Mouse Island Excerpts
Chapter 1
“AAUGH!” A blast of frigid air hit Isabel square in the face as the charter boat rounded the peninsula and headed into the wintry waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Gasping for breath, she staggered backwards and pulled her scarf up over her nose and mouth. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
The boat’s pilot, Captain Charlotte, looked back at her, “Are you all right, Ms. Flynn? We have a way to go.”
“How far do you think?” Isabel shivered.
“About an hour.”
“Damn,” Isabel thought. At sixty-one years old she was about to embark on a new adventure and here she was freezing to death because she hadn’t checked the weather report and didn’t have the proper clothes. She was wearing a lightweight leather jacket, jeans, sweater, and Ugg boots. What she needed was an igloo.
“Unfortunately, there is no real place for you to get out of the elements,” the Captain said. “The main cabin downstairs is filled with fumes from a leaky gas engine which I guarantee will make you nauseous and give you a mind-blowing headache at the same time. Though you are certainly welcome to go down there if you want…”she cursed as a larger wave than the rest came crashing down on the foredeck. Her long blonde braid flying in the wind, her brilliant green eyes squinted against the wind,
Charlotte spun the wheel and kicked up the power to head more directly into the waves. Isabel grabbed hold of the gunwale railing as the boat dropped into a trough and heeled over sharply. She was frightened by the rolling of the boat and worried that the forty-five foot boat wasn’t big enough to handle the rough waters ahead.
“Have you made this trip before,” she asked nervously.
“Many times. I grew up on Mouse Island.” Captain
Charlotte glanced at Isabel. “Is this your first time on the island?”
“Yes.”
Chapter 5
Isabel woke up to birdsong and the distant sound of ocean waves breaking on the shore. She had a moment of confusion – unsure of where she was, what she was doing here. Then she remembered all of it.
The quiet would take some getting used to. She was accustomed to sirens, trash trucks, ambulances, and all kinds of strident noises that come with city living. She walked downstairs in her bare feet into the kitchen and realized she didn’t have anything to eat or drink other
than a bottle of water she had brought with her. She opened it and thirsty drank half of it right down.
She stood and looked out the window and was delighted that she could see the ocean in the distance. She decided to take a morning walk around her property. The thought that she was now a land owner sent a thrill through her. Shrugging on her leather coat against
the chill in the air, and wrapping a bulky scarf around her throat, Isabel walked carefully down the path to the water. There were a number of flagstones missing and others were tipsy. Isabel took out her pad and added to her repair/replace list.
She walked down to the water and started looking around for the floating dock. She couldn’t see it anywhere and wondered whether it had simply floated away. She decided to go back to the house and wait for Jason. She started up the steps when she heard a dog bark.
Anxiously she looked around. She was nervous around dogs that were off leash after being attacked by a large dog years ago. The owner had apologized and pulled the dog off her but still had not put the dog on leash. Later she had seen the same dog go after and seriously injure a much smaller dog that was on leash. It had been an upsetting experience.
Again, came a loud bark. She looked but couldn’t spot a dog anywhere. She shivered and decided to head back
to the house.