Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Even here, the Christmas spirit is overflowing. Eli has made enough colorful paper chains to drape them along every ceiling, so they’re here too, next to crocheted stars, and wooden ornaments we’ve been painting since the end of the summer. There have been moments when I thought it would have been nice to switch to another activity, but when I look at what we’ve done with the place, all I feel is pride.
The weather on our private island can be harsh, so we have quite the collection of warm boots, coats, and more blankets than I can count. Eli’s latest favorite is an electric blanket, for evenings when sitting by the fireplace isn’t enough. Not that I mind. He can have everything he wants, for all I care, and yet he never abuses that privilege.
“I miss the silver,” I say with a sigh, running my fingers through the dark blond waves that he grew out to shoulder-length.
He grins at me. “It is what it is if I’m to be undercover.”
I sigh and kiss his lips. “I suppose we will need to wait until you’re forty. Then, you can slowly stop dyeing it.” I sit down to put on my own boots. “Excited?”
“You know I love this house. It’s more than I could have dreamed of. When you said a house in Alaska, I imagined a cabin similar to the one we first hunkered down in, not an eco-mansion on a private island. But I’m dying for this trip to town. And to a Christmas market too! I’m so excited.” Eli paces in place as he puts on his aviator hat trimmed with the fur of a rabbit I hunted myself.
“There’s some people on the mainland who really want to meet my partner, but I’ll make sure they don’t overwhelm you,” I joke, because while I have made some connections during the necessary trips off the island, I don’t currently have any friends beyond Eli and our guard dogs.
With that, I zip myself up, put on a hat and grab his hand, leading the way outside.
Winter is harsh, even here in southern Alaska, but I’m happy to be far away from my former life, and this private paradise of ours is allowing that and more.
The island is big enough for me to hunt small animals and birds, which has become one of my main hobbies now that I’m no longer required to work, and I also often spend mornings fishing. Sometimes, we do little camping trips into the surrounding forest to make sure we’re capable of surviving in the wild if push ever comes to shove. Still, our household wouldn’t be complete without banana bread, candy, and large quantities of lube, so we can’t quite live a self-sustainable lifestyle yet. But maybe in the future?
We did get into prepping a bit too much, but that’s what happens when passionate people have lots of time on their hands. I wanted a secure house, so I ended up buying one with a bunker under it, which also leads to a secret passage out of the house through a tunnel. I, of course, hope we’ll never have to use it, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
I did worry it would freak out Eli, but he got very excited about it, and while we often cook together, he’s the one who does the canning, insisted on building a smokehouse for the fish, and keeps stock of our pantry. I wasn’t sure how much we’d need, but after the harsh November we’ve had, I’m glad we had so many supplies.
The next layer of security is watching us with dark, attentive eyes.
“Good evening. You take good care of our home,” I say to our German Shepherds and unlatch the door of their kennel. They’re all big boys, and I make sure to give them all treats before we head down the path toward our private pier. The weather’s great for this time of the year, so I’m not worried about taking Eli to shore on his very first outing since we arrived. Still, I’d rather he didn’t get as seasick as he was on the journey we made from Washington state about a year ago.