A woman stood up from a table by the door, obviously a native islander. She was gorgeous, with the dark skin and smooth, raven black hair. She smiled brightly, and waved me to a chair in front of her at the table. She had spread out in front of her, at least ten different print-outs of homes that I guess we were going to look at.
“Hello Mr. Holmes. I am Leia,” she said softly.
“Hi, and please, call me James.”
“OK, James it is. First, let’s go over these and narrow it down to ones that you actually like the look of. No point in checking out a place if you think it’s ugly. I pulled these up based on the things you and I talked about yesterday.”
“Sounds good to me.”
I guess it was going to be Hakuna Matata, again today. My new daily mantra.
We sat and looked over the ten she had pre-selected for me. She went over the finer points of them all, as well as the possible problems with a few. I wasn’t afraid of doing a little home repair, but also didn’t want an outright lemon of a house. I narrowed it down to three homes that I wanted to see in person, so we agreed to meet up at the coffee shop again the next day, early enough to get to them all by lunch.
I went back to the resort, and decided that I would now get that nap in. I woke up a few hours later, still feeling the effects of the drinking, just not as bad as earlier. I took a few more ibuprofen, a bottle of water, and walked out onto the sand of the beach. I sat in the chair for a while, just relaxing, listening to the waves. When it was about three in the afternoon, my phone rang.
“James, its Tony. There is news about Cyrus, but I will just send you a link to a news article about that. Sufficed to say, he will no longer be causing you any problems. The feds are still combing through the records of your company, but from what they tell me, there isn’t any evidence that he used the legal business for any of his illegal activities. The only thing they found so far, is some evidence at his warehouse, that he was planning to use the planes for some flights to Mexico.
“Because of all that has happened, the judge ruled in your favor, and has granted the request for you to dissolve the partnership. It’s legally 100% yours now. Did you want me to pull the trigger on that West Coast offer, after the feds are done of course?”
I was stunned. Things have been moving fast, but I had no idea it would go this fast. Honestly, I was overjoyed at the prospect of cutting this last tie loose. It saddened me, as the company had been like my second baby after Maddy, but I also felt I needed to get rid of it. Just thinking about it reminded me of Cyrus and when we had started it together. Oh well, Hakuna Matata. I would have to read that article, later. Probably after more Rum, a lot of Rum.
“Yes, please do. Thanks again, for everything, Tony.”
After such great news, I felt energized again. I got up, went back to the main building and had an early dinner at the in-house restaurant. I checked my phone, and opened the link Tony had sent regarding the news and Cyrus. There was a big picture of a motel. I was assuming it was the one that Curt had mentioned seeing him hide out at. Anyhow, the picture showed several cop cars, from various agencies and departments, and even a SWAT van.
The article was a little short on detail, but basically stated that the FBI had coordinated a raid on the motel, assisted by the ATF and local law enforcement, responding to an anonymous tip about the fugitive Cyrus Black. Authorities consider him armed and extremely dangerous. The raid turned up a lot of evidence, but the fugitive is still at large.
Well, he appears to have finally figured out how to run like a proper criminal. I had a nagging worry that he might cause trouble later on, but for now, he was out of the picture. With that many cops looking out for him, I at least hoped that he would stay away for a long while. That night I slept wonderfully, and woke up feeling refreshed.
I took one last look through the three homes that we had narrowed down, and then went to meet Leia. She took me to all three places, and to be honest, all three were just ok. I really didn’t fall in love with any of them, at least not enough to buy anyhow. She took me to lunch, where she asked me a few questions, and told me that she would keep hunting for me. Leia dropped me off at the resort, and told me she would keep in touch.
For the next few days, I used the heck out of that beach chair. I did get up and went to the resort gym a few times, just so I didn’t get flabby with all the good food and booze. A few days later, while sitting in the chair, it just came to me. I was watching the birds fly around, and a few boats passed by, when I realized the answer was right in front of me.
I called up Leia, and asked her to look into boats for sale, that could fit the space I had asked for. She laughed, until she realized I was serious, and then told me that she would get back to me. I’m sure boats weren’t her specialty, but it couldn’t be that hard, really. It took another two days, but she came to the resort, and sat with me out on the beach. She showed me several options, and I saw the one that I wanted right away. Of course I would still go see it in person, but I fell in love with it almost immediately.
The picture showed a tall and proud wooden boat. The hull was all white, with a dark stained railing and trim all the way around. The sheet said it was 36′ long, had five berths and two heads, and was launched in 1972. I guessed that berths meant bedrooms and heads was bathrooms. It had a new, single Cat diesel engine, and had recently been cruised to Alaska and back. Her name was ‘Lady of the Night’, and was listed at a price I could live with. We went to visit the old girl in person, and my god, was she magnificent. The interior was restored and as well cared for as the exterior had been. Love had obviously gone into the care of this boat.
I told Leia that I wanted it, and for her to work her magic to get it for me. I spent the rest of the day on cloud nine, thinking of all the fun I would have on that boat. Now I just had to figure out what I would do for the rest of my life. I felt like I was asking myself that age old question, ‘What do you wanna be when you grow up?’
I knew, without a doubt, that I still wanted to fly. It was my first love, my first passion. Unlike the cheating ass wife that I loved, flying would never let me down. I was never going to work for the government again, that much was certain. That asshole from FEMA just nailed it home that you can’t trust anyone.
Maybe I would do something for myself? I wondered if there were any charter services around here? Perhaps I could find one of the smaller islands that has a few people living on it, or has tourists, and fly them? I thought about that one movie, with Harrison Ford, and felt like that would be fun. Food for thought anyhow. I would ask Kim. That woman knew everything, plus she was always very nice to be around.
Regardless of all that, I had to finish the official stuff, so I could get back to my Beach Pineapple drinks. Amazingly, those things never really made me feel hungover, only when I had hung out with Howard and had that dark stuff. Must be the juice hydrating me? I guess it didn’t matter, really.
I went to the resort main building, to their mobile office area, and printed off the power of attorney document that Tony had sent me. I read it over twice, making sure I wasn’t giving him too much power. It was exactly as I had asked for, specifically granting him ONLY the authority to handle the transfer of assets and funds regarding the sale of my business and partnership.
I filled in the information that I needed to, and took it out to the main desk. I asked Kim if she could notarize it for me, and she said that she could. I signed it, and she stamped it with something she pulled out of a drawer, and then signed it herself. Was there anything this woman couldn’t do? She was even able to arrange for it to be sent priority mail, back to Tony in Virginia.