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occupying the same stations as before, the old woman and Linda got behind and performed a kind of push-steady-push operation. By the time the quartet maneuvered the man onto the second floor porch and through the entrance of the Gull House, they were soaked. Safely out of Ernestine's driving rains and howling winds, each of them dropped into the nearest chairs. |
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The Gull House had been built on a strip of sand and rock known as Monitor Point. In its day, and that day had long since passed, it was the first place that the tourists flocked to when they hit the island. But now the developers had changed the tiny island with its pristine beaches and shifting dunes from a quiet, well-kept secret for a handful of wealthy Texans into a winter mecca for sun-starved midwesterners. The advent of the high rises, the building of the resort hotels, a main drag that was now replete with fast food houses, T-shirt shops and go-go joints had changed what used to be something the locals cherished into something they didn't. All of which had the effect of taking the Gull House full cycle; it had once again become the watering hole for the locals. All this suited Gladys Ann just fine, but it kept Bartholomew walking the thin line of solvency. |
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The respite was brief. Freeman, taking Linda along primarily for moral support but |
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