Mary Ann, as engrossed as she and Roy were with one another, told him it was time to end their little sojourn in the glade, and return to the main compound.
"I've got to get to steaming the shellfish, Roy, let's head back."
He sneaked another kiss from her, and stood, giving her his hand to help her up.
He couldn't help sighing, however. "All right, Mary Ann. I hate going back, but I guess you're right."
They began the short hike to the compound, holding hands. Mary Ann kept them at a slow pace, since Roy was barefoot.
She pulled to a stop when he barked his toe against a rock.
"I told you that you should've worn your shoes!" she laughed when she confirmed he had not injured himself.
"I'm so giddy right now, Mary Ann, that I don't think the volcano erupting would phase me! Endorphins and all, I hardly felt it."
"Hmmm mmmm," she confirmed as they resumed their walk in the dwindling daylight.
As they were about to erupt off the path into the compound, Roy stopped Mary Ann.
"So? What do we do, spill the beans? Pretend like nothing's happened?"
They crouched down, concealed by the brush, and watched their fellow castaways. Mrs. Howell was sitting in the fading sunlight, working on needlepoint. Ginger was fussing with her hand mirror, catching the same sunlight as she admired herself. The Skipper and Gilligan were working on mending some nets. Mr. Howell was nowhere to be seen.
"Hmmmm, we could tell them," Mary Ann suggested. "I don't really want to, though. Not yet."
"I don't either, really. You KNOW what they're all going to do, it'll be the biggest thing to happen here in months!"
He put his arm around her, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "I want you all to myself first, while we explore one another in light of our new-found understanding."
She turned to face him, their lips almost touching. He saw her look him up and down, the love glowing in her eyes. "I want you all to myself, too, Roy. And..."
She paused a moment, and he raised his eyebrows, silently encouraging her to continue.
"Oh, God, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope I won't have to wait too long," she said softly, running her thumb over his lower lip, cherishing the memories of that mouth touching her own.
He smiled sweetly at her, kissing her thumb before he spoke. "Hmmm, we'll see, my love. We've got all the time in the world after all. You know we don't want to rush into something we'll regret later!"
Mary Ann sighed. "Yes, I know. Doesn't mean the WANT isn't there, though!"
Roy's heart gave a startling thump, to think this lovely and intelligent young woman wanted him in such a manner. He'd had his share of students having crushes on him, of course, but this was entirely different, and he wanted to bask in her glow. He never thought of himself as being the object of desire, but this was special to him. As much as he wanted to make love to her, he knew deep inside that the journey to that lovely goal was going to be half the fun.
"You don't know what it means to me, Mary Ann, to know you want me like that. Quite a boost for my male ego!" he said, looking slyly at her.
She grinned at his coy expression, and threw her arms around him, nuzzling her mouth to his neck. A quick nibble and kiss, and she pulled back once more.
"One more good kiss before we return from our swimming at the 'falls?"
"Oh yes, my love, and one more time, I want to tell you how very much I love you!"
Before she could answer in kind, he drew her powerfully to him. They'd been squatting behind a bush, and he drew her across his raised leg, holding her to him. They lost themselves in one another, but remained cognizant enough to do their kissing and nuzzling quietly.
Mary Ann pulled away finally, laughing softly so the others couldn't hear. "All right, that will sustain me till we can find some alone time again! I don't think I'm going to sleep very well tonight, though, for thinking of you!"
"You'll fill my dreams," he said as they stood. They checked each other over, to be sure there was no evidence of their fondling sessions, and separated, to walk out into the compound.
Gilligan looked up, and suppressed the grin that was begging to come forth. "Oh, hey, Professor, hey, Mary Ann!"
He stood up and went to them.
"Sorry I didn't have a chance to meet you there, Professor, but the Skipper and I have been working on these nets all afternoon!"
The two lovers separated, acting as if nothing unusual had happened, nothing but enjoying a cool swim on the scorching day. Mary Ann went to her hut, and Roy went to join Gilligan and Jonas.
"No problem, Gilligan, I understand! Mary Ann and I had a good swim, after we scared the creatures in the pool away."
"Do you want to do it tomorrow, then?"
Roy paused, rubbing his chin. "No, actually, Gilligan, I had to talk to Mary Ann about a couple of ideas I had for her and me to do."
The Professor didn't miss the little sparkle that lit Gilligan's brown eyes. Fortunately, the younger man was turned away from the others in the compound.
What? Roy thought; does he know?
Gilligan turned back to the nets, for all the world acting non-chalant. "And what would that be, Professor?"
Roy indicated his bare feet. "I got thinking this morning, that to spare our sturdier shoes we had when we were marooned, she and I could work on making some type of footwear, like we've seen the natives from the nearby islands wear. She's so good at weaving these native grasses, that between her and me, we could probably make some for everyone!"
Oh! Gilligan thought, he really DOES have ideas! And here I thought he was trying to find excuses to be alone with Mary Ann.
"That sounds like a great idea, Professor! Did you need help with anything?" Gilligan offered, knowing it would be expected of him. The Professor had been right about Gilligan: he was always willing and never complained. Granted, he often bumbled and bungled the projects they'd work on together, but his heart was in the right place.
