I remember being sad to see Hughie leave, but I know I was anxious to launch the Bobby and therefore have an alternative means of transport. Deb and I smoothed the rough surface left by the dried stucco with sandpaper. We then glued the masking tape onto the line we had drawn so that it coincided with the waterline. I thought a carefully defined waterline would give our backdrop painting a more professional look when finished. I mixed the paint and we both had our paint brush and a small plastic paint container. Instead of taking one end and painting both towards the center, we thought it made more sense to take a separate side and paint the whole thing that way. I remember saying something like, "Deb, have you noticed that this wood is so dry it's like painting a sponge?" I sprinkled the paint over the surface and it soaked into the grain before I could reload the brush. While I had hoped it would be a simple task to get Bobby back up and running, I later realized it was a bigger job than I expected. We would need to take another gallon of paint and apply a second coat to seal most of the leaks. At least I had a feeling we were making progress. Mom and Betsy were still at the Chalet, but there was talk of them moving to the island soon. Deb had spent a couple of nights with Mum and now that Hughie was gone it was my turn. Since mom had some health problems, she was taking prescription drugs to control her condition. Mom waited until five every night to drink her cocktails, but when there was a long delay before dinner, the evening became difficult. This was before doctors understood the combined effects of mixing alcohol and drugs, which in Mom's case reduced her ability to... middle of paper... go to Comfort Island as soon as possible. Two days later Betsy and her mother moved to Comfort. I looked up the date in Dad's diary and found that it was the twelfth of July. Before I had access to these diaries, I would have guessed that Mom and Betsy had spent the entire two months of that summer at the Chalet. When I reported my discovery to Betsy, she was amazed to hear that their total stay away from the island was only three weeks. She revealed that she and her mom played so much gin rummy and Honeymoon Bridge in those three weeks that she permanently lost her taste for card games. Dad, Deb, Betsy, and I had prepared for the move. I had worked on the lawn and on the beach. Deb and Betsy bought the paint and curtains. Dad had supervised while Gerald Slate fixed various plumbing problems, plugged holes in the ceilings, and performed general cleaning. Mom reluctantly agreed to a test drive.