She turned into him and rested her forehead against his chest. “It was cruel.”
“It’s my way of pouting,” he said, lifting her chin. “I’m feeling pretty damn unappreciated at the moment.”
She looked at him, loving the feel of being so close to him in private. “I need something only you can give me, Jack. I’m losing my mind down here.”
“Why not Oscar?” he suggested dryly. “He’s apparently in great demand.”
“I’m not attracted to that disloyal little son of a bitch. I’m attracted to you.”
“Yet, what you’re suggesting would make me a disloyal son of a bitch.”
“You’re not married. And I’m lonely enough for that to be a big enough difference.”
They made love carefully and quietly, and when they were finished Andie no longer looked nor felt like she was about to crawl out of her skin. She lay on top of him listening to the beat of his heart.
“Can I ask you a silly question?” she said quietly.
“Sure,” he said, stroking her hair, his mind on fifty other things.
“Do you love her?”
“Yes,” he said. “I love her completely.”
She got up from the cot and began to dress. “Thank you very much, Jack.”
He reached for her hand. “Please don’t thank me. You’re a wonderful woman, and you deserve an awful lot more than anyone down here can give you.”
Late the next morning, Veronica unexpectedly joined him in the shower, pulling the curtain closed. “So how did it go last night?”
“What’s that mean?” He was not at all surprised that she knew something had occurred. Probably everyone in the complex knew something had occurred, everyone except for Oscar’s wife, of course, which was only because she took pills in order to sleep, the stress of knowing that her husband had less than eighteen months to live having turned her into an insomniac.
“If you’re going to play stupid,” Veronica said, “we’re going to have a fight.”
“Fine. I let Andie seduce me.”
“And how was it?” she asked calmly, reaching for the soap.
“She’s a very lonely person,” he said stiffly, not at all sure what to expect from her.
“Or was,” she said, turning the soap in her hands. “She looks like a whole new woman today.”
“I haven’t seen her.”
She let the soap drop and slipped her arms around him. “Did I make a mistake?”
“What are you talking about?” he said, resting his hands on her shoulders.
“Last night was my idea,” she confessed, trembling slightly. “I knew things were coming to a head… and I knew that… I knew that concessions had to be made… even by me… and it all seemed so logical last night with it being Christmas and… and now I’m worried I made a huge mistake.”
Forrest remembered his warning to her about being too objective. He held her face in his hands. “A mistake how?”
“There’s a light in Andie’s eyes this morning. So it must have been magical between you. It was, right? You made a connection?”
He couldn’t help smiling. “A connection? Honey, if there’s a light in Andie’s eyes today, good for her, but—” He shrugged his shoulders and laughed. “Jesus Christ, you’re the only magic in this place. Why did you ever send her in there with them?”
“Because it was only a matter of time before something happened between you, and I wanted it to be on my terms, not hers… and sure as hell not yours.”
He moved her hair away from her face with his fingers. “I’d like to think you’re wrong about that… but who knows? She does flatter me.”
“So what now?” She shifted her weight to one leg, searching his eyes with hers.
“What do you mean, ‘what now’?” he asked, puzzled. “Veronica, as far as I’m concerned it never happened.”
She smiled and her eyes filled with tears. “If that’s true… then I made the right choice.”
“I love you.”
She pressed against him and began to cry, relieved that he was still hers alone.
Forty-Eight
It was early April now, and with the temperature hovering just below forty degrees on the island of Oahu, it was still too cold to even think about growing any kind of food outdoors. Light meters used to measure the amount of sunlight penetrating the cloud layer were indicating a slight increase, which was a hopeful sign, but at the present rate of improvement it would still be years before there would be much actual sunlight. Local meteorologists and other members of the scientific community were still debating whether the rate of improvement would begin to increase exponentially as time passed.
Ester Thorn stood bundled in a coat on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln anchored in Pearl Harbor. With her were Vice President Hadrian and Admiral Longbottom. The admiral had invited them to review the progress made toward converting the aircraft carrier into a power plant for the city of Honolulu. The pier was now replete with transformers and power lines, hooking the carrier into the previously existing lines running along Hawaiian Highway 1 into the city.
Much of the island population had been moved into the capital, because running power all across the island was not going to be practical for some time yet. Personal homes remained private property, but all other structures had become the property of the state in order to provide housing for those moving into the city. No one had to pay for room or board, but everyone had to do their part, however small.
As it turned out, very few people were unwilling to pitch in around the island. In fact, during the early months there were more volunteers than jobs. So a massive recycling program was begun, sending people to scour the islands for anything that might be useful. Scientists and visionaries alike were teaming up in an effort to create new technologies before the clock ran out.
“It’s coming along,” Ester muttered.
“Yes, ma’am,” Longbottom replied.
“But this doesn’t exactly look permanent to me,” she said.
“No, ma’am. It’s not. This is a temporary setup. If you’ll look west to Ford Island, you’ll see where preparations are being made for the permanent installation of a proper power station. Right now the power is being run directly from the carrier into town, which isn’t as efficient as we need it to be. Once we’re able to run the power through a series of transformers we’ll be able to begin storing some of it.”
“And that power station will be ready to accept power from the tidal generators?” Ester asked.
“Yes, ma’am. The Australian engineer has already selected a nearby location to begin installing the first few turbines. Which brings me to another subject.”
“Oil, Admiral?”
“Yes, ma’am. The Aussies are asking us to bring a second drilling platform online. They’re willing to supply everything needed to get it up and running again if we’re willing to do the actual work. They have no one to spare with the know-how and they’re struggling with a serious power shortage.”
“They need the extra oil to run their mining operations. Yes. I’ve heard.”
“And if they’re going to continue the manufacture of the tidal turbines…”
“Yes, yes,” Ester said. “What do you think, Barry? Is it time to restart another drilling platform?”
“I think we should restart it,” Hadrian said. “But then we should show the Aussies how to run it themselves and turn it over to them entirely. Let their navy protect it. Our fleet is already busy enough here in the Islands.”
“And piracy does continue to be an ongoing problem,” Longbottom said. “I’m sure you’ve heard that another settlement was attacked last night on the island of Lanai.”