First mate's log:
December 22, 1966
Oh boy! A meteor landed on the island, just like in a sci-fi movie! The Professor says it can catch cosmic rays from space, which sounds cool, but it makes everything age really fast, like trees, and people! Unless he can find a way to stop it, we'll all be fifty years older in a week! I don't want to be 72. And probably dead by New Year's.
I'm guarding the Professor's hut while he and the Skipper try different experiments. Ginger gave me a big smooch to "unseal my lips" but I managed to keep the secret. So now she thinks we're throwing her a surprise birthday party (she was born on Christmas Eve, I know from the fan magazines), even though we all decided not to throw any more of those after that one time with the Skipper. Mary Ann, who didn't kiss me and who doesn't seem to be trying to marry me anymore (taking Mrs. Martin to the dance probably helped), thinks it'll be a Christmas party, which would be fun if I weren't going to be starting middle age this weekend. And the Howells think it's going to be an anniversary party for them, their first wedding I mean, not the one in the lagoon.
Uh oh, here come the kids! They probably heard about the Christmas party from Mary Ann.
Carol Martin's diary:
December 23, 1966
More secret-keeping, although this time it was just the Professor, the Skipper, and Gilligan who knew. A meteor landed on the island a couple days ago, and when the three men went to investigate yesterday, the Professor (with more of his dubious science) concluded that the meteor would rapidly age everything and everyone on the island. People were guessing what the secret was and some jumped to the conclusion that it was going to be a party.
The Professor did end up telling us the truth, or what he thought was the truth. It was like when we had the supposed vitamin C deficiency, only this time the oldest rather than the heaviest would be first to go. In only a week, the children would physically be in late middle age, although mentally and emotionally still children. The adults would be elderly, or dead.
He could've been right or wrong. It's hard to know what to believe anymore. But the radio predicted an electrical storm, so the Professor was able to use a lightning rod to destroy the meteor.
We're going to have a party after all, celebrating Ginger's birthday, the Howells' anniversary, our survival on the island for two and a half years, and of course Christmas. And if Gilligan asks me to be his date again, I'll tell him I'm going with my children.
December 24, 1966
Oh boy, what a party! Yeah, we had one tonight after all, because an electrical storm destroyed the meteor. And we had all those other things to celebrate.
This time I didn't ask Mrs. Martin or anybody to be my date, because it was a party for everyone, including the kids. I did dance with all the women, but things like the Twist and the Watusi, not touch dancing. But I steered clear of the orchids that Ginger and Mary Ann had hung up because mistletoe doesn't grow on the island.
I warned Mr. Brady, so he wouldn't get trapped under it by Ginger. His wife's been gone for two and a half years and Ginger might think it was OK to kiss him now.
To my surprise, he deliberately danced with Mrs. Martin, right under the "mistletoe." Then he surprised everyone by kissing her! It wasn't a big kiss but it was in public and it was on the lips.
It was getting kind of late for the kids by then, although this isn't a school night of course. Mrs. Martin took her daughters back to their hut, and the Bradys and Alice left soon after that. The rest of us, even the Professor, spent the rest of the party gossiping about the kiss. Are Mr. Brady and Mrs. Martin dating or was this just a kiss? How long has this been going on, or is it just the beginning?
We won't get any answers tonight, but I bet we will next year.
December 25, 1966
This is our third Christmas on the island and our strangest. And it's all because of Mike Brady. He kissed me at the party last night!
We were dancing together, closer than when I danced with the other men. (Gilligan taught me the Watusi, which Ginger taught him when he was a Gnat.). It felt good to be in Mike's arms, but I didn't want to read too much into it. And then we danced under orchids that he told me Ginger and Mary Ann had hung up to represent mistletoe.
I laughed and said, "That's not very traditional."
He said, "I guess it's an island tradition," leaned down, and kissed me.
It wasn't a very long kiss but it was long enough to mean something, although I'm not sure what. I was so startled I couldn't process it. When it ended, I could see the surprise on everyone's face, including the children's.
"It's past the girls' bedtime," I told him.
He nodded and let go. I collected my girls and quickly bade farewell to the others. It wasn't a long walk to our hut and my daughters, even Cindy, managed to wait until we were home to ask why Mr. Brady kissed me. I kiss the girls on the cheek and the forehead, but the only kisses on the mouth that Cindy remembers are the mild kisses of the Howells, like during tonight's toast to their anniversary, and the far from mild thank-you kiss Ginger gave the Professor in our movie. Marcia and Jan must remember me and Tim kissing, although the memories have faded after a couple years.
I didn't know what to tell them, since I was as baffled as anyone. The kiss came out of nowhere. And yet, now that I've had a little time to reflect, I must admit that Mike and I have slowly been growing closer, almost since we arrived on the island. He's probably my best friend now. It's not just that we're the only parents here, although that is a bond. We often see things the same way or at least similarly, like the Professor's theories.
Still, I never consciously thought in romantic terms, because we were both married when we met. When did he start to consciously think of me this way? Or was it just a passing fancy, brought on by the orchids?
I've seen him today but of course there's no chance for a moment alone. We're taking a break from school until after New Year's. I've already resolved to talk this out with him then if I don't get a chance in the meantime. For now, I need to get back to spending this holiday with my children, who have gotten used to the homemade toys and hand-me-down clothes, which are all I can offer them. (I mostly just let Marcia's clothes out and down, but maybe if we're still here when she's in her teens, I can ask Mary Ann for some of her old clothes to hand down to Marcia.)