He was sulking again, and all Mary Ann wanted was to make him feel better. He had caused quite a mess that morning, what with knocking over something that the Skipper and the Professor were working on and, in his haste to run away, running into Mary Ann, causing the two of them to fall over. The castaways' breakfast fell through the air in a tragic arc, landing on the sandy ground. Not only did food get ruined by spilling everywhere, but also one of their few plates was broken.
Everyone had been furious with him. Mary Ann had been too, but once she saw the miserable look on his face, she instantly regretted how she snapped at him. Nevertheless, he had disappeared for the rest of the day, and no one seemed too intent on looking for him yet, as they were still recovering from their flared tempers. The Skipper set about his work, grumbling that it would be nice to get things done without Gilligan around to mess them back up. That comment had set Mary Ann's mouth into a disappointed frown and she cleared the dishes with a huff, washing them vigorously enough to chip the paint.
After that, things had somehow gotten worse. After a tense breakfast, Mary Ann started on her chores. The day seemed nearly hotter than any other, and Ginger wasn't even able to help her with the laundry, as the Howells enlisted her to pedal their fan, as Gilligan was still nowhere to be found.
It was torture to tend to her garden and do the laundry and sweep the huts in the oppressive heat. The sun beat down on her as she weeded the garden and watered the growing plants. By the time she finished her chores, her hair was tangled and her cheeks were flushed and smudged with dirt. When she finally came back to camp as the sun was directly overhead, she was sweating and parched, and she made a beeline for the cooking area, where she sliced open a coconut and drank from it greedily, the soothing liquid quenching her thirst. She scooped out the coconut meat and ate it, and then the brunette headed to her hut to wash up.
As she neared the door, she heard a voice calling her. "Mary Ann! Mary Ann, dear!" It was Mrs. Howell. She was hurrying across the clearing, her pearls and diamond bracelet clinking with every upbeat step. "Dear, would you care to join me and Ginger for tea?" she asked.
Despite how exhausted and grimy she felt, Mary Ann couldn't bear to refuse. Besides, she figured she would feel better after spending an afternoon with the two ladies of the island. Mary Ann enjoyed their little get-togethers- chatting about going-ons back on the mainland, gossiping about the men, and laughing and joking together. "I'd love to, Mrs. Howell," Mary Ann answered, smiling as she followed the older lady to the Howell hut.
However, as the three sat around the small table sipping tea, Mary Ann found herself feeling worse. The stressful morning had seemed to put everyone in a homesick and nostalgic mood, and Ginger and Mrs. Howell talked a lot about their lives back on the mainland.
Ginger talked about beautiful parties and movie premieres and about her handsome boyfriends and beautiful gowns. Mary Ann could just imagine it. Ginger in a beaded gown and her lips painted a perfect ruby red as she posed for her adoring public with a handsome movie star on her arm. Mary Ann hated the feelings of inadequacy and jealousy that washed over her. She had been taught that envy was a sin, but she couldn't help but feel plain compared to the glamorous movie star.
The farm girl tried to stay attentive as Mrs. Howell talked about all her friends on the social register and the many lavish festivities which she hosted and attended. She smiled and nodded, but more than anything she wanted to get out of there as fast as she could. With her dirty cheeks and disheveled appearance, Mary Ann was only beginning to feel worse about herself.
As conversation came to a comfortable halt, Mary Ann hurriedly excused herself, thanking the two for the tea and the lovely conversation. She went to the girls' hut, washing her face in a small basin of water. The clear liquid clouded over with grime. As she washed up and combed the knots out of her brown hair, she reflected on these feelings inside her. Sitting with Mrs. Howell and Ginger, she couldn't help but feel inadequate. She would never be as glamorous as Ginger or as graceful as Mrs. Howell. Not only that, but she could never be as accomplished. Ginger had made her mark on the world as a beautiful, talented movie star and Mrs. Howell was well known for her wealth and charity work.
But what did she, Mary Ann, have? She had grown up on a small farm in Kansas. The first time she had even left home had been for her trip to Hawaii. With these thoughts in her mind, she changed into her clean red gingham dress and left her hut, traveling down the familiar path to the lagoon. Under the cover of the tall palm trees, a cool breeze blew and the sun was blotted out. She stretched her arms out as she walked, watching the dappled sunlight on her tan skin.
