Lighthouse
Chapter 5
It is now one week later
Kim was up and walking normally now. Rick had even carefully removed her stitches, then cleaned her leg again, and had given her a band-aid that she had politely declined.
Her biggest surprise came one morning after she had limped her way down the stairs so she could start breakfast. She had volunteered to take over the cooking duties so that she could earn her keep. He had quickly allowed her to do just that.
That morning, however, she was curious as to what all the papers on the dining room table had been so she went there first to have a peek and quell her interest. But all the papers were gone, save for a nice stack of blanks. In their place she found three things.
One was a box filled with colored pencils. Her face was about to break with the biggest smile she'd had in a very long time. Mostly because she hadn't missed seeing the other two things that were now taking up space in the dining room.
She had walked in and pressed her fingers over her mouth to keep from squealing in delight. It was a sewing machine. She had no idea where it had come from since she hadn't seen it in the house until now. It was clearly very old. It looked to her to be a turn of the century Singer treadle sewing machine. Meaning there was foot pedal you had to rock to make the machine work. The top of the cabinet opened up to the left side, providing support when working on larger garments and it even had these little drawers on either side that were filled with every attachment and even the bobbins she would need.
The final item was a bundle of bolts of cloth. None of it was really all that costly or possibly even useful since the outer layer looked like wool that moths had gotten to. But maybe if she rolled them out on the table the inside would be better than the outside.
He had been gone most of that entire day. He hadn't even come back to eat his lunch. But when he came downstairs for dinner she couldn't help but stop him, wrap her arms around him, and thank him profusely for what was in the dining room.
"Wherever did you get all that?" She was naturally curious.
"I remembered it all being in one of the storage buildings and moved it all in here. You said you'd taken art classes in college so I took a chance that art meant using those pencils. Or do you mean the sewing machine? It and the cloth was in there, too."
"All of it?" It was a really nice surprise.
This morning she found him in the kitchen. "What are you doing in my kitchen?" This was her room now and she was learning that Rick was nothing like her husband. Rick was a softy and was easily pushed around. He didn't complain about anything she did or didn't do. He didn't raise his voice or even hint that he wanted to strike her.
"Stealing." He even looked like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and then put what he had stolen in his mouth and started chewing.
"I'll have breakfast ready in a few minutes." She got busy to do just that.
"You'll be making it for yourself since I'm going to try and raise the antenna today. I've got a plan and hopefully it will work." He had been working all week at getting ready for today.
She felt her heart stop. If he got that thing up he was going to be able to use his radio and possibly tell someone about her. The antenna tower had been next to the maintenance building which she had seen was also where the radio itself was located.
In fact that entire building looked like a mess inside to her. There were tanks, parts, buckets, piping, wiring and just plain junk all over the place. Even his work bench had stuff scattered all over it. She did give him credit, though; he had a place for each and every tool and he kept every tool spotless. The back wall of his bench had all kinds of tools hanging on it and then she had been shown this chest of drawers that was filled with bits and pieces. He was clearly very good with his hands.
"Can I help?" She needed a chance to ruin this for him. If he got a message out it might be just enough for her husband to find her and she was still technically in Canada.
"I… Uh…sure." Rick had it all planned out so that he didn't need help but maybe it would go easier and be more successful if he did. "Eat your breakfast and join me at the maintenance building and I'll explain the plan." He snatched another shortbread cookie, popped it in his mouth, and retreated from her kitchen.
She glared at him for stealing but said nothing. Since today was clearly going to be a big day and since now she was too nervous to cook anything for herself she did what he had done. Snatched something to eat and followed him outside and over to the maintenance building.
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She really didn't understand just what it was supposed to do but it seemed simple enough.
He had erected these, she had never heard the word before, that were going to help him raise the antenna. It used a series of poles and a pulley system. He talked about raising it in stages. He seemed most concerned that it might fall before he could get the new support wires in place.
He said something about being out of metal to reinforce it if it ended up bent again. That was when he had shown her what he had done where it had been badly bent from the last time it had come crashing down.
She was right behind him holding the rope. All she had to do was help him pull and try and hold it in place as he got ready for the next stage.
"Ready?" Rick looked back at her.
"Ready." She wasn't sure just how she was going to screw this up for him but she needed a way. One that didn't make it look like she was ruining everything intentionally.
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They were both just standing there looking at a long pile of twisted and now clearly broken metal that was the antenna tower. It was on the ground, his system was in tatters, and it looked completely broken to her.
