Jake was finally home as the taxi pulled up in his driveway.  It was good to feel the ocean mist as he got out of the taxi and turned toward the beach that was part of his home on Oskaloosa Island sheltering the city of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He had bought the place a year ago while he was in town searching for some maps that was supposed to have the coordinates of where several Spanish ships had sank on their journeys from Cuba and other islands of the pacific. 

The maps where not found in Fort Walton but in a museum in Panama City jut a few miles down the coast.  He had found the maps in a few days and decided to spend several days just loafing up and down the coast checking out the local history of near by towns.  He had been spending his evenings at local bars soaking up the local color and learning what he could from the people who liked to sit and drink and talk. 

There were certain people in every town that liked to brag about their town and its history, Jake was adept at finding these people and enjoyed getting them started.  Some people liked sports and some liked spending their evenings at home just vegetating in front of the TV. Jake liked finding the pulse of a city and getting to know the background and local history of the people and most important the local legends of treasure and lost fortunes.

Renting a car to get mobile and finding a decent place to stay Jake started looking around the town of Fort Walton first. After stopping by the local chamber of commerce to pick up all the maps and written information he could find he settled down in a local night spot just two blocks from his hotel on the island.

The little bar was actually just two doors down from a local restaurant used by tourists called Fudpuckers. The place was usually over crowded and as soon as Jake walked in and saw he would be waiting for at least an hour for a table he backed his way out and started walking down the street to find a place more to his liking.  There was a huge wooden anchor hanging over the outside of the door of the bar and as Jake walked by he saw the windows were tinted and most important they were clean. So he decided he would give this place a try before turning in for the night.

He had liked the place as soon as he walked through the door and decided this would be the place he would visit everyday as long as he was in town.  Finding a place to set at the bar was no problem as there were only six people in the whole place and they were as Jake looked them over all local people.  His vacation could now get started.

Jake settled down on the bar stool just as the short blonde lady walked over to where he was at and placed a paper coaster on the bar in front of him. ”What can I get for you?”

“How about a long neck bud?”

“Sure thing.”

Jake noted the heavy southern accent in her voice and wondered where she hailed from, it did sound familiar. Most people you ran into in Florida especially on the coast were from somewhere else.  Florida was one of the states everyone came from somewhere else.  It was still one of the states that was considered a migrate state.  If you were not from up north then you were from one of the islands in the pacific, usually from Cuba.

Also the thing about Fort Walton was it had two military installations surrounding the town and there was always somebody new. Add them to the tourist trade and it was hard to find a native of the town.

She came back with the beer and Jake laid a five dollar bill on the bar.

“Excuse me but your accent sounds like Southern Kentucky or West Virginia am I wrong?”

“Right!” Southeastern Kentucky.”

“I thought I recognized a voice from my old stomping grounds” Laughed Jake.

“Are you from Kentucky?”

Sure am straight out of Pike County of course it has been a few years since I have seen the place. How about You?”

“I’m a hollow girl straight out of Lawrence County.  Not far down the road from your neck of the woods. I haven’t been to Kentucky in over twenty years and hope I never see it again.”

She laid the bar rag down and came around the bar and jumped upon a stool next to Jake.

“Hope you don’t mind the company the regulars don’t like to talk to much especially about something I know so a friendly face is welcome.”

“        Listen I am glad to have anyone to talk to, I am a stranger in town for a few days and I would be glad to talk to you.  She leaned over the bar and dragged back a pack of cigarettes and lighter, pulling one out of the pack she looked at Jake.

“Mind?”

“No go ahead I smoke sometimes myself when there is no one around to offend. Usually I find I smoke only at home. Traveling and smoking does not appear to be kosher anymore.”

“Tell me about it we raise the damn stuff in Kentucky with the government giving us money to make sure we don’t stop and then pass laws that keep us from lighting up when we want.”

“Well you have to admit it is going to kill us.”

