by Bryan Nowak
“Love you too, son.” Kyle trotted off across the sand to a group of teens standing near the water’s edge. While unsure what kind of trouble a group of teenagers could find at a resort like this, Kyle had always shown good judgment. Though their life had been difficult, he’d developed a good head and a strong sense of right and wrong. However, she wondered how well his level-head would stand up against the girl at the water’s edge, wearing a bikini more at home in a strip club than on a beach at a family friendly resort.
“You can’t keep them small forever. Have to let them go sooner or later,” Meghan said out loud to herself.
“I’m sorry?” a voice asked. “Did you say something?”
Meghan shielded her eyes, glancing up to see a man standing next to her. He looked straight out of a cologne commercial: Bermuda shorts, unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, and a drink with an umbrella in it. Nowhere near the caliber of man she would consort with on a beach. She’d always prided herself on good looks and taking care of herself physically, but this guy fell into a whole other league.
“Oh no, it’s just my son over there. He’s abandoned me to play with new friends. And by new friends I mean that bikini over there.”
He laughed at her overly exasperated tone. “Well, that’s okay, the bikini you just gave the stink eye too is my daughter Kelley. Don’t worry he’s in good hands. She’s probably already planning their nuptials and naming our grandchildren.”
Meghan felt the flush of embarrassment redden her cheeks. Meghan launched into damage control mode. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend, I’m sure she’s lovely. It’s just that, one second they are running around the yard naked with a diaper on their heads and the next they are full grown people with hormones and their own lives.”
He chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry yourself. To be fair, I gave your son a similar look.”
Meghan laughed as well. “Since we’re going to be in-laws by the end of the week, I should probably introduce myself. Meghan Johnston, and your new son-in-law is Kyle.”
He flashed a quirky smile, which she instantly found endearing. “Well, is this seat taken? I mean, for your husband?” He gestured to the chair reserved for Kyle.
“Nope, but it’s only one and no room for your … er … wife? Girlfriend?”
They both stared at each other in silence for a moment before bursting out into peals of laughter. “Wow, we really suck at this,” Meghan blurted out.
The man shook his head and smiled. “Is it really that obvious? I swear I was much better at this sort of thing in my younger days. Well, let’s avoid any more awkwardness and we’ll cut right to the end of the conversation. I’m Mike Chase, and your new daughter-in-law is Kelley. Nope, no wife or girlfriend.”
She motioned to the chair. “Ahh, so you are a member of the jilted spouses club of divorcees international, then?”
He sat after adjusting the back. “Actually …” his voice took on a somber tone, “widower.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so … well, bitter.”
He brightened up a little. “It’s okay. It was five years ago. Never smoked a day in her life, and my wife dies of lung cancer. A tough few years, but, we’re getting there. Kelley and I are treating ourselves this weekend. A little daddy-daughter time before she blasts off to the university.”
“Kyle and I are sort of doing the same thing. I tried to get on a discount cancellation list and they called me up to offer me this week. It’s actually a pretty good deal. It’s the only way I can afford this weekend and still feed Kyle.”
He readjusted the back of the chair. “Well, we just took off on a whim. It’s hard to see a little girl smile after losing her mom at the age of twelve. Having to go through puberty with just your dad is pretty much the final nail in the coffin. You can imagine how the whole menstruation conversation went.”
Meghan laughed at the mental image. “You found a Youtube video to explain it, didn’t you?”
“Worse … I paid one of the assistants at my office to fill in the blanks.”
They both laughed, and a comfortable silence followed. Out on the lake several boats puttered by. The sun shone pleasantly warm. She stole a glance at Mike, wondering if fate had dealt new cards for her to play with. She’d worked so hard at trying to make ends meet that life seemed to cruise by her at an alarming rate. Maybe this man was God’s way of telling her it was time to get back in the game. Mike seemed like a genuinely nice guy.
Granted, he could be making up the stuff about his wife dying.
