Lighthouse
Chapter 4
She was dressed with what she could find that she could at least adjust to fit her. It meant going braless and without panties so she was naked under it. However, it didn't show that she could tell.
The t-shirt was far too big so she had put a tie in at her waist. It was still too big across her chest but that helped to hide that she wasn't wearing a bra. Though she wasn't really thinking that he would know that since her only bra was down in the kitchen drying.
She had done basically the same for the pants but had to roll up the legs since they were too long. It meant going barefoot, since like everything else, her shoes were missing and she hadn't found any. That had her taking the stairs down one step at a time and hissing with each and every step.
When she reached the bottom it opened into a large living room. It was rather spartan. It had a pair of sofas, one of which was rather ratty-looking while the other was in better shape. There were two chairs, an end table, and a coffee table. There was a bookcase that had a selection of books on it. There was also a wood stove that could provide some heat. At the moment it was dark.
The floors were wood and looked identical to the one in her bedroom while the walls were white. There were pictures on the wall that depicted different lighthouses.
One opening lead to a dining room that had a wood table and four wood chairs. On it were vast amounts of paper along with a number of pencils. All of the papers on top were covered in handwriting and looked like either a story or a description of something. It was also there that she saw a cabinet that she found held a stack of plates and other items.
The next opening held the kitchen and her clothes. A quick check confirmed that indeed her clothes were still wet. It was also a lot warmer in there. On one wall was a fireplace that had a fire in it that was producing most of the heat. There was an old fashioned oven and stovetop and a small table with two chairs. Cabinets hung from the wall and there was a door.
She saw perishable food lying out all over until she saw two refrigerators that had a round unit on top. Opening each showed that both were full. They were also divided. One held meat while the other held everything else.
The door opened into a huge pantry that was filled with boxes and cans on large shelves that went from floor to ceiling. Based on this room alone neither of them were going to starve. She saw that it was stacked nicely based on what was in each box or can, making anything you wanted easy to find.
She ducked around her clothes to get closer to the oven and stove top. Over there she found a shelf filled with spices of all kinds. They could cook almost anything they wanted. This was better than she could ever have hoped for.
Still she needed to figure out where she was. There were windows and two doors. She chose the door in the living room and found a mud room. It had boots, coats, rain gear, brooms, and even a pair of binoculars. There was also another door.
Opening it, she was able to look directly at the lighthouse Rick had talked about. It looked massive to her. Sure enough the top was red and had glass on all sides. But it looked funny. Different, somehow. She didn't remember ever seeing a lighthouse that had columns or struts on the side from the top to the ground.
Beyond it was another building that was large but only a single story. As she watched she saw Rick leave a small building at the base of the lighthouse and walk to the other building.
Kim waited until he was inside before going out. She wanted to see if this place really was an island which meant some walking. Though by the time she had looked to the north and saw a lot of grass she was tired and her leg was hurting by the time she reached the lighthouse. Opening the door showed a number of controls as well as another door. She opened it and saw the staircase that went up to the light. There was no way she was going to make it up that thing.
"What are you doing up?" a voice questioned which had her spinning in fright. Her mind went instantly to that her husband had found her. It was just Rick. She had her fist pressed hard over heart, willing it to settle down.
"You rip open my stitches and you're going to be sorry." Rick wanted to be angry with her, but he couldn't. He had somebody to talk to and that made him happy. It wasn't until she'd arrived that he realized just how alone he had been.
Yes, he knew he would be alone when he had been asked to be stationed there. He didn't want to think of himself as being a coward, but being stationed there meant he wasn't in the military or involved directly in the war. The Canadian Coast Guard was a civilian division. It wasn't connected to the military. When his tour was over in about a year and a half he would likely be inducted into the army, sent to training and then shipped out. For now, it was all quiet.
"Sorry, I got curious. It won't happen again." She instantly capitulated since that was what she was used to doing. If she didn't her husband would make her pay and he knew just how to make her pay.
"I don't mind if you look around. I have nothing to hide. But you really need to take it easy until your leg heals. Come on, I'll help you back to the house." Rick moved in closer, wrapped an arm around her, and started to walk her back to the house.
"What's that building?" Kim turned her head to look at it.
