Page 40 of Life, Love and the Pursuit of Happiness

Looking at the little girl, a bystander might see her as cute and innocent and a joy to be around. Hah! Try spending eight hours walking around an amusement park—aka a torture arena for grandmothers with fallen arches after fifty years in high heels. Or sitting on one kiddie ride after another till your butt goes numb and your hair looks like a bird’s nest. Or playing games meant for professional ballplayers when your only hand dexterity involves pulling the lever on a slot machine.

The alternative? Cajoling, guilting, weeping, bribing, and then pulling a full-blown tantrum that had security guards eyeing Sal like she was some kind of child abuser. “I want a dog!” she’d wailed.

Yes, there was a devil in Magdalene Jones, in fact a bunch of devilish imps, and they had all come hop, skip, and jumping out today. But payback was going to be sweet. Tomorrow was Avon day.

“Gramma,” the evil one said.

“What?” Sal snapped as she drove the car toward the motel where they would be staying that night. It was six p.m. Sal wondered how soon they could go to bed.

“I love you.”

And, of course, Sal forgave all.

“But I still want a real dog.”

Maybe not all.

May the force . . . um, luck . . . be with you . . .

A week later, they were returning to Bell Cove. No great discovery thus far, to Merrill’s chagrin, but carrying a few “artifacts,” which would be carbon dated to determine if they might have come off one of the three saint ships. Nothing spectacular. Several hinges, a doorknob, some brass buttons. If they were as old as they appeared to be, they might be from another shipwreck, which could be equally exciting.

Charlie was steering the boat and would have its holding tank pumped of waste material, its fresh water supply renewed, and the boat gassed up again for a return to the site day after tomorrow. She insisted on sleeping on the boat, even though Delilah had offered the use of her convertible sleep couch.

Also traveling with Merrill was Bonita, who owned a cottage in Ocracoke. She needed to make contact with her university regarding a problem with her thesis. While she was there, she would take the “artifacts” into the lab for testing.

And Delilah, who was constantly adding to the list of supplies she needed to buy, came, too. Aside from shopping and other chores, she was anxious to check on the progress of the motel renovations, which were supposedly complete, or as complete as she was prepared to go financially at this point.

Famosa and Gus had agreed to stay on the site in the large cabin cruiser that Merrill had purchased along with the salvaging boat. Pirates were always an issue, even when there were no big discoveries, yet. And, yes, both men were armed against that possibility.

Any day now K-4 should arrive, his last SEAL contract now fulfilled. Maybe even before they returned to the site. That extra man, especially one dive-qualified, would help tremendously.

As soon as they arrived back at the wharf in Bell Cove and got the gangway in place, Bonita took off. She had a long drive to the university at Durham where she was set to meet with her doctoral advisor. Charlie helped him and Delilah load the trash bags into the dock Dumpster and stack the laundry bags in his truck.

“So, we’re back on land,” he said to Delilah as she opened the door on his truck and was about to hike herself up on the high seat.

She turned.

“I’m asking again.”

A slight pink flushed her cheeks. She knew what he was talking about, but wasn’t about to give him a break by acknowledging that fact.

“You told me to ask again once we were back in town.”

“I didn’t mean the minute we set foot on land.”

He was not about to be put off by a little snippiness. “Well?”

“What do you have in mind?” Poor choice of words! The pink grew pinker.

“Dinner?”

“I have so much to do, Merrill.”

“A late dinner?”

She hesitated, then said. “Okay.”

“Eight o’clock?”