Lake of Secrets

by Shay Lee Giertz

  I scramble in the boat and throw my arms around my burly Uncle Doug. He’s only an inch or two taller than me, with a paunch belly and a toothy, mischievous grin. Cassie gets her bubbliness from him.

  “There’s my London girl!” he says and returns the hug.

  Dad’s on the boat now, and the two men exchange a handshake and hug. “Where’s Sue and Cassie?”

  “They’ll be here tonight. Sue had to work, but I got off a day early. Since I have to leave in three days, she told me to head up early and put the boat in the lake. I thought we could do some fishing.”

  “But what about Cassie?” I ask, trying to hide my disappointment.

  “Oh, she got in some trouble with your Aunt Sue because none of her laundry was done. She was planning on coming up with me and doing her laundry here, but her mother would hear none of it. Said that your grandmother didn’t need any more stress. We both know Cassie would have dumped the laundry, and your grandmother would wash it.”

  “Of course I would. She should have come up with you.” Gran stands at the dock. Laura stands with her.

  “Well, you can reason with Sue about as good as I can,” he says. “Want to go for a ride?”

  “You bet I do. Why do you think I came down here?”

  Dad helps her in, and then Laura climbs in. I may be bummed about Cassie, but I am excited about a boat ride. A boat ride that hopefully won’t result in me finding a dead body. Uncle Doug maneuvers the boat away from the dock and punches it almost full throttle. The wind whips through my hair, and I lean back to let the sun kiss my face.

  We zip around the lake for about a half-hour as Dad fills Uncle Doug in with the craziness of the last couple days.

  He looks at me wide-eyed. “Oh Ginnie-girl, I can’t even imagine.”

  “Dad thinks I should be more scientific about it. I am glad that she’ll hopefully be given a proper burial, and that her family will have some closure.” I think of Mitch. “But just the same, I’m hoping that never happens to me again.”

  Laura, who’s sitting beside me, shudders. “You have courage, Ginnie. That’s for sure.”

  The compliment seems sincere, but I don’t feel very courageous.

  Uncle Doug slows a bit as we near the sight. The yellow tape seems out of place at a lake, but it glares in the afternoon sun. Dad says something about stopping, but I quickly say no. I’m not ready to be scientific. Still, my eyes are drawn to the area where days ago I found the body of a young teen. It’s now empty and seems void, but I feel the pull inside of me.

  Ginnie…

  Goosebumps erupt on my skin as I hear my name being called in the wind. No one else seems to notice, which means two things.

  I know she’s there, and she’s waiting for me.

  17

  Isaac waits at the door for me. “Hi.”

  “Hey there,” I say, trying not to awkwardly smile at him. But I’m glad to see him. “You doing better than last night?”

  “About that, I shouldn’t have left so quickly. I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

  I close the door behind me before Dad embarrasses me. Isaac walks me to the passenger door of his old Jeep and holds the door open for me.

  “It’s washed,” I tease.

  “Just trying to impress. Besides, it makes mudding that much more fun.”

  My stomach is nothing but jitters. I chose to wear the summer dress I packed and even put on some mascara and lip gloss. I hadn’t trusted myself with doing anything more. I wish I could call Alisa super quick and have a squealing session. This is squeal-worthy.

  As Isaac walks to the driver’s side, I check out his fancy dark blue polo shirt and khaki pants. I swallow the big lump in my throat and try to breathe normally as he slides in next to me.

  “Work uniform?” I ask.

  “Yeah. I didn’t have time to change.”

  “You look nice.” Before he can respond, I blurt, “I will never get used to this. The driver’s wheel should be right here.” I pretend to be driving with a phantom wheel.

  “Tell you what, maybe I’ll come to visit you over in London, and you can drive.”

  “You want to visit me? I mean, yes, of course, I’ll drive you all over.” I stop myself from rambling.

  “Are you okay? You seem on edge.”

  I sigh. “Just nervous.” Not about to tell him this is my first date.

  “Don’t be. It’s just me.” He finds my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine.

  I very well may melt right there.