"That's the maintenance building. The light's electric and runs off of a generator that's in that building. That generator in turn runs off of oil from the tanks that are also in that building. There's also a smaller generator that produces a small amount of electricity that serves mostly just that building. There's also a workshop that I use along with a large number of spare parts. I spend most of my time in that building when I'm on duty which is basically all the time," Rick explained.
Kim remained silent as they walked and she actually let him help her, thought she didn't think she had a choice. She found herself being helped onto the good sofa. "Thanks."
"Let me look at that leg." He wanted to check her stitches.
Kim was thinking he wanted her to drop her pants. It was just that she was naked under them, forgetting that he had likely seen everything already. Instead he got down on his knees and began rolling up her pants leg until he reached her wound. It exposed a lot of her leg and showed her that she needed to shave them soon or she was going to start to have hairy legs. She felt his timid hands on her leg as he carefully checked her wound. "Looks good. I don't see any signs of infection and it should heal nicely." Rick stood up and watched her roll her pants leg back down to cover up.
"I still have work to do. There's food in the kitchen if you're still hungry. Help yourself to anything you want. Go anywhere you want, but please try and stay off that leg until it heals more. I'm sorry I don't have a TV, but I do have a decent selection of books and a few magazines. There's a deck of cards around here somewhere though I don't use them." Rick was sorry that he had to leave her alone.
"I'll be fine. Thank you." He wasn't acting like her husband, though she still didn't fully trust him. He was a man.
"I'll be back in a few hours and I'll likely be dirty and need a shower." Actually he was betting he would be just that and would be stinky smelling.
"I can cook dinner if you want." She was used to having dinner ready when her husband got home. If she wasn't she would pay the price.
"You can if you want. I'm used to feeding myself. It might be good to taste someone else's cooking. Thanks." He was suddenly looking forward to her cooking. "I'll be back in a few hours. Take care of yourself. Like I said, go anywhere you want, just be careful with that leg." Rick walked to the door.
Kim was left behind, wondering what to do. While it might hurt to do it, she got up and headed for the kitchen to search the refrigerator for something to drink. This initial movement had her hissing just a touch and she limped the entire way, but was soon back in the living room with a cold drink. With her drink on the coffee table she moved to the bookcase to find a book.
She eventually settled for one and sat down to read.
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While the book she chose was nice it really didn't have her getting lost in it. Still she wasn't willing to give up on it just yet. However, she heard a door open; she stopped, marked her place, and looked.
In walked Rick and she snorted and clapped a hand over her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was make him mad at her.
Rick had heard that snort and started grinning. "I'm a mess, aren't I?" She didn't need to say yes; he already knew he was and likely stank to high heaven.
Kim started shaking her head but still kept her mouth covered to keep from laughing at him.
"You're sweet but I'm a mess. I'm going to go take a shower, put these clothes in the washer, then be back to start dinner." Rick headed for the stairs. "Have you checked your clothes lately? They might be dry by now," he called behind him.
That had her thinking; she got up and hissed softly. She hadn't looked lately since she'd been reading. She soon found that all of her clothes were dry, even her bra. She took them all down and went up to her room to change since they would fit her better.
Now dressed, she came down the stairs and back into the kitchen so she could start cooking. It wasn't that she was afraid of what he would cook, it was just that she was in the habit of cooking and not making her husband angry with her.
She was deep into her preparations. "You didn't have to cook. I'm no chef but I'm not that bad." Rick was amused that she had decided to cook for them.
"I don't mind. …You have a lot of food." If they really were on an island she had expected him to have far less food.
"I got a delivery a few days ago, just before the storm that washed you up on my shore. The next one will be in about a month or so depending on the seas. If they're too rough it'll have to wait." Getting to his little island wasn't always the easiest thing to do.
"It looked rocky." Kim had only seen one section so far.
"On the west side where your ship went down, yes. The east side has a sandy beach, though the water's always cold. Too cold to go swimming, so I don't recommend going skinny dipping." He was certain she didn't have a swimsuit.
Kim smiled a little since going skinny dipping meant going naked. "You saw everything when you took my wet clothes off anyway." It wasn't like she had something he hadn't seen.
"I have a very bad memory," Rick insisted as he rummaged in the refrigerator for something cold to drink. Even after the shower he was a little warm and very thirsty.
She doubted that greatly but it was sweet of him. Since it was almost done she started boiling the spaghetti. "I'll be done in about 10 minutes if you want to set the table." She left it to him as to just which table to set.
