After celebrating a hearty dinner vanquishing that murderous Johnathan Kincaid, who took off, along with his assistant—henchman, actually—Ramoo, once Gilligan got the best of him in his murderous attempt to take him down in his quest to hunt—and maybe even murder—him for big game action, Gilligan and Mary Ann returned to Mary Ann's hut for some extra coconut cream pie she had promised to make him for saving her life earlier that day. The two youngest castaways, shipwrecked on the island with five other people for three years now, had been eating and dancing the night away, when they ended up laying back on Mary Ann's bed in her hut. Gilligan was holding his newly minted girlfriend in his arms…as Mary Ann was allowing her newly minted boyfriend to hold her in them. Both young lovers were stripped down to their skivvies: Gilligan bare chested in his boxers…Mary Ann in her bra and panties.
In the background, music was playing, over the radio, from the Honolulu soul station, KHSL. The AM sound had come in modestly during the daytime, yet at night, like many stations coming in strong throughout the Midwest where Mary Ann had resided, in Winfield, KS, such as KMOX out of St. Louis, MO, could be heard for miles around all throughout middle America. Here, on the island, the signal was coming in strong from the Hawaiian Islands this evening. As various soul hits played in the background, the newly minted couple carried on a conversation.
"Boy, Mary Ann, I have to say…this is the best coconut cream pie I have had ever had! You really outdid yourself here!"
"Thanks, honey," Mary Ann said. "Anything for the brave, mighty sailing man who saved my life."
After having her on top of him, Gilligan slid Mary Ann down to his side so they could both face each other, closely in each other's eyes.
"Imagine, since what happened these past few days with Kincaid, it seems as if that whole thing has brought us all closer together…not just us, as a couple…but all seven of us, too," Gilligan said.
"Yes, dear. I have noticed," Mary Ann replied.
Ginger and the Professor had gotten closer, spending more time in his hut as the couple they were deeply growing into; the Howells had rekindled a passion in their marriage, which had gone dormant during the five years leading up to their boarding the Minnow; and Skipper was at peace with the further bonding the seven of them had recently experienced.
Mary Ann went on. "For everything we have been through on this island, the fact that you could have been murdered by that sick man, and you came out to defeat him in the end, all that could do was bring us together," she said. "And the way you stood up for me when you did….and as you did…oh, dear…" nearly breaking down into tears of recalled sadness and burgeoning ecstasy.
"But he did not," Gilligan said, comforting her. "And I was not about to let him, either. You mean more to me than anything in this world, Mary Ann. I would defend you anytime against anyone who tried to do you some harm."
"Oh, Willy…," she softly squealed as tears began to leak out of her dark blue eyes, her lips softly touching Gilligan's as they closed in on a kiss, Gilligan kissing away her tears as they briefly broke their kiss. "You are so sweet…", she said, as their kiss deepened. From there, their conversation continued.
As they laid together in bed talking, the new couple talked about their lives on the island relative to their lives back on the mainland.
"Do you ever think about life back home?", asked Gilligan.
"All the time," Mary Ann answered.
Throughout their years on the island, the two of them had gotten to know each other quite well. Yet for all they have discussed with one another…likely there were some things they may not have known about one another. Now that they were becoming a serious couple, what a finer time, as any, to query. Mary Ann asked first.
"So, tell me, honey," she asked, "about something interesting you did while you were growing up in Pennsylvania," she asked, with a soft smile.
Gilligan replied, "well, there was this one time, on a Saturday night, we were having these drag races. Skinny Mulligan and I got this old jalopy together, and we decided to go in and enter this contest to try and win some money. The car ran okay, but it was no way up to par on the hot rods some of these other guys had. But one day, we went to this junkyard, found this race car which had been brought in. We pulled the carburetor off, brought it back to Skinny's house, placed it onto his jalopy, we made some adjustments, changed the points and spark plugs….and, oh, boy, did that thing take off good…really good! We then emptied out the oil and replaced it with three parts oil…one-part Rizoline! We took it for a drive…and, oh, did we have ourselves a winner!"
"Oh, this sounds like fun!", beamed Mary Ann.