  “How about we get to know each other a little bit? I’ll give a piece of information about myself, then you give a piece of information about yourself, then back and forth. For instance, my name is Isaac Fulton, I turned nineteen about a month ago, and I have a thing for cute girls with British accents.”

  He gives me a devilish grin. I think I say something like, “Uhhhh…”

  Isaac laughs. “You should see your face! Okay, I’ll start with something that’s not going to have you turning twenty shades of red. I love oranges. I eat at least one a day, sometimes two or three. My next favorite food is pizza, then macaroni and cheese, then juicy cheeseburgers with all the fixings. Foods I can’t stand would include mushrooms and bananas.”

  “Bananas? They’re delicious.”

  “Makes me gag every time. I’ve tried them in pudding, in fruit salads, mixed as a smoothie. Gag, gag, and gag some more.”

  “I don’t fancy pineapple or peanuts. But I love peanut butter. Go figure.”

  “You don’t fancy…” Isaac mimics me. “I’m from London, and I like tea and crumpets.”

  His attempt at my accent is so horrible that I’m in stitches. “I wouldn’t try that again.”

  “Fine, but you have to give me more of an answer than pineapple and peanuts.”

  “I wasn’t finished when you interrupted me. As I was saying, I love peanut butter and pretty much anything my Gran cooks. Shepherd’s pies are delicious when done right, but I’ve tasted a few that didn’t win any medals. Oh, I don’t like onions. That’s it. Your turn.”

  “I just graduated high school, and I signed up for the National Guard. It sort of upset my Dad because he wanted me in the army, but I want to stay put for a while. Ian might not adjust well with me being gone for a long time.”

  “The National Guard lets you do that?”

  “Yep. I have to do basic training just like the army, but then I can come back home and go to school, live my life, that kind of thing. I have to volunteer one weekend every month and two weeks every year.”

  “Where’s basic training?”

  “California.”

  “Wow. When do you leave?”

  “August. Enough about me. You have to give me more info on you.”

  Still, I look at him and smile. “You’re a good big brother.”

  He stops at a red light and smiles back at me. “I hope so.”

  We pull into the parking lot of Manny’s Steakhouse that has a line of people waiting.

  Before we get to the line, a group of kids notice Isaac and call him over. He greets his friends, but I’m uncomfortable, especially because it seems Isaac is quite the popular guy.

  “This is Ginnie,” Isaac says when one of his friends asks about me.

  “Not from around here?” a guy asks.

  “She’s from London,” Isaac answers.

  They all wait for me to say something, so I stuff my nerves down inside and say, “Nice to meet you.”

  Isaac says good-bye and pulls my hand to come with.

  “Sorry, the steakhouse is busy on a Friday night, and when you’re a local, you know everyone.”

  Isaac has already reserved a table, so we bypass the line and sit down by a window overlooking some marshlands. We both order cheeseburgers then continue the info-dump game (that’s what I dubbed it). I tell him about Catholic school and how Gran is determined to see me at the University of Michigan. He tells me about how much he loves golf, and fishing, and hunting, a
nd that he can’t wait to vote in the next presidential election because it’ll be his first.

  “Have you thought of moving here?” he asks as our drinks arrive.

  “Funny you should mention it,” and I proceed to tell him about how I finally came clean with what I wanted to do with my life, and how Dad still wants to move here.

  “Could you do that? Be over in London while he’s here?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t know. We’ve been two peas in a pod since I was a baby. I know that girls need to spread their wings and fly, but being that far apart will be hard for us. Hard for me, at any rate.”

  “Well, there’s one other person who would like it if you stayed here.”

  I smile. “When you say it like that, you almost convince me.”

  “I have a couple more weeks to do some more convincing.”

  After we get in the car and head back home, I say, “So, I met Mitch Blackstone.”

  “Yeah, he told me he scared you this morning.”

  “I wasn’t scared. I was pissy. There’s a difference.”

  “His mother is taking it hard. She has never been a social person, but Mitch said that she’s called into the library today and refused to get out of bed.”

