The redhead laughed. “Everything’s fine and dandy here, my friend.
Trees are down, and a few power lines. We don’t have power, and it’s uncomfortable as hell, but we’re all staying outside, and we’ve got a little grill set up. It’s not so bad. We can go into our cars if we’re in danger of overheating.” She paused. “How are you doing?”
“Oh, well, about the same,” Kerry told her. “Power’s out here. We’ve got the doors and windows open. It was pretty bad last night, but doesn’t look like there’s much damage, except for a few branches down, and…” She shaded her eyes to peer outside. “I think a boat’s stuck on the eastern tip of the island.”
“Mmm-hmm, must have been…hot and sticky and uncomfortable last night, huh?” Colleen’s voice held a hint of playfulness.
Kerry chose to ignore the innuendo, and answered the question at face value. “It was, but we opened a window on the protected side of the apartment. And we had ice cream, so,” she laughed softly, “it worked out 138 Melissa Good okay. I just woke up.” She glanced up as the sun made a pale appearance, dusting Dar’s shoulders with wan light. “Sun’s coming out.”
“Is it shining on anything interesting?” Colleen asked impishly.
Kerry peered at the receiver, her brows knitting. “Are you all right?” She glanced outside. “It’s shining on the ocean, and a few boats that I can see, and the patio. Why?”
The redhead laughed softly. “Never mind, Kerry. You going to spend some time there yet?”
“Um, probably. I think they need the electricity to run the ramps to get on and off the ferry.”
“Oh, right,” Colleen agreed amiably. “Well, your place survived quite nicely. We didn’t get flooded or anything like that, so we’ll all be here when you saunter home.”
Kerry smiled. “That’s great to hear, I’m glad everything was okay.” She watched as Dar turned and leaned on one arm, peering back at her from outside. “I, um…I’ll talk to you a little later, okay?” She hung up and went to the door, peering out and blinking. “Well, everything’s okay at my place.” She was still carrying the phone and held it out to Dar when the older woman motioned for it.
“Might as well find out what the prognosis is for getting power back.”
Dar dialed quickly. “Then I guess I’d better make sure everything’s on track at the office.”
Kerry nodded. “Um.” She bit her lip on a grin. “Want me to get you some frosted flakes?” Her eyes twinkled. “I think that would be better than ice cream for breakfast, though,” she cleared her throat, “not by much.”
Dar gave her a look as she listened to something on the phone, then hung it up. “Power’ll probably be back up after lunchtime, and they’ve got a generator running down at the beach club, so I think we’ll take a ride down there so I don’t have to get flack for my choice of breakfast cereals.” She paused and drummed her fingers on the phone, then turned and gazed out at the calming seas. “Matter of fact…you in the mood to take a ride?”
“A ride?” Kerry followed her gaze. “Oh, you mean on the boat?” She let out a sigh. “I’d love to, but I’m not exactly dressed for it.”
“Oh, we can fix that.” Dar grinned.
“We can? Well, okay. Sure. I’d like that…since we’re kinda stuck here, and it’ll be cooler out there, I guess.”
Half an hour later, they were in, of all things, a golf cart with Dar’s apartment number on it, dodging downed branches on the road which circled the island. Other carts were out and about, with sightseers and island staff, the former driving slowly and pointing, the latter dragging debris out of the way.
Kerry sat back and enjoyed the ride, as they went past clusters of apartments and drove around past a large structure, then circled the marina and ended up in a cluster of shops where the rumble of a generator was evident. She hopped out and followed her taller companion, who pointed at the doors as they went by.
“Video shop, bookstore, health food store, Island Market. Ah, here we go.” Dar pushed open the door of a small store which held various items of casual and beach apparel. “Think you can find something in here?”
Tropical Storm 139
Kerry made a beeline for a rack which held one-piece Speedos in rich, bold colors. “Oh yeah.” She grinned, checking the sizes and selecting a purple one, then choosing a pair of shorts and a tank top to go with it. She handed a credit card to the clerk, surprised when he merely stamped it on her charge ticket, then handed it back to her, along with a pen for her signature. She smiled up at him, receiving a shy smile in return. “Thank you.” She took her package and followed Dar out, catching up with her as she headed for the door to the market. “Dar, he didn’t check my credit card.”
“No.” Dar glanced sideways at her. “Not… Well, let me put it to you this way, Kerry—on this island, if you’re running a scam, it’s in the multibillions.
You don’t bother with little bitty stuff like bathing suits.” She held the door to the small grocery store open. “Besides, the only way you could get on the island is with a resident, which he knows I am. He figures if anything comes up bad, I’ll take care of it.” She paused. “Which, of course, I would.”
Kerry stopped short. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
Mild blue eyes regarded her. “I wasn’t,” Dar replied quietly. “Let’s pick up a couple of things to take on the boat with us. Might as well make an afternoon of it.”
They walked out with a cute little basket, which held, Dar discovered, a set of plates and silverware and was large enough for sandwich fixings and savory side orders. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed, getting Mark Polenti’s cell phone in two rings. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Mark replied over the faint sound of a rattling keyboard.
“Everything survived, no problems, just no power. It’s going to be mildewy as hell in there on Monday.”
“Good,” Dar murmured.
“You like mildew?” Mark answered confused.
“No, no. I mean, good that everything survived,” Dar explained. “All the processing get shifted up in time?”
“Yeah, everything except Bank of New Zealand. I went in and kicked their processors onto the generator and got them going,” the MIS chief muttered. “I’m dialed in now, remotely administering them. They had a payroll transfer due yesterday and according to them, you don’t pay those guys, they get real ugly.”
Dar smiled. “Good work, Mark. Thanks for taking care of that for me.”
“Mmph.” Mark cleared his throat. “Heard you weren’t feeling great. You okay?”
A faint smile crossed Dar’s face. “Yeah, I’m fine, just had one hell of a headache. The weather probably brought it on.” She paused. “Poor old Kerry here volunteered to give me a ride home, then got stuck when the weather hit.” “Um, that explains her logging on from your terminal, I guess, “ Mark commented after a brief pause. “And why her car’s still in the parking lot. We moved it under the covered area in the back, along with about a half dozen others.”
“Thanks, I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear it.” Dar chuckled. “Well, I gotta go. I’ll have the cell phone on if you need me.” She hung up and steered the cart along the marina. “How about I drop you and this stuff off here, then go 140 Melissa Good grab some muffins or something for breakfast?” She suggested. “They took care of your car at work, by the way.”
Kerry nodded. “I know, I spoke to Andreas in security last night. That was really nice of them.” She hopped out as Dar slowed the cart to a halt at a particular slip, which had a nicely proportioned boat docked in it. “This it?”
“Yep, here.” She handed Kerry a set of keys. “The cabin should be stocked with towels and all that, and I had it filled with gas last week.”