“Say, Mike?” Meghan turned toward him. “I don’t normally do this sort of thing, but what do you say we drink a bunch of daiquiris until we’re giggling like our teenagers?”
He clapped his hands together. “Meghan, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” He waved at the bartender behind the counter. “Enrique, bring us the best daiquiris you can make. Top shelf only! And this woman’s money is no good here. Put them all on my tab.”
“Yes, Mr. Chase,” the bartender answered.
Meghan protested. “You don’t have to do that!”
“It’s quite all right. Besides, tomorrow night, you can buy.” He gave her wink.
“Why do I suspect you won’t let that happen?”
He laughed. After the first daiquiris were drained and the kids made occasional appearances, she discovered Mike was a lawyer. A partner in a firm specializing in corporate law. Kelley, being an overachiever, served as the captain of the debate team and an accomplished oboist in the high school orchestra. The more they talked, the more they got along. Though the tequila helped, Meghan found Mike easy to talk to.
Close to dinnertime, Kyle and Kelley returned.
Kelly turned beet-red at the sight of Meghan and Mike having such a good time. “Dad, what are you doing?”
“Well, since you two hit it off, Meghan and I just sat here getting drunk and planning out a dual wedding,” Mike said. “You know, the four of us get married in a civil ceremony and live on a commune in North Dakota.”
“Oh my God!” She flashed an embarrassed grimace at Kyle. “Parents are so embarrassing.”
“Tell me about it,” Kyle added. He gave Meghan a wry smile.
Hey, Dad, can they join us for dinner? Please say yes. Please? It’d be nice to have someone to talk to other than—”
“Your old man?” He laughed. “Go ahead, keep talking daughter, you’re doing great.”
Her face reddened again. “I mean, it might be nice for you to have an adult to talk to.”
“Oh, I don’t want to intrude,” Meghan said, even though part of her wanted to intrude and Mike to insist. “It’s really an imposition, and we have our own dinner reservations.”
“That’s easy to fix. If you’re up for it, I’d love to have you over for dinner. Besides, Kelley is right, it would be so nice to have another adult to talk to. And did I mention my collection of wine?”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Well, I have this great—”
“You had me at wine, Mike. We accept. Guess we’re double dating.” Meghan chuckled.
Kyle's widening eyes communicated pure horror to his mother.
“Good, it’s settled then. Let’s say a half an hour?” Kelley said.
“Yes, Mother,” Mike said, laughing at his daughter.
“What about my reservations? I should cancel them.” Meghan had done enough waitressing to know how irritating unused reserved tables were.
“No problem.” He motioned over to Enrique again who’d stood close by as the daiquiris flowed. “Please cancel Ms. Johnston’s reservation and have them set two extra places at our table.”
“Yes, Mr. Chase. Right away, sir.” Enrique disappeared behind the bar.
The waiter's strange formality when dealing with Mike struck her as odd. “Exactly how often do you come here?”
“Oh, I forgot to mention. I own a small portion of this resort.”
She stared at him in confused a
mazement. “A small portion?”
He smiled at her. “Well, half anyway.”
Before dinner, Mike took them on a special tour of the inner workings of the resort to include the extensive wine cellar. Mike had a whole area dedicated to his personal collection and although Meghan was unfamiliar with most of the wines, the collection was nonetheless impressive. He admitted, though, most of the wine came from trading different bottles with friends, a hobby which was more fun than drinking the wine itself.
As tasty as dinner was, Meghan found the company even better. She suspected the dinner that had been prepared for them wasn’t the same dinner being served to the rest of the resorts guests. The table sat on a private loft overlooking the main dining room, with a commanding view of Lake Oleander. The fine China they ate off of, was meant for special occasions and VIP visitors. Mike explained the China usually sat in a cabinet in the corner, unused by his business partner who preferred hot dogs and beer to actual human food.
At the end of the night, Mike and Kelley walked them back to their room. While Kelley and Kyle said goodnight and made arrangements to hang out the next day, Mike and Meghan stole a few moments for themselves.