The farm girl reached the lagoon and stopped when she saw him. The first mate was seated by the water's edge, half-heartedly skipping stones. After about one bounce, the rocks sunk to the bottom, as did her heart when she saw him in this dejected state. But she was still glad that she had found him. Maybe they could sulk together.
She approached the shimmering blue water and plopped down beside him. "Hi, Gilligan," she said, her normal chirpy tone falling flat. He dropped the smooth stone in his hand and looked over at her.
"Hey, Mary Ann," he answered, and looked at her closely. "Are you okay?"
She shrugged and rested her chin in her palm. "Not really, Gilligan," the farm girl admitted.
"What's wrong?" the first mate asked, his concern for her evident.
That concern only made her feel worse. "How can you be worried about me after how I treated you this morning? Oh Gilligan, I feel awful about how I snapped at you!" she cried, looking at him with her wide apologetic brown eyes.
He smiled embarrassedly, wringing his hat in his hands. "Oh, that's okay, Mary Ann. It upset me, but I did cause a mess." In truth, he appreciated her apology, but he was still feeling torn up about that morning. In the time that he had been away from camp, he had been doing a lot of thinking about himself, and the other men in their group. He pushed those thoughts from his head though as he looked over at Mary Ann, at her downcast eyes and pouting lips. "What else is bothering you?"
"Well… it's Ginger and Mrs. Howell," she answered. "Ginger's just so beautiful and glamorous and talented. And Mrs. Howell is lovely and graceful and cultured. They're both so accomplished and I'm… well I'm just plain old Mary Ann," the farm girl explained, feeling more wretched with each word. It was awful enough to feel these sorts of things, but to speak them out loud? She felt her cheeks color with shame.
Gilligan frowned to himself as the brunette looked at the slight undulations in the lagoon. He himself had been thinking similar thoughts. Compared to the other men, he was afraid he fell far short. He saw the look of shame on Mary Ann's face and felt he knew what to say. "I, uh, know how you feel, Mary Ann," he told her, and the small smile she gave him made her appear to glow from the inside out. "I mean, the Skipper's a war hero. He's really brave, and a great sailor and leader, and he has a whole bunch of medals. And the Professor… he's a genius. He's got so many degrees, and he can make just about anything. And Mr. Howell, well he's rich and a real clever guy. And then there's Gilligan." He pointed to himself, a barely noticeable motion, but it caught Mary Ann's eye.
"Exactly, you're Gilligan! You're kind and sweet and wonderful. You might be clumsy, but you're utterly lovable, and you never mean any harm. You always do you best and you want only good for everyone," Mary Ann declared. "And I don't see how anyone could stay mad at you for long."
He smiled and looked down, rubbing the back of his neck as Mary Ann often saw Saturday morning cartoon characters do as they said 'aw shucks' and scuffed their toes on the ground. She smiled at him as he let out a breath and said, "Well, Mary Ann, you don't need to be like Ginger or Mrs. Howell. Really, I'm glad that you're you. You're sweet and hardworking and you know how to stand up for yourself and you stand up for me and I'm really glad you're my friend."
Her smile grew until it was a huge grin, splitting her face in half and setting her eyes alight. "Oh, Gilligan," she said tenderly. "I guess we don't see hardly as many good things in ourselves as we see in each other." As she smiled at him, she wished more than anything that he could himself as she did, as a bright sunny boy with nothing but good intentions and love for all his fellow castaways. He was like the stars, and she wanted to aim a mirror up at the sky so he could see himself twinkling the night away, guiding sailors and lighting up the dark.
They exchanged smiles, and Mary Ann realized what time it was. "Gilligan, it's probably around lunch time. We should be heading back. Hopefully I'll still have time to help Ginger." She got to her feet and Gilligan followed after her. He took one more smooth, gray stone and skimmed it across the water. It was skipped across the surface of the water four times before sinking into the depths.
The two walked to the edge of the jungle, both feeling better and more at peace than they had in a while. As they stepped under the cover of the trees, Gilligan spoke her name. She stopped, turning to face him. The first mate blushed before managing, "Mary Ann, you're not plain at all. You're beautiful, and you're wonderful." Both their faces were flushed as he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. They both pulled away, smiling shyly. Mary Ann erupted into giggles and took his hand.
They both took off towards camp, two blurs of red amidst the dense green jungle.