  “Are they for sure that it’s that Blackstone girl?”

  “There’re not many indicators to go on at this point, but I think dental records confirm it.”

  I exhale slowly. “I’m not one to believe in supernatural stuff and all, but ever since I arrived, weird things have happened to me…” I shut up because I realize I sound like a whacko.

  “I was there.” He glances at me then faces the road again. “I’m sorry you had to be the one to experience it.”

  “Not my greatest moment.”

  Isaac reaches up and tucks my hair behind my ear. His touch sends fire to my blood. “I don’t think it was any of our finest hours.”

  “Ian looked gray,” I say, remembering how terrified he was. “You sure he’s doing better? He seemed okay last night.”

  “Mom knows how to handle him when he has an episode. He did well, considering everything that happened. He didn’t lose it until we got home. I wonder if you had something to do with that.”

  “His episode? Like a tantrum.”

  “Not really. When he gets nervous, like when something outside of his normal happens, he can’t be relaxed. He’ll start talking fast and high-pitched. If we can’t calm him down at that point, he’ll start repeating the same word or phrase over and over again. He’ll start to tremble and shake, and sometimes he even convulses. Most of that didn’t happen. After we got back from our discovery of the body, he started to get frantic, but Mom calmed him down. He did keep repeating your name though.”

  “I hope I wasn’t what was making him frantic.”

  “No. Whatever words he repeats calm him down. Normally, it’s Mom, Mom, Mom. Last week it was Ginnie, Ginnie, Ginnie. I think it’s safe to say he has a crush on you, too.”

  Isaac pulls into Gran’s driveway.

  My heart skips a beat as I realize what he has just said. “Too?”

  Isaac shrugs. “Two brothers have a crush on the same girl. Do you think the older brother has a chance?”

  I stare at him in shock. I can’t believe those words came out of his mouth. And those words refer to me. Me. Unfortunately, my mind comes unglued when faced with the boy of my dreams. “Maybe I should go.” I open the door. “Good night.”

  Isaac reaches over me and shuts the door. He stays close. So close, I can feel his breath. “If you want to leave, then I’ll walk you to the door. But you don’t have to leave just yet.”

  “I’m a little nervous,” I admit.

  “I’m nervous too. But I still want to kiss you.”

  I bite my tongue to keep from telling him that this would be my first kiss. Unless you want to count Scotty who stuck his tongue down my throat when we were eleven, and I definitely don’t want to count him. “I want to kiss you, too.”

  Isaac leans in and kisses me gently at first. His mouth is lovely, and I want more. I pull him closer and the kiss deepens.

  Until the front porch light turns on and off a few times.

  “That’s my Dad,” I whisper against Isaac’s mouth.

  “I gather that.” Isaac leans back into his seat and sighing, opens his door to get out. “Stay there. I’ll walk you to the door.”

  “Hello, Isaac,” I hear my Dad call from the porch. Uncle Doug walks out too and gives a beady-eyed stare, but he’s also smiling, so I know it’s not too serious. Isaac heads toward my passenger side. “Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

  “No, sir,” Isaac says. He opens my door and walks me up to the porch.

  Dad doesn’t look too thrilled. “I can take it from here,” he says. “Have a good night, Isaac. Tell your father Doug and I will meet him tomorrow morning for eighteen holes.”

  “Yes, sir. See you tomorrow?” Isaac asks me.

  “Sounds good.”

  Isaac hesitates, then turns to leave.

  Once Isaac is out of earshot, I say, “Geez, Dad. Will you relax?”

  “Relax? The second a man’s daughter is born, he is incapable of relaxing.”

  Without the distraction of Isaac’s lips on mine, I notice another two cars in the driveway. “Who’s here?”

  “Laura. She came back after her rounds. I hope you will behave a little better this time.”

  “I’ll be a little angel,” I smile devilishly and open the door to go in.

  “Virginia,” Dad warns.

  There’s no one in the front sitting room, so I walk to the kitchen. No one’s there either.

  “We’re at the bonfire,” Dad says from behind me. “Aunt Sue is up, plus Cassie. We’re making s’mores. Cassie’s been going nuts.”