“Sure but something is going to kill us sooner or later and if not cigarettes then some other kind of cancer, car wreck, airplane crash, Hell A person can’t live in a shell.”

Jake had started taking notice of her as she was speaking and liked the animated way she talked with her hands moving and her head moving from side to side and he could see she was really into talking.  He also noticed she was not an airhead who just talked because of habit. When she had something to say it was said loud clear and direct.

“So what are you doing I Fort Walton if you don’t mind my asking?”

“I had some business trying to find something, found it so I decided to take a few days relaxing and checking out the area.”

She had moved the stool a little farther away from Jake so she could get a better look at him and also be in a better position to talk.

Reaching for another cigarette she said” It’s a nice place but just as soon as I can find a buyer for this place I am going north again, somewhere were I can see some snow and brown dirt.  I miss the snows and the cold weather.  Nothing makes you feel as good as getting warm after being out in the cold. It makes the body feel alive instead of this same temperature everyday.”

Jake reached for one of the cigarettes, “Mind?”

“No, go ahead you are safe in here until the city council decides to pass a law stopping it.”

Jake lit up the cigarette and looked at her.

You know I don’t think I would miss the snow but again I usually have to travel a lot in it and I know I would not miss the cold weather.

“Tell me how did you come to own a bar on the coast of   Florida?”

Oh, years ago I met up with my husband in my first year of college and he was in his last. We got married and then he joined the air force to be a pilot.  We spent twenty years traveling around the world him flying and me tagging along and keeping him straight. He finally decided on one more assignment before retiring and he want to find a place we could retire too without moving after he turned in his wings.

Fort Walton, Hubert Field and The gun ships were a perfect combination so he applied for the assignment and this is were we ended up. The bar was bought as an after thought. Since the military does not really shower you with wealth after you retire and he was still a young man so he decided to find something that was inside for a while.”

Jake was warming to the lady and that was something he had not done for many years, but she did say she was married so best to watch what he said.

“Is your husband out flying now”

Her eyes lost that animated look and seemed to shut down for just a second.

“No, He went down over Somalia a few years ago and never got to finish his life behind the bar like he wanted. But you know I don’t think he would have been happy after retiring especially tending bar. So I kept the bar took the insurance and bought the house we had been looking at for over a year before he died. It’s been six years and thank god we had no kids to suffer losing him, but life goes on.”

“Look I am sorry I brought it up that way/”

Thanks but that is in the past and time does dull the pain and we keep on living.

Jake was watching her as she talked and noticed she had a nice solid figure not abused by age or hard times. He liked the perky outlook she had on life even with the loss of her husband and coming from Eastern Kentucky which was not a place easy on women or men.  Poverty was a way of life from that area and most never made their way out of it.

“Well what do you do besides take care of this place?”

Rising up straight she motioned around the room with both hands, ”This is it and boy am I tired of it. Let me sell it to you and save myself.”

Oh! I don’t think I am ready to retire yet but I have been thinking about looking for a house to buy in the area so I can have a place to come home to in between trips.

“Well just what is it you do?”

I am a hunter, searcher, seeker, there are different names put on me but mostly I just find things other people do not have the time to look for.”

“What sort of things?”

“Antiques mostly, sometimes legends, hidden treasures, papers, anything worth a lot of money to someone who has a lot of money. I don’t work cheap.”

“You mean when someone wants something found you go out and look for it?”

“Sure that’s it.”

“Mind if I ask what you are looking for in Fort Walton?”

Actually I found what I was looking for and now I can take a few days and relax.”

‘Then you aren’t going to tell me what you are looking for?”

“Sure since I found it there is no problem.  There were a group of old maps from the 17^th century taken from a museum in Spain forty years ago and they never turned up again.

Since they were maps that were supposed to show close to were several Spanish Ships went down out in the Gulf of Mexico People were always hoping they would turn up. Finally someone had the money, the itch and not the time so here I am. I found them, collected my fee and now it’s my time.”

