Summer by the Lake

by Mandy Baggot

  She pushed open the door.

  ‘Jason’s a guy that was convicted of raping me. What do you think?’ Robyn announced as she stepped out of the changing booth.

  ‘Oh my!’ Nancy said as she looked at Robyn.

  ‘You look amazing!’ Sarah told her, tears pricking her over-emotional eyes.

  ‘Like a princess,’ Pam added.

  ‘It’s perfect,’ Martha agreed.

  ‘You think? I tried the bolero on and the shrug, but it just didn’t feel right,’ Robyn told them.

  ‘Nah, too jazzy for the dress and as I keep saying, you don’t need thermal wear for the lake in Fall,’ Nancy said, making her point and looking at Martha.

  ‘How much is it?’ Sarah wanted to know.

  ‘Hey, I told you that don’t matter. We have Eddie’s plastic,’ Nancy said, and she started to ferret in her leopard print bag for her purse.

  ‘It’s two hundred dollars,’ Robyn announced proudly.

  ‘Jeez! Are you kidding me? I was hoping to pay a lot more than that. I mean, if you get a wedding dress for two hundred dollars, Eddie’s gonna expect me to find one for that sort of price and I have bigger plans. Much bigger plans,’ Nancy informed her.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me about this Jason?’ Martha asked seriously.

  ‘It isn’t the sort of thing you bring up over lunch when you first meet your future mother-in-law. And by the way, it has nothing to do with why I’m marrying Cole. Is that clear for everyone?’ Robyn asked, her eyes meeting all of theirs.

  ‘I told them, honey. I said when you know, you know,’ Nancy said.

  ‘And if anyone isn’t fully on board with this wedding, and I mean one hundred per cent, then you don’t have to come. We only need two witnesses, and I don’t care if that’s the drummer and the bassist from Special Guest,’ Robyn told them firmly.

  ‘We just have reservations because it’s happening so quickly, is all,’ Pam said.

  ‘Well, speak for yourself, because I don’t have reservations—not one,’ Nancy said supportively.

  ‘Me neither,’ Sarah agreed.

  ‘Martha?’ Robyn asked.

  ‘I know Cole knows his own mind and I trust his judgment,’ Martha spoke sincerely.

  ‘Good! Then can we please pay for this dress and get out of here?’ Robyn asked.

  ‘Hey, what about me? I’ve tried stuff on but I haven’t found anything I like yet,’ Sarah said, passing Robyn the bowl of pretzels.

  ‘Oh God, I’m so sorry. Here I am carrying on and…’ Robyn felt bad.

  ‘I’m only kidding! I only came to get an idea. I mean, I don’t even know what size I’m going to end up yet, do I?’ Sarah stated with a laugh.

  ‘You planning a long engagement, honey?’ Nancy asked her.

  ‘Yes, we think so. What, with the baby and everything, it will give us a chance to save up,’ Sarah said.

  ‘Long engagements aren’t my thing. Too much time for the guy to change his mind,’ Nancy remarked.

  ‘Dad hasn’t changed his mind,’ Robyn reminded her.

  ‘That’s because he knows if he did, I’d chop off his—’

  ‘His beard! He loves his beard, does my dad, but Nancy’s not really into facial hair…not that she’d tell him,’ Robyn interrupted.

  ‘For a second there I thought she was going to say she’d chop off his balls,’ Martha stated with a deadpan face.

  Sarah let out an audible gasp, Pam’s eyes widened and Robyn’s face whitened.

  ‘I think Cole’s given you a very straight-laced image of me. So, just for the record, I go to the gym just to look at the weightlifters, I did a bungee jump last year and I’m still too scared to tell my family about it, and I’m buying so much brandy lately the cashier looks at me like I’m halfway to alcoholism already. Which I’m not, by the way, I just like brandy and I make a lot of cakes. What do you make Robyn?’ Martha asked.

  ‘I usually make calls to the takeaway,’ Robyn admitted boldly.

  ‘Oh, I’m with you on that one. I may bake, but nothing quite hits the spot like Mr Chan’s sweet and sour pork,’ Martha said with a smile.

  Forty-Seven

  ‘Roadhouse was busy for a Monday, huh?’ Cole remarked as he drove them toward the hospital.