  “Where’s Gran?”

  “In bed. She said hello to everyone, but she was tuckered out. Here. Take the graham crackers.”

  I take the graham crackers and head outside the back entrance toward the fire pit. I’m excited to see Cassie, not so excited to see Laura, but none of that matters. What I want to do is say hello, then go to my room and relive the kiss over and over. I also need to text Alisa. I’d call her, but it’s way too early in the morning. Then again, if ever there was a time to wake up my best friend, it would be to squeal together over my first kiss.

  “Ginnie!” Cassie throws her arms around me, nearly knocking me over.

  “Hi, Cassie! It’s about time you got here to entertain me.”

  “Not that you need entertaining.” She releases me and raises an eyebrow. “Uncle Sam told me about the little mystery you unraveled today. Tomorrow, you’ll have to take me to the sight. That would be sweet.”

  “S-Sure.”

  “And who was your date? Uncle Sam said a local boy took you out for dinner. You have to spill, girl!”

  “Okay, okay,” Aunt Sue says. “Let her say hello to everyone else first.” Aunt Sue hugs me. “Hi, again, sweetheart.”

  “Hi, Aunt Sue.”

  “Sorry, it took us so long to come back up here. Cassie had to finish her laundry.”

  Cassie rolls her eyes. “But I’m all done with that and want to spend time with my favorite cousin.”

  “I’m your only cousin.”

  The three of us laugh and find seats around the fire. I notice Dad has already sat down next to Laura, who is staring up at my Dad with stars in her eyes. I’m no expert at love, but it looks like Laura has a thing for my Dad.

  “What’s up with your Dad and the blonde?”

  “I’ll tell you later.” We smile at each other knowingly.

  That’s another thing. Cassie has the most beautiful smile. Wide, sparkling teeth, cute dimples. Her blonde hair is cut shorter than normal, framing her heart-shaped face nicely. She is always emailing me about a new boyfriend.

  Cassie yawns and stretches. “I’m going to bed. Come on, Ginnie.”

  “Sure you are,” Aunt Sue teases. “You w
ant to get the scoop from Ginnie.”

  “Of course. C’mon, Ginnie. We’ve got a lot to catch up on, and we can’t be around all these adults.”

  “Technically, you and Ginnie are adults,” Uncle Doug pipes up.

  “I was trying to be nice and not call all of you old people.”

  I grin and say good-night to Dad. As I stand, a cold wind blows against me with such force, I stumble over the bench and fall backward.

  “Virginia!” Dad’s up and over me. “Are you okay?”

  I grab his hand and nod. I give the lame excuse, “It’s too dark to see anything.”

  Everyone agrees, and then Uncle Doug starts teasing me about easing up on the drinking.

  Dad goes back to his chair. Cassie’s already on the deck calling for me.

  Stepping away from the fire pit, I leave the adults and head up the path toward the deck. The cold wind hits me again, but I keep my ground. It’s darker now that I’m away from the fire. I tell myself to keep looking forward, but my curiosity has a mind of its own. It’s as if I have to challenge myself.

  The girl is standing in front of the tree line, holding up her hand in my direction. Her mouth is moving, but I can’t make out what she’s saying.

  “Come on!” Cassie grabs my arm, only to release it. “Why is your arm like ice?”

  All I can do is stare in the direction of where the girl stands. “Do you see anyone by the trees?” I hope she sees what I do, and that I’m not completely losing my mind.

  But Cassie has already run inside.

  I shake so hard, I have to grit my teeth to keep them from rattling. I look one more time toward the trees, but the girl is gone.

  18

  “What do you think?” Cassie twirls and poses, modeling her new bikini.

  I’m flipping through my missed calls, trying to pay attention to Cassie while listening to voice mail. Alisa’s voice pulls me into her message. “I’ve tried to call you a hundred times today. You never called me back after your date! I want details!”

  “Hello? Ginnie?” Cassie pulls me back to the task at hand.

  “You look fabulous. When did your melons get so big?”