Castle Cay (6 page)

“It’ll be cooler on the water, honey,” said
Julie. “Marc said to take a taxi to the Ferry dock.”

They still had quite a way to go to get to
Castle Cay. First, they had to board the ferry to Green Turtle Cay,
where they were to meet John Drum, the Solomon’s caretaker. Mr.
Drum would be aboard the Solomons’ boat,
Wave Dancer
, which
would take them to the island.

Once aboard the ferry, Dan became as excited
as Julie. He’d brought his camera and was snapping pictures, one
after the other. “This is great! What an adventure, huh?”

“Yes. I can’t wait to see the island!’

They had no trouble finding the Solomon’s
slip at Green Turtle Cay.
Wave Dancer
was an impressive
craft in pristine condition. It was obvious from the equipment on
board that the beautiful boat was mostly used for fishing. There
was a short, dark haired man on the deck. He had a wiry look about
him and a ruddy, weathered face.

“Hello! Are you John Drum?” said Dan.

“Yessir,” the man said, smiling. “You must be
Mr. and Mrs. O’Hara?”

“Yes, we are.” Dan said, as they climbed
aboard. “Please, call us Dan and Julie. Thank you for meeting us!
Should we call you John?”

“Yessir. That’ll be fine, sir…ma’am”.

Although he seemed quite friendly, he was
plainly uncomfortable calling them “Dan” and “Julie”. Just then, a
dark-haired teenage boy climbed onto the boat with his arms full of
groceries.

“This here’s my boy, Alfred.”

“Hi,” Julie said. “I’m Mrs. O’Hara…or Julie,
if you like. This is my husband, Dan. Do we call you Alfred, or
Al?”

“Al’s fine, ma’am.”

John Drum stowed their bags, and directed
them to some blue padded seats in the rear of the boat. “There’s a
cooler right there, if you want a coke. My missus made some
sandwiches; thought you might be hungry. Takes about 45 minutes to
get to Castle Cay. The sea’s calm today, so I figured you might
want to sit back here…but go ahead inside, if you want. Call Alfred
if you need anything. I’ll be topside, and I might not hear you.
Welcome aboard, and enjoy the trip!”

* * * * *

A
s Julie and Dan approached the
western shore of Castle Cay, the first thing they noticed was a
high ridge of limestone rock that bisected the island from north to
south like a spine. They could see a small wooden building on the
beach facing them, and a long dock reaching out, welcoming
Wave
Dancer
.

There was a road behind the little building
that went to the left, and disappeared from sight. To the right,
the road led to a large house. It sat back into the lush greenery,
about halfway up the hill, nestled right up against the ridge.
Directly in front of the house, down the hillside, was the
prettiest beach Julie had ever seen, ringed all around with coconut
palms.

John Drum explained to them that his farm was
at the other end of the road around to the left. He also said that
the two houses had their own large generators for electricity, and
that each had fresh running water.

“We have a jeep, if you want to use it, but
this here’s the only road, and it don’t go far…just between the
houses,” he said. “There’s paths going around and up over the ridge
to the other side of the island. We got three horses, and that’s
how we usually get around. You’re welcome to borrow ‘em.”

Once the boat was secured, they piled into
the jeep and John drove them to the ridge house. After unloading
their luggage and groceries, he headed for the door.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your unpacking. We’d
sure like to have you over to dinner tomorrow night…if you’d like
to come? “

“Oh, we’d love to!” Julie said, catching
Dan’s eye.

“Good enough, then. I’ll be by to pick you up
at six o’clock. Good night.”

They wandered around, from one room to the
next. The house appeared to be constructed of heavy wood, save for
the stone fireplace in the living room. The floors were a darker
type of wood, covered with large, tightly woven mats. Big, colorful
cushions graced oversized rattan furniture. Ceiling fans hung from
a high roof, which rose on solid beams to a point in the center of
the house. Outside, the roof extended well beyond the house in the
front and on the sides, and covered a wide veranda.

They stood there, overlooking the beach,
gazing out to the sea.

“Julie, this is so beautiful. I don’t think
I’m going to want to leave.”

