Dar glanced briefly up, then shielded her eyes against the sun. “Oh, that was a bad idea.”
“Sorry.” Kerry put her hand on Dar’s back as they approached the Lexus.
“You should get in before I do something else that dumb.”
“Eh, I’d survive it. How dumb could it be if it’s you?” Dar muttered.
Kerry had to smile at the compliment. She got the executive settled in the passenger seat, then walked around and prudently adjusted the driver’s side to accommodate her lesser inches. “Where do you live, anyway?” she inquired hesitantly.
Dar smiled wearily. “Get on McArthur Causeway and go east. It’s the last light before you go over the final bridge over to the beach.”
Kerry stared at her in confusion. “Dar, that’s the Coast Guard terminal.”
A faint chuckle. “Not quite. It’s a ferry base just to the west of that.” She exhaled. “Place called Fisher Island. You gotta take a boat to go there.”
Kerry slowly put the Lexus into gear and eased out of the parking lot, turning right and heading for the causeway. “Oh,” she mused. “I’ve heard of that.” She shot her companion a worried look. “Do you have something you can take for your headache? I mean, you look like it hurts pretty bad.”
“The island pharmacy is filling a prescription I got yesterday,” Dar answered quietly. “I think this is a migraine. I’ve never had one before, but it’s really lousy.”
“Ouch.” Kerry turned onto the causeway and proceeded east. “I’ve had 118 Melissa Good those a few times. Did it start off with your vision going weird?” A faint nod confirmed her guess. “Stomach ache?” Kerry inquired sympathetically.
Another nod acknowledged that as well. “It’s a migraine.” The blonde made a face. “I usually find a dark place somewhere to sleep it off.”
There was silence for a bit. “How’d the meeting go?” Dar finally asked, as Kerry was turning right into the ferry terminal and proceeding cautiously through the cone-marked lanes. The ferry was just pulling up, so Kerry put the car in Park and considered the question.
“All right, I guess. The guy who chaired it, Michael something, he was really nasty. He had a bad attitude, but the presenter for technology was good.”
“Michael Districa.” Dar nodded. “Hates my guts.” She opened an eye and waved at the security guard, who lifted a hand in response. “Just drive onto the ferry. They’ll tell you when to stop.”
Kerry obeyed, edging the Lexus onto the ramp, then into its assigned lane, where a white-shirted deckhand motioned her. She braked when he held up a hand, then she watched as he carefully chocked the wheels. Once all the cars were loaded, the ramp was raised and the ferry chugged away from the dock. Now she had some time to shift her eyes to the right and study her companion. “How’d Pacific go?”
Dar kept her eyes closed and leaned her head against the doorframe, which was cool from the air conditioning. “Done.” She murmured. “I had to threaten to close a division, but the bastards finally made it out there.”
“Chalk another one up for DR, then.” Kerry smiled, watching as the ferry closed with the island terminal. “They were really worried about that one. I heard Mr. Draefus talking about it on the elevator with that person from Marketing.”
“Mmm.” Dar winced and swallowed hard as her stomach twisted. She was pathetically grateful for Kerry’s driving her home. The way she felt, she’d probably have ended up in Biscayne Bay. “Thanks for making me see reason, by the way.”
Green eyes regarded her warmly as Kerry just barely kept herself from reaching out and squeezing her boss’s arm. “You looked so miserable, I couldn’t stand it.”
A pale blue orb appeared and regarded her curiously. “You couldn’t stand it?”
Kerry took a breath, then released it, unsure of how exactly to explain her comment. She was saved the trouble by the ferry docking, which required her to concentrate on what she was doing. She pulled the Lexus up the ramp, into a welcoming spray of water which rinsed the salt off the car. Then she proceeded down the only road she could see, coming to a T intersection and looking at Dar in question. “Right or left?”
“Right,” Dar replied. “Go to the second inset left turn; the sign says
‘Seaside.’ Drive in, then go into the bay on the end.”
Kerry glanced around curiously. The island featured a small golf course in its center, and the apartments surrounded the perimeter. There wasn’t much car traffic, but she spotted several golf carts whirring along the road, and the trees which surrounded the course isolated the apartments from it.
Tropical Storm 119
She turned where Dar indicated and pulled into a condo complex, which held several clusters of homes, each set at right angles to each other. “Down there?”
She indicated the underground parking.
Dar nodded. “Yeah, first or second spot on the left. Doesn’t matter which one you pick.”
“All right.” Kerry pulled the car into a spot, then set the parking break.
“Here we are.”
“So it seems,” Dar replied wryly. “We didn’t think this out really well, Kerry. If you give me a chance to swallow a few pills, and let this die down, I’ll take you back for your car.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can take a cab, thanks. You’re here because you don’t feel well, remember?” She opened the door and hopped out, literally.
“Damn, this is a high car. Listen, I’ll just get you settled, then get out of here and out of your way.”
Dar dragged herself upright and got out, leaning against the car as she closed the door and breathed in the fresh ocean breeze with a sense of mild relief. She led the way up to her door, plucking the package hanging from her mailbox off and glancing at it. “Ah, the drugs. Good.”
“They deliver it here?” Kerry was looking around, her fingers trailing against the thick stonework. She followed at Dar’s back as the taller woman unlocked the door and pushed it open, a waft of cleanly scented air hitting her in the face.
She walked into a spacious room with a vaulted ceiling. The immediate impression she got was of cool, clean openness, with eggshell-colored walls, two dark leather sofas, and marble floors. Her attention was immediately captured by the huge framed print over the couch, a planetscape in dark, vivid, vibrant colors which seemed to jump out a her in the low light. “Wow.”
Dar turned with a puzzled expression, then managed a smile. “You really didn’t expect wooden crate furniture, did you? I thought I gave a better impression than that.”
Kerry walked over to the picture and stared at it. “That’s amazing.”
Dar continued toward the kitchen. “Thanks. There’s an artist who does those. He makes that spidery tracework with live electricity.”
“What?” Kerry caught up with her as she reached the doorway and entered the huge kitchen. “Whoa!” she yelped, turning in a circle and taking in the square room, with its neatly kept appliances. “You could fit my car in here.” She laughed. “I thought my mother’s kitchen was big.”
Dar took a glass from the cabinet and opened the refrigerator door, pouring milk into it from the dispenser, then ripping open her medication bag impatiently. “If you wait for this stuff to work, I’ll give you the nickel tour.”
She got the bottle open and checked the dosage, taking two pills out and popping them in her mouth, followed by a swallow of milk. “Hope I can keep those down.” She grimaced, leaning against the counter as a wave of pain tightened around her skull.
Kerry gently took hold of her companion’s elbow. “Come on. Which way is your bedroom?”
Dar took a steadying breath and straightened up. “I can make it, thanks.”