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 Chapter 13

   The good weather had finally arrived and I started getting ready for the
construction of the addition.  While Jennifer and I had been able to
salvage enough logs to build the walls, there were other things like doors
and windows and material for the roof that I'd had to order.  With all of
that material on hand, I asked my friend Fred and Constable Ron to see who
was willing to come over to the island for a couple of weeks to help me
erect the walls.  I'd done the same thing before and between the two of
them they soon rounded up 7 young men to help us.

   Jennifer had done some cooking in the past but it had mostly been things
like baking a cake and occasionally making a simple meal for herself when
her parents went out.  With a crew of young guys working hard, we'd have to
be prepared to feed them so I started teaching Jennifer how to cook for a
crowd.  The guys who would be helping us were `meat and potatoes' guys, so
nothing fancy, just lots of everything.  The one thing I knew they'd like
would be pie so I made sure Jennifer was well versed on making nice flakey
pastry.  I also taught Jennifer how to make bread, something she'd never
seen done.

   Finally, the work crew arrived, complete with tents and sleeping gear.
It didn't take them long to get their camp set up and once that was done,
they were soon hard at work.  I started to notice - and inwardly smile -
that, whenever Jennifer was watching them, they tried to show who was the
strongest.  I mentioned this to Jennifer one evening.  She started to
giggle and told me she hadn't noticed.  "I'm going to pay attention when
I'm outside after this.  Maybe I'll try to give them some incentive.  Maybe
I'll wear my tightest shorts and that halter top that you always whistle at
when I wear it.  What do you think?"

   I laughed.  "That might not be a good idea.  If you do that, those guys
will spend so much time strutting for you that we'll never get your room
done."

   I'd gotten some snide comments from those on the work crew who'd helped
me before that the grub was so much better this time since a lady was
cooking for them rather than a grumpy old man.  I took this as it was
intended - as a joke.  I had to agree though that having Jennifer doing the
cooking was a treat as she'd become quite a good cook.  The guys - and
myself of course - were delighted to have fresh bread, still warm from the
oven.

   The other thing that arrived with the work crew that first trip were
several boxes of things from Jennifer's old home.  Over the next few days,
Jennifer went through the items in the boxes and, as was to be expected,
she experienced both sad and happy moments.  The sad moments were when she
came across something that reminded her of a happy time or place with her
parents.  The happy moments were when she came across some item that she'd
forgotten she had.  Overall, Jennifer was glad that she had things to help
her remember her parents and the wonderful times that she'd had with them.
I soon started to see a few of her most precious keepsakes on display in
our cabin and knew she'd put the sadness behind her - at least for now.

   *****

   Each Friday, we'd knock off work at noon and the guys would head back
over to the main island to spend the weekend with their families and
friends.  Late Sunday evening, would see them return.  After 4 weeks we had
the walls up to their final height.  All that was left was the roof.  The
next week when the regular crew arrived there was an addition - the town's
resident electrician.  Once the roof was on, the regular crew would help
the electrician run the outlets and places for lights, then they installed
the ceiling.

   That Friday, Jennifer had told me that Elizabeth wanted her to come over
for a week or so and spend some `girl time'.  Unbeknownst to Jennifer, I'd
orchestrated that with Elizabeth so that she wouldn't see the last phase of
the construction.  On Friday, the boat back had one extra passenger when it
left - Jennifer - and I'd promised to come and get her the following
weekend.

   On Sunday night, two of the crew returned to do something I'd not let
Jennifer know about - an inside bathroom.  Jennifer had never complained
about going outside but I knew it wasn't the nicest thing to have to get
all bundled up and make the dash to the biffy in a storm.  This would be a
surprise for her.

   By Wednesday, everything was complete and the new bed I'd bought for
Jennifer had been set up and all the bedding put in place.  I expected the
guys to leave but they told me they were going to spend one more night and
go back tomorrow.  "We don't have anything special to do so we thought we'd
keep you company for one more night." I was told.

   The next morning after breakfast, I had expected that the guys would be
loading their boat and leaving.  They'd packed up their stuff and had put
it in the boat but didn't leave - that made me believe something was up. 
Just after noon I looked out towards the main island and saw a whole
flotilla of boats heading our way.  Leading the parade was the RCMP boat
and as it got close I could see Jennifer and Elizabeth riding with
Constable Ron.

   The smaller boats were beached, the larger boats anchored and a shuttle
service began to get everyone off the boats together with boxes, coolers
and other assorted packages.  While I was watching this, a couple of my
helpers had set up some makeshift tables.  Once Elizabeth was ashore and
her box safely stored up by the cabin, she came over by me, turned to look
at the crowd and hollered at them to quiet down.

   Turning back to me she started her `speech'.  "Wally, we couldn't let
this occasion slip by us.  The folks in town felt they needed to do a
proper job of welcoming Jennifer to our community and to say thanks to you
for everything you've done for her." (Cheers and whistles from the folks)
"Ron has come over to do another `home visit' for Edith.  He can go back
and tell her that he's inspected the addition and found that you've lived
up to your promise." With that she came over and gave me a hug and a kiss
on the cheek.

   I was dumbfounded by this but managed to get my thoughts in order.  "I'm
not sure what so say except thank you to all of you.  I'd like to show
Jennifer something first then she can show you her new room."

   I went down and took Jennifer by the hand and led her to the cabin.  She
had a puzzled look on her face but once I showed her the inside bathroom,
her face lit up with a huge smile.  "Do you like it?  I can take it out if
you want," I asked her.  One look at her face told me her answer.

   We went back outside where I left Jennifer to show the ladies her new
digs.  While Jennifer and I had been inside, Elizabeth and the other ladies
had got all kinds of food out on the tables and were just about ready to
tell everyone to help themselves when Ron called for quiet.  "Folks, in the
interest of safety, I think we need to plan on leaving not later than five
and you guys that are running the boats, remember, no more than 2 beers,
okay?"

   Food and more food - where did it all come from?  There were several
containers of `adult refreshments' as well as non-alcoholic drinks. 
Several of the ladies came and personally thanked me for looking after
Jennifer.  Most of those "thank you" comments ended with a kiss on the
cheek.  I saw Jennifer grinning as this happened.

   Finally 5 pm rolled around and the last boat was just getting out into
the flotilla.  As they'd done on the way out, they stayed together as a
group so that in case of an emergency, there was lots of help available. 
Jennifer and I stayed and watched as the flotilla disappeared out of sight.