“Me, either,” said Julie, putting her arms
around his neck, reaching up into his dark, curly hair. She kissed
him, and said, “Let’s go try out the bedroom.”

The master bedroom was to the right of the
living room on the corner of the house. It was a large room with
triple sliding-glass doors on both sides opening onto the veranda.
On the inside of the doors were white louvered panels, folded all
the way to the sides, accordion-style. A telescope on a tripod
stood positioned to watch the panorama of sea and sky.

They slid back the glass doors all the way to
let in the balmy trade winds, and flopped on the big white bed.
Despite their best intentions, in minutes they were sound asleep,
lulled by the
whoosh, whoosh,
of the sea.

* * * * *

T
he morning sky was just beginning to
lighten when Dan woke up. He thought he should probably slip out of
bed and go make coffee. He looked over at Julie, sleeping soundly,
still wearing her shorts and tee shirt. Her thick brown hair,
coppery from the summer sun, fanned out across the pillow on the
left, her right hand resting, palm-up on the pillow over her
head.

She looked so open and vulnerable. Dan was
becoming aroused, but he knew that if he attempted to pull off her
shorts, he’d wake her up. He wanted to make love to her while she
slept, to wake her
that
way. His near continuous desire for
his new wife amazed him, and he was no sexual novice! That Julie
was a virgin that first night in the boathouse was an important
component of it, he knew. Dan had been with many women, but he had
never experienced this sense of
possession
. Julie wasn’t
merely married to him…she was
his
. She belonged to Dan
alone, now and forever.

He felt himself getting harder.

Damn. I should go make the coffee.

As he watched her, her eyes slowly opened.
She sighed and stretched like a cat. She reached out to touch
him.

“Morning… hm-m…I love you…”

To hell with the coffee.

Dan covered her body with his, nuzzling her
neck. He tugged at her tee shirt, and she started to help him.

Stopping her, he said, “No, let me do it.
Everything…”

He pulled the soft jersey material up and
off. She laid there, arms up over her head, exposed and waiting.
Her breasts were flattened and her chest was flushed pink. Dan
circled a dark brown nipple with his tongue until it stood up
straight. She quivered, but she kept her arms loose on the pillow
above her head, her eyes nearly closed, knowing that was what he
wanted.

Dan knew how impossible it was for her to
stay motionless. He loved that he was driving her crazy, and
himself, too. He pulled her shorts and silken panties down, off.
She was going to move, but he looked up at her…and she stopped.

“Honey, I should shower …”

“No. No shower,” he murmured.

“Don’t move, Julie… don’t move.”

* * * * *

“
C
’mon, let’s go swim!” said Dan.

“Are you kidding?” Julie’s legs felt too weak
to stand. She couldn’t imagine how he had the energy to bound out
of bed like that after such rigorous sex.

“Okay, just lay there for a little bit. I’ll
make the coffee…if I can find everything. We can take it out on the
porch, and go swimming afterwards. How’s that?”

A fleeting thought of Marc calling him “The
Divine Dan” made her smile.

“That sounds absolutely perfect.”

Dan made the coffee and was delighted to find
a box of glazed doughnuts. They sat on the porch in their
underwear, sipping the hot coffee and listening to the birds, their
calls so different from the birds at home.

“It sounds like a jungle here,” said Julie.
“I wonder if there are any jungle-type animals around.”

“You mean, besides me?”

“You aren’t an animal. You’re more
like…Tarzan.”

Dan lowered his voice and moved his hand up
her leg, a leer on his face. “That’s us: ‘Me Tarzan, you
Jane’…”

“Oh, no, you don’t, Tarzan. It’s too soon!”
said Julie, sprinting down the stairs, onto the path that led to
the beach. When she reached the shore, she ran directly into the
water, with Dan right on her heels. He tackled her and they rolled
around for a while like two playful otters.

“Race you!” said Dan.

They took off, swimming straight out.

“Look,” said Dan, when they were quite far
out. “I can still stand!”

Dan was up to his neck, but the water was
over Julie’s head, so she hopped into his arms.

“Marc was right. It’s like a giant salt water
swimming pool,” she said, “and we have it all to ourselves.”

