Neptune's Ring (28 page)

Soft foot steps behind her made Levi aware
that the men’s break was over and they chatted excitedly as they
returned to their duties. She marveled at how the men smiled as
they worked and seemed to enjoy working with their hands completing
the various tasks.

Levi heard machinery start up and walked
outside to see what was happening. Two men were using a ditch witch
to dig a trench out to the pool area. They were preparing to run
water and electricity into the area that Carlos had staked out for
the pool bar and Levi sat next to a tree to watch them work.
Another small crew was forming up the foundation for the bar and
preparing to start framing up the walls. Camera still in hand, Levi
snapped off several more images as the men worked. At this pace,
the small pool bar would be completed in a day or so, she thought
as the men hammered nails and built the frame for each of the three
walls. Two others worked to build a bar counter that would be
slipped into place once the walls were framed out. Levi watched as
they measured the wood and checked their measurements twice before
making each cut.

Levi smiled as their movements reminded her
of something her father had always said. “Measure twice, cut once,”
he always said when he was working on a project around the house.
He was a perfectionist when it came to woodworking and Levi was
disappointed now that she had not taken some of the furniture he
had built from their home when she sold the house. She realized
that other than memories, she really did not have anything to
remind her of her deceased parents. She had one photograph of the
three of them on vacation and had salvaged a few wedding pictures,
but that was all.

Her cell phone rang and she opened it up to
answer.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Levi this is Nat, calling to check in
and see how things are going.”

“Things are going really well,” Levi said. “I
went to town and opened up the bank account and dropped off a
deposit check to Julio to order the mattresses. I can’t wait for
you to see the beds he is building.”

“They are nice, huh?” Nat asked.

“Oh Nat, you have no idea. The first two will
be finished today and I will go back to town tomorrow to take
photos and send them to you,” Levi said. “Julio’s son, Roberto, is
hand carving each of the headboards and his talent is amazing.”

“Damn, I want to come over so bad,” Nat said.
“How is the construction coming along?”

“It is amazing to see the rooms coming to
life before my eyes. I have pictures of the various stages of the
rooms and will send them tomorrow as well.” Levi sat back against
the tree. “Right now I am watching them raise the wall frames to
the pool bar,” she said.

“Wow, they are really making some progress,”
Nat said.

“They have been hard at work since five this
morning,” Levi said. “They took a short lunch break, but have been
toiling away all day.”

“How are you holding up?” Nat asked.

“I am doing well, thanks,” Levi said. “I have
been so busy today the time is sliding away quickly.”

“Has Carlos quit smiling yet?” Nat asked.

“Are you kidding? He is one big grin from ear
to ear,” Levi teased. “He acts like a kid on Christmas morning,
moving from one room to the next.”

“I can just imagine,” Nat said.

“The painters will begin tomorrow and as they
finish in the rooms, the flooring will begin, so the rooms will
really begin to come to life tomorrow,” Levi said. “Hopefully by
lunchtime I can send you photos of a room nearly complete.”

“I will be waiting to see those. Is there
anything you need?” Nat asked.

“No, I think things are moving along as
scheduled. I expect the crew will work until about three and then
head for home,” Levi said.

“Has there been any funny business to scare
them?” Nat asked.

“No, everything seems to be quiet so far, no
pranks or any signs of a haunting,” Levi said.

She couldn’t help but think back to the tear
drop on her journal. She did not want to mention it to Nat to cause
her to worry unnecessarily. Other than a few odd things, there was
nothing that occurred to alarm Levi or cause her to worry for her
safety. If the spirit of Celeste was still on the island she had
been invisible so far.

“Well that is good news,” Nat said. “We need
to finish off the construction and get opened as quickly as
possible to start generating revenue.”

“Have you and Liz begun to think of some
marketing schemes?” Levi asked.

“Liz has begun building a web site for
Neptune’s Ring and I am sure she will be using some of the
photographs you send. We have been gathering a list of lesbian web
sites to advertise in as well, but I am sure the word of the new
resort will spread quickly,” Nat said. “We have already had
numerous clients from Venus request reservations for the Grand
Opening.”