  They had both worked a shift that night while Nancy spent some time with Eddie. Now they were going back to the hospital to visit Max.

  ‘People are still making use of those coupons,’ Robyn said.

  ‘I’m glad it went good with Mom,’ Cole said.

  ‘Was she okay getting the plane back? I said she could stay.’

  ‘I know, she told me, in between hiccupping and swigging back water. What were you feeding her?’ Cole asked suspiciously.

  ‘It had nothing to do with food,’ Robyn answered with a grin.

  ‘She told me you found a dress,’ Cole stated.

  ‘I might have.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘Not telling. There’s a space right there, pull in that one,’ Robyn said, pointing to a good spot outside the entrance.

  Cole stopped the car and turned off the engine.

  ‘Got the muffins?’ Robyn asked.

  ‘Yeah. Listen, before we go on in… I got the information from the clinic today,’ Cole informed her.

  ‘What did it say?’ Robyn asked, her breath almost catching in her throat.

  ‘Jason wasn’t the baby’s father,’ Cole said bluntly.

  Her bottom lip began to tremble, and she tried desperately to maintain control over the torrent of emotion welling up inside her.

  ‘You okay?’ Cole asked, taking hold of her hand in his.

  ‘What have I done to him? All these years. All the time he spent in prison, all the things that everyone said, and Grant, I’ve treated him really badly,’ Robyn blurted out all at once.

  ‘How were you to know? And you didn’t convict him, a jury did,’ Cole reminded her.

  ‘I did convict him, the whole town convicted him. It’s horrible! How could this happen? I mean, the whole point of DNA evidence is so it’s accurate,’ Robyn said, wiping at her eyes.

  ‘I’ve emailed everything over to Trudy, and what I’d expect them to do is run the profile through the police database. If the person who did this is in the system, they’ll know.’

  ‘But what if they aren’t in the system? We might never know,’ Robyn said, running her hand through her hair.

  ‘Hey, this is a good thing. We know conclusively that it wasn’t Jason.’

  ‘There’s no doubt?’

  ‘None.’

  ‘So how long? Until the police know, well, you know, if the guy is on their database,’ Robyn asked.

  ‘I don’t know. Trudy wasn’t there today, she’s back tomorrow. It could be tomorrow,’ Cole told her.

  Robyn nodded.

  ‘You okay?’

  ‘What am I going to say to Jason? Sorry isn’t really gonna cut it, is it? How do you give someone their life back?’ Robyn asked, looking up at Cole.

  ‘It wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault,’ Cole told her.

  ‘It doesn’t feel like that,’ Robyn said with a sigh.

  *

  ‘Pummel him! Hook him with the right! Goddamn!’ Max exclaimed as he weakly punched his arms out, copying the boxers on the television.

  ‘He’s had it. He needs putting out of his misery now,’ Eddie remarked, shifting in his seat.

  ‘My money’s on the guy in the red shorts… Dad! What are you doing here?’ Robyn asked as she and Cole entered the room.

  ‘What you doing here, Buttercup?’ Eddie asked, greeting them.

  ‘I asked first.’

  ‘Nancy dropped me here on the way to the roadhouse, house is quiet,’ Eddie remarked.

  ‘He misses me, gal… what can I say?’ Max said with a wheeze.

  ‘Well we were gonna drop by the house after, but seeing as you’re here… low-sugar brownies and pecan pie,’ Robyn informed Eddie, passing a bag to him and put
ting a bag on Max’s bed.

  ‘Okay, what are you gonna tell me? If you’re giving me sugar, low or not, then something’s up.’

  ‘I don’t care what you’ve got to say, I’ll have it anyway,’ Max said greedily.

  ‘You two broken up already?’ Eddie asked, eyeing Cole with suspicion.

  ‘No! Of course not!’

  ‘Then what?’

  ‘Jason didn’t rape me,’ Robyn said bluntly.

  ‘Buttercup, we’ve been through this. Just because some guy says he saw him doesn’t mean…’ Eddie started.

  ‘Cole got new DNA evidence. He didn’t do it, Dad,’ Robyn said seriously.

  ‘Jeez,’ Max remarked, his mouth half full of pie.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Eddie said quietly, as if finding the information difficult to process.

  ‘I was pregnant, Dad, after the rape. I didn’t keep it, but the clinic kept information, DNA profiling. Cole got the DNA profile of the father,’ Robyn attempted to explain.

