The Cast of Castaway Cove - Alice McGill

Andrea McGill was the Great, Great Grandmother of Alice. Andrea was the Doctor of the original crew of the Silver Bird. She wasn't fully qualified but when James Barrow got his crew together he tried to cater for all needs. No one knew how long the Bird was going to be ocean bound so they needed someone who was privvy in medicine, so Andrea was hired.

Several hundred years and many generations of doctors later, Alice was expected to carry on the tradition, but she was not interested in medicine. She chose to go into the military, much to her mother's disgust.




It was fortunate indeed that she didn't. The military was producing a competent soldier in Alice but her personal life was suffering. She'd already gone through many relationships and a couple of marriages including one to Darrell Johnston. Her life revolved around men far younger than herself, none of which worked out. If she had gone into medicine her concentration may not have been the best and you have to be 100% when dealing with patients.




She ended up either coming on too strong, or her company became boring and they ended up watching TV or sitting in silence. She just couldn't think of things to talk about...




...and the things she tried to talk to them about sent them off to sleep....




...or fleeing from her house as fast as they could go! Oh the visitors were polite and stayed awhile but Alice saw them literally running from her side far too often.




She would sit by herself after they had taken off and talk to herself. What is wrong with me? I feed them, I try to make conversation. I let them...well you know? I can't understand the problem.




She had a pool in the back yard and swam daily as well as worked the treadmill. She wouldn't go out very often, due to the humiliation she had always suffered. Although she looked after herself well and had an amazing athletic body, for that reason, people would joke about her being a man in a woman's body.




That was part of the problem, because she was so athletic, she had very little bust and she wasn't given a good deal with her looks. She was not the most feminine looking person. Unfortunately she was never the swan, always the ugly duckling according to all her family and so-called friends when she was younger. This pushed her to working out far more than she needed to, which in the end only compounded her "masculine" appearence.

She was good at fixing things too, which did not reassure people of her femininity. Regardless, she was quite a handy person to have around when things went wrong. The time her basin sprung a leak, she didn't panic just got out her old trusty spanner and worked away fixing the basin like she knew exactly what had to be done.




She had become very competent at fixing everything except her personal life!




She appreciated the small things in life and loved her rose garden and all her plants. She would often be caught out there talking to them, which was at least an acceptable thing in Castaway Cove. Most people, particularly farmers, talked to their plants.




Others labelled her insane and she didn't help herself when she did certain things that were considered...very strange. Such as eating dirt to impress someone, then feeling utterly sick in the stomach and doubling over in pain.




...then proceeding to throw up wherever she happened to be, this behaviour didn't help her situation. Fortunately most of the time it was at home after inviting people over, who didn't stay long after that. Being at home, at least she could wash her mouth out and clean her teeth. These days she rarely asked anyone back to her home, in fear of making an utter fool of herself.





Other times she would go for a jog, or work out on the treadmill then plunge straight into her pool. Except that she didn't change, she just swam about in her work out clothes, even left her shoes on! Or she'd go inside to her room and go to bed to sleep fully dressed! Sometimes she would tissy up in her best formals, do her hair and makeup, high heels "taboot" and again turn the lights off and go to bed in her clothes.




When Alice did choose the right clothes intending to go swimming or sleeping she'd end up out in her trash can rummaging around and not doing what she intended. It's no wonder people thought she was insane, poor soul.




When men saw her coming, they would take off. Women, even those she worked with every day would whisper, chuckle and point. Particularly Belinda Harper-Hill a snobby, red-headed, know-it-all woman whose family swore black and blue that they were the "Founding Family," of Castaway Cove, which of course they weren't.

Most of the time she would jog to the bistro, have a bite to eat then jog home again. All part of her fitness regime. She did have one friend at work whom she got on well with, Violet O'Hara, but she was friends with Belinda Harper-Hill and that made it awkward when they were all at work or came across each other when they were out.




A couple of times she caught up with Violet when Belinda wasn't around and they got on very well.
"Hi Alice, we will have to get together when...you know who isn't around. I enjoy talking to her but I know how awkward it is for you when she is there. Perhaps I could come around to your place and we__"
"__er no that's okay. Why not just meet here next week some time? I jog here regularly."
"Great! how about Friday night then?"
"Tomorrow...Oh ok I guess I'll see you tomorrow night. Well I...er need to continue with the jog before I cool down, see ya." At least she doesn't think I'm a nutcase, but I wasn't going to invite her to my place. I would stuff things up without a doubt.




Other places Alice liked to reside was a little park not far from her home. There were chess boards and fishing facilities and the people she met there were unlikely to visit her so she felt comfortable there. In fact she would spend time in the company of several women there who spent time there to get away from the house for awhile. Many of them gave Alice a good competitive game of chess. They seemed to really enjoy her company too.




There were only few games of chess she lost and even the people competing against her cheered when she won. She would never invite them to visit her place, however or to go anywhere with her, she was scared she would mess up the platonic friendship she made with these virtual strangers. She felt safe around these people.




On occasions, however, she unintentionally let her guard down in front of them too. Out of the blue she would start talking and arguing with herself. They looked at her strangely, but didn't seem to think too much of it, perhaps because they didn't know her very well, but they said goodbye as they left and seemed to accept things as they were.




Other times she may mooch a meal from them and would find herself standing in the middle of nowhere, eating a meal that she had begged or bargained  for from them and didn't remember a thing about how she got it. This didn't help her insane reputation.




Some nights she spent alone and she enjoyed her own company. She'd carry on a conversation with herself when she wasn't arguing with her, or she'd spend hours in the bathtub blowing bubbles under the water. Noone was around to judge her.




She invested in a telescope, being in the military they were often called on to check the skies for undiscovered stars or unidentified objects, including possible meteor threats. She enjoyed looking to the skies, she felt free and content watching the planets and starts wink at her.




A few times she discovered an unknown star and couldn't wait to report back to work the next day. This night she discovered more than she bargained for. She was looking to the stars when she tried to follow a shooting star and spied another telescope looking back at her. She could not make out in the dark who it was, but she squealed as much as a person with as deep a voice as hers could, and ran inside.

 to be continued...