Posted by hummingbird on 9/22/2014, 8:39 am VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
I know (I know) you belong to somebody new, but tonight you belong to me...
Chapter Four
The first day or so Bo and Nora were pretty successful at staying out of each others' way. They walked opposite ends of the beach, they seemed to seek the hot tub at different times, and while he did some fishing, she spent her time sunbathing or reading. About the only time they ran into each other was when they were getting their coffee in the morning.
On the third afternoon, Bo found himself alone at the bungalow and decided to soak in the hot tub. He grabbed a towel and a beer and headed out to the deck.
Before he could even disrobe and relax he heard a crackling, rustling sound and saw a long piece of bark extending high into the air under a palm. As the bark fell sideways and landed on the ground, he heard an expletive from below. He looked over the deck rail to see a sweating Nora struggling to lift the bark again.
Although she was a little disheveled, she still looked fine in her swimsuit and sheer skirt cover-up. He enjoyed the view for a few moments before finally shouting, “What are you doing?”
Nora whirled around to see Bo above her at the deck rail.
“Oh!” Embarrassed, she gave him a look. “How long have you been standing there?” she asked him.
“Not long. I heard the rustling and cursing and decided to see who it was,” he answered grinning.
“Well, who did you think it was!” she interjected rolling her eyes at him.
He ignored her frustrated tone and tried to hide his grin.
“So...what are you doing?” he questioned again.
“I’m trying to get a coconut for Matthew,” she shouted.
“I see,” Bo said calmly. “We-ell...why don’t you just pick up one of those on the ground at the base of the tree,” he said pointing “...that would be a lot easier, I’d think.”
She looked at him again. “For your information, I tried that. The bugs have gotten to those. They’re yucky on the bottom. So...I have to get one of these,” she said poking the length of bark into the air again.
He watched a few moments before shouting, “Want some help?”
“And I suppose you know all about harvesting coconuts!” she retorted in that frustrated tone.
Bo felt like sinking into the hot tub and leaving her to her own devices; but instead, he attributed her nasty sarcasm to heat and frustration, and met her at the base of the tree. When he got up close, he started chuckling. She was a mess...sweaty, smudged, and wearing little pieces of bark and dirt in her hair and stuck to her clammy skin. All in the name of a coconut for her son! Nora had never been an outdoorsy woman, and to see her like this… Bo couldn’t help himself...he couldn’t contain his laughter.
Nora turned slowly to look at him. She wiped a sweaty tendril of hair away from her face.
"What?!" she asked him.
“If Pa thought you looked ‘ragged’ before, he should see you now,” he said laughing and flicking little pieces of bark out of her hair.
“Hahaha,” she said sarcastically. “So, are you going to help me or not?”
“Anything for our son,” he said, “But I’m trying a different method. Yours doesn’t seem to be working.”
Bo picked up one of the fallen coconuts, knocked it against the trunk of the tree to rid it of bugs, and took a basketball stance. He then threw the coconut high into the tree hoping to knock a fresh one to the ground. It didn’t work.
“Well, that was brilliant. Any other bright ideas, Gilligan?”
Undeterred by Nora’s smart remark, he tried again coming a little closer this time.
“See?,” he said to her. “Maybe it’s not such a bad idea...I almost had one. And...if I’m Gilligan, who are you? The Professor or Mary Ann?” he asked tossing another coconut into the air.
“Why, neither of course! I’m the movie star...Ginger…” she said in a seductive voice.
Bo laughed again. “Yeah...you really look like a movie star right now…”
“Okay...that’s enough, Gilligan. Just get me a coconut.”
As they talked, Nora joined Bo in pitching and throwing coconuts toward the top of the tree. Finally one was hit, jostled loose, and made it’s way to the ground. Bo caught it victoriously before being struck in the forehead by a second nut that had been jarred loose. Then a third dropped to the ground by his feet.
“Ouch! Damn!” he shouted.
Nora looked at Bo where a trail of blood was already making it’s way from his forehead past his eye.
“Bo! Are you alright?!” She quickly made her way to him. He wiped at the blood, but it continued to ooze.
“Here...let me see, Bo...let me look at it.” It was bleeding profusely, as head wounds do, so she couldn’t see how deep the cut was.
“Let’s get back to the house and clean that so we know what we’re dealing with.”
Nora carried the coconuts and deposited them on the deck before they entered the bungalow. Once inside, Bo sat at the kitchen table while Nora got a pan of warm water and some washcloths to tend the wound.
“Here,” Bo said trying to take the cloth, “I can do this.”
“No. Just let me,”she said brushing his hand away. “I can see better what I’m doing. I also found this peroxide in the bath cabinet. It’s probably expired, but we’ll use it anyway...it’s better than nothing to clean that wound.”
Nora rinsed the cut and held pressure on it to stop the bleeding.
Bo, seated obediently in the chair, was very aware of her proximity. Her chest and waist were at his eye level as she tended to him. She still looked great even if she was sweaty and smudged from coconut hunting. He shook his head to clear his mind of the effect she was having on him.
“Please hold still,” Nora said patiently. When the bleeding finally stopped, she cleansed the cut with peroxide before covering it with a bandage.
“You know,” Bo said glancing up at her as she worked, “you make a better doctor than movie star.”
“Oh? But I’d rather be a movie star,” she said raising her eyebrows and smiling.
Bo smiled back.
“There...all done. The cut is not quite two inches long. There’s abrasion all around it. You’re lucky you didn’t need stitches. What was Asa thinking leaving us abandoned like this? What if this had been something worse?”
“I guess he knew I’d be in good hands,” he said looking up at her. “Thanks, Nora.”
“You’re welcome,” she said tenderly brushing his hair back where it had fallen onto his forehead. “Now...I’m going to get you a drink...name your poison...and then I’m going to get a much-needed shower.”
“I can get it,” Bo said looking up at her.
“No...you got my coconut and a head wound. The least I can do is pour you a drink. Bourbon?”
“Sounds great, thanks.”
She handed Bo his bourbon as he got comfortable on the couch with the remote.
“You don’t have a headache or anything, do you?” she asked him.
“No. I’m just fine. Stop fretting over me and go enjoy your shower.”
As she started to leave, he spoke again, “Hey…”
She turned to look at him.
“Maybe when you’re done you’d like to join me for a movie? Asa has quite a John Wayne collection here...what do you say?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Sure...sounds like fun...I’ll be back in a few…”
By the time Nora returned, Bo had popcorn ready. They started with McLintock, then watched True Grit. They had every intention of having an all night movie marathon, but Bo was sacked out on the couch by the end of the second movie.
Nora turned off the tv and just watched Bo sleep for awhile. She chuckled to herself thinking about their day and about the crazy situation a determined Asa had left them in. The longer she looked at Bo, the more she found herself wishing she could cozy up next to him on the couch...like the old days. Instead, she forced her thoughts back to reality, turned off the lamp, and went to bed.
Gear chapter. And I love The movie "McLintock". My dad was a huge John Wayne fan. I used to watch his movies with him. Sure brings back memories for me.
