by Nella Tyler
“Sounds good. Meg and I could use your help.” Drake went on to tell him how he and Meg found the drawing when they all were at the falls yesterday.
“That’s not surprising. We can all work on the riddle. It will be fun,” Kai smiled. “Come on. Let’s head back.”
Drake nodded. He took one last look at the drawing then followed Kai from the cave. He hadn’t told him about receiving a copy of the drawing. There would be time to tell him later on.
*****
Meg, Ashlee, and Beni had a delicious breakfast in a quaint café a few blocks from the hotel. Then they decided to do some shopping. They were in an open market with tons of vendors selling everything from cookware to clothing.
“Look!” Beni pointed to a vendor across the way. “Let’s go in there.”
They zigzagged their way through the hawking vendors and multitude of people to arrive at a shop that was little more than a lean-to structure stuffed with clothing and accessories. Meg loved it. The shop was small, but its atmosphere was warm and welcoming.
“This would look lovely on you.”
Meg turned to see who had spoken. She saw a smiling woman who looked to be in her forties. She was a little plump with merry brown eyes that lit her face like stars. Meg was instantly drawn to her. The woman held a white crinkled sundress with tiny, green vines scattered throughout the dress.
“You think so?” Meg asked as she took the dress from the woman.
“Oh yes. Why don’t you try it on? There a changing room right here,” the woman pointed to a door behind her.
“All right. I will,” Meg smiled.
“And my name is Ola,” the woman said.
“Ola. I will remember,” Meg smiled.
She went into the dressing room and closed the door. It was small, but big enough for a person to try on garments. There was also a mirror on three of the four walls. So you could see the fit of the item from every angle. Meg hurriedly changed into the dress and gasped at her image. It was perfect on her. She had begun tanning about a month before coming on this trip and now had a light, golden sheen to her skin. The narrow shoulder straps and lose flowing bodice hugged her body in all of the right places, yet it was so comfortable. And the color showed off her tan to perfection. She smiled broadly as she left the dressing room.
“Good Lord! You’re gorgeous!” Ashlee exclaimed.
“I really like it,” Meg grinned.
“You should. It’s totally right for you,” Beni smiled.
“I knew it would be perfect for you,” Ola smiled.
“You have an excellent eye,” Meg said. “Do you have another?”
Ola nodded happily.
“I have selected dresses for all of you,” she said. Ola turned to remove garments from a rack that she had set aside for them. She handed them to the girls who nearly ran to try them on. Ola chuckled as she watched them go.
They had a grand time trying on skirts, blouses, and dresses. By the time the left the shop, each of them had bought at least three items.
“I could spend a years’ salary in that place,” Beni said ruefully.
“But the clothes are so lovely and perfect for our time here,” Meg said.
“She had an outfit for every occasion. It was impossible not to overspend,” Ashlee said.
“Let’s head back to the hotel to drop these things off. Then we can decide what we want to do next,” Bene suggested.
“Sounds like a plan,” Ashlee said.
They left the market and walked down the street. Stopping at a corner to wait for traffic to pass Meg, glanced at the corner diagonal to them. A man was there staring at her.
“Peleke,” she murmured.
“What?” Bene asked.
“There’s Peleke,” Meg said.
“Where?” Ashlee asked.
Meg raised her hand to point across the street.
“There.”
“I don’t see anyone,” Beni said.
“He’s right … he’s gone,” Meg said exclaimed.
“Are you sure you saw him?” Ashlee asked doubtfully.
“Yes! He was standing right there on the corner,” Meg insisted.
“There are so many people about. Maybe you mistook someone else for him,” Beni suggested.
“No. It was him. He was staring at me as though he wanted to speak,” Meg insisted.
Ashlee and Beni stared at her dubiously.
“Well, if that were the case, why didn’t he come over and say something?” Beni asked.
“I don’t know. What I do know is that he was there,” Meg nearly shouted.
“Okay! We believe you,” Ashlee said calmly. “Perhaps he didn’t have time to chat. I’m sure we will run into him again.”
“If that’s what he wants,” Meg muttered.
Ashlee was confused.
“What are you talking about?” Ashlee demanded.
Meg shook her head as though to clear it.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Let’s go,” Meg replied.
They crossed the street and swiftly walked to the hotel. Meg didn’t mention her sighting again to her friends. She would wait and talk to Drake about it. For some reason, she felt that seeing Peleke was connected to the drawing. It didn’t make sense that he would be. But she couldn’t shake the feeling. And that caused her to be extremely nervous.
Chapter 6
The girls entered their hotel suite then moved to their bedrooms to dump their shopping bags. Meg and Beni were the first to re-enter the living room.
“How about some mango punch?” Beni said.
“I’ll have some,” Meg answered.
“I’ll pour a glass for Ashlee as well,” Beni said.
Beni went into the kitchen and Meg moved onto patio to moodily watch the people on the beach. After a few moments, Ashlee joined her.
“Are you all right?” Ashlee asked worriedly.
“Sure.”
