Orange Sky

There was a real beautiful sunset tonight.  I glanced out the window to see the whole world had turned orange, even the air, so I grabbed my camera and got snapping.  I could have taken a whole roll of shots if only I had film in the camera.  Good thing it's a digital camera.

I sat down to do my NaNoWriMo words this morning and managed about 350 words before the well ran dry.  Damn.  That motivated me to pull out the twenty-seven pages of old story I printed off yesterday and got transcribing.  Four pages later I had my 1667+ words and signed off for the day.  I have hopes that doing this will kick start my brain.  So far, no.

Two unlikely birds shared the birdbath this morning, a Downy Woodpecker and a Junco.  I don't think I've ever seen either of them get a drink before.

02 November--Barbara Malcolm, The Seaview. 

Chapter 7

 In the back of my mind Will’s concerned voice sounded loud, “Mom, are you certain you want to invest so much of your money in that place?  None of us will be nearby to help you if you need us in a hurry.”  He had campaigned against my island bed and breakfast plans right up until I boarded the plane.

I thought of that now, thought about appearing to be a foolish, easily preyed upon woman with too much money and not enough sense.  It filled me with dread that I might be someone to make a fool of herself, that those people I thought of as my new friends might be laughing at me, using me, figuring out how to get as much out of me as possible before casting me aside and going on to the next mark.  Tears filled my eyes as I returned to my stool and hammer.  Was I being foolish?  I just didn’t know.  The only thing I could do for right now was trust my instincts and keep going.

I had gotten back into the rhythm of pulling nails when Silas came out of the back door.  He wiped his sweaty face with a bandana and picked up a gallon jug of water and drank half of it without stopping.  “Man, it is hot in there today.”  He dragged his arm and bandana across his wet face again then flopped into the shade to rest.  “Anger makes me hot too.  I cannot believe that someone I probably know was so careless as to try and burn the place down.”

I looked at him in surprise.  “You don’t think it was done on purpose, do you?”

He shook his head.  “No, not really.  But everyone in Sandy Ground and, really, on the whole island knows that we have begun work.  There has been a regular parade down the road and the beach with people stopping to visit and craning their necks trying to see what we are doing.  Ha.  Plenty of them have been asking for jobs too, but I told them that you are looking for a licensed electrician and plumber and will not settle for less.”  He rolled over on his back and crossed his arms behind his head.  “That vexed a few of them let me tell you.  A couple of the lay-abouts thought that they could get hired by a crazy American woman who did not know what was what, and she, well, you would pay them for nothing.”

I stopped pulling a nail and sat stunned with a board in one hand and my hammer in the other.  “They really thought I was that gullible?”

He nodded and kept his eyes on the tree over his head.

“Silas,” I said, wanting to ask but not wanting to offend, “do you think that either Bo or Shaggy would be capable of making that mess we found in there?”

Silas just turned and looked at me, not blinking, his face as still as a mask.

“I… I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to imply that your friends were vandals.”  I could feel my face flush and a cold feeling shot through my body.  It had never been my intention to hurt him.

His eyelids blinked slowly like one of the small green lizards that stalked moths and mosquitoes on my studio ceiling at night.  “I have no doubt that it was Bo and Shaggy, Mrs. Rose.”

My shoulder slumped in relief.

“I told Edward to tell them that they did not need to return and I spoke with Officer Micah on my way in this morning.  He knows them and will be looking into it.”  He sat up smoothly and rested his wrists on his knees.  “Everyone on the island knows that our prosperity comes from how safe and friendly we are to the tourists and how we need to encourage people like you to invest in Anguilla.  I am proud to be helping you, Mrs. Rose, I hope you stay here a long time and make a success of this old place.”  He looked at the hotel like he was proud of it too, then he stood up and reclaimed his crowbar.  “You and me, we are going to whip this place into shape and people will line up to come and stay here.  You just watch.”  He gave me a small smile and a tiny nod and went back inside.

I looked at the pile of scrap wood and my three cans of reclaimed nails in a new light.  Someone did want me there and cared enough to help me be successful.  My muscles didn’t ache quite so much as I bent over the stubborn nail in the board I held across my knees.

Today's toss was a stack of too big sweaters.

It was windy and chilly again today but by sunset it had warmed up to 50 degrees and it's supposed to be in the 60s the rest of the week.  I'll make sure that the leaf blower batteries are charged up so I can go out and start blowing leaves tomorrow.  I hate raking, even more than I hate vacuuming.

--Barbara