"I'm so sorry, Rick!" She even had a little rope burn on her hands to prove to him that she had tried. When in actuality she hadn't let go fast enough in her attempt at ruining his plan.
"It's all right. It was a long shot at best." He knew going in that this wasn't a one man job or even a one man and one woman job. The tower was just too big and too heavy. Still he had had to try. Someone would come to find out why he wasn't talking eventually.
Rick stepped over to her and held her hands. "Let's get this taken care of. It doesn't look too bad. Bet it stings though." Her hands were hurt and he felt bad about that. She had offered to help and had gotten hurt trying to help him.
She let him hold her hands and was touched that he actually looked and sounded like it was his fault. "A little." She would live and while it might slow her down, it had been worth it. His antenna tower was down and it looked like it was going to stay that way.
Rick followed her into the house and had her sit down while he got the first aid kit.
Minutes later he had her hands all wrapped up and told her not to use them for at least 24 hours. "I'll do the cooking. …And stay off of that sewing machine." Her hands needed a little time to heal.
She moaned. That machine, the cloth which had turned out to be pretty good on the inside after all, and the pencils were what kept her busy and happy. She was willing to admit that with her hands all wrapped up like they were, she wasn't going to be doing much of anything.
"Fine." She sat back in defeat. Still it was a small price to pay. Then Rick did something she wasn't expecting. As he was getting up he leaned in and kissed her forehead.
"Good girl." Then he calmly walked away and put the first aid kit back where he'd found it. It left her sitting there in shock. Neither of them had done anything except talk to each other the entire week. They barely even touched each other unless it was truly an accident. Now he had kissed her.
Granted it wasn't a kiss on her lips or even her cheek, but it was still a kiss. Now she was conflicted as to just what to do and what to think. He was handsome and he was a hunk in her eyes. He was kind and never raised his voice and he trusted her or at least she thought he did. It was just that thanks to her husband she just couldn't trust him. At least not yet.
What was she going to do if he did it again? Or if he really did kiss her?
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She was sitting at her sewing machine and was concentrating while looking at her drawing. She didn't hear him enter the dining room and just kept on sewing. It wasn't until she had to stop and adjust for the next part that she saw him sitting there, silently watching her.
"How are your hands?" Rick was genuinely concerned about her. He was learning to really like her even if she was a bit bossy from time to time.
"A little tender but not bad." It was nice of him to ask.
"What are you making?" She was obviously making something.
"I'm making myself a dress." She pushed her drawing across the table for him to see.
Rick picked it up and started to study it. "You designed this? You really are talented!" He liked it a lot. Then he looked at the cloth she was using. "Doesn't really match does it?" Her drawing was one color and the cloth was another.
"I don't have what I need to make it match so I've had to make some changes. Just don't laugh when I'm done." What she had to work with was going to make it look really weird.
"Never!" Rick promised easily. "By the way." He actually had a reason to come see her before going back to work. "Someone should be showing up to check on me soon. Since the light comes on when it needs to they know I'm fine but will want to know why I'm not talking. If there's something you want you can start making a list. It probably won't show up until my next supply ship at the soonest but you might get lucky."
That got her to actually stop working and look at him. She had been wondering what she was going to do for pads when her period started. Sylvia hadn't had any for her to use. However there was something she needed to ask him.
"Rick… Can you please not tell them about me." She knew he would have questions.
"Are you serious!?" She was nuts! Of course he was going to tell them about her. However she looked serious. "Why?"
"Please, Rick. I promise to explain but don't tell them I'm here. …Please." If he did her husband would likely have no trouble finding her.
Rick had always wondered why she had been on that ship. Ships like that freighter didn't have women as crew. That only left one good reason. "You were a stowaway."
She hung her head. "Yes," she whispered. "…Please?" He needed to promise or she was as good as dead, or worse.
"A stowaway and on the run. But from what? Or from who?" Rick asked. She just sat there, pleading with him with her eyes. "Fine, but you better not be wanted for murder or espionage. I like you but I'm not going to prison because I protected a murderer or German spy." Agitated, he raked his fingers through his hair.
"Nothing like that. I promise. Please, Rick!" She really needed for him not to talk.
"All right, but you are explaining everything." Rick stood up and pointed at her. "And finish your list." He headed for where he was now writing his book and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. He needed to create his own list.
