Eva whistled and noticed my mood drop and she tried to lighten the gloom in my face by teasing me. “Wow Jack. How did an ugly guy like you catch a woman as beautiful as that?”
I stared down at the photo and said, “I never knew.” Beverly threw an excoriating stare at Eva for her failed effort to lighten my mood. Right on cue, the dryer announced that it was done with a loud beep. I set the photo on the counter and pulled their suits from the dryer. The pieces were much easier to pull on warm.
I pulled on a clean pair of shorts and we walked down the deck stairs and I dumped the water from their kayaks. After another round of parting kisses, I steadied their kayaks for each of them as they climbed in and before they paddled away, Eva revealed that she had left her cell phone number on the counter and asked that I call her before they had to go the next morning.
I stood there watching them leisurely paddle across the lake and around the point and went back in the house. My balls were aching again and I massaged them as I climbed the stairs back up to my deck. I paused halfway and looked over at Priya’s house. There was no indication that anyone was there.
Back in the kitchen, the photo of me and Anna that I had laid on the counter got my attention. I picked it up and stared at it for a long time before carrying it back to the mantel. I wiped the glass and frame to remove any dust and placed it back in the exact same position it came from. I had to force myself away as I continued looking at it. ‘Jesus.’ I thought. ‘I have to stop torturing myself.”
I toasted a bagel and slathered cream cheese on it, made a new cup of coffee and took both out on the deck along with my e-reader and sprawled out in the zero-gravity chair. I had finished the bagel and picked up my book as I took the final sip of coffee. I had just started reading and realized I couldn’t remember what the book was about. I back up a couple pages and reread them. My memory kicked in and I flicked back to the page that it had opened to. The phone rang. My phone never rang.
I struggled out of my chair and picked up the phone on the fourth ring. “Hello?” It was Eva. She was all bubbly as usual and started the conversation by letting me know that they made it home okay. Then she proceeded to thank me again for saving their lives, which was still probably an exaggeration. I hate talking on the phone and my end of the conversation was “Uh-huh’s” and “Yes” and “No” and an occasional “Okay”. Eva called me on it, “You’re not much of a talker on the phone, are you?” My response was a simple, “No.” She laughed and then Beverly apparently took the phone from her sister.
“Jack. We really called to ask if we could take you to dinner tonight. We owe you.” Then her voice got huskier as she continued, “I mean we really owe you.” I could hear Eva in the background laughing. Beverly continued, “We don’t know our way around up here but we were hoping there was a nice restaurant nearby. It seems like everything is such a long drive to get to. I don’t know how you live out here away from everything.”