“Tonight was pretty terrific,” Mike said, taking Meghan’s hands.
She bit her bottom lip. It had been a great evening, and she didn’t want to screw it up by saying or doing something wrong. She couldn’t remember a night as wonderful as this one. “Me too. I’d invite you in for a nightcap, but that would be—”
“And, I’d likely say yes,” he said, flashing his charming smile. “You know, we’ve been off the dating ride for quite some time. We should probably take it slow. Besides, I really have no idea how Kelley might react to the idea of a nightcap. She’s a teenager and she could literally die of embarrassment.”
She smiled at him. “Embarrassment is the leading killer of teens these days. Kyle would probably be a goner as well. And that might be a compelling reason to do it.” She snorted at the thought. “You’re right, of course. Tell you what, tomorrow, let's say we do lunch. Just the two of us. We can find something for the kids to do.”
“Isn’t it funny how we refer to them as kids? Not really kids anymore are they?”
Meghan sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”
Mike leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was a pensive kiss. He went to pull away and then surprised her by also kissing her on the lips.
“Gross you two!” Kelley shouted from down the hallway.
“Yeah, really,” Kyle added. “Just how much wine did you guys have anyway to make you guys all smoochie faced?” Kyle added his two cents to the conversation. Both Kyle and Kelley devolved into fits of uncontrolled laughter.
Meghan leaned into Mike’s shoulder and laughed. The kiss, albeit awkward, was warm, welcome, and comfortable. This was her moment, her time to take a chance. “Well, kids, we just agreed to have lunch together tomorrow and if all goes well. We’ll probably smooch again.”
“Ewww, gross,” Kelley said. Both Kyle and Kelley continued their over-the-top laughter.
Meghan hardly slept that night. Every time she found herself nodding off, thoughts of Mike intruded. So charming and so wonderfully innocent in some ways. The love he still carried for his late wife was very much still present. She’d have to tread carefully with a guy like that.
Although Mike didn’t say so, he was obviously well off. Running a quick search for Mike Chase on the Internet, several sites came up, most having to do with corporate law. Several of them centered on philanthropic activities. Articles about a loving wife’s death brought Meghan to tears a few times. One article outlined a charity set up in her name. A wonderful woman married to an equally wonderful man.
After breakfast the next morning, they made their way down to the docks. Meghan chose a small boat with an outboard motor from the twenty available. The man in charge, calling himself Harbor Master Bill, gave them a quick tutorial and had her full out a few forms. She listened intently as he gave her a well-rehearsed lecture about boater safety.
In the distance, a thin line of clouds were forming. “Say, Bill. Do you think the weather is going to hold out?”
“How long do you plan on being gone?”
“Oh, just the morning. We have lunch scheduled for noon.”
He handed back her license and her copy of the paperwork. “Probably fine till then. If you see anything that looks like trouble, just make your way back. The weather can turn nasty here. Doesn’t seem like too much now, but Lake Oleander can be a bit of a bitch. Get’s real ornery.”
Meghan grimaced at the odd metaphor. “Good advice. Thanks.”
They climbed into the boat, where Meghan impressed Kyle with her boating skills, backing out of the small marina. Meghan moved up to the bow, and removed her tee-shirt, exposing a bikini top while Kyle took the helm. The sun warmed her skin.
For the first time in a long while, a sense of wholeness embraced her. No pressures from work, no worrying about Kyle, no obsessing over a long since failed marriage or trying to figure out how to pay next months mortgage. And, on top of it all, a date with the wonderful Mike Chase. With those thoughts, she drifted off to sleep.
She woke with a start to the sound of Kyle yelling something.
“What’s the matter, buddy?”
“Sorry, to wake you, but the engine quit on us. It doesn’t want to start.”
“Let me have a look.” Although not quite sure she even knew the name of any part of the motor; blue smoke coming out of the top and the pull rope hanging uselessly at the motor’s side probably wasn’t right. It was like the motor and the rope were refusing to cooperate with each other.
