Chapter 23: A Way Out

We flew back to Mackay on the milk run Tuesday morning.

Mitch was delighted in pointing out the seat I had been lying on when he first clapped eyes on me. He sighed at the memory and Beth, and I had to chuckle. Beth then giggled and shook her head at us when she realised, we were both getting woodies at the memory when we stared at the seat.

Ryan had been a bit shocked when I told him that the ute called Snow was his. I handed him the rego papers to prove it. He had hugged me and told me I was fucking awesome. But then again, he was biased, as he was my brother.

Mitch had gotten to spend a little time with Danni on Monday, and I think they liked each other by the time we had left. Danni didn’t seem that upset that she wasn’t going with us as was content to stay with my parents and Sarah. I think the fact she already loved my parents made the decision easy for her.

Mitch was saddened by her attitude, but he was the sort of bloke who didn’t dwell on things that he couldn’t change. He also felt it was better for Danni to not get attached to him if he was leaving. We three knew it was the best solution for Danni, no matter how or what we felt.

It was hard to believe I had been on the island for three months. So much had happened to me in that time. We had missed the first window to leave in, but we knew we were not ready to go yet.

I was hoping to have things at home settle down a bit before I hit them with the next shock. The next window would be after we came back from the next home visit on a Saturday. The next after that would fall on a Sunday three weeks later, and we would be on the island.

If we left then, we had five weeks to get ready. If we waited another three weeks after that, we would be off the island again and be getting closer to losing the window of opportunity. However, I thought this eight-week window actually sounded better to me.

We could go home for one last weekend and then get lost getting back to the island on the Monday. Our problems were that none of us could sail a yacht, so hiring one was out. We couldn’t fly for the same reason.

Yet they were the only ways to get to the island. If we went swimming, it wasn’t believable that all three of us would drown. I was having a hard time getting us to disappear without involving help. The yacht idea still seemed the best way. It was how to orchestrate it that was the question. Mitch and Beth didn’t have any better ideas than I did.

We did agree that eight weeks was long enough to get things sorted. If we took any longer, we would just be procrastinating, and we might chicken out. If we didn’t go in the eleven-week window, it might be another eight months before the window opened again, but the spirits weren’t being cooperative on this possibility.

I would just have to work it around in my mind until the solution came to me.

The next six weeks sped by.

I had my team working on the final repairs of the units in between the usual emergencies, and they were looking pretty schmick. Management was happy with our work, and the completed units were already being put to use.

A lot of families and even honeymooning couples that stayed more than a week found these units more to their liking. They were less confining and away from the noise of the main section of the resort. They also had awesome views.

The hill the resort was built on, however, could be a bitch getting up and down. People did a lot of walking on this island. We didn’t have vehicles on it for them to use either. We had three service utes and the small truck that delivered and picked up goods for the different sections of the resort and the wharf. The bosses had two small four-seater buggies.

There was only the one minibus that the guests could get on. The four or five golf carts we did have couldn’t leave that area even though guests bitched about it. The bus only really had four stops, the main resort, the stairs going down to the units from the road, the golf course and the airport.

It only went to and from the wharf if we had disabled people on the island or dignitaries that didn’t like to walk. Our road on the hill wasn’t wheelchair friendly, as it had some short steep sections that had worked out quite a few calf muscles in its time.

We couldn’t bitch about the weather as it was a glorious time of year to be on the island. The wet season was mostly over so we got the occasional shower, but that just kept things green. The rest of the time, the days and nights were magnificent.

One of the staff had even set up a telescope on the golf course. The guests were invited to come and see the southern sky in all its glory after sunset. I think even management was surprised by how many people delighted in going to do this activity.

Mitch, Beth and I rarely slept in our bedrooms. Now that we could all blink, we spent a lot of our off time in the cave. At least there, we could sleep together. We did get in a couple of good hikes, as we simply enjoyed walking around the island. We even took Thyrsis’ botany books to see if we could find some of the unusual plants he had catalogued.

One of my fun jobs was changing the lights in the main pool. I remember one time where I had attracted a small crowd. They were watching me dive under and unscrew the covers to get into the lights. I’d then have to come up for air.

Then go back down and unscrew the bulb, come up and get the new one, go down and insert it and come up for air again. Then I had to get the screwdriver and go back down and screw the cover back on. It was bloody hard work.

I had one light, in particular, that gave me grief, as the Edison screw fitted lamp had gotten jammed in the holder, and the bloody light globe refused to budge. I was struggling around because there was nothing to hang onto. My arse was in the air with my hand in this hole trying to turn the wet slippery lamp.

I must have been up and down at least four times trying to get it loose. I had to come up for breath and was just about to swear, using lots of words those with finer sensibilities wouldn’t have approved of when Beth came over.

“What ya doing, honey?” she said, kneeling down on the edge of the pool.

“Changing light bulbs, dear,” I replied caustically. Thinking, ‘What the fuck does it look like I’m doing?’

“Why is it taking you so long to do that one?” she asked me sweetly.

“It’s stuck,” I replied crankily.

She shook her head at me and tapped the gold pen in her breast pocket. “Oh! For f ... far out sakes,” I swore. She chuckled and got up and sauntered away from me. Damn, I love watching that beautiful arse and sexy legs.

Fuck me! I’ve not lived that one down. Mitch had thought it was hilarious when Beth told him what I had been doing. Some mage I am. In my defence, I did try to be careful using magic with strangers around.

Beth then made it up to me by describing to Mitch how sexy I was in my dick-togs and telling him that the audience I had was fascinated watching my gorgeous arse bobbing in the pool. Then when I came up and brushed the water from my face, they were watching me flex my muscles.

She told him that several of the women were drooling. She thought it may be a good idea to get me out of the pool before she had to get the lifeguard to attend the fainting women. And then security to remove the old guy who was just short of coming in his shorts because he was wanking it in the pool.

Mitch and I both chuckled at that image. I did get even by leaving my dick-togs on. When I stripped down to them and walked around the cavern home in them, I had two other people drooling, so I was happy.

I sure got some attention that night from stirring them up.

Things at home had quieted down as well.

Mum had spoken to Lara to let her know that they had Danni. Lara had found out that you could effectively get a divorce from your kids, so she handed mum a heap of forms and said she was handing custody over to them and Mitch.

She called Mitch a prick for dumping Danni on them after he had been such a bastard to her and her husband. Mum simply told her that they had been happy to help Mitch out since he wasn’t in a position to care for Danni just yet.

She told Lara that he rang Danni regularly and came to see her when he could, which he did. Mum told me that Danni had refused to go and talk to her mother when she had turned up. She had simply said that as long as her mother was with John, she wouldn’t have anything to do with her.

Lara had said that John was very loving and attentive since Danni wasn’t there and she’d rather keep him, so that’s how it has stayed. Mum knew at some time down the track Lara could change her mind, but the lawyer Mr Walters had found for them did everything possible to make the legal road as smooth as she could so that never happened.