“Boy you must be good to do all that in a few days?”

“Not really, a lot of research and having the knack to find things gets me through the day.”

Customers had started coming in and she had to move to the other side of the bar to wait on them.

“Talk to you later, holler when you want a refill, OK?”

“Will do,” tipping the beer bottle in her direction.

Jake set at the bar for a while longer watching the people come and go. Mostly just killing time until it was time to end the night and head back to the motel.

Finally he motioned for the lady to come back over to his end of the bar.

She made her way over stopping to refill a couple of empty glasses for customers, smiling and talking as she walked and poured.

“Well are you ready for another beer?”

‘You know we never got around to introducing ourselves/”

“Oh! Sorry about that just having someone to talk to from home must have stopped my brain from working. My name is Janice, Janice Harris and yours?”

“Hi, I’m Jake Thomas.”

Grinning, she looked at him, ”Now that we are introduced are you going to ask me out?”

“You must have read my mind that is just what I was going to do.”

“Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

“Absolutely”, what time?”

“How about around six and where do I pick you up?”

“You don’t have to I will be here and I will be ready.”

“Ok.”  Listen I have to go it has been a long day and I still want to drive around for a while looking at houses close to the beach, I might find something I like.”

“Ok but don’t buy on first sight, I know just the place for you we can check it out before going to dinner tomorrow.”

Jake got up and walked out of the bar feeling a little less lonely than when he had entered the bar making contact with a person like Janice sort of made you feel better for the experience.

The next day Jake slept passed seven which was a late morning for him and he had a slow breakfast on his hotel balcony watching kids and overweight parents messing up a beautiful beach with smooth white sand left there by the overnight high tides and gently rolling waves indicating all was calm out in the Gulf of Mexico.

Moving his attention down the beach he noticed an old man and woman slowly moving down the beach in his direction with large headphones covering their ears. They were slowly moving metal detectors across the sand in front of them.  The detectors had the large 16 inches rings mounted on them. Heavy for the older couple but the larger heads gave them a better change to cover more area in front of them as they moved.

In their left hands they were carrying sift cans, a can the size of a small coffee can with a screen built into the bottom of the can to allow sand to sift through as it was being shaken.

Every once in a while one them would stop and move the detector over one area and finally reaching down with the can scoop up a can full of sand and start shaking the can back and forth.  They would shake the can until it was empty and then look inside. Sometimes it took only one can to find the object the detector had located. Other times it would take several cans of sand before the object was located.

Jake knew they were finding rings, watches, coins and other metal objects lost by the type of people he had been watching earlier.  Metal detectors could be set not to beep whenever a pop can or lid was crossed over top of.  This helped ease the work as you were not digging up everything made of metal but only the ones made of gold, silver or copper.

He could tell as they came closer they were also searchers, hunters of intrigue and adventure. The act of using a metal detector gave them the will to get out of bed each day and start each day with a new discovery.  They were not interested in world politics or even the children and grandchildren they had left behind in another state.

They were there looking for a new adventure they could handle with their aging bodies and still get a charge out of life. Finding a coin even a small dime was an adventure because it allowed them the freedom of doing something most people would never think of at any age.

Lots of people took up hobbies after they had retired but soon gave them up and sat down. The thrill they expected and dreamed about all the years of waiting for retirement was not strong enough to endure them.  Hitting a golf club always brought the same result, catching a fish always brought the same result, but searching never brought the same results. There was always a new adventure each time the metal detector started its beeping.  It was an adrenalin rush for the unknown.

Jake watched the couple until they slowly worked their way out of sight and started his day with a hot shower and then went out into the world to check out his new home city.  He had realized this was going to be his new home base the second he had meet Janice and there was no use wasting time.

He made a mental list of the things he wanted to accomplish for the day and started working the list off one item at a time.  The first thing was to get a temp mailbox until he had a permanent address to forward his mail to.

