Bound for the Outer Banks (23 page)

Fighting an inner struggle to stay away from Chogan Montauk, she still couldn’t get him off her mind. She’d finally conceded to the fact that she was wildly attracted to him and that she would let the chips fall where they may. She was frankly tired of being the celibate, traveling witness.

Ella convinced herself that should Chief be sent back to The Bureau soon, she would be able to handle it. It’s not like Ella had gotten emotionally attached to every man she’d ever hooked up with. She knew her hook ups were admittedly few and far between compared to most girls her age, but then again most girls her age hadn’t been dating the same man for two years who showed up about once or twice a month, only then to find themselves gallivanting across Europe where they didn’t know a soul, followed by almost two years of hiding out and trying to keep their identity concealed. For all Ella knew The Bureau could be sending her to a convent next. And of course there was always the possibility that Chief wasn’t the least bit attracted to her. She figured if he didn’t like her presented to him gift wrapped in black lace then she just wasn’t his type and if she was still around she’d probably be forced to see him and Elise together at The Peacock Ball.

Lacey and Ella unloaded the thrift store mattress, pillows, fabrics, and teddies at Ella’s cottage. They didn’t want anyone to know about the Hottie’s raft until the day of the race, except for Art whom Ella had recruited to help her build the base.

There was exactly one week until the Hammock Ditch Raft Race. In that time Ella had to sew the four, open-front, ball gown skirts, sew the lace covering on the red satin thrift store comforter, make the pillow coverings, and build the raft itself with Art’s guidance. Fortunately, Art had volunteered to allow Ella to build the raft behind the hardware store. He would then take the raft on his trailer to the mouth of the Hammock Ditch Canal where the race would begin. The word race was really a misnomer. No paddles or sails were allowed. Each raft could use a push pole if it got stuck in the shallows, but you were only allowed to float with the current otherwise. The event was focused on spending an entire afternoon lazily floating down the river with your fellow raft mates and waving and yelling out to other folks on the rafts they’d created.

The race ended at the exclusive Hidden Cove Marina, where for a fee, there would be a buffet and dancing under their special events wedding pavilion. This event was a big deal on The Banks and folks who hadn’t been part of the race still attending the after party. The party was one of the biggest fund raisers for Safe Haven, a home for abused women. When Lacey told Ella about the beneficiary of the after party, Ella thought how lucky she was to have The Bureau watching out for her safety and placing her in secure houses. Not everyone was so lucky. She was happy they were participating in an event that supported such a great cause. It seemed that the people of The Outer Banks were especially giving. Ella liked that about the area. As a matter of fact things that she loved about the area were piling up. She wondered if one day she could return to Roanoke Island, unencumbered by the contract put on her life endorsed by The Unita Sacra Corona.

Chapter 22

Ella completed the sewing of the ruffled over skirts and each one of the ladies came to the cottage to try on the entire ensemble. The Rays, and Lacey oohed and aahed at their reflections in the cheap, back of the door mirror in the bedroom. The combination of the black lace teddy and the red satin open skirt exuded glamor and sex appeal. Tanqueray was threatening to get her belly button pierced so she could mimic the sexy look offered by the rhinestone clasp of the skirt. Desiree quickly nixed the idea by telling Tanqueray the story of a friend whose piercing got infected turning her innie to an outie permanently.

The next day Ella biked over to the hardware store. She had a drill she’d borrowed from Lacey and Sam in the basket on her handle bars and a packed lunch. Art had retrieved all the necessary supplies and Lacey had gone by earlier to pay. Lucky for Hottie’s, Art was allowing the girls to use six, fifty five gallon drums for free for the floats because he could still sell them after the race when the raft was dismantled. The bright blue plastic barrels were given to Art courtesy of the Pepsi Plant in New Bern. They had contained the syrup used for the Pepsi products. The agreement was if Art removed them from the premises, he could have the barrels for free. It was a win win situation. The Pepsi Plant didn’t have to pay landfill fees and Art sold the drums as rain barrels. The environment benefitted as well.

Almost everyone raised on The Outer Banks had been drinking Pepsi practically since they were born. Some women believed that Pepsi in a baby’s bottle was good for the occasional upset stomach or could even cure colic. The drink had been created by Caleb Bradham of New Bern in his drugstore. It was named for the digestive enzyme, pepsin, and the kola nuts used in the concoction.

The other supplies for the raft, two by fours, two sheets of plywood, wood screws, cable and clamps to secure the barrels, and black paint came to $64.37. Thus far the floating billboard for Hottie’s had come in at under $300. Plus, the girls would all be getting new lingerie in the deal. When Ella arrived at the store she was greeted as usual by Bobby Lee Majors. After much petting and playing, the large dog was finally called off by Art.

