Mike and Lillian had been on the island a whole week and things still weren't going well between them. Though they hadn't fought, words between them were very few unless Lillian was asking Mike to find her something to eat. In the time they had been there, Lillian had found a waterfall to shower in. Mike had made himself a bed of leaves and remembered from his boy scout days how to start a fire with sticks. The eating was very scarce because all they had were mangos. Mike had tried to fish by grabbing at them like a bear would, but they were just too quick. There were pineapples too, but because they had nothing to cut the thick skins with, they remained on the trees. One day, Lillian decided she had enough of mangos.
"I'm so sick of these mangos, I could just gag," she said.
"Well, it's all we got. I could try to fish again, but you know how well that goes," Mike said.
"No, I want pineapple. I think I've got an idea how we can get into it too," Lillian said.
"Well, let's hear it," Mike said, curious to find out what she was up to.
"I found a Coke bottle that had washed ashore this morning. I figured if we broke it over a rock, we could use the jagged piece of glass as a makeshift knife," Lillian said.
"You know, that just might work," Mike said with enthusiasm. It was the first time they had agreed to use a little team work. Mike shimmied up the prickly bark and picked two plump pineapples, then climbed back down after he had tossed them to Lillian. Lillian broke the Coke bottle over a rock and handed a large and pointed piece of glass to Mike. He pushed until he had forced the glass into the pulp of the fruit. He tried to slice with a downward motion, but noticed the glass was stuck. Mike then decided to try and pull the piece of glass out. He jerked hard and the glass became dislodged. Unfortunately, it also slipped as it sliced into Mike's hand. Blood immediately began to drip down his arm.
"Mr. Nesmith, you're bleeding," Lillian said as she rushed to Mike's side. "Put some pressure on it." Lillian ran down to the ocean, scooped up a handful of water and held it as tightly as she could. By the time she reached Mike, most of the water had escaped. There was just enough left to pour over his wound. Mike gritted his teeth as the salt water made contact with his open skin.
"That burns," Mike complained.
"It will. The salt in the water should kill any infection," Lillian told him. Next, she grabbed a torn piece of her dress and ripped it into a strip. She then reached for Mike's injured hand.
"You tore your dress," Mike said in amazement.
"It's ruined anyway and you need a bandage. I've got tons of dresses at home..." She suddenly stopped when she realized that she no longer had access to her gigantic waredrobe, and maybe never would again. She once again tried to wrap Mike's hand, but he kept jerking away.
"Ow!" He screamed.
"I didn't even touch you. Look at me and let's talk about something to get your mind off of what I'm doing," Lillian instructed.
"Ok," Mike said.
"So, where are you from originally?" Lillian asked.
"From San Antonio, Texas. I moved to Malibu when I was nineteen. I'm twenty-three now. Where are you from?" Mike asked.
"I'm originally from Burbank, California, but I've spent most of my life in Switzerland," Lillian replied.
"Switzerland? Why Switzerland?" Mike asked curiously.
"I've spent most of my time in private school there. They taught me French, Opera, Etiquette, Horseback Riding, Classical Piano..." Lillian said as she named the various courses.
"Reading, Writing, Rythmatic," Mike finished with a smile. Lillian's face went hot with embarrassment as she smiled too.
"Yeah, I took those too," She said with a giggle. she then took the loose piece of the bandage and tucked it away. "There you go, it's all clean and wrapped," She said as she gently held Mike's hand.
"Thank you," Mike said as he admired her handy work, "it was right nice of you to do." He looked at her deeply, and for one moment the spoiled brat disappeared and an angel took her place. He gently reached out to touch her cheek. To his surprise, she didn't jerk away. "I have one more question for you," Mike said.
"What's that?" Lillian asked.
"Will you start calling me Mike please?" Mike asked.
"Only if you'll call me Lily," she said with a smile.