Well, this was it, Kjem was on his way to his new life. The semester was over, grades turned in, office emptied, and his moving boxes, etc, had been picked up a few days before. He'd checked a big duffel of clothes and supplies to last him until his things arrived on Green Cay, and his flight was descending toward its landing in the islands. He'd gotten a call from Judy a week before, thanking him for his chat with Erica, she was excited to tell him that she and Erica had had a long, frank talk about GCC, and after some recruiting from folks there Erica had decided to sign up.
After landing, Kjem made his way to the "residents" line, where the attractive Immigration officer took his card and greeted him.
"A new resident! I knew you didn't look familiar. Welcome home!"
It took just a minute to process his paperwork, and he went to collect his bag, walk through Customs ("Nothing to declare!") and found Tony waiting for him at the taxi stand.
"Hey, my man, I hear you comin' to stay for good? That's great! You'll wanna make a couple-a quick stops on the way to the boat, we got time and you don't wanna get there empty handed."
Kjem agreed, and so they stopped at a liquor store and got a case of the local dark rum, "Da good stuff!" as Tony put it.
When they got to the marina, instead of heading straight out to the dock, Tony took Kjem to the marina store, where they sorted out quite a lot of fresh grouper, whole snappers, and lobster tails and loaded it all into an enormous styrofoam box.
As they piled Kjem's luggage, rum and fish onto the dock, Kjem spotted the green GCC runabout heading in. Kjem profusely thanked Tony, paid him for the ride and a big tip for his trouble and shook hands. By the time the boat came in Tony was gone, with a beep of his horn on his way back down the road.
Kjem was disappointed to see it wasn't Beth in the boat, but the young black woman looked familiar. She seemed perfectly at home, though, as she brought the boat in, tied it off, and stepped off onto the dock.
"Hey, I'm Monique, we met at the reception when you were here before. Beth usually drives, but she's on the big boat today, already headed back with a full load of goodies."
They stowed his stuff in the boat (the box of fish took some wrestling) and headed straight out. Monique revved the boat all the way up and they slid furiously across the flat water. It was a fast boat and a calm day, and Monique wasn't messing around. Kjem, sitting at the back of the boat, admired Moniques cute butt. She was dressed in khaki shorts and a college T-shirt, which seemed to be the school uniform when off-island. Kjem figured they were most of the way to Green Cay when he saw a bigger, slower boat ahead, and sure enough as they skated past he could see that it was Beth, who waved at them. Kjem waved back, but Monique concentrated on the wheel. After a while they leaned hard to the right, entering the inlet between Green Cay and the adjacent cay; Kjem could see College Harbor on the cay to the left.
Monique swooped in that direction, and cut the motor down to idle. They coasted easily into a slip, with just a bump of reverse and some rudder to bring the boat to a perfect stop. Monique cut the engine, jumped gracefully onto the dock, and tied the boat off. Kjem loaded his stuff from the back of the boat onto the dock. Dean Alice and Hope approached them from the boat house.
"Welcome back to Green Cay!" said Alice, and gave him a big hug, which lasted longer and was a lot tighter than Kjem expected.
She then turned to Monique and told her, "Thanks for giving Dr. Kjem a ride, Monique. No need to hang around, let Beth get the boat squared away when she gets in. See you tomorrow in advising?"
"Yes, thank you," replied Monique, who shook Kjem's hand, turned, and walked away down the dock.
"I hope I didn't say something wrong to Monique," Kjem said to Alice. "She was quiet and a bit distant the whole ride over."
"No, it's not you," replied Alice, "Monique was very close to the old Doc and his wife who recently left GCC, the Prof you're replacing. She's still sorting everything out in her head. That's why I sent her to pick you up, it's a chance for her to blow off some steam on the water and see you in a setting that will help her with the changes in her life. This is part of the educational process here, to prepare students for people, including lovers, to come and go in their lives without undo heartache or conflict. She's in your class this Fall, that too is part of the process."
Kjem was struck by the realization that GCCs nurturing and development of their young students went far beyond the usual curriculum. He hoped he was up to it.
Interrupting his thoughts, Hope handed him a clipboard with some papers in it and told him, "You should look these over and sign them once you get settled in tonight. All routine paperwork. There's also a sheet with your internet and email account info, there's already an email waiting for you with links to some safety, security, and diversity and equality training you need to complete before you get started with things here. Stop by the video store when you get a chance, your hardware should be ready for you."
"Thanks, Hope, I'll get right on it," replied Kjem.
Alice interjected, "No more paperwork for now, though. There's a green moke parked over there," she pointed, and continued, "It's yours to use. You know the way to Palm Beach house, head on over and get settled in for now. Catch your breath. I'll be over tomorrow to check in on you, the plan is to have a relaxed 'welcome' barbecue there at the beach later in the afternoon tomorrow. Get some rest!"
She and Hope turned and walked together up the dock and away. Kjem could have sworn both of their hips swayed more than usual as they walked. As he watched them admiringly, he heard the sound of a boat motor approaching in the distance; he turned and saw Beth entering the inlet approaching the harbor. It wasn't long before she had the boat landed behind the smaller boat. She jumped out and tied the boat off, then ran over to Kjem and jumped into his arms.
"Oh my God, you're here to stay, this is great!" she said as she kissed him all over his face.