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Since the buildings and even everything in the maintenance building was working perfectly he was out walking the site with his wheelbarrow, picking up debris that the storm had blown in when Kim had been shipwrecked. "If Kim really is her name," Rick muttered to himself. He was starting to wonder just how much he had been lied to.
He had a trash bin that got emptied each time a supply ship showed up and that was where he dumped the trash he had collected. He had waited this long mostly because it was his primary duty to make sure the lighthouse worked properly. The grounds came second. Another reason was because he wanted to make sure the storm system had blown itself out and the sun had come back out.
He was just starting to walk his wheelbarrow back to the garage where it was stored and thinking he might have to get the lawnmower out next since his walk had shown that the grass was starting to get a little tall. That was when he saw a small ship headed his way. He waited to see where the best place for it to dock was. It looked to him that the seas were calm enough so they shouldn't have any trouble.
"Rodgers! You're alive!" They both knew he was since from Caribou Island they could see him activate the light. They gladly shook hands.
"It's good to see you guys," Rick said with a smile.
"We brought radio parts in case that was the problem," one of them mentioned.
"The radio itself works fine from what I can tell. That storm last week blew down my antenna tower. This way." Rick led them to the side of the maintenance building and showed them the tower.
"That's a mess," the other agreed. "Besides getting this back up, what else do you need?" Meaning what else was broken?
Rick fished out the two lists and handed them over. "Just this."
That had each of them reading one of the lists. "Pads?" What did he need feminine pads for? He was stationed here alone unless he wasn't telling them something.
Rick was ready for that question. "They're for the maintenance building, silly. They're absorbent and the right size for what I need. I really only need a few but an entire box would be nice."
"Okay, but if you want them for a different reason I don't want to know it." Both of them laughed at him.
Rick rolled his eyes. "You two are comedians. Just add the lists to the next supply run or when you send out a team to get this thing back up. I've already tried but it was a complete failure."
The pair of them looked it over. They both agreed it was going to need to be replaced, not repaired and set back into place. It also meant it wasn't going to be fixed anytime soon.
"We need to get back and come up with something. We can't leave you out here completely out of communication. What if there was an emergency. We'll think of something."
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They didn't stay long once they found out what was wrong and had his lists.
"What does he need bolts of cloth and satin and rayon for? And all of this thread, buttons, zippers, beads. What the heck is he doing?" One of them went over the lists while the other piloted the boat back.
"Aren't some of the best women's clothing designers men?" the other one mentioned though he didn't understand either.
"It's going to take time to gather all this stuff and figure out how we're going to pay for a new antenna tower." Shipping it out there and getting it installed wasn't going to be cheap.
"Hope he doesn't need any of them any time soon." They were both thinking his next supply ship would have most if not all of this stuff. The tower was likely going to take longer.
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"There you are." Rick found her in the kitchen just getting started on an early dinner since both of them had managed to miss lunch. "A boat came to find out why I wasn't talking. And no, I didn't tell them anything about you but you still need to explain why," he reminded her.
"I know and thanks." She didn't know just what he was going to say or even think after she told him the truth. "I was thinking steaks since it's nice enough out. You said you had a grill. We can have baked potatoes, beans, and I can thaw out some of the frozen ears of corn. Add some bread and we'll have a meal."
"You start defrosting and I'll go clean the grill." Rick started to leave. "Oh, and they wanted to know why I needed pads," he said over his shoulder.
That had her watching him leave and she burst out in giggles. "What did you tell them?" She was curious how he had explained wanting feminine napkins. Except he didn't answer her. "RICK!" She really wanted to know.
She was also wondering about the other things on her list. The bolts of cloth and other items. Then there was the bras and panties that she had asked for. She was planning on making her own clothes so she hadn't asked for those. Though she had asked for a new pair of shoes or boots.
She'd seen the beach and they had towels and it was warming up since the storm had passed. She had thought about asking for a bikini but in the end just decided to wear a bra and panties. After all it was basically the same thing, or she would make something herself.
She stood at the sink scrubbing potatoes for supper. Her mind wandered and she began to think about the next dress she was going to make. She was so excited. It wouldn't be anything fancy but it would still be pretty. The design she'd sketched had cap sleeves and buttons all the way down the front with a flared skirt that hit about mid-calf. The top of the dress was fitted; there was a matching belt and a collar that folded back, trimmed in lace if she could get her hands on any. She could hardly wait to get started on it!
Smiling, she set the potatoes aside and got out the ears of corn
