Forever and a Day (45 page)

With the open pathway teasing him to follow it in, he decided to pass for now. He needed to be sure Halo was on the mend before he dared to venture in. Deciding he had enough beach, he began walking south parallel to the tree line. Soon he came upon a large leafy green tree that had large green, round and dimpled fruit hanging from its limbs

“Breadfruit!” Xander exclaimed and strode up to the fruit laden tree. He searched around and found the biggest one, hoping it may be the ripest. He cut it away with his knife and felt its heft in his hand. He recalled reading about breadfruit and its high carbohydrate count. He also remembered reading about how to prepare it and cook it. His belly made some noise as he thought about food. With a smile on his face, he continued with his hands now full of his promising finds.

Coming back into camp, he deposited his finds close to the tent and peeked in at Halo. She was fast asleep, looking like an angel with her golden blonde hair cast around her on the blanket. He noticed it was in dire need of a washing… oddly, her hair still smelled good when she was lying on his chest last night. With a rapid headshake, he shook the thought from his mind and he looked at his watch. Doing some quick calculations, he found that it took him about forty minutes of leisurely walking to get around this island. He calculated that the island must be at least a mile in circumference. Next trip he would pay more attention he chided himself.

Going to the raft, he gathered up the plastic conical rain collector, set it up close by the tent, and hoped not too much sand would collect along with any potential rainwater. Next, he went out behind the tent to the broad-leafed palms, cut several away, rolled them into a funnel then placed them into four of the empty water bottles. Ideally, he thought it would be best to get these away from the sand in the future.

Checking his watch again reminded him about the satellite phone. He quietly retrieved it without disturbing Halo and opened the plastic bag. He immediately saw that the small green LCD screen was completely fogged over. He flicked open his knife and attempted using the point of his knife to turn one of the miniature Philips screws, after several attempts he could not get the point to find purchase. What he needed was his computer repair kit from home.

He thought he might be able to pry it open with the knife or break the hard plastic with his new piece of metal. The problem was if he did get it open, what kind of damage the Sat phone would suffer. His finger hovered over the ‘On’ key and he decided he would leave the phone in the sun to dry out before he tried to turn it on again. He looked in towards Halo and felt relief at seeing some of her color coming back to her gorgeous face. He gave a silent prayer and gave thanks for her continued improvement.

Setting the phone out in the sun, he went into the tent and retrieved his solar chargers, his phone and tablet. He laid out a plastic emergency blanket in the bright sunlight and connected the chargers to his phone and tablet.

Finishing up, he went to the tree close to Halo’s tent and sat with his back against it under the shade it provided. His thoughts drifted to Athena and he worried how she was coping with the news of his apparent demise. He knew what it was like to lose a parent at a young age. His worry compounded due to Evie not handling loss well, herself.

He remembered when Evie’s father passed away… she became sullen and distant for quite some time, pushing everyone away. He hoped that she would be there for Athena then again if not, Yiayia would surely be there for her.

Thinking about being alone on this island with Halo, Evie will never let him live it down. Shit, if she found out about Halo sleeping curled up on him. She would really go ballistic… angry would not even be a close enough description. Her jealousy would push her to dig at him for a minute-by-minute accounting of however long they were stuck here. With a heavy sigh, he realized nothing again would ever be the same.

Part of him ached for his family but on the other hand, he was here with Halo and it sent his belly and heart into overdrive. For the last two years, he pushed thoughts of her down deep into his darkness. Sure they would surface and he would feel like something was missing, but he would shove it right back down. He had a family and that is where his duty was.

So now, how to deal with Halo… her smiles at him were so enthralling. Then when she was so sick after he got her ashore and she was looking up at him. That look in her eyes conveyed a distinctive feeling to him… then her words: ‘Wish we had more time. Never felt like… when I’m with you.’ Those words and that feeling scared him to his core. She had to be delirious. There is no way that she could feel that way towards him, he had nothing compared to Robert Montclaire. Yes, he decided, she was just delirious and he let out heavy sigh.

He pulled up a piece of grass and began twirling the green blade around his finger, still lost in his thoughts. He knew he was going to have to speak with her about how she knew him. This time he let out a groan.

He distracted himself from talking about that conversation by contemplating her miraculous recovery. How did she come back? She was dead, gone, history… he had seen it. Then… there she was, whispering to him.

Then there was the pain he felt at her passing… it was incredibly horrible. He felt part of himself was ripped away, leaving him but a hollow husk. A question came drifting into his mind: what hurt worse? His parents dying or Halo’s apparent death? The blade of grass broke in his fingers, as he instantly knew the answer. With a sharp intake of breath, he swiftly got to his feet and forced the answer to that question all the way down with the rest of his errant feelings.