She found out it was the little one in the kitchen.
"What kept you busy?" It was still daylight so what did a lighthouse keeper do during the day?
He broke the news to her. "Well, besides wrecking your ship, it also took down my radio antenna. Until I can get it back up I can't talk to anyone."
"Anyone?" Did that mean he hadn't told anyone about her? Her husband didn't have anything to look at to try and find her.
Rick shook his head. "Until I can figure out how to get it up, no. …Is there someone that needs to be contacted? A husband, perhaps? Parents, maybe?"
"No husband." She didn't even really want to think about him. "Both of my parents are dead." There really was no one to contact save for Sylvia. It was partly why she had said yes to his proposal. Her biggest mistake of her entire life.
"I'm so sorry." Not having parents hit Rick right in the heart. "No one should be without at least one parent. Someone they can turn to when they need someone." He thought about reaching across to take her hand but didn't.
Kim asked him the same question. "What about your parents or wife?"
"No wife, never been married. I'm the result of a one night stand so I have no idea who my father is. Mother's trying to make a name for herself on Broadway in New York. She takes whatever role she can get. She says she's happy." Rick shrugged. His mother usually was happy and never let anything get to her. She was his rock.
No father. She had at least had both even if she had lost them. "So what got you here being a lighthouse keeper?" He was young, handsome and built.
Rick hesitantly began to explain. "Please don't think badly of me, but I really didn't want to join the army or end up drafted. I greatly feared what going out to the war and killing people would do to me. I had a friend who had an idea that would keep me out of it, if I was willing."
"Being a lighthouse keeper." Kim caught on fast and saw Rick nod.
"Thanks to the war young men are in short supply. Normally there are three men manning this place but because of the war I was warned I would be stationed here alone. It didn't really bother me any so I took it. The alternative sounded worse to me, though I do have a weapon or two hidden away, just in case." He was pretty sure he wasn't going to be seeing any Germans on this lake, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be seeing any pirates, even if that possibility was really slim.
"I don't blame you for trying not to get yourself killed." Given what she had heard about the war, it was bad. It seemed no place on the planet was truly safe. France was already gone and Germany had invaded Russia. No bombs were falling in the United States but that didn't mean their coasts were safe. "I'm not sure any place is safe." She only meant partly due to the war. She also meant her husband.
"I've never seen a lighthouse like this one. What's with the…" She used her hands to try and demonstrate the three struts.
"They're called flying buttresses. Think Gothic arches in medieval churches if that helps, only a little more modern. I was told that they were used to help support the structure. Instead of using massively thick walls they built a thin concrete tower and used the buttresses to support it. I don't know how many of them there are in the world. I was given a quick training course on how to keep the light and fog horn operational while the rest I already knew how to keep operational. I think it was my knowledge of engines that helped get me this posting."
She had to admit that she hadn't seen anyone else so thus far he was telling the truth. "All alone, huh." She wasn't sure she could handle that for long periods. Not this kind of all alone anyway.
Rick shrugged. "It's not so bad. I've learned that a lot of the machines around here are really old and not in the best of shape. It tends to keep me busy, plus the pay isn't so bad." Rick chuckled since the pay was rather bad. It also had her smiling at his joke.
"So when's the next ship?" How long did she have before her husband stood a chance of finding her? Not that she was overly sure just exactly where she was.
"Anywhere from three to four weeks. Anything longer than that and I'll run out of oil and diesel and the light will go dark. They care more about the light than anything else. …Sorry." Rick was thinking she wanted out of this place as soon as possible.
Kim, though, was thinking she had three maybe four weeks to get ready for her husband to find her. That or three to four weeks to get off this island and keep running until she reached the States and was out of his jurisdiction.
"What can I do to help?" she inquired. The sooner she was off this island the better.
"What do you know about engines, electronics, plumbing, construction?" Rick listed off each item he was doing and watched her shake her head.
"I can cook and clean. Make clothes and mend them." She wasn't sure her other skills would fit in here. Maybe if she could convince him not to tell anyone about her, her husband wouldn't find her. Her ship had crashed, after all. She had been hidden away on their ship and they didn't know anything about her. The longer she stayed gone, the better off she was in her mind.
She decided that she needed to stop him from fixing his radio. Maybe she could ruin whatever he was doing to repair it.
