Alone at Last...........part 4
Graham grabs some gear and makes his way to the door
Bo: I'm coming too. I'll do anything, just tell me
They rush out the door leaving Nora, alone, watching from the
veranda.
As the alarm is sounded, Nora sees the men and women from
the surrounding huts run to the site of the fire. Graham and Bo
meet them there, yelling out instructions. Quickly a human chain
is formed and buckets of water from the small lake on the property
are passed from one to another as quickly as possible. The fire
in the shed is raging as Bo works hard to direct the water but
the fear of it spreading to the fields is becoming more of a reality.
There is no way that these buckets of water are going to touch
it now. Bo grabs Graham as he is rushing by and they discuss different
strategies
Graham shouts out: The irrigation lines!
Bo: How do we get at them?
Graham: You stay here and continue. I'll have to take a few men
and get the pump going. We have to save the crops
Bo: Ok we'll keep trying to get this under control but I think
it's a goner.
Graham: Don't worry about the old shed. If we can keep it contained
it won't be so bad.
Graham and 2 of the men set off to the other side of the island to start the irrigation pump. The lines were fixed throughout the fields to supply the fields with fresh water during the dry season. At one point they looked back at the fire site and saw flaming embers shooting out the top of the shed. It was now a race against time.
Nora was pacing back and forth on the veranda. As Graham
passed the house he shouted up to her
Graham: We're going to get the irrigation lines going. Keep your
fingers crossed!
Nora: What can I do?
Graham: Nothing. Stay here, it should be safe.
Nora: Well you keep safe too
Graham ran on.
The winds picked up. Suddenly Nora could see a line of fire making it's way down the field directly in front of the house. Come on Graham, get the water going, she prayed. But the fire continued to advance. Where should she go? What should she do?
Bo bent over in exhaustion. He tried to take a deep breath
through the clearing smoke. The fire in the shed was actually
under control. It had been reduced to smoldering embers but he
continued to have the buckets of water coming until he was satisfied
that it wouldn't flare up again. He smiled at the men and women
in line reassuring them that their hard work had not been in vain.
He went around the building to see if he could see Nora at the
house to give her the thumbs up and his smile quickly disappeared.
The fire was spreading through the field and heading to the house.
Bo: Oh my God. Nora!
He gathered up all his strength and started to run down the path toward the house. His legs were weak and as heavy as lead. The fire was picking up speed. In seconds it would reach the beautiful house. As he got closer he called out her name. There was no response. Louder and more frantic he called again, NORA! Nothing. A searing pain in his side slowed him down more and he stopped. He mopped his brow with his t shirt finding his face was soaked, as was his hair, as were his clothes. The lines had been turned on - the irrigation lines were working saturating everything in sight. The fire had been stopped in it's tracks.
With a huge smile he stumbled up the steps of the house
where he was met by Graham.
Bo: You did it! Man that was close
Graham: You were magnificent Bo. Many thanks
Bo: No thanks needed my friend. Where's Nora?
Graham: Wasn't she with you?
Bo swallowed hard: No. I thought she was here.
Graham led Bo out to the veranda and grabbed the binoculars.
He smiled and handed them to Bo.
Graham: I've got a lot of work to do. Go to her and come back
in about an hour or so
Bo: You sure you don't need me?
Graham: You've done enough today. Go!
Bo tore off his filthy wet clothes and put on some shorts
that Graham had lent him. He flew down a path and stopped just
in front of her. He picked Nora up and swung her around. They
kissed like forever!
Nora stroked his face: I was so worried. Are you ok?
Bo: That was the most exhilarating afternoon of my life
Nora: Hummm
Bo: I didn't mean that...well I meant... well you know
Nora: This has been some vacation huh
Bo: The best
Nora: The best? Caught at sea? Shipwrecked? Fighting fires?
Bo: And you!
Nora: Nice save commish.
Bo drew Nora into a passionate kiss.
Nora had parked herself beside the incredibly beautiful waterfalls. Friday had called off the bucket brigade and they were all alone. The only sounds that they could hear were the calls of the birds and the water rushing over the rocks. They stripped off their clothes and Bo led Nora into the small lake. They swam over to the falls and sat in the shallow water letting the water fall as a shower over their bodies. It was rejuvenating. It was stimulating. It was Bo and Nora getting at each other!
Totally spent, they slowly swam back to their rock, dressed
and laid in each others arms letting the rays of the setting sun
dry them off.
Bo: We better get back.
Nora: I could stay here forever
Bo: Ah ha, so you admit it
Nora: What?
Bo: You're enjoying yourself!
Nora: Well, it's no Llanview Park
Bo: Llanview Park? You're kidding right?
Nora: Ok, ok, it's wonderful. It really is. And you know what...
you're wonderful
Bo: This woman speaks the truth.
Nora: Now help me up and help me haul everything back
Bo: Haul what?
Nora: These! (Nora points behind the rock to a stack of Graham's
paintings that she had brought with her)
Bo: I love you Red
Nora: I know.
Graham welcomes them back holding a tray of glasses of his
best wine and some appetizers
Graham: My lord, what are you carrying?
Bo: Seems like Nora was a bit of a hero too. She grabbed most
of your paintings and took them with her.
Nora: Well you need them to sell so that you could come back here,
right? I was just protecting our interest here too incase we should
ever be invited back!
Graham: I can't believe you two. You are welcome anytime.
They finished off the appetizers and drank their wine talking over the day's activities. Graham told them that he would never forget their generosity and promised them that he would be much kinder to strays he caught on his beach! An exquisite dinner followed but before dessert both Bo and Nora excused themselves and went to bed. They fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.
The following day, they were taken to a beach on the other side of the island and got into the launch. Friday was taking them back to their hotel. Graham gave him instructions on what to buy while there and put a few parcels into the boat. They waved goodbye to their host and were back to the big island in about an hour.
Friday: This is for you ma'am
Nora: For me?
Friday: Yes ma'am. From Graham.
Nora thanked him and said goodbye. They walked back to their cottage
hand in hand
They aired out the cottage then Nora started ripping at
the package
Bo: Sooooo?
Nora: Oh my. It's a Graham Jackson original. Look, it's the waterfall.
Bo: Now that's some souvenir
Nora: We won't tell everyone everything about that waterfall,
will we?
Bo: Nah, not the mushy stuff
Nora: Swimming naked under the falls, making love with the water
flowing down on us, lying in each other's arms till sunset...
Bo: Weathering a tropical storm, freezing at night beside a pathetic
fire, Jake the snake, the horrible fire
Nora: Thanks. I was starting to feel so good about this trip
Bo: We may have had some amazing adventure, but know what? We're
alone at last!
They had 4 days left before they had to go back home. They pretty much kept to themselves except for a few walks to the hotel for meals and a bit of shopping. Nora bought Rachel a sarong and a beautiful gold bracelet which probably cost twice the price it would anywhere else but she knew she would love it and she had to have something special for babysitting. They bought up every silly souvenir they could find for Matthew - they were now ready to go home.
Bo and Nora were met at the airport in Llanview by the kids.
After lots of hugs and laughs they got into the car for the ride
home
Matthew: Man, Rachel is the best. You should hear about our adventures!
Bo and Nora looked at each other and smiled.
The End
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