“The same night that you saw him, he woke Jackie up in the middle of the night mid-breakdown and we decided that it was best that he was sent home. I have recommended him to see a doctor, and I will check in with him as soon as this holiday is over, but at the end of the day I am only his boss. I can’t force him to get the help he needs. I hope that it’s just a good break, and some time away from this place will do him wonders.”
I agreed, and deep down I really hoped that it would as well.
“Now, is there anything else that you want to talk about, or can we dive into this delicious feast?” said Henry.
I smiled. Feeling so much lighter now knowing everything was off my chest. “Let’s eat.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“How long is the full track?” I asked Henry, struggling up the stairs behind him. It was a question that I really should have asked before we were already an hour into the hike. I was too keen to get moving in my new boots, followed by the sugar rush of maple pancakes and my excitement to immerse myself into the depths of this island. I expected that this was how I was spending my day. What I wasn’t expecting was how unfit I felt.
Henry finally stopped, placing his hands on his hips as he spun around. It wasn’t until now that I noticed he too was puffing and for someone with ripples in his arms and abs as deep as him to be puffing, well it certainly made me feel a lot better about my fitness.
After breakfast, Henry helped me out with the handmade cream. As he helped me apply it, to my swollen lip, marked with his teeth and a black bruise that surround it, it had bought him to tears, once again vowing to never hurt me again. I knew he was sincere, and we had organized to spend the night talkingabout where I felt comfortable and where my boundaries sat around his fetish. As he applied the cream it felt cool and tingly between my legs before it soothed and almost numbed any pain. I hadn’t even felt it, during this walk. Although I had packed the cream with me in case it did wear off.
“This is one of the steepest bits and we’re halfway through it. After here it just gets flat for a while before another set of stairs, they’re a lot shorter than these ones, though. My guess is that we will probably reach the middle of the island in another half an hour. It is really beautiful once you get there and as soon as you see the view it instantly feels worth it,” he said, pulling the water bottle from his backpack and handing it to me.
I began instantly sucking it down. Although between my legs was soothed, my quads were on fire. I made a mental note to start upping my exercise routine as soon as I got back to the city. Countless walks around the city with the odd Pilates class was all I had done, in the past couple of months.
I did have to agree with him. We were only halfway to the middle of the island and all around me, the views were already spectacular. Deep green surrounded the cement stairs that had appeared in the middle of the island, and from how high we were already up, I could see the edge of the blue water, glistening in the sun behind us. I handed the bottle back to Henry.
“Are you okay to keep going, my love?” he said, my heart panged. We had been calling each other cute pet names since this morning’s conversation.
“Of course, my darling,” I said, as he spun back around, and I followed behind him. Throughout the walk I had been trying to stay as present as possible. But my mind couldn’t stop running through the moments of my life that lay ahead. Walking into work Tuesday morning and telling my boss that I quit, picking out an office space with Henry, thinking about what specifically my first project could be, when I had full reign. Not to mention everything that I had to look forward to with Henry.
We reached the top of the stairs where a thin dirt path weaved between the thick green bushes on either side and led towards the middle of the island.
“Are you okay?” Henry asked, slowing to my pace. I had been so lost in my own mind, it had made the rest of the stairs a breeze, but I realized that I had spent most of our walk in complete silence.
“Yes, sorry, I’m good, absolutely wonderful in fact,” I said, taking his hand as we continued down this track. “Thank you for taking me here, truly and thank you for everything. All of this, I guess you really have left me speechless.”
Henry smiled, squeezing my hand tighter. “Thank you for being you. I feel so grateful that I’ve met you,” he said placing a soft kiss on the top of my head.
“Ditto,” I said. I began to hear the sound of running water in the distance. “Wait, is there a waterfall in the middle of this island?”
Henry’s dimples were fully exposed now as he chuckled. “Surprise,” he said with a wink.
“Oh my God If I knew that, I wouldn’t have been dawdling so much.” I couldn’t remember the last time that I had immersed myself in the beauty of a waterfall. “So, wait, did you build this whole track when you bought this island too?”
Henry shook his head, letting go of my hand as the two of us began to get sweaty under the hot sun. “No, this was already here. The path and the stairs needed to be worked on soon for general safety measures, but it all came as a part of the island. The only things that I have built here is what you see surrounding the property, the pavement, the pools, and the pier. Everything else has been left exactly as it came.”
“So how did this island exactly become yours? Like who did you buy it from?”
“Miss Bentley was government-owned land before I claimed her. I had come across the original listing with one of my real estate agents. He had been given it to sell and didn’t really know what he was going to do with it. At first it was meant to be a military site, but then the government found more appropriate places. A few large hotel giants took a look at it, but for the size of the island, and the fact that it’s not exactly an easy trip to and from, they all decided that it wasn’t worth it. I wasn’t exactly in the market for an island but when I saw it and the steal that it was going for, I couldn’t say no.”
Somehow, I think that the price of an island was not exactly a steal, but I suppose at Henry’s level it probably wasn’t a single dent in his bank account.
“So, if it’s two hours to the center, how long is it around the island?” I felt so rude already being on this land that was so beautiful it almost felt sacred. Other than a day out in the water, hadn’t really left the house. This holiday was meant to be about relaxation and connection but there was so much more to explore.
“We can walk around the full beach tomorrow if you like, it only takes an hour.”
“That would be nice,” I said. “So, do you know anything about the history of this place? Like these stairs have been built here before, and the statues that have sunk, there must be so much to its history….” I said, as I followed the path, wondering about how isolated this place had been for so long, and the people that had walked this very track before. I don’t know if it was just because I hadn’t spent enough time in nature other than the very many city gardens for a while, if that was the reason that I felt this way… but something about this place really did feel so special, like it needed to be kept in its original form. It made me smile, knowing that this small island was placed perfectly in the hands of Henry and not some large hotel company that would ruin the core of it.
“I know that it’s ignorant of me to not know much about this place. I do know that many years ago it used to be a much larger island to a group of natives, which is the very story Itold you yesterday about the sunken statues. I can’t go into much more of the details than that. There hasn’t been much of a reason for me to come out here that often. It can get quite lonely out here by yourself pretty quickly. It’s great for thinking time but other than that, this island is meant to be shared and enjoyed.”
“Does that mean we get to come out here more?” I said as we began climbing the stairs, Henry in front of me.
“Miss Molly, we can spend as long as you want out here. We can come out here whenever you want. Heck, you can make this whole island your entire office if you like.”
