over here.”
“Hey Dad,” said Jo. “Hope you had a nice afternoon. Is Mom still with Gran?”
Mike checked his phone yet again although he knew he hadn’t received anything. “As far as I know, yes. Haven’t heard anything at all, so I’m taking no news as good news. Are you ready?”
Jo nodded and asked Lauren once more if she needed anything more and if she was OK with closing.
“It’s all good, Jo, really. Now go on and enjoy Marcie’s. I’ll just dream about her shrimp baskets while you’re gone. Call me or text me tomorrow and let me know the schedule for the next week since we’re back in operation.”
“Will do,” Jo called over her shoulder as she and Mike made their way to the car. “Good day, Dad?” she asked again.
“Yes, it was. I spent time at the docks, ran into Chris, didn’t see Dare, ate too much lunch, and took a nap. What more could a guy ask for?”
“You saw Chris? How was he?”