          Finally it was time to get cleaned up and pick up his newfound friend at the bar.  He parked his car on the street in front of the bar and before he had time to open his door she was already bounding down the street from the bar. She had the door open and was in the car before he could make a gentlemen out of himself and open the car door for her.

“Hold on Jake I’m already in and ready to go.” Laughed Janice.

She was once again radiate with her never ending smile and Jake saw she was wearing a pair of loose fitting slacks and a silk top that showed she was a woman of figure, but also displayed the fact she was a woman of comfort and class.  There were no pretensions in her demeanor and this brought Jake closer to her each time he saw her.

          “Well here we are now where is the house you were talking about last night? I laid off looking today until I got to see the one you were talking about.”

Buckling her seat belt she looked over a Jake and laughed.

“You might not like it but I think it would be a great house for you.”

Jake put the car into gear and pulled out into the street.

“Ok which way?”

“Turn left at the next street and go straight, it’s not far from here.”

Jake did as she instructed trying to watch the road and also steal a glance at her.  After driving for several minutes he noticed he was on the road that went down the center of the island with houses on each side with the ocean to his left and the inlet to his right.  In places it was possible to stand in the surf of the ocean and throw a stone across the island into the bay.

The houses were designed and built on pilings or stilts since the island sands had a tendency to shift and high waves would wash the sand right out from under a house.  Since the area was prone to hurricanes and high winds there were very few old houses as they had to be rebuilt every few years after being damaged or washed away.

Jake had always wanted to be in a hurricane, not a cat 5 but at least a cat 3 to experience nature at its worst and strongest.  To withstand mother nature and be able to survive it was a thrill Jake had always wanted to participate in.  Now living in South Florida he might just get the change.

“Ok now where is this house you are so hot on showing me?”

“Now don’t be in a hurry it’s just down the road a few more houses.”

Jake kept quiet until she said, “slow down and turn left into the next driveway..”

Jake slowed down and turned into the driveway she was pointing to.  He had turned into a driveway of a house that did not look like a house it was more like a huge bubble setting on the sand with two smaller bubbles attached to each side.

“My god what is this place?” Jake said never taking his eyes off the house as he turned the engine off and opened up his door.

“This is the house of the future for South Florida if these morons would just face facts and get their heads out of the sand.” 

“Come on lets go inside I will show you around the outside later.”

She jumped out of the car and ran around to Jake’s side of the car and almost dragged him up the walkway.

“Wait a minute you are going to pull my arm off.”

“Oh! Come on I can’t wait for you to see the inside of the house. You are the one person I know who would appreciate this house and what it stands for.”

“Ok, Ok, lead the way my lady” He had known her for only a few hours and already he was more comfortable with her than any one he had been with for many years.

She walked up to the front door and pulled out a key ring from her pocket and opened the door and pushed Jake inside.

Inside the house was cool and a dim light cast shadows into the dark reaches of the slanted walls. The shape of the outside of the house dictated the inside shape and dimensions with high curving walls reaching a peak in the center of the huge living room.

It felt strange being in a room that made him feel as if he was standing in a large cave with a domed ceiling.

“Why have you brought me here?”

Wait till I turn the lights on and then say that.” Janice walked over to the wall beside of the door and flipped a switch and suddenly the room filled with a soft white light that illuminated from the walls. There were no light fixtures or light bulbs. The light just appeared out of the walls.

“Beautiful!’ Absolutely beautiful” Jake said as he slowly turned around looking at the room. He could now see the shape of the room and it was almost empty of furniture, but upon closer scrutiny Jake saw the furniture was actually built into the structure. The center of the room had a sunken area with three levels that stepped down to a large level area. Each level had cushions and where actually the seating areas of the living room.

Janice came over and stood by Jake as he slowly took in the room and finally his eyes stopped at the glass wall that faced the oceanfront. The sun was just beginning to set in the west and it was causing a brilliant red glow over the ocean in front of the house.