  ‘There’s no doubt. The profile doesn’t match Jason,’ Cole informed him.

  ‘Just hold on one second. You’re not only telling me that Jason didn’t attack you, but you’re also telling me you were pregnant? And this is the first I hear about it?’ Eddie exclaimed, his face reddening, his eyes bulging.

  ‘I didn’t tell anyone, Dad, I had an abortion.’

  ‘What about your mother?’

  ‘What about my mother?’

  ‘Well, why didn’t she call me? She was supposed to be looking after you,’ Eddie continued.

  ‘I didn’t tell her, either. You know what she was like after the rape, making me shower three times a day and making me wear jumpers. She was ashamed of me, telling her about being pregnant would have made things worse. I just had to deal with it on my own. Anyway, that doesn’t matter now. What matters is that Jason didn’t do it,’ Robyn said.

  ‘Then if Jason didn’t do it, who did?’ Max wanted to know.

  ‘The police are gonna try and find that out,’ Cole said.

  ‘Dad?’ Robyn said, desperate for him to say something.

  ‘I don’t know what to say, Buttercup,’ he said, his voice faltering.

  ‘In a few days, we can finally put all this behind us. It can be a new start for everyone. You with your new body parts and me with a husband,’ Robyn said happily.

  ‘Be good to put it all to bed before the wedding. Extra cause for celebrating,’ Max said, chewing up the pie and spitting crumbs everywhere.

  ‘Dad, this is a good thing. Focus on the fact that it wasn’t Jason and he’s gonna play for the Panthers,’ Robyn begged.

  ‘Something don’t feel right,’ Eddie said with a shake of his head.

  ‘Everything’s fine, properly fine, for the first time in a long time,’ Robyn assured him.

  ‘Got any beer?’ Max asked hopefully.

  *

  ‘You okay?’ Cole called into the darkness.

  Robyn was dressed in his robe, looking out of the window at the lake. Everything was still and calm. The water was lapping softly against the sand, and there was hardly a breeze to move the rust-colored leaves on the trees.

  She didn’t respond to him. She was too engrossed in looking at the West Lake scene. He got out of bed and joined her at the window.

  ‘Hey,’ he said, putting a hand through her hair.

  ‘Oh, hey. Sorry. Did I wake you up? Should I close the curtains?’ Robyn suggested.

  ‘No, leave them. I like it,’ Cole told her, putting his arms around her waist and holding her body to his.

  ‘Even though I don’t know who did it, I know who didn’t, and it’s like this weight’s been lifted off me,’ Robyn said.

  ‘I can’t imagine how it must feel,’ Cole said, holding her tight.

  ‘I’m gonna see Jason tomorrow. I have no idea what I’m gonna say, but I have to see him. Do you think he knows?’ Robyn asked.

  ‘He’s always known, Robyn.’

  ‘Yeah, of course. He told everyone time and time again and we didn’t listen.’

  ‘It wasn’t your fault.’

  ‘I should have known it wasn’t him. I mean, he’s Jason! Yeah, he was a bit dorky and weird at school and we didn’t hang out, but we spoke in passing about hockey. I knew he liked me, you know, had a crush, I guess. But I should have known he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. He was always sweet to me,’ Robyn said.

  ‘You were told it was him.’

  ‘I know. I just want to make things right, somehow. But how can I give him all those years back?’ Robyn asked.

  ‘You can’t. But you can make things better. Start by giving him that place on the team,’ Cole suggested.

  ‘And a lifetime’s free meals at Eddie’s, at the very least,’ Robyn continued.

  ‘It might take time. He’s spent half his life being shunned by everyone; he’ll need to learn to trust people again,’ Cole said.

  ‘I wouldn’t blame him if he told the whole town to go to hell… that’s no more than we deserve.’

  ‘I don’t think he’ll do that.’

  ‘No, because he’s Jason. Plain, slightly freaky Jason, who collected bottle tops and wore tank tops,’ Robyn said, smiling at the memory.

  Cole smiled back at her.

  ‘You okay?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I called Bryn earlier,’ Cole said quietly.

  ‘Oh, Cole, why didn’t you say? What happened?’ Robyn asked, turning to face him.

  ‘We talked, for almost an hour, about pretty much everything,’ he told her.