Unfortunately, Harbor Master Bill’s lecture hadn’t included engine maintenance and repair. “Well, I guess we row for a while. I’ll get rowing and you keep working on the engine. I thought boys, were supposed to be good at fixing these sorts of things.” She glanced at her watch, which read quarter to eleven. Still plenty of time to make their lunch date. If she rowed fast, they could get back with a few minutes to spare to clean up. Missing this lunch wasn’t an option.
She dropped the oars in the water with a splash and turned the boat around. Although sure they’d drifted south of the resort, their exact location wasn’t entirely clear.
In the back of the boat, Kyle continued wrestling with the motor. He occasionally turned and gave her an odd smirk as she rowed.
“What Kyle? You keep staring at me.”
“I never realized what a cool mom I had. Here we are, out in the middle of a lake, stranded, a little unclear of where we are, and you immediately think to jump to the oars and row. That’s pretty cool. I bet the other kids don’t have moms who’d think to do that.”
“Thank you, I’m glad to know you don’t think I’m a complete dork.” Afraid of ruining the moment, she continued to row. In reality, this is the exact thing she’d hope to come out of this week, a moment which would always be uniquely theirs. A chance to connect with her son.
Meghan, I guess you did a pretty good job raising that kid of yours after all.
A loud clap of thunder took her moment of reverie away. Before falling asleep, the clouds appeared like a pencil thin suggestion of unpleasant weather on the horizon. Staring at them now, they didn’t have anywhere near the time she thought they did. If they didn’t find shelter soon, they would be trapped out on a lake, in a metal boat that would likely attract any lightning in the area. Instinctively, she rowed even harder, the wind actively worked against the little craft as waves grew exponentially from its previously placid demeanor.
Rain, starting as droplets, now came down in buckets as the wind drove it into them. Several inches of water accumulated quickly at the bottom of the boat. Imagining the worst, her fear fueled an intense need to continue rowing.
Digging the ends of the oars deep into the water, Meghan propelled them as far across the lake with each stroke as possible, her muscles screaming with every pull.
&nbs
p; “Mom,” Kyle yelled over the howling wind. “Do you want me to trade off with you?”
With every stroke of the oars, Meghan let out a puff of air. “No … thanks … Kyle. I … can … manage … for … now.”
“Okay, let me know when you want to trade off.”
Edging around a bend in the lake, Kyle pointed toward something in the distance and yelled, “Mom, I see the docks!”
Thank God.
The bottom of the boat was now a soupy mess, with her tee-shirt and several items from her purse floating in a jumbled mess.
On the end of the dock, a man stood waving at them. She brushed water from her eyes, trying to identify the figure. Likely, the harbor master waiting to give them a tongue lashing about being out in a rainstorm. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind about sending them out into the lake with faulty equipment.
A Rough Landing
Donny sat at the desk, his hands cradling an achy head. “I think I have it all now. It’s hard to believe. Are you sure you saw what you think you saw? I mean, the head and all?”
Waylon worked through a second glass of bourbon quickly. Matthew refrained from having any more, still having to drive Waylon home. The discussion, instead of reassuring them, had actually made them all slightly more depressed.
“His nose came off in my hand, Donny!” he exclaimed. “Yes, that’s exactly what I saw. And I hope to God I never see anything like that again. The head … it looked at me.” He gulped down the last of the bourbon and pushed the empty glass toward Donny. “Those dead, gray eyes stared up at me.” Waylon shivered against the thought. “Barkeep, another please.”
“I think you’ve had more than enough. Matthew, I think you should take Brother Waylon home. You’re okay to drive right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Waylon, why don’t you wait outside a second, I need to ask Donny something.” Waylon, remembering his place, stood up and stumbled out of the room.
“What’s on your mind, Deacon?” Donny asked after the door closed behind Waylon. He anticipated, and feared a grave question troubling Matthew.