“That is wonderful news,” Levi said.

“I really don’t think we will have any
problems keeping our beds filled,” Nat projected.

“Oh, before I forget. When I was in town
yesterday, I met the owner of the local dive shop and she is very
interested in submitting a proposal to provide all of our dive
services,” Levi said.

“That is interesting,” Nat said. “When you
get the proposal, see if Cat will fax it over to us.”

“Will do,” Levi said. “I think I will
probably be getting the proposal in the next day or so, since Cat
has already reviewed a draft.”

“Cat has reviewed it already?”

“Yes, she said Codi was in her office first
thing this morning to show her the plan,” Levi said.

“So what do you think about using her instead
of having our own service?” Nat said.

“I think it would be a good display of faith
to show the locals we plan on generating as much income for the
local economy as possible and we would not have to fork out big
bucks for our own equipment and maintenance, or insurance for that
matter.”

“It sounds like you have given this some
thought already?” Nat said.

“I have had plenty of time to think,” Levi
said. “At night, there is not much else to do.”

“I know it must be lonely out there alone,”
Nat said with a note of concern in her voice.

“It is at times, but it has given me an
opportunity to sort some things out,” Levi said.

“All good things, I hope,” Nat said.

“Yes, Nat, all good things,” Levi said with a
chuckle.

Nat could hear the smile in Levi’s voice and
she was relieved to hear Levi in good spirits.

“Good, well I won’t keep you even though we
could talk about the resort all day,” Nat said. “Call us tomorrow
when you get a chance, or later tonight if you get lonely.”

“I will,” Levi said and she ended the call.
She then dialed Vanessa’s phone and was immediately transferred to
her voice mail. “Hiya, baby, I just wanted to call to say I love
you, so I will call back later.”

Levi looked at her watch. It was nearly
two-thirty and she rose to her feet to walk back inside the
resort.

The men were busy shutting down the project
for the day, securing equipment and supplies for the evening. She
found Carlos inspecting the first two rooms in the hallway.

“Are you pleased with today’s progress?” she
asked.

“I can always hope for more, but I would
rather take our time and do things right the first time,” he said
with a grin. “Overall though, yes I am pleased. Not a bad days work
at all.”

“Well, I for one am very impressed by the
progress,” Levi said. “Nat was excited to hear about what all has
been accomplished today.”

Carlos smiled at the mention of Nat. For some
reason they had forged a close bond between them and he was proud
that Nat was pleased with their progress.

“I can’t wait for her to see the finished
product,” Carlos said.

“Don’t be surprised if you see her sooner
than we had originally planned,” Levi said with a chuckle. “I
expect we will see her within a week or so.”

“I would welcome that,” Carlos said with a
smile.

They walked out the front lobby together and
after Levi had collected her gear she walked toward the golf cart.
“I will see you tomorrow,” she said to Carlos, who waved a
goodbye.

“Have a great night then,” he said and
watched her drive up the hill.

Levi parked the cart and plugged it up and
sat on the front porch as she watched the men board one of the flat
keel boats for their journeys home. She followed the progress of
the boat across the water and watched the boat disappear from
view.

Levi sat looking across the water and had
lost all track of time when her eyes caught the movement of a boat
moving toward the island. She was surprised to see someone heading
toward the island as the sun began to set. She strained to see then
lifted the camera to use its telephoto lens to find that it was
Codi coming toward the island.

Levi took the camera and the rest of her gear
inside and placed it on the kitchen counter and then walked back
outside to step onto the golf cart and headed down the hill. She
reached the boat house just as Codi was pulling up alongside of the
pier. She reached for a mooring line and tied the boat off as Codi
killed the engine.

“I am surprised to see you this late in the
day,” Levi said.

“Well, I was excited about the proposal and
could not wait another day to present it,” Codi said. “I hope I am
not intruding.”