The beach was a wide, sandy shelf that
extended out into the sea. Where they stood, the water was as clear
as drinking water. But where the water deepened, the color changed
from a light aqua to sapphire blue or emerald. A school of small
fish swam in front of them.

“Oh, look! Look!” said Julie.

“Don’t move,” said Dan.

“Oh, you want to play that game again?” she
said, playfully reaching for him under the water. “This time it’s
your
turn.”

“That works for me,” he said. “But, first,
how about some of that fancy swimming you do at the Y? You’ve got
plenty of room here.”

Julie had always loved swimming. She had
joined the BC Swimming and Dive team her first year at college, but
it had taken too much time away from her studies.

Dan was referring to the synchronized
swimming team that Julie had recently joined at the local YMCA.
They were fortunate to have a pool at home where she practiced, but
it was small.

“Oh, you’re right,” she said. “But I want to
go out where it’s deeper. Why don’t you go out on the dock? You’ll
be able to watch me better from there. I’ll swim over.”

Dan trotted down the beach and out onto the
wooden pier.

She was already there by the time he got to
the end. He parked himself on the edge of the platform with his
long legs dangling, and she started her routine. With so much room
and the added buoyancy of the salt water, Julie was sculling and
happily inventing new maneuvers beyond the usual spikes and wheels.
She swam with the ease of a mermaid, losing herself in the
activity.

Suddenly there was a splash, and Dan was in
the water next to her.

“Quick! Back toward the house…it’s Drum!”

It took Julie a minute to remember that they
were in their underwear.

They swam the distance back in record time.
Breathless and laughing, they watched John Drum as he got out of
his jeep, walked out on the long dock, started up the boat and
pulled away. It seemed he hadn’t noticed them; or maybe he’d just
done a good job of pretending he didn’t see them.

Confident that there wouldn’t be any more
interruptions, they stripped off their wet underwear and settled
into a serious game of “Don’t move” on the beach.

•

That evening they met John’s wife, Mary, who
had killed and roasted a large chicken in their honor. Julie was
glad they were only around for
latter
part of that process.
Mary Drum was a short, friendly woman, every bit as
weathered-looking as her husband. She had a disconcerting habit of
talking out loud to herself.
Not surprising,
thought Julie,
considering she’s the only woman here.

Alfred entertained them with stories about
the island’s pirate history. He said that the high central ridge
hid one side of the island from the other so well, that the
infamous Blackbeard was rumored to have used Castle Cay as a
hideout and point of ambush for unsuspecting traders.

After dinner, they walked about the small
farm. In addition to an extensive garden, the Drums had a cow and
chickens, a dog, and several cats. They also had three horses, and
John Drum asked if they were experienced riders. Julie and Dan had
both ridden before, and John offered to pick them up again in the
morning so they could borrow “Chinaman” and “Daisy” to tour the
island.

Later that night in bed, Dan turned to Julie,
propped up on his elbow. “I found some snorkeling equipment. Al
told me that the reef we saw today is a great place to snorkel.
Maybe we’ll find some pirate treasure.”

“You mean some that Al hasn’t already found?”
said Julie, laughing. “Wait a minute… what if there’s one of those
moray eels in there that jump out at you with all those teeth?”

At this, Dan got up on his knees and flapped
his elbows like a bird.

“
Chic-ken…Chic-ken…”

“You fool. Come here and kiss me.”

“Ah, she wants to play ‘Don’t move’.”

“Maybe I have a
new
game.”

* * * * *

T
here was no doubt that the horses
knew where they were going. And Chinaman, Dan’s huge black mount,
was determined to be first. He took over the lead early on, roughly
nudging Julie’s smaller, roan horse out of the way. Daisy dropped
back agreeably, apparently used to the order.

Julie had packed a lunch and the camera, and
she was excited about exploring the island. The uphill path they
traveled was narrow, stony, and well used. After a short ride, they
could see the ocean ahead of them.

“Julie! Look! It’s the Atlantic!”

“Really, Sherlock?”

“Really, Holmes,” said Dan, with a laugh.