Rocky Island (16 page)

“What are you doing with all those clothes on, Toby dear?”

Less than two minutes later he wasn’t wearing any clothes. He didn’t even think to ask how much Nick Atwood had charged to ferry her to the island until next morning.

“No charge. He was on his way to the lobster fishing grounds and took a little detour. Said he owed us that much.”

*

On December 23rd, about three o’clock in the afternoon, the phone rang. Toby was doing some paper work in the office, so he answered. The marine forecaster in Halifax was calling.

“I wanted to give you a severe winter storm warning, Toby. Rocky Island and the entire South Shore is going to get hammered. The storm that was coming up the eastern seaboard appeared to be heading for the Bay of Fundy but it changed direction and is now heading right up the South Shore. Should hit you before midnight. The land area is going to get about three feet of snow. Both inland and marine forecasts are calling for winds gusting to eighty knots.”

“Figured something was gonna happen. The bottom has fallen right out of the barometer. “I doubt we’ll get much snow with winds like that. The stuff will just blow right off the island. The scrub trees we have won’t stop it.”

“You’re probably right, but the wind could do some damage if you aren’t prepared. The first winds will be from the south east and back all the way around to the north as the storm passes. I’m thinking the storm will last about thirty-six hours before the winds settle down. You going to be all right there?”

“We’ll be fine. Thanks for the heads up. Let us know if things change. Do you want reports from here?”

“We’d appreciate any updates you can give us, any time.”

“Will do. Merry Christmas.”

“Thanks Toby. Guess who’s working Christmas Day?”

“Guess who works every day.” And they both hung up.

Toby hurried to get ready for the storm. He got the windmill shut down and the diesel hooked up to the turbine, made sure nothing was left lying outside where it could blow away. The first blasts of the storm hit exactly as forecast, the fierce gusts hammering the side of the house where the bedroom was located. Both Toby and Allison woke, got up and looked out the windows, but they couldn’t see a thing in the blackness. They knew that snow was being blown by because they could hear it hitting the windows, but in the fierce dark, they couldn’t see.

“You going outside, Toby?”

“Not likely. Bed is a better place to be.”

The storm raged all day on the day before Christmas. Toby had a difficult job refuelling the diesel engine with the wind and blowing snow fighting him all the time. He was glad for the handline he had rigged for the second year from the lighthouse to his house. Visibility was such that he could barely make out the light in the lighthouse from the ground in front of it.

On Christmas morning, the storm had abated considerably. Allison and Toby opened their gifts, those she had brought from her shopping trip and those he had ordered by mail. When they opened them all, there was still a card on the tree. Allison handed it to Toby.

He looked at it. It was addressed to “Daddy”.

He tore it open. On the first page was a picture of a cuddly baby and the word, “Hello.” Inside, the same smiling infant in its mother’s arms. Written underneath in Allison’s handwriting, “Merry Christmas, Daddy, from Mommy and me.”

“You’re—you’re pregnant.”

Allison’s eyes were filled with tears, tears of joy. She couldn’t speak, just nod as she melted into Toby’s arms. They rocked back and forth for a full minute before he pushed her back and kissed her with great passion.

“So you went to Yarmouth to see a doctor as well as a lawyer and shopping.”

She nodded again, and went back into his arms.

“And when will the baby be coming?” he murmured in her ear.

“About the middle of June, the twelfth, according to the doctor.”

He paused for a moment, counting. “That means September was a good month.”

“They’re all good months, my darling. Merry Christmas.”

“You’re right. And this is the best Christmas present I’ve ever had.”

“I had to wait five days and then see the doctor a second time. The first lawyer I saw about handling the purchase of the house couldn’t do it because he had a conflict of interest. He’s representing the man you shot, so I had to find a second—and that took an extra day. Then I had to wait a couple of more days until the paper work was all done. It seemed to take forever.”

“It seemed like forever to me, too. I kinda figured the legal work was taking time, but I never gave a thought to you’re seeing a doctor. Anyway, you’re here now, and you’re going to stay until we both leave.” He took her in his arms again and hugged her hard. “Then we begin a whole new life for ourselves, and a whole new life for somebody else.”

Allison gave him a return hug that was just as intense. They sat down on the carpet in front of the driftwood fire burning with green and orange flame in the fireplace and held each other in silence as they watched the flame and each thought their own thoughts which really were not all that different. Rocky Island was already beginning to become a part of their past.