“Belle has a lot to do, Bobby Lee. Leave her alone for a while,” scolded Art.

“I love dogs,” said Ella. She looked at the massive Schnauzer and in a doggy baby talk said, “And I loooooovve Bobby Lee!” Bobby Lee gave Ella a bark and a tail wag in response.

Art handed Ella the diagram he’d drawn for the raft base and informed Ella that he’d separated the pieces into piles in the order she would need them. Ella thanked Art profusely, took the piece of paper, and headed out the back door of the hardware store. Art had done a great job and Ella followed the diagram just as she would follow a sewing pattern. Suddenly the task didn’t seem as daunting.

It only took her about an hour to assemble the frame. She then drilled holes for the cables that would secure the drums. After a few minutes of struggling to secure the cables with the clamps, the first barrel was tightly connected to the raft frame. After a few more hours all six barrels were attached to the frame. Before Ella secured the flat pieces of plywood to the frame, she took her bagged lunch into the store and sat down by Bobby Lee. He whined and begged for some of Ella’s homemade pimento cheese sandwich, which was BeBe’s recipe. Art assured Ella that Bobby Lee’s bowels could handle a little cheese, so she gave him several bites.

“He really likes you,” said Art. “If you ever want a job dog sitting let me know. Mary Lynn and I like to get away in the fall when the season slows down and I hate putting him in the kennel.”

“Oh Art, I’d love to. I really miss having a dog,” Ella sighed.

“Well I’ll be sure to keep you in mind,” said Art.

Ella gave Bobby Lee a final rub behind his ear and threw away her lunch bag. She took the rest of her Diet Coke out back and began securing the large pieces of plywood to construct the floor of the raft. She spent the rest of the time painting the wood floor with the black paint, and painting the thin long pieces of wood for the bed’s canopy. Ella was concerned the glossy paint in combination with splashes of river water would make the raft too slippery, so she sprinkled some of the sandy island soil into the paint.

Once she was finished painting, Ella stood and admired the raft which was really more like a floating dock. She knew once the ladies were dressed in their long skirts and lingerie, they would appreciate gliding smoothly down the river feeling confident that the raft would not rock or tip.

As Ella looked at the raft she was thinking something was missing. She liked things to look polished and the unsightly wood grid, cables, and barrels were showing on the edge of the raft. She went back into the hardware store and tried to have an open mind as she shopped for something to camouflage the utilitarian portion of the raft. She spotted exactly what she needed in the garden section, an inexpensive roll of black weed barrier fabric. Ella borrowed a staple gun from Art and attached the fabric to the edges of the raft. She then biked home and retrieved a few of her small paint brushes, a paper plate, and a leftover can of red spray paint. Once she returned, she sprayed the paint on to the paper plate and dipped in her paint brush. In an elegant scroll she painted Hottie’s Air Conditioning onto the black fabric on each side of the raft. She was sure Lacey would be pleased.

The morning of the Hammock Ditch Raft Race, Ella and Lacey took the items they’d gathered in New Bern to the back of the hardware store. Together they dragged the mattress off the back of Sam’s truck and placed it on the center of the raft. Next, they added the black sheets, red satin and black lace comforter, and the large red satin covered pillows. The red bolster and black beaded accent pillows completed the sexy boudoir look. Ella and Lacey then nailed together the black canopy frame and attached it to the floor of the raft at each corner of the mattress. Ella had again borrowed Art’s staple gun and they attached the black sheers that Lacey had carefully dyed. For safety’s sake Ella used a few L brackets to attach short black 1 x 1’s on each corner of the raft for the girls to hang on to.

Art, Ella, and Lacey lifted the raft onto the trailer. While Ella and Lacey got ready at the cottage, Art delivered the raft to the starting area where some of the volunteers helped him launch it into the water. He used a ski rope tied to a board on the raft and moored it to the bank by tethering it to a stake provided by the race coordinators.

That afternoon Lacey and Ella arrived at the raft and placed a large boom box at the front of the bed and looped an orchestral version of Some Enchanted Evening. The Rays joined them a few minutes later. After shedding their shorts and shirts each woman was clad only in a black teddy. They had decided earlier they would be barefoot on the raft, again as a safety measure, in case someone fell into the water.

Ella had piled the skirts on top of the bed. Each girl took her skirt and wrapped it around her waist, securing the rhinestone clasp. Lacey laid the push poll beside the bed on the floor. Two of the race volunteers, Clay and Mike, stood gape-jawed as they untied the rope and released the raft with the bevy of beauties and watched it slowly begin to float down the Hammock Ditch Canal.

