Chapter 32

Mike settled into the Adirondack chair thinking that it had to be the most uncomfortable chair ever invented. He had thought that his first day there at the lodge by the lake. A week of sitting in that particular chair had convinced him that his initial assessment had been perfect. He expected that at the end of his second week of sitting in that chair that his opinion wouldn’t have changed.

Yawning, he tried to wake up. He looked across the calm waters of the lake and listened to the haunting calls of the loons. Various species of birds raised their voices in greeting the morning. This time of day was particularly peaceful. It was too early for the sound of cars rushing along the road to spoil the natural sounds of nature. Most of the guests at the lodge were still asleep. Even the owner did his best not to make too much noise in the morning.

Looking back at the lodge, he knew it would be a few minutes before breakfast was served. He wasn’t in a rush to get to breakfast, although he was looking forward to having a bit of coffee. He wouldn’t get up until he had planned his day. After all, getting breakfast would have to fit in with his plans.

Thinking it over, he decided that he would start the day with breakfast. After breakfast, he’d return to the chair and relax. At lunch time, he’d go get a bite to eat. After lunch, he’d return to the chair and relax. When it got too hot, he’d go back to his room and change into his bathing suit before taking a swim in the chilly waters of the lake. After his swim, he’d return to the chair and relax. Then he’d change clothes and have dinner before returning to the chair to relax. Before going to bed, he’d stop in the lodge and have hot tea and some cookies.

Satisfied with his plans, he said, “Sounds like a perfect day to me.”

He heard the owner of the lodge open the door to the dining hall. Knowing that breakfast was being served, he saw no possible reason to delay following his plans for the day. Getting out of the chair, he made his way over rear entrance to the lodge. He would have whistled as he walked, but the quiet of the morning made that seem sacrilegious.

So far the day had been working out exactly to plan. The afternoon was beginning to heat up and it wouldn’t be long before it was time to take a swim. If it hadn’t been too much work, he would have stretched. He did manage to work up enough energy to yawn.

“You look comfortable.”

Mike jumped and turned to look at the source of the voice. Unable to believe his eyes, he said, “Cathy! What are you doing here?”

Cathy understood the surprise in Mike’s voice; she had been just as surprised to find him there. She went over to the chair next to him and took a seat. Deciding that a little explanation was appropriate, she answered, “Joe recommended that I come here for my vacation. I guess he told you the same thing. I couldn’t afford a full two weeks so I thought I’d come out here for the last week of week of my vacation time.”

Mike smiled at the idea of Joe sending her to exactly the same place he was going for a vacation. Rather than tell her that he had told Joe where he was going rather than vice versa, he said, “Well, I’m glad you came out here.”

“Thanks,” she said. She wiggled in the chair trying to get comfortable and said, “This isn’t very comfortable.”

“I know. I’ve thought that every time I’ve sat down, but I’m feeling too lazy to do anything about it,” Mike answered. The wiggle she had given made him consider moving up his scheduled plunge in the chilly water of the lake.

“So have you seen any of the sights around here?” Cathy asked.

Gesturing to the lake and the surrounding areas, Mike answered, “I’ve been sitting here ever since I arrived. I’ve done nothing except admire the view.”

“Ah, a lazy man’s holiday,” Cathy said with a smile. She had similar plans for her week there.

Nodding his head, Mike said, “What are your plans?”

“I plan on getting some sun and reading a book for the next six days,” Cathy answered with a smile.

“You’re more ambitious than me,” Mike said with a smile.

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re planning on reading. I haven’t even worked up the energy to include that in my plans,” Mike answered.

“You have plans?” Cathy asked wondering if she could get included in them.

“You bet. This morning, I sat in this very chair and laid out my plan for the entire day. It’s a glorious plan that involves sitting here all day taking breaks for meals and an afternoon swim,” Mike answered.

“That is a glorious plan,” Cathy said with a laugh. She looked out at the grassy area in front of the lake and said, “I think it’s about time that I put my plan into place.”

“Be my guest,” Mike said.

The best laid plans of mice and men often have unexpected consequences. Mike discovered that was true of the plans made by women as well. Fifteen minutes after Cathy had announced her plans for the afternoon, she returned wearing a bathing suit and carrying a towel, a book, and a bottle of sun block. The bathing suit didn’t leave much to the imagination. Open mouthed, he sat in his chair watching her as she placed a towel on the ground to lie upon.

When she was satisfied with the placement of the towel, she settled down and reached for her bottle of sun block. To Mike, it seemed as if she moved in slow motion. His entire attention turned to the bottle and the opportunity that it represented.

Cathy looked over her shoulder and asked, “Would you mind putting this on my back?”

“Not at all,” Mike answered, his voice cracking.

One of the most stressful things for a new couple to do is to take a vacation together. Mismatches in vacation styles can strain a developing relationship more than a morning person hooking up with a night person. More than one relationship has broken up because of a horrible weekend together out of town.

The problem is that there are all kinds of vacation styles, but there are two broad categories that differ in terms of whether the expectations are active and passive. Active vacationers are often called tourists and are easily spotted in a vacation spot. There are the ambitious tourists who go to an area and schedule things so that they can see and do everything the area has to offer. There are spontaneous tourists who go to an area with no plans and wander around as the wind blows. There are dedicated travelers who are moving continuously from one place to the next. To an active vacationer, a vacation is a chance to move, to do, and to see.

Passive vacationers are a much different breed than active vacationers. There are the gluttony vacationers who do nothing except eat, sleep, and have sex. There are the lazy vacationers who go to an area and just watch the world go by. To a passive vacationer, a vacation is a chance to rest, relax, and recover. Passive vacationers really hate to travel with active vacationers.

Mike and Cathy were both lazy vacationers. They were more than happy doing absolutely nothing. Neither saw anything odd in doing nothing together. Mike did change his daily plans a little. He started basking in the sun on a towel rather than sitting in his chair. She read and he thought about his life. At times they swapped activities, he read and she thought about her life.

That is not to say that they were entirely relaxed. The sexual tension was slowly building