Her Majesty

"Meet me at the beach." Should have dawned on me when he said that. This is an island. It's 96% beach. "Meet me at the beach." Which one? "My legs are tired." Olivia says to me, wearily. "Mine too, but we are almost there." "You think so?" "Actually, I have no idea." Olivia groans. " You think he'll notice those bags were just coats?" She asks. "If he does, then we're right back where we started. And that's all that'll happen." Olivia chuckles to herself. "What's so funny?" I ask. "We were in a classroom with modern day equipment. surely, there could have been trash bags or at least something closer to a bag." I snort. " The island makes you crazy." "Tell me about it." She sighs. In the distance I see the silhouette of Norm standing on a Yacht. "There he is!" I shout. I take Olivia by the hand and we run towards him. Running in sand is never a fun task. It always seems you never make as much progress as you would like to, but we push forward. We make it to Norm. He sits behind the wheel of a behemoth of a boat. "A hoy mates!" He yells to us. We wave back. " I was worried. I didn't think you guys would show up." "That's the thing, when you say "Meet me by the beach-"" Olivia nudges me and shoots a "Don't you finish that thought" look. "We over think and over analyze things. So of course that's gonna confuse us." I continue. Norm smiles. "I figured. We can't all be leaders. But anyways, what do you guys think of the boat?" "It's beautiful." Olivia says in awe. "You didn't specify what you wanted. So I figured you should get wherever you are going in style." "That's very kind of you." Olivia says, sweetly. If raccoons could blush, that's probably what he'd be doing right now. "Think nothing of it. Just remember me when you use the cup holder." "The cup holder?" I question. "Yeah, for when your eyes are tired. You pull into an oasis and get yourself a coffee." I look down. "That's very kind, but we don't deserve it." "What do you mean?" " We tricked you, those were not bags of trash." I explain. "I know." He says, unphased. Olivia and I stare at each other in surprise. "Come on, who do you think condemned all those buildings? Which by the way you probably were breaking the law going in there." "If you knew, why did you build us a boat?" Olivia asks. Norm takes a breath. "Listen, I have no use for money. I know where all the food is. The only thing I could do was make you sweat. And I did." Norm smiles smugly. Neither Olivia nor I know what to say. "But with all that aside, you guys have a kick ass boat." Norm leaps out of the yacht. He holds a cup of coffee in one paw, the other paw is clenched. He walks over to me and hands me the keys. "Looks like you tow are ready for a new adventure." "Thank you. Does it have a name?" Norm waves his paws in the air. "Her Majesty." Olivia and I nod in agreement. "It just needs one more thing." He continues. Norm removes the lid from his coffee and splashes it on the side of the boat. "Now you two are ready for and adventure."