Coquina Hotel - 12. Chapter 12

I was feeling lonely and missing Jon. Every evening I would go to my spot and look out at the ocean, hoping to see Jon. I did this for ten days and was about to give up. I was beginning to believe something happened and Jon wasn’t coming back. Bobby came into my office, “Boss, You got to see this.”

I followed him to the back of the hotel. Looking out at the ocean, there was Jon on the Drake pulling another boat. Bobby started to jump up and down, yelling. I saw Jerry grab Jon and said something to him. Jon looked and waved. My man was coming home. “Let’s go and meet them at the dock.”

When we arrived at the dock, Bobby started to tell everyone that Jon was coming and was towing a boat. A crowd began to gather, waiting for the Drake. We waited two hours for the Drake to come around the corner before seeing Jon in front waving and calling my name. He had seen me before I saw him. Jerry was blowing the horn, and the crowd began to increase. Soon everyone on the beach was at the dock waiting for the Drake to dock. Jon was the first one-off. Sven was attending to tying up the boat they were towing. Jon was hugging me, and I wasn’t complaining. It was good to have him back.

It took them two days to empty the barge. Granted, I don’t think they were in a hurry. Jon asked if it would be okay for his mother to use her kitchen things in place of ours. I agreed, and in the morning, I ate breakfast from her dishes. I noted a few additional pieces of furniture in the living room, a rocker with a footstool was where a stuffed chair used to be.

They pulled the empty barge about 900 yards from the dock. They anchored the barge. It was close enough and yet provided a spot where the kids could easily fish from it and get back to the pier.

In the last few months of the year, Jon and Sven began a project at the house. Their mother wanted a herb garden. The boys were building a hothouse. “Jon, do we need a hothouse? The weather is nice year-round.”

“Roge, I know we don’t need a hothouse, but Mom had one back home. She would not only grow herbs but also flowers. In the afternoon, she would spend hours inside the hothouse. We even put a rocker in there for her.”

I nodded, indicating I understood. If it would make Jon happy, then it would have my approval. So with my consent, the boys built a hothouse. I called it a conservatory.

Life became routine, and the Hotel was busy. The Motel had guests who had booked into the Hotel and decided to stay a little longer. I had a small bus driven between the Motel and Hotel with a stop on the beach road. Jon suggested we make a run to the beach, so we did that.

Now the bus took clients from the Hotel and Motel into town. I had to establish a schedule. Otherwise, I would have to spend all day driving round trips.

I started to add fishing trips to our ads. Jon said we would need another fishing boat. So he found a used boat for sale. He and Sven took off to check out the boat. Three days later, I found myself sitting in my garden, waiting for a boat to show up.