The Lighthouse Part Two

In case you missed it, here is part one. I hope you enjoy the Lighthouse part two.

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He was immediately bombarded with the musty odor that often accompanies vacant buildings. Just hurry up and get through this, he thought as he tried to breathe.

After a few minutes of looking around, he set up his tripod and photographed the inside. There wasn’t much to see though. The brick walls were bare and there was no furniture. The hardwood floors were in pretty rough shape as well. 

It will be a miracle if anyone buys this. Maybe the photos will encourage the city council to fix this up before they try and sell it. He walked over to the winding staircase to see if that was in better shape. It wasn’t. 

The handrail moved with the slightest touch, and several of the steps were missing. He considered the safety of climbing them, and he came to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth it. He photographed the staircase from the main floor. 

I really should go up there and see what’s going on. He looked at the stairs again. Maybe that girl is still here and I can explain the situation to her. 

He went back outside to look for her, but she was gone. His truck was the only vehicle in the parking area on the other side of the bridge.

She left a few minutes after he went inside. There was no way she would chance him following her home. She didn’t need the stress of having a stalker in her life. 

She lived on the other side of the park a few blocks from the lighthouse. It wasn’t the best neighborhood, but it was all she could afford on her income. And as long as she stayed inside after dark it wasn’t terrible.

I’m going to need to find a new spot to write, she thought as she entered the park. Maybe the lighthouse won’t sell and I’ll be able to stay there. She knew that was wishful thinking though. The city council would take any offer as long as they made a profit on it. And who wouldn’t want a lighthouse? The value of the land itself would tempt anyone with money.

Maybe it will take a while for an offer to be made, and I can have my book sold and have the money to buy it myself. This should be motivation enough to finish it. I should have asked him for more information about the sale. 

She continued home with her thoughts for company. When she made it, she turned on her old laptop and waited for it to boot up. While she waited, she brewed a cup of tea to take the chill out of her bones.

She spent the rest of the evening typing away. She added new sections and edited the ones that she had. Before she knew it, it was two in the morning. Her eyes were getting heavy, but she was at an exciting part and she wanted to finish it while she had the momentum.

She stopped writing an hour later, and she crawled into bed. It was going to be a long day at work, but she didn’t need to be mentally present so it would be ok.

She spent the next few weeks only going to work at the day job and working on her book. The weather grew colder, so it was easy to justify staying inside. The next time she saw him was on an afternoon after a snowstorm.

She was at the grocery store trying to figure out what to get for dinner when she saw him. She went about her business and hoped that he didn’t see her. But he did.

“Oh, hi,” he said when he saw her in the same aisle. 

She put on a fake smile and looked at him. “Hi.”

They stood in the aisle and looked around. Neither of them sure what to say.

“The lighthouse is listed on the city council’s website,” he finally blurted. “In case you wanted to see what they want for it.”

“Have they received any offers?” She asked.

“I don’t think so. It is in pretty rough shape, and when I relayed that information to them, they didn’t want to invest any time or money into it.”

“I’m not surprised,” she answered.

“Me either.”

“Well, I should get going,” she said after another few minutes.

“My name is Barty,” he said. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Barty,” she answered. She took a few steps away from him.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

She didn’t turn to answer him. He wanted to follow her and demand an answer, but he wasn’t that kind of man. He knew that if she wanted him to know, she would have volunteered that information when he gave her his name. Instead, he watched her walk away from him.

When she got home a little while later, she booted up her laptop. While she waited for it to turn on, she put her groceries away in the fridge and pantry.

She sat down on her sofa and looked up the city council’s website. The first thing she saw was the lighthouse and the opportunity to buy it. She scrolled through the photos and read about the lighthouse.

Once her curiosity was satisfied, she got back to work on her book. She was almost done with it. I wonder if he could make a cover for me, she thought. Should I bother him with that? Maybe I should have been nicer to him. He probably wants nothing to do with me now.

She went back to the city council’s website to look at his photos again. She saw the watermark and typed that into another browser. His website was the top link and she followed it. His photos are beautiful, she thought as she scrolled through them. 

After looking through his work, she clicked on the contact me, button and wrote a quick message. She hesitated before sending it to him.

What’s the worst that will happen? He’ll ignore it. Just click send and be done. Before she could talk herself out of it, she sent the message. And then she waited. 

It wasn’t long before she got a response. He agreed to meet her the next day to discuss the job. 

She suggested the park, at least as a place to meet up. Once they worked out the details, she got back to work. She had a hard deadline now, and she needed this to be done.    

The next day, she went to the park. She headed toward the agreed-upon spot and when she got close she saw him sitting on a small bench that was facing several tall pine trees. She walked through the snow and sat down next to him. 

“My name is Kiki, and I’m sorry for my behavior the last two times we met.”

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Do you guys want to see part three? Let me know in the comments below.