"It sure was. Later that night…we had arrived at the drag strip and entered our car into the race. All the other guys laughed at us…saying that our old jalopy did not stand a chance against all those Corvettes and other fine racing cars. But we were determined. Then, some young kid, who we all called Smiley Joe, who used to always hold all the money on he bets, comes out of nowhere and decides to bet on us…double or nothing. All the other guys were laughing, so they all took him up on his bet. Skinny and I were backed in, so, we decided to go all in with this. Smiley Joe was holding all the money…and behind the wheel I went. "
"As soon as the race began, I started slowly letting the hot rod take the lead. Then, I suddenly floored the jalopy, caught up to the hot rod…and ended up winning, my a nose, in the end!
"Oh, I bet they were mad about that," Mary Ann grinned.
"Were they," Gilligan continued. "The losers got in their car and started chasing us. Not only did Skinny and I get out of there with our lives…but we ended up having to pick up Smiley Joe and take him with us."
"Why" asked Mary Ann. "He was just holding the money."
"They thought he was in on the take, too."
"Oh, dear, Willie," Mary Ann chuckled. "Just exactly how much did you all make off with?"
"Oh…$500," Gilligan modestly answered.
"Gilligan…Willy, Willy, Willy," Mary Ann said, shaking her head with a smile. "What became of Smiley Joe? And why did you call him that? He must have had some kind of smile."
"He sure did. I guess he went off to college, or something," Gilligan said. "He could smile so many people into doing anything, especially when it came to money. We dropped him off at his house and saw to it that he got in safely."
"And just how far did those guys chase you?", asked Mary Ann.
"For 25 miles…until the cops caught up with them. When the cops got there, I turned off to a backroad, since I was driving, circled around until there were no more cops around, then made our way back home," Gilligan said.
"Did you cut Smiley Joe in on any of the action?" Mary Ann asked.
"Sure. We gave him $50, and Skinny, and I split the rest. It made for a good going away present. Not long after, I enlisted into the Navy and began my journey which led me from PA…into the Navy…all over the place…all the way to Hawaii…Skipper…the Minnow…this island…and...you," Willy said, kissing his Mary Ann on the lips.
With Gilligan having told his story, he queried Mary Ann on hers.
Realizing what she was about to say, Mary Ann, following a deep, quiet breath, started in. She leaned over, placed her hands upon Gilligan's bare chest, folded and rested her chin upon them, looked into his eyes, and began talking.
"About five years ago, we had a very hot summer in Winfield. Now, you know how I tend to tan considerably during the summer months here?", she asked Gilligan. After he nodded in affirmation, she continued. "Well, this one summer, it was so hot…that I really tanned…heavily. I worked all day on the farm, every day, milking the cows, bailing hay, slopping the hogs—you name it, I did it. I even rode the tractor, at times. Then, at the end of the summer, I entered a baking contest at the local county fair, entering my signature buttermilk cream pie, with cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled on top."
"Boy, I bet that tasted delicious!", Gilligan beamed.
"Oh, it sure did taste delicious, dear," Mary Ann retorted. "So, come Fair Sunday, I put on my red dress, red flats, and a matching red hat I would wear with this particular outfit. Since I was wearing a hat, my face was a little obscured and shaded further—especially as I was underneath a canopy. Everyone liked my buttermilk cream pie. It won first place, a blue ribbon, and a $100 grand prize."
"Wow, that is really nice," Gilligan said, smiling.
"Well…that's not all," said Mary Ann. "After I had collected my prize, an older gentleman walked up to my uncle, unbeknownst to him, having had a piece of my pie, and asked him, 'sir, who is that pretty little Negro girl over there who baked these delicious pies'?"
"My uncle kindly looked at him, smiled and replied, 'sir, that is my niece.'"
Gilligan laughed softly. "Wow, he actually thought you were a Negro!?"
"Yes, he sure did, Willy," she answered.
"Gee, imagine that…you, a Negro," Gilligan replied with a soft grin.
"Well, William," Mary Ann said, her face suddenly hardening into a serious look, "thing is…that gentleman was not entirely wrong."
Gilligan's face suddenly went slack-jawed with an agape look.