“You don’t look all right. That thing regarding Peleke is really bothering you,” Ashlee said.
“No. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. Why won’t you tell me what’s bothering you?”
Meg’s cell rang. Meg was grateful; she was literally saved by the bell. She pulled her phone from her skirt pocket and looked at the viewer, sighing in relief.
“Hi, Drake.”
Ashlee gave her a look that said their conversation was not over then left the patio.
“Hi, Meg. How are you?”
“I’m good,” she mumbled.
“You don’t sound good. What’s wrong?”
“I’ll tell you when I see you,” she said.
“How about now? Can you meet me in the lobby?”
“Yes. I can be there in a few minutes.”
“Great! See you in a few,” he said then hung up.
Meg stuffed her phone back in her pocket then moved into the suite. Ashlee and Beni were sitting on the sofa.
“Guys, I’m going out to meet Drake,” she said.
“Where are you guys going?” Beni asked.
“I don’t know. He just asked me to meet him in the lobby,” Meg answered.
“He probably has some exotic outing planned,” Ashlee grinned.
Meg chuckled.
“I’ll see. I will call you in a little while.”
“Don’t worry about us. Go have fun,” Beni encouraged.
“Wait! Why don’t you change into that yellow peasant blouse you just bought?” Ashlee suggested.
“Good idea. There’s nothing like showing a little skin when in the company of a handsome man,” Beni smiled slyly.
Meg laughed.
“I like your thinking.” She dashed into her bedroom to change. Within minutes, she was back in the living room twirling about before her friends. “What do you think?”
“It’s perfect! He won’t be able to take his eyes off of you,” Beni gushed.
“You look marvelous. Now you can leave,” Ashlee giggled.
“Thank you for
your permission,” Meg smiled. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye,” Ashlee and Beni said simultaneously.
Meg left the suite and walked down the two corridors that led to the lobby. She rounded the corner and saw Drake leaning against a pillar across the room. He saw her and pushed away from the column to walk toward her. Upon reaching her, he grasped her shoulders and kissed her thoroughly. He then pulled back.
“Hi,” he whispered.
“Wow! I like your greeting,” she smiled.
Drake looked into her shining, green eyes. He could have drowned in their luminous depths.
“You can expect plenty more of the same,” he murmured.
“Is that a promise,” she sassed.
“Oh yeah. It’s a sure bet,” he grinned.
“So what’s up?”
“I want to take you on a tour of the resort and get your input from an engineer’s viewpoint,” he said.
“I imagine you work with professional engineers all the time. Their input would be more valuable than mine,” she replied.
“Your feedback is very valuable. Otherwise you wouldn’t be teaching it to impressionable minds. I want your opinion.”
“Okay. I’ll give it. But keep in mind that it’s not coming from a professional,” she responded.
“You are a professional. You just work in a different arena,” he said firmly. He guided her toward a door at the back of the lobby. “Now tell me what has upset you.”
She didn’t respond immediately. He noticed that wrinkles appeared on her forehead as she recalled her worry. He wanted to kiss them away and tell her all would be well. He realized this was the first time that he had ever felt so invested with a woman. In all of his adult years, his interaction with women had been casual and free. He’d not allowed them to get close to him nor him to them. And that lifestyle suited him. But that wasn’t the case with Meg. With Meg, he felt a tug to be deeply rooted in her life and he was finding it hard to resist that pull.
“Meg. Talk to me.”
“Something very strange happened today,” she began. She went on to tell him about seeing Peleke.
“Are you sure it was him?”
“You sound like Beni and Ashlee. They didn’t believe I had seen him either,” she grumbled.
“I don’t disbelieve you. I just want you to be sure. I mean, think about what you’re saying,” he said. “One minute the man was there. The next he literally disappears. It’s a wild notion.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but I am not. I saw him. He was there,” she insisted. “Why would he disappear like that? Especially if he wanted to speak to me.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to do so in front of Beni and Ashlee.”
“Good point. I hadn’t thought of that. I guess we’ll have to wait until he shows up again. Hopefully it will be an opportune time for him to talk,” she said quietly.
“I discovered some interesting information about the drawing,” he said.
“What did you find out?” she asked curiously.
He told her about his swim with Kai to Likeke Falls.
“You were right about the age of the drawing. But how did it get there?” Meg was baffled.
“Another mystery. According to Kai, it would have been nearly impossible for the artist to have time to draw it.”
“Then that only leaves …” She trailed off.
“Leaves what? Magic?” he queried.
She slowly nodded.
“I’m not ready to go there, Meg. There has to be a scientific reason,” he said.
“All things cannot be rationalized by science.”
“This is not one of them,” he declared.
“How do you know? You’re dismissing the possibility without having another theory to replace it.”
“I don’t need another concept to replace it because magic is not a viable premise,” he retorted.
“Your thinking is antiquated.” Meg could not believe her ears. How could a modern man like Drake harbor such archaic beliefs? “Your attitude is contrary to your earlier discussions about Feng Shui and positive thinking.”
