Chapter 8

When we got outside I stopped and turned to Jennifer. “When we get to the General Store, I’ll introduce you to one of the ladies that run it, either Elizabeth or Helen – most likely Elizabeth. I’m going to tell her that you need some stuff and that whatever you want to buy, she can put it on my bill. The ‘drug store’ part of the store is way in the back. I’ll wait in the truck while you go in and get whatever you need. Look and see if there’s something that you’d like to read if you want.”

Jennifer smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I said it before and I’m going to say it again, you’re a pretty wonderful guy.”

When we got to the store I took a moment to explain to Jennifer that with a population of under a thousand people, there wasn’t enough business for more than one store so this store sold everything from fish hooks to canned tomatoes to toothpaste to women’s clothes and everything in between. There might not be a lot of choices but there would be something that would help. I took Jennifer in and introduced her to Elizabeth and told her to let Jennifer buy whatever she needed then went back to the truck and settled down to nap as I waited.

I was almost wondering if I should get a search party to go looking for Jennifer when the door opened and out she came with a bunch of bags followed by Elizabeth with more bags. I jumped out to open the door for Jennifer and while she was getting in the truck she told me that Elizabeth had helped her do her shopping. Elizabeth told me that everything Jennifer had purchased was on the bill that she handed me and that I could pay her when we next came to town. I grinned and thanked her then started towards the aid station where the EMTs hung out.

“I hope you won’t be mad but Elizabeth persuaded me to get some other outside type clothes – some heavier ones as well as some different shoes,” Jennifer said as she looked at me somewhat apprehensively.

I pulled off to the side of the road and pulled her over to hug her. “Elizabeth did exactly right. I figured she might so it didn’t surprise me when you came out with all the bags. I told you to get whatever you needed and I figured Elizabeth would help you. I hope in your splurging you didn’t forget the...”

Jennifer blushed a bit. “Of course not!” she said with some indignation. “That was the first thing I got. I also got stuff for my teeth, for my hair and even some lipstick. I know I need to look good for the current man in my life.”

That last comment took me by surprise but I didn’t say anything.

When we got to the aid station, I had one of the EMTs look at Jennifer’s arm. His diagnosis was what I had suspected – a green stick fracture – and he told us that the splint could probably come off. He told Jennifer that she could try moving around without the arm being in a sling and once she felt comfortable, she could dispense with the sling as well.

Jennifer was delighted with this news and couldn’t wait to get the splint off. I convinced her to keep the splint on until we got back to my island – woops, maybe I should start saying ‘our’ island.

We soon were back down at my – I mean ‘our’ - boat and after loading the parcels and parking the truck, we were on our way home. As we were making our way across the water, I realized that while I’d been content to be on the island by myself, I was now looking forward to being home with Jennifer. She just seemed to make things that much better.

Maggie was waiting on the beach when we arrived, barking and wagging her tail to tell us how happy she was to have us back. We beached the boat and carried some of the parcels up to the cabin. Once we’d set the parcels down, I helped Jennifer get the splint off. She moved her hand around gingerly but the smile she gave me told me she was glad to see the end of the splint. I left Jennifer in the cabin as I went and got the remainder of the parcels from the boat, making sure that the boat was secure before returning to the cabin.