"Well, Gilligan, you're so helpful with those fishing nets, I'm sure we could find something on the sandals you could add your touch to! But she and I need to do the preliminary work first, like finding the right grasses, that won't irritate the bottoms of our feet, then work out designs. So we'll let you know when you can jump in. Maybe you can show the others, and we can personalize our own footwear!"
The Skipper, who'd been listening to their conversation as he worked, smiled at Roy's tactfulness. He knew the Professor understood Gilligan, and that his first mate truly wanted to be helpful to everyone on their island. He was glad he would include Gilligan in the project. It'd boost morale, too, when the others realized they could have their footwear made the way they wanted them. Gave them all something to look forward to in their daily existence.
"That'll be great, Professor!" Jonas said, looking up from his work. "Do you and Mary Ann have any idea where to find this grass?"
"That ties in with my other idea. I was thinking I should show her more plants on the island that we can use for edibles, to add to our diets. You know how important it is to keep a variety of nutrients coming in, to keep us healthy and strong. I thought maybe we could take an overnight hike to the other end of the island, to go foraging and map out where we can find more sources of both plants and maybe fresh water."
The Skipper stood up, stretching his aching muscles from having been bent over so long. He scanned the area, as if he could discern the entire length and breadth of the island through the surrounding trees.
"Goodness knows we've been here long enough, and we've not explored the whole island as thoroughly as we should! Do you think you'll be okay?"
Roy glanced in Mary Ann's direction, where she was emerging from her hut, having changed from her swimming suit.
"Sure, we'll be fine. Mary Ann's hardly new to working through woods and brush! It'll be an educational field trip for her, and me too if she can show me ideas on designing the sandals."
She went to them, sitting on the bench the Skipper had vacated. "Sandals? What're y'all talking about?"
Roy, Gilligan and the Skipper outlined the Professor's two ideas, of making footwear and learning more edibles.
Mary Ann hoped the joy she was feeling wasn't leaking through, and cleared her throat. "Um, well, sure, Professor, that sounds great! What should I pack along? When do we go, tomorrow morning?"
"How about the day after tomorrow? That way, I can map out the general route we'll take, in case of trouble, and the men have to come find us. But I'm confident we'll be fine. We'll be so busy gathering various plantstuffs that we won't have time to get into trouble!"
The two talking were maintaining a discrete and almost detached countenance, but neither could help being startled when Gilligan gave a small cough. He looked significantly at them both.
Huh? they thought. Were they being so obvious that GILLIGAN got it?
Gilligan didn't say a word. He simply shook his head, smiled, and walked off.
The three of them watched him leave, and Ginger finally spoke up.
"So, this footwear you have in mind. Can I get mine with heels?"
Everyone started laughing, and Mr. Howell came out of the hut he shared with his wife.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
They told him the idea of footwear, and all of them, but Mary Ann and Roy, started spouting off their ideas, of what they wanted on their own unique sandals. The two lovers looked at each other and grinned, having found a perfect outlet for getting the other castaways gabbing with one another and not noticing the two of them.
"So, Mary Ann. Did you need help with dinner? I can cut up those spices while you get the steaming baskets ready!"
She smiled as they went to her coffer of shellfish and the spices in their little basket. "Sure, Professor, that'll be great!"
They spent the evening together, first preparing dinner that everyone exclaimed over, then plotting out their learning expedition. Nobody thought it unusual that the two were so engrossed with one another; they had their big hike across the island to plan, after all. Even Ginger, as sensitive as she was to all things romantic, didn't find anything unusual in their behavior.
Mary Ann and Roy were too busy the next day, in their final preparations, to have any time to themselves. That was okay; they were going to have the next two days alone! Mary Ann's mind wandered as she went about her work.
She was both nervous and excited. Nervous about spending the evening with Roy, even though she was confident it wouldn't entail anything more than kissing and cuddling. Excited about their two projects, which she felt were grand ideas. Their little trip WOULD serve two purposes; having the intimate alone time was simply added gravy.
She had a lot to do. Not only did she have to pack the supplies they'd need, including water (until they found a water source) but she had to get the food ready for the others to eat. Mrs. Howell was an indifferent cook, at best, being used to having servants do all the work for her. Ginger, if left to her own devices, would probably simply not eat. The Skipper and Gilligan could do all right in a pinch, from their bachelor days, and Mr. Howell would be as useless as his wife.
The evening before their little expedition, Mary Ann gathered everyone together and pointed out what she'd stored in various baskets for them to eat.
"Unless you feel like starting a fire and cooking, everything in here can be eaten as-is. You might get sick of bananas and coconuts, but you'll live. Maybe some of you can experiment and actually COOK something?" she asked hopefully, knowing their reactions. They laughed.
"You're the cook of our little contingent, Mary Ann," Mr. Howell pointed out. "But I am certain we will survive while you and the Professor are gone for two days."
Everyone nodded agreement, assuring her they'd be all right.
"All right, then," she smiled at them, standing up. "I'm going to turn in, then, since the Professor and I want to get an early start. Our gear's all packed, and he's shown the Skipper the general route we'll be following. Good night, everyone!"
"Yes, I am going to turn in, too, everyone," Roy told them. "Early light and all. Good night."
They all bade them good night, and the two glanced at one another and smiled, not daring to do more than that with all eyes on them.
"I'll see you in the morning," Roy said, hiding the accompanying wink from the others.
"I'll be ready," she assured him with that sweet smile he'd take to his dreams.