Chapter 7

The next day I woke up before Jennifer and was dressed when she came out. After helping her get dressed, I made us breakfast and while we were eating I told her what I had planned for the day.

“It takes a few hours by boat to get to the main island so I’d like to leave as soon as possible. I need to go and find a slicker for you. I seem to remember having one that was too small for me. Look at the clothes I salvaged and find the warmest top you’ve got. I think we’ll take the sling off for a bit this morning and you can put the top on completely. We’ll put the sling back on, then the sweater on to the way you’ve been wearing it. The slicker will go on top again with one arm through. I’m going to try to figure out how to put the life jacket on you as it’ll still be quite rough out there. Are you okay with that?”

Jennifer smiled at me and nodded her head.

“In case you’re wondering why the extra top,” I continued, “if you get warm while we’re waiting for someone, you can take off the sweater and not embarrass yourself.”

Another smile from Jennifer.

“Okay, you look for clothes and I’ll see if I can find the slicker and see what I can do with the life jacket.” With that I headed out to one of the sheds. It didn’t take me long to find the slicker and I looked at the lifejackets, finding one that I could be adjusted to accommodate the arm in the sling. As I was leaving where the life jackets were I saw a ‘gimme’ hat advertising some business in town that had been given to me but that I’d never worn. It could be adjusted to fit Jennifer and help to keep her hair from getting too wet.

Back in the cabin I helped Jennifer with her clothing and soon we were dressed and ready to go. I got the box with the papers then let Maggie out and told her she had to stay. Maggie wasn’t pleased with that idea but she’d been left on the island by herself before. She had water available in one of the sheds and she knew where there was a spring that she could drink out of if she wanted. We’d be back before supper but if something happened, there was food in the shed as well.

The trip over to the main island was relatively uneventful although Jennifer got a delightful surprise when a couple of dolphins breached close to the boat. Once we were alongside the dock, I helped Jennifer out and headed up the road.

When I’m away from the main island, I leave my truck down near the dock with the doors unlocked, the key in the ignition and the gas tank full. Everyone knows this and all the adults have told their kids to leave it alone. I know of a couple of occasions someone has moved it and that’s why I leave the key. I’ve let it be known that I have no problem if someone needs to use it - just go ahead and use it or move it because it’s in the way. All I asked is if they use it to make sure they fill the gas up and put it back where they found it once they’re done.

We got the truck started and headed for the RCMP building. Once inside, we were shown into one of the rooms where we met Ron, one of the RCMP officers I know. We talked together for a few minutes but at one point he asked me to wait outside while he talked to Jennifer alone. In view of the rather strange circumstances of our being together, I’d kind of expected that this might happen. After about 10 minutes, he opened the door and asked me to come back in where he told me he was comfortable with the situation with Jennifer. “I was 99.9% sure but I had to do my ‘due diligence’.” he said and I told him I understood.