He would speak to her as soon as she is well enough. Being alone together here, he was going to have to put a stop to whatever emotions she thinks has towards him. After all he is just a regular guy and she is Halo Raines, the most gorgeous girl in Hollywood if not the world.

Xander walked around the camp trying desperately to keep his feelings for her buried. He had things to do and walking around like an idiot was not one of them. He remembered he needed to get an SOS set up and set out to get it done.

Using palm fronds, he got a large SOS signal set up in the sand. After admiring his handiwork, he took a quick dip in the sea to clean himself up. On the way back to camp, he collected several coconuts. He was about to sit down in the sand to clean up the coconuts when the idea of a seat to sit on sounded better. He looked to a nearby fallen palm tree, it was not overly large he decided and walking over to it he gave it a shove with his foot. It moved, but barely. He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together. Leaning down he gave it a hard push and it moved.

It took him a good twenty minutes but he was able to get the fallen tree close enough to the fire pit. Breathing hard he sat down and collected himself as he caught his breath. Picking up the coconuts, he began removing the husks. Using the new piece of metal, he was able to crack the coconuts and was able to drain the milk into a water bottle.

He got a fire going and placed the breadfruit into the fire to roast it. He let it roast for an hour before removing it and letting it cool. Using his knife, he cored it then poured in some of the coconut milk and added a packet of sugar. He sealed it with a piece of the core and put it next to the fire to finish.

He checked on Halo and she was still fast asleep, he wanted to wake her but was dreading having to discuss her emotions concerning him. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, it was just his imagination or wishful thinking.

He heard movement from the tent and he peeked in. She had opened her eyes and was weakly trying to stretch. He gave her a smile as he greeted her, “Halo! How are you feeling?”

She returned his smile with a bigger one, “A little better I think.”

“Good to hear!” He kneeled down and handed her the bottle with the remaining Vitamin water. She weakly reached for it and dropped it when he let go.

“Weak still…” She groaned.

“Here let me help you.” He crawled in and helped her sip at the water.

“Thanks… hey it looks like you got some sun today.”

“Oh, yeah been a little busy. I forgot sunscreen…”

Halo set her hand on his knee, “Xander, you need to make sure you cover up. You may have that gorgeous olive complexion… but you never know.”

Xander felt her hand on his leg and quickly reminded himself about having the talk with her, but the other part of himself was screaming at him: No! Do not ruin things. It felt reminiscent of that day on the set with her. “Uh, thank you Halo. I’ll try and remember. Uh, do you have to use the loo before dinner?”

“Oh my! Yes!” Halo looked towards her suitcase, “Xander? Um, would you mind getting a fresh pair of undies for me please?”

He felt his ears get hot and he gave her a slow single nod. He went over and opened the suitcase and dug down, finding several pairs, he turned to her holding them up, “Uh, Halo? Pink, black, white, or what color? There is a bunch in here.”

“You pick.”

“Oh. I—I uh, better not.” Xander stuttered.

“Silly, just grab one already!” Halo giggled quietly.

Xander handed her the black pair, “Uh here.”

“Thank you. I guess I really have to go, I’m sorry to rush you.” Halo whispered quickly.

“Oh!” He made sure she was well covered with the blanket then scooped her up and made his way out of the tent and to the loo in a hurry.

“Smells like bread?” Halo asked as they hastened to the loo.

“I found some breadfruit, not sure what it’s going to taste like though…”

“I’ve had it; its consistency is kinda like pumpkin or squash.”

“Oh, good. So you’ll know then. Uh, how do you want to do this?” He asked nervously.

“Same way, I’m sorry.” She replied with a smile. She felt his hands tremble as he began slipping her panties down past her bum, “Might as well take them off.” She felt him nod and he began taking them off her, “Xander you are still shaking.” She felt the sigh from him as she was leaning against his chest, and again she felt the hammering of his heart, “Just set them aside out of the way. I’ll deal with them when I’m able.”

Xander set them aside and set her on the seat, “I uh got some things for you to wash up with. I took a bath in the ocean; I thought you might want to clean up?”

Halo smiled as she looked up at him, “Xander, are you saying I smell?”

“OH! No!” Xander felt his face go red in the dusky light; he hoped she did not notice.

“Just kidding. I know I must be pretty ripe by now.” She said quietly.

“Really, you don’t. Kinda surprising. Me on the other hand, whew!” He smiled.

“You are too nice. So what do you have in mind for me?”

“Uh, what?” He asked.

“For cleaning up… Mr. Silly man.” She giggled.

“Oh, here.” He pointed to next to loo. “I have some water with a few drops of shampoo in it and a cut up hand towel for a washcloth. Is that ok?”

“Sounds fine, you can start whistling anytime!” Halo said in a hurried whisper.

Xander held her steady by her upper arm and stepped as far away as he could and began whistling. He got through the entire song and then some when she jerked her arm to get his attention, “Done, my lady?” He asked.