“Are the rest of the rooms the same as this one?”

“No, the bedrooms are smaller, the kitchen is more conventional but we will get to that later.  Now tell me what do you think of this place?”

“Honestly when I first walked in I hated it. But as soon as those lights came on everything completely changed.”

“Who owns this place?”

“I do. My husband and I saw this place when it was under construction. We stopped and talked to the contractor and found out he was the designer and was building it on spec.”

‘This place can withstand a cat 3 hurricane with no damage and I can attest to that we have been through a cat 3 and it never even rattled the windows. The house was designed for the wind to flow over and around not like a conventional house where the wind will butt up against a wall and push on it.”

“There was some damage to the yards and roadway from the surge but the house seals up tight and there was no damage to the structure.”

“How did those massive windows withstand the wind and not just blow in?”

“The house has a system that seals all the doors and windows. If you are interested and want to look closer tomorrow I will show you how the house buttons up to make a cocoon.”

“Ok that I will do. Now let’s go and eat dinner I am starving.”

Jake spent a long slow evening with Janice and he was completely at home with her, her life and his new hometown.  He had been on the road most of his life traveling to every corner of the world, always on a journey for someone else and never taking the time to attach himself to a place or a person.  He never even considered the possibility he would one day find himself looking or even considering thinking about settling down.

He loved his life but lately there were times he wanted to take some time away from it and view his life from the outside.  Perhaps now he would take the time, buy a home and build some kind of life that resembled a normal existence. At least have an anchor when he needed it.  For the next two weeks he spent most of his time with Janice and learning his way around the city.

The house had been an object of wonder to him and he spent hours just studying the house and all the features that had been designed into it.  He spent most of his time along in the evenings as Janice worked at the bar from two in the evening until closing at twelve midnight through the weekdays and had help run the place on the weekends so she could spend more time with Jake.

She was falling for the guy but knew she would not make it an issue. The need to find a life away from Florida and the memories of the past was to great.  Jake had worked his way into her heart and he was the kind of man who made few commitments, but once he did they were for life and she was not ready for that.  It was time to cut bait or run and she knew she had to run before Jake was really hurt.

Jake had said he wanted to buy her house on the island but had no use for the bar. So she had decided to lease the bar to a couple that had moved into the area a few months ago and being retired was driving them crazy and they needed something to keep them busy.

A long trip would give her a change to feel out how she felt about Jake and his lifestyle of being away for weeks at a time. She was interested in what he did for a living and sometimes wondered if he would include her in that part of his life. Perhaps she would feel him out before making the final decision to leave Florida for a while.

Friday finally came and was the beginning of the end of a relationship that had never really became a relationship. Jake was still staying at the hotel nights but was spending most of his time at Janice’s house.  He had made up his mind to buy the house from Janice if she would sell it without the bar. Jake knew he could never be the owner of anything that required him to take care of customers, supplies and real estate. The very thought of having to plan for the next week was completely alien to him and he expected to keep it that way.

Janice had become a part of his life he did not want to lose, there had been no romantic connections made yet. Jake really wanted to get closer to Janice and work out some sort of future together. He planned on facing her with it after she returned from the bar tonight.

When she walked through the door Jake had the evening planned and was waiting on the deck watching the waves and listening to Kenny G on the stereo system that piped music out to the deck.  There were candles lit all around the deck railings and on the large glass table he had set up flowers with candles and wine chilled to accompany the dinner he had prepared his self.

Although not married or having spent much time in a home Jake had a nature talent for cooking and was looking forward to making a lot of use of the great kitchen in the house.

He got up and walked over to the door leading into the living room and said.

“Here I am but don’t move another inch. Stop and close your eyes I have a surprise for you so wait and I will guide you where I want you to go.”

          Surprised she stopped and did as he said. She loved surprises and there had been no surprises in her life since her husband had been killed. Jake took hold of her hand and leads her through the house out onto the deck.