  ‘And? Have you sorted things out? Did you invite him to the wedding?’

  ‘Yeah. He’s coming, him and Veronica,’ Cole said slightly hesitantly.

  ‘Are you okay with that?’ Robyn asked.

  ‘Are you okay with that?’

  ‘Of course. He’s your brother and she’s… your brother’s girlfriend,’ Robyn said diplomatically.

  ‘Well put.’

  ‘I’m meeting Brad tomorrow, at the arena. I don’t know what I’m gonna say to him, but I can’t be responsible for him going off the rails, I have to try,’ Robyn told him.

  ‘You can’t have a wedding day without one of your oldest friends there and things can’t be left how they are,’ Cole said, kissing her.

  ‘Have I told you you’re really hot when you’re being understanding?’ Robyn asked, her fingers circling his chest.

  ‘Is that so?’

  Forty-Eight

  The next day Robyn called into the roadhouse to see how the breakfast session was working out. She ended up serving coffee and breakfasts for two hours before relieving Nancy at the house to sit with her dad and then fitting in an hour with Max at the hospital. His coughing had worsened again and he looked pale, despite being as incorrigible as ever. She worried about him and, before she’d left, she’d asked the nurse to keep an extra eye on him.

  By the time she got to the arena and onto the rink, Brad was already on the ice powering around it to the strains of the Eighties band Heart. The cleaning team had a selection of soft rock classics they liked to sweep up to.

  ‘Hey,’ Robyn greeted, crosschecking him and stealing the puck.

  ‘Hey! Come back with that!’ Brad ordered, chasing after her.

  ‘You look like shit,’ Robyn said, weaving away from him.

  ‘It was a late night,’ Brad remarked.

  ‘At Taboo?’

  ‘No, I was working.’

  ‘In a vat of beer?’

  ‘If you just wanna kick a guy when he’s down, why don’t I just lie on the ice and let you get on with it?’ Brad suggested loudly.

  ‘Tempting,’ she answered back.

  ‘Look, why are we here? I know I’ve been playing like crap lately, I know I went a little crazy and I trashed the locker room, I know I can’t stomach the fact you’re marrying someone like him, so what’s the point of all this? You want to give me a training s
ession? Make me sweat out the way I feel about you? Think that will help?’

  ‘I don’t know. Will it?’

  ‘I doubt it.’

  ‘Listen, things can’t go on how they are right now. The Panthers are a player away from falling apart, you know that. We need you here, on the team. The Brad Willis I know can out-maneuver anyone else in this league. I’m sorry if you thought you and I had a future together. If I said or did anything to make you think that, then I apologize,’ Robyn said.

  ‘It isn’t too late,’ Brad said.

  ‘Brad, don’t! You’re making this impossible. I don’t want to not have you in my life and on the team, but Cole and I are the real thing. You have to accept that. We’re crazy about each other, I can’t imagine spending a day without him. I would do anything for him. I love him,’ Robyn stated firmly.

  ‘I don’t wanna lose you, you only just came back,’ Brad spoke softly.

  ‘You’ve always been one of my closest friends, someone I could trust. I don’t want to lose that either, but you’re making it so difficult,’ Robyn said, kicking the ice in frustration.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Brad apologized.

  ‘Tell me how to make this right? Because I’ve got Pam begging me to talk to you, I’ve got Dad worrying about you when he should be worrying about getting well, I’ve got Sarah freaking out because she’s scared you’ll tell Mickey you almost ended up in bed together, and I’ve got Cole, yes Cole, who would gladly punch you out, telling me that I shouldn’t lose such a good friend,’ Robyn said.

  ‘I don’t know what to say.’

  ‘Say we can put how you feel to one side and be friends, for the sake of the team, for the sake of our friends, and for the sake of the arena locker rooms,’ Robyn suggested to him.

  ‘I guess we can try, if you’re really set on marrying the guy,’ Brad answered with a heavy sigh.

  ‘I am really set on marrying him. Really set,’ Robyn said confidently.

  ‘I don’t think I can come, though. It would be too much,’ Brad said sadly.

  ‘I would love for you to be there, the whole town’s coming. It’s gonna be the biggest town party there’s ever been. I’m even hoping Jason’s gonna come, but it might be too soon,’ Robyn said.