Lunch was a distant memory, so I was eager to eat as I pulled into my driveway. However, dinner was to be more utilitarian than any grand exercise in creating a culinary delight. It was hard to believe all that had happened today. After eating quickly, Buddy and I decided a quick walk would do us both a world of good. There weren’t many people on the resort property yet. The tourist season was still several weeks from beginning. The Inn was all lit up. From the road, I could see the huge chandelier through the second story window. The warm glow guided my way till I was almost at the path to Barb’s house. I decided against an impromptu visit, feeling like my head was already filled with so much noise, I wouldn’t be much company tonight.
As we approached the Beach Club restaurant, I noticed a few familiar faces gathered near the parked carts. “Hi, friends, it’s great to see y’all,” I called out as we all smiled and waved. I could feel them willing me to stop to chat—but I decided against that.
Back at home, showered and refreshed, my curiosity could no longer be contained. Who was Amelia Burke and what was her connection to the land on Mongin Island that would lead to such a substantial investment? Over the years, it was one of the things that surprised us most about this island. To someone who didn’t know better, it would seem relatively few people had invested in Mongin Island. Proportioned to the number of available home sites, there weren’t many actual homes. You could drive down some roads, even on the resort property, and see only one or two houses. This could give the impression people didn’t invest financially, emotionally, or physically here.
The county property maps told a vastly different story. Almost all of the lots on the resort property and much of the land down the dirt roads or in other neighborhoods belonged to someone. People do invest in Mongin Island, some more quietly, with a piece of land they hold onto until they are ready to take that next step. There is a common thread to many of our stories of how we got to Mongin Island. It was not surprising to hear someone tell a version of my own story. Someone came to visit and before they knew it, island magic was wrapped around that person. I was curious to know Amelia’s story.
Almost two hours clicked by before my work yielded enough information to put together a tentative profile of this Amelia Burke. She was a middle-aged woman who used to live in San Diego, California, but currently lived in the United Kingdom. I thought she might be a British national and had spent only a few years in this country. The Beach Road parcel was purchased sixteen years ago, near the height of development on the island. Taxes have been paid on time, every year. Amelia Burke, the woman behind Mr. Parker Taylor’s LLC, was diligent and she had been holding onto this property for a long time. Why did she now want to swap it for Governor’s Point? Why not just list it and sell it?
The only way I could think to contact her was to reach out through different social media platforms and unfortunately wait for her response. Maybe Julie would be able to use more official channels to reach her. I put this on my growing “talk to Julie about this” list.
I rambled around the house, shifting knick knacks on the coffee and end tables, wiping down the shelves in the refrigerator, and folding and refolding the throw on the back of the sofa. Something felt like it was right there, right in front of me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was all hazy, right on the edge of understanding—when all of sudden, a chill went through me and the hairs on my arms stood up.
I knew this thought was significant in a way I couldn’t fully understand yet. I knew where I had seen that silver piece we found today!