“Open your eyes now.”

          She opened her eyes and saw she stood in the middle of hundreds of candles lined up on top of the railing that surrounded the deck. She looked around and saw the table had been decorated in candles and flowers with a setting for two.

“Jake what in the world is this?”

“My way of saying thank you for the past two weeks and hopefully many more to come.”

She knew she had waited to long to make the decision and he was going to be hurt there was nothing to do now but enjoy the evening and try to salvage something tomorrow.

Jake worked hard that night to make sure Janice saw how important she was to him and apparently all his work had paid off.

The next day she called early and asked him to come over for breakfast. It turned out to be a hard morning for Jake and an even harder one on Janice. She had completed the lease issue on the bar and made Jake a final offer on the house. There was no discussion about the price of the house Jake had fallen in love with the house and agreed to the price without hesitation.

Telling Jake she was leaving was heart breaking for both of them but she wanted some time to figure things out and she tried to explain that to him.  Her decision had been made long before she met Jake and she had to try another life on her own before she would return to a life that involved Jake.

Jake being Jake put his business face on once he had figured out what she was saying. Jake was extremely glad he was able to buy the house but the thought of losing Janice was something he not thought of. He wondered if it was something he had said or done. He had never tried to approach her sexually or even try to kiss her. He had intended to take his time and get to know Janice and apparently something had went wrong or he had missed some signals she had sent out.

“Janice have I done something or said something to offend you?’

“No Jake this decision was made a long time ago and it has nothing to do with you.  This is something I have to do to complete a part of my life before you came here.  I don’t want to leave you; you are a person I never thought I would ever meet. You have brought a lot of joy into my life and any other time I would never leave you, that is not to say I won’t be back I still own the bar and with you here I still have an attachment to this place.

Jake looked at her for a long time not wanting to feel anything but knew it was a loosing battle. The feelings of Janice leaving were more of a problem than anything he had ever felt. A lifetime of being along had not prepared him for this.

“Janice I am not going to say I want you to stay your decisions and your life are not mine to control and I would never do that.  It hurts but I can understand why you are doing this.”

He had never been one to react in a hurry about anything and the past two weeks with Janice had been a whirlwind of emotions for him. He had been finding himself thinking of her as soon as he awoke in the mornings and everything that happened during the day made him think of her.

“Jake I am finished with the bar, the people I have leased it too are taking over today and I have made plans to leave in one week. That should give you enough time to get the paperwork finished on the house and I can complete my financial plans for the next year.”

“Now before you say anything else I want you to go to the hotel and get all your belongings and bring them to your new home. You and I are going to spend the next week together in every possible way as a man and woman. Now hurry and don’t waste time thinking about the future past the next seven days.”

Jake spent a week in heaven and each day and night was more exciting and adventurous that the day before. Janice was true to her word they made love wherever they wanted and never gave a second thought about the rest of the world, days where spent on the beach just lying, taking in the sun and talking. There was nothing they didn’t talk about; secrets were not part of the one week relationship. They knew they had the week and since the future was so unsure they lived a lifetime in that week staying in each other’s arms through the days and nights.        

He had never felt so fulfilled as he did with Janice beside him. Their lovemaking was long and emotional with short periods of rest with talk and nourishment and then they continued with their lovemaking.

The end came on a Saturday morning as Janice made her way from the bathroom after a long shower. They both knew it was time for her to leave so there were no words spoken. She called a cab and Jake carried her two suitcases out the cab and as the cab drove up and she opened the last words where spoken.

“Janice don’t go.”

“You know I have to, this week has been wonderful but to remain would be unfair to both of us. I have been tied to responsibility to long. Now I want some time to sort out my life and decide want I want to do for the rest of it. You may be part of that decision so don’t go away for a while. Now I know where you are and can return if that is the right decision to make.”

She got in the cab and Jake watched his new life slowly back out of the driveway. There were no memories past last week for him and held none until she returned.