Groups of rafts were released at different locations to prevent jams from occurring. Lacey made sure that Sam and Chief’s raft would be launched earlier down river from theirs so as not to ruin the surprise.

Ella loved seeing the different rafts. There were rafts of hippies clad in tie dye, some civil war re-enactors with a huge rebel flag flying from their vessel, and numerous SEC themed crews. Mixed in were wildly creative rafts. One was a replica of the Beatle’s Magical Mystery Tour Bus. There was a raft full of Super Friends including a caped Wonder Dog. Ella’s favorite was a Flintstone’s raft shaped like Fred Flintstone’s car.

Ella noticed Roz sitting alone on a raft. The floor of the raft was covered by a blanket and Roz sat directly in the middle in a pair of jean shorts and a plain white T-shirt. She thought it very odd for such a gifted artist to be on such a nondescript raft. Roz’s shop was filled with not only her gorgeous paintings, but beautiful jewelry, and oversized metal sculptures that were popular among beach house owners on The Banks.

Up ahead Sam’s and Chief’s raft came into view. They had affixed one of the large beach umbrellas from the Labor Day Party to the raft. Chief and Sam were lying in two lounge chairs sipping beer. Chief’s was his usual brand of non-alcoholic beer. Sam was alternating each beer with a bottle of water, mindful of his race’s limited ability to metabolize alcohol. On the front of the brothers’ raft was a banner that read Beachin’ on the Banks.

The girls strategically positioned themselves so that Lacey and Ella were on the side of the raft near Chief and Sam. Desiree was on the opposite back corner lightly propelling the raft with the push pole. As the strains of Some Enchanted Evening came within earshot, Chief and Sam turned to see the Hottie’s sponsored, glamorous raft approaching. Chief squeezed his koozie tightly when he saw Eleanor Augusta Barrantine in a black lace teddy, her long, lean legs framed under the proscenium created by the red satin skirt. Sam was equally mesmerized by the sight of his wife looking sexy and glamorous on her company’s entry in the Hammock Ditch Raft Race.

Their two rafts took turns overtaking one another depending on the current. The ladies, Sam and Chief, and other raft riders waved and chatted to one another. After a few hours everyone ended up at Hidden Cove Marina. At a ceremony under the pavilion, awards were given for categories like “Most Original,” “Outer Banks Theme,” “Sports Theme,” and others. Little plastic trophies were the prizes, but they were coveted by The Banks residents. The emcee kiddingly announced that they might have to start the “Sexiest” raft category after seeing Hottie’s Air Conditioning’s entry. Lacey was particularly happy with the plug for her business. After the final award was announced, a few event volunteers lifted Roz’s raft on its side. Roz peeled off the gray blanket to reveal a 4 x 6 vivid painting. Everyone gasped, including Ella, at the huge, beautiful piece of art. It was an oil, palette knife, Warhol-inspired painting of a group of Octopi. It turned out that every year Roz had been in Manteo, she floated a painting in the raft race that would be auctioned off that night at the Hidden Cove Party with the money being donated to Safe Haven, a home for battered women. Every year those who attended the after party looked forward to seeing the creation Roz had donated. Oversized pieces of original beach art were hard to find and The Banks’ large beach houses had huge expanses of wall space to cover.

After the awards ceremony, everyone began loading their rafts on trailers or dismantling and hauling them away. Art had been kind enough to bring his trailer to the marina to haul off the girls’ raft. Sam and Chief lifted it up on to the trailer and then deconstructed their own raft and tossed the pieces into the back of Samoset’s truck.

It was almost two hours until The River Raft Race After Party began. Lacey dropped off Ella and told her she’d be back in an hour and a half. Ella took a long, hot bath then slathered her entire body with Shea butter in a “cupcake” scent. She figured who wouldn’t like the smell of cupcakes? She put on a pair of red lace panties. Next, she pulled on an ivory, crocheted, slim fitting, sundress she’d picked up at Victoria’s Secret the day she and Lacey purchased the teddies. It had a see through crocheted midriff with a pretty, feminine, scalloped, short skirt. In Ella’s opinion crocheted cotton would pass for lace to Chief or anyone with a Y chromosome for that matter so she was going all out. Seeing him earlier that day in only swimming trunks and a pair of Oakley’s had increased her desire for him exponentially. After spending the afternoon chatting with one another whenever their rafts were near, Ella found herself even more attracted to Chief on an emotional level as well. She brushed her long, dark hair, straightened it, and applied some silicon gloss. She pulled out her only pair of heels which were ivory, jute wrapped wedges. She kept her winter wardrobe in all ivories and light earth tones instead of blacks so her ivory shoes would go with any of her limited clothing. She also liked the way her chestnut hair contrasted with lighter colors instead of being drowned out by the color black.