Chapter 13

The good weather had finally arrived and I started getting ready for the construction of the addition. While Jennifer and I had been able to salvage enough logs to build the walls, there were other things like doors and windows and material for the roof that I’d had to order. With all of that material on hand, I asked my friend Fred and Constable Ron to see who was willing to come over to the island for a couple of weeks to help me erect the walls. I’d done the same thing before and between the two of them they soon rounded up 7 young men to help us.

Jennifer had done some cooking in the past but it had mostly been things like baking a cake and occasionally making a simple meal for herself when her parents went out. With a crew of young guys working hard, we’d have to be prepared to feed them so I started teaching Jennifer how to cook for a crowd. The guys who would be helping us were ‘meat and potatoes’ guys, so nothing fancy, just lots of everything. The one thing I knew they’d like would be pie so I made sure Jennifer was well versed on making nice flakey pastry. I also taught Jennifer how to make bread, something she’d never seen done.

Finally, the work crew arrived, complete with tents and sleeping gear. It didn’t take them long to get their camp set up and once that was done, they were soon hard at work. I started to notice - and inwardly smile - that, whenever Jennifer was watching them, they tried to show who was the strongest. I mentioned this to Jennifer one evening. She started to giggle and told me she hadn’t noticed. “I’m going to pay attention when I’m outside after this. Maybe I’ll try to give them some incentive. Maybe I’ll wear my tightest shorts and that halter top that you always whistle at when I wear it. What do you think?”

I laughed. “That might not be a good idea. If you do that, those guys will spend so much time strutting for you that we’ll never get your room done.”

I’d gotten some snide comments from those on the work crew who’d helped me before that the grub was so much better this time since a lady was cooking for them rather than a grumpy old man. I took this as it was intended – as a joke. I had to agree though that having Jennifer doing the cooking was a treat as she’d become quite a good cook. The guys – and myself of course – were delighted to have fresh bread, still warm from the oven.

The other thing that arrived with the work crew that first trip were several boxes of things from Jennifer’s old home. Over the next few days, Jennifer went through the items in the boxes and, as was to be expected, she experienced both sad and happy moments. The sad moments were when she came across something that reminded her of a happy time or place with her parents. The happy moments were when she came across some item that she’d forgotten she had. Overall, Jennifer was glad that she had some things to help her remember her parents and the wonderful times that she’d had with them. I soon started to see a few of her most precious keepsakes on display in our cabin and knew she’d put the sadness behind her – at least for now.

Each Friday, we’d knock off work at noon and the guys would head back over to the main island to spend the weekend with their families and friends. Late Sunday evening, would see them return. After 4 weeks we had the walls up to their final height. All that was left was the roof. The next week when the regular crew arrived there was an addition – the town’s resident electrician. Once the roof was on, the regular crew helped the electrician run the outlets and places for lights then they installed the ceiling.

That Friday, Jennifer had told me that Elizabeth wanted her to come over for a week or so and spend some ‘girl time’. Unbeknownst to Jennifer, I’d orchestrated that with Elizabeth so that she wouldn’t see the last phase of the construction. On Friday, the boat back had one extra passenger when it left – Jennifer - and I’d promised to come and get her the following weekend.