Casey

The helicopter hovered near the hole in the lake. That’s what it looked like. As if someone had removed that puzzle piece from the picture. Casey knew that the explanation behind it was more complicated than that. He’d seen a lot of the work, more than he’d ever thought he would have.

He had watched as they put in pilings and built up a wall. Then the very loud pumps came and moved most of the water out. Then the barges heaping with dredging leftovers and other earth. What had been just another piece of the lake was now an island.

There had been quite a bit of debate over the shape of it. In his mind it had always been a perfect circle but in the end it was much easier to use the natural shape of the land. There was a kind of underwater plateau that they followed. It was more irregular but maybe a bit more natural because of it.

The three natural islands were the backbone of the entire thing and you could still pick them out very easily. The rest of the ground just looked too…new. Landscaping would help but they didn’t want to do that until they’d built the Wonder.

That’s where they were stuck. Casey had given that part of the project to his wife, Lydia. She had been paired with the newest hot thing out of the creative department, some young guy named Brent. There had been meetings and presentations and loads of studying but no firm project. It was irritating.

He really thought they should circle back to his original idea. They should build something socially responsible. The worst thing would be if they made some kind of rich man’s playground. The people would hate him for that.

He really wanted something that would celebrate the simple life. The masses would flock to see that. Especially if they knew that they were helping to send all that money to worthy causes. Casey felt proud of himself. You really can do some good if you’re wealthy.

There was only one problem with his idea. He didn’t know what to build that would be any kind of ‘celebration of the simple life’. Should they make a tenement scene? Or maybe some kind of native village? That didn’t seem, well, big enough for what they were doing.

This idea just wouldn’t come for him. Well, that’s what he was paying the other people to do. He’d already thought of making a new island. He’d done his part.

Casey signaled the pilot to land. It was funny in a way, the whole project had been so lucky so far. All of the government groups quickly gave their approval. The nearby small towns all seemed happy with what was going on. He could almost see the dollar signs in their eyes!

There had been one small blemish. Environmental groups protested. They said that they were defacing Saginaw bay. There was picketing and some signs but nothing serious. The construction crews just walked on by smiling. Casey called a quiet meeting with the heads of some of the larger groups and explained that he had taken the utmost care to preserve what he could. He then reminded them of the donations he’d made in the past and would again in the future. The protests quieted and disappeared.

Everything had gone very well. His name had become famous across the state. There was some talk that he’d make a good governor once the current lady stepped down. He was flattered but didn’t take it too seriously.

It didn’t pay to worry too much. A good idea would turn up soon. A good enough one anyway.