Moriah put her tools away and locked the storage shed after finishing a plumbing job on Cabin Seven. Then she drove to the lighthouse. Everything was finished there except varnishing the newly-sanded wooden floors in the keeper’s house. Jack was working on them today. She had picked out a honey-colored stain for the oak flooring and couldn’t wait to see how it looked.
“Don’t come in!” Jack shouted as she approached. “The stain isn’t dry. I don’t want your feet messing up the job I’ve done.”
She stood at the open door and looked in. The room gleamed. The woodwork had been stripped, sanded, and stained the same honey-color maple as the floor. A buttery yellow covered the walls. Early autumn sunlight flooded through the new windows.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“Nice place for a wedding, eh?”
“A small one. I figure this room can only hold about twenty people. How long before we can put furniture in?”
“I’d give it a day or two. What furniture?”
“My grandmother and grandfather’s things are stored in the attic of the lodge. Some of it is original from the beginning of the lighthouse.”
“You planning on charging admission on the place, or what?”
“I’m not sure what Nicolas has planned for it. Now that he and Katherine are married and living at the lodge, he seems to have completely lost interest in it.”
“Are they still acting like lovebirds?”
“Pretty much. Katherine seems very happy.”
“And Nicolas?”
“Nicolas is… well, Nicolas. He’s tightly wrapped, but he seems to have focused his life on being good to Katherine, so I’m not complaining.”
“Seems a shame for him to stop practicing medicine.”
“He hasn’t,” Moriah said. “He and Katherine are working together these days over at Wikwemikong. She talked him into it but he doesn’t seem to mind as long as she’s with him.”
“We can use another doctor on the island.”
“I agree.”
“Have you decided on the date for your wedding yet?”
“It depends. I want to be absolutely certain I can fly for a long period of time without falling apart before we set a date.”
“How’s the flying going?”
“I was able stay in the air a little longer yesterday than the day before. I do pretty good as long as we’re above Manitoulin, but whenever Bob Jr. tries to head out over the lake I start having a rough time.”
“You’ll beat it.”
“I will eventually, but I’m grateful that Bob Jr. is a patient man.”
“You sure you can stay away from us once you do leave?” Jack asked. “The Amazon is very far away. You’re going to miss us.”
“Of course I’ll miss everyone but, if I can be with Ben, I’ll be okay.” Moriah smiled. “Besides, we’ve decided we’ll come back each summer so I can help Katherine run the resort when the tourists come. Ben says for you to keep an ear open for stonemason jobs he could do next summer while I’m working at the resort.”
“I’ll do that. Shouldn’t be hard. People around here are impressed with the way he put that tower back together.”
Moriah watched as Jack gathered his tools together. “Alicia has been wonderful help this summer. You two still doing okay?”
“Absolutely. Having steady work has helped. It isn’t good for a man to be cooped up in the house for too long without a job.”
“Do you have anything lined up when this job is over?”
“Not yet. I’ve put some feelers out.”
“I hope something comes up.”
“I do too.” Jack pounded the lid down on the remaining bucket of stain and opened his toolkit. “It’s going to be hard to walk away from this place. I’ve enjoyed the company and the work. Felt like we accomplished something important.”
“We did.”
“In fact,” Jack pulled a zip-locked bag out of the bottom of his toolkit and tossed it to her. “I think I can safely give this to you, now. You’ve earned it.”
Inside the zip-lock bag was Eliza Robertson’s leather diary.
“Thanks,” Moriah said. “Did you read any of it? Do you know what it says?”
“Nah,” Jack said. “Alicia and me tried to read some of it together one night. With all that spidery handwriting and the faded ink, we couldn’t make out much. Better get a good magnifying glass before you attempt it.”