Drake knew that she had a point. And he wouldn’t be able to easily talk around. He actually had considered magic as a plausible explanation but didn’t want to jump to that conclusion until all other avenues had been explored. Meg had an imaginative mind and would eagerly gravitate to magic being the basis to their mystery. He wanted to investigate a lot more. There had to be more to it. They moved through the door which opened to the outdoors. It was a wide-open area that seemed to go onto forever. Meg gasped at the magnitude of it. Drake turned to her.
“I don’t want to jump to unnatural conclusions just yet, Meg. We haven’t uncovered a single answer as of yet. Let’s go about this methodically first,” he said quietly.
He was proving to be a man of purpose and perseverance. Meg knew that he looked under every rock and behind every wall to find the right answer. Even if that answer led to unnatural causes. She admired and respected him for that. She nodded.
“You’re right. I know I can sometimes get carried away with flights of fancy,” she smiled ruefully.
“It’s your red hair. It puts all kinds of Irish folklore in your head,” he grinned.
“The color of me hair has naught to do with it,” she spoke in a heavy Irish accent. “Tis in me blood, it is. And there’s naught I can do about it.”
He laughed.
“And there’s naught I want you to do about it.” He waved at the space before them. “What do you think about this place?”
“It’s wonderful. So open and huge. But it’s also wasted space. There’s nothing here,” she remarked.
“My thoughts exactly. I want to fill it up with something fun and exciting.”
“Children. The place should be for children,” she suggested. “I noticed that the resort has lots of adults but few kids. It seemed to be targeted towards adults, not families.”
“What if we built a giant arcade and aquarium here?”
“And dolphins and seals for interactive experiences,” she warmed to the idea.
“Kind of like Sea World in California,” he mused.
“Yes. Only smaller. As the pastime became more popular, you could increase its size with more sea life.”
“That would produce more economy for the island and jobs for the people,” he mused.
“And who better to work with ocean life than the Hawaiian people who were practically raised in the water? This island must be filled with oceanographers and marine biologists looking for work,” she added.
“But we have to build it first.”
“So you’ve decided to buy the resort?”
“Yes. It’s a good resort, but it needs a major overhaul. I like your idea about making this area into a fun, kid’s zone,” he said. “It would attract families to the resort, which would generate huge revenue.”
“When will you begin the renovations?”
“As soon as the documents can be reviewed. My attorney will be here tomorrow to go over them,” he said. “Then there is the matter of how soon you can draw up the specs. We cannot revamp without a design.”
“It will take me a few days to prepare them. I want to start right away. This is so exciting!”
He clasped her hand.
“Well, hold on a minute. There’s something else that I want to show you. Come with me.”
*****
Meg and Drake walked back into the hotel and turned down a corridor that wasn’t traveled by guests. Drake stopped and opened a door. Meg entered what looked like a storage room. There were boxes stacked everywhere. It was a large room with several compartments, about eight by eight in size.
“What are you thinking to do with this space?” she asked as she walked about the room.
“I’m not sure.”
Meg noticed the four large windows on two of the walls.
“There’s great light in here.” She imagined racks of clothing strategically placed
about the area.
“This would make a great boutique.
“The hotel doesn’t have one,” he pondered.
“With great merchandise, the guests would flock here. This place could be a huge money-maker with the right manager,” Meg enthused. She thought about Ola from the market place. Meg knew that she would be a great manager.
“Could you draw up the schematics for the boutique? I would pay you, of course,” he asked.
The question surprised Meg. Giving her opinion was one thing, but to put her pencil to paper to diagram plans was another. But to think that he valued her skill to such an extent was amazing. How could she turn him down?
“Of course I will draw them up. I would do so for free,” Meg said in awe. “I’m astonished that you want me to.”
“I’m honored that you will do it. I know you’re on vacation and working is the last thing you want to do,” he said feebly.
“I am thrilled to do it. I can’t wait to get started. I never imagine working on such a fantastic project. It will be great fun,” she said.
“Thank you, Meg. You don’t realize how much you’re helping me.” He hugged her tightly.
“I’m thrilled to be doing it,” she laughed. She danced away from him and twirled about the room. She neared a stack of boxes then stopped in front of them. “Ideas are racing through my mind. I can’t wait to get started.”
Suddenly there was a rumble. She looked up and saw the top cardboard boxes begin to fall toward her.
“Meg!” Drake ran toward her.
Meg was paralyzed with fear. Drake threw himself at her and they went tumbling across the floor. The boxes hit the floor with a loud thud and articles spilled out of them. Drake’s body partially covered hers as he gently stroked her cheek.
“Are you all right,” he asked urgently.
“Yes. I’m okay. You save me from great injury. Thank you,” she said softly.
“I’ll never allow you to be harmed if I can help it,” he vowed. He then gently kissed her mouth. Pulling back, he helped her sit up. She looked up at the boxes. They seemed so secure.
“How did that happen? Why did the boxes suddenly shift and fall?” She was terribly unsettled.
“It was just an accident. The boxes were probably too heavy to be on top,” he reasoned.