“Not at all,” Levi assured her. Would you
like to come up to the house for a beer while I look this
over?”

Codi looked up at the house, the sun
beginning to set behind it. “A cold beer would be nice after a long
day,” she said.

“Come with me then,” Levi said as they walked
toward the golf cart.

They drove up to the house and Levi pointed
to the chairs on the front porch. “I will be right back so make
yourself at home.”

“Thanks,” Codi said as she watched Levi
disappear inside the house. She looked around, her nerves a bit
uncomfortable and was relieved when Levi returned carrying two
beers.

“Here you go,” Levi said as she handed a
frosted bottle to Codi. “Let’s see what you have here,” she said as
she picked up the thin package Codi had brought.

Codi sipped her beer as Levi read through her
proposal. The expression on Levi’s face did not change as she read
through the proposal, preventing Codi from gauging Levi’s response.
Levi calmly placed the proposal on the table and looked up to see
Codi watching her closely for any sign of a response.

“This looks good to me,” she said. “I have
already mentioned your idea to Nat one of my other partners and she
asked that I fax it to her for review once I get it.”

“Would you like me to fax it for you?” Codi
asked.

“No, I have to go back into town tomorrow, so
I will get Cat to fax it for me then. I will read over it again
tonight as well,” Levi said.

“I look forward to hearing back from you,”
she said.

“Will you need to make any purchases to
accommodate the extra business?” Levi asked.

“I will probably upgrade some of the
equipment, but I had already planned on doing that,” Codi said.

“We hope to be open in two months,” Levi
said.

“That gives me plenty of time then,” Codi
said. “Would you like to take a dive with me later this week to
take a look at the beauty you have surrounding you?”

“I would like that yes,” Levi said with a
soft smile. “When did you have in mind?”

“Fridays are usually slow, so how about
Friday morning?” she asked.

“Friday would be perfect,” Levi said.

Codi looked around at the growing darkness
and Levi could tell she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
Codi finished off the bottle of beer and placed it on the small
table.

“I will come over around nine then on
Friday,” Codi said as she stood to leave.

Levi started to rise also. “Keep your seat,”
Codi said. “I can make my way down the hill just fine.”

“Alright then, I will see you on Friday, if
not before,” Levi said as Codi stepped off the front porch.

“I look forward to it,” Codi said and with a
nervous smile she turned away and started down the hill.

Levi watched as she walked down to the boat
and smiled at the thought of Codi being uncomfortable on the island
after dark. The history of the island had become fully ingrained in
the minds of the locals and Levi reckoned it would take some doing
to overcome the image. Little did Levi understand the role she
would play in overcoming the fear that plagued the residents of the
mainland.

Levi sipped her beer as the shadows grew
long, surrounding the house in darkness.

Codi walked briskly, down the hill, eager to
leave the island before the sun set. She had nearly made it to the
bottom of the hill when she heard a rustling in the brush beside
the path and it took great restraint to keep from breaking out in a
run. The hackles were raised on her neck as she felt she was being
watched by someone other than the adorable Levi and she picked up
the pace of her steps.

She was relieved to step on her boat and head
out to the open water. She looked back at the house but could not
see anything other than the outline of the house in the setting
sun. Chills were raised on her arms, but this time it was from the
cool breeze blowing across her bare skin. She tore her eyes away
from the house and concentrated on making it across the water to
her home.

Levi watched Codi disappear from sight as she
sat on the porch. The night air was turning cool and she enjoyed
the feel of it brushing across her skin. Thoughts of Vanessa
churned in her head and she found herself doing something
completely uncharacteristic of herself. Levi was crying.

Levi was confused by this storm of emotion.
She did not feel sad or hurt, but she could not staunch the tears
from rolling down her cheeks. She must be missing Vanessa even more
than she realized. Levi lifted her hand to her chest where her
fingers located the light house charm Vanessa had given her as a
smile broke through her tears. “I feel you with me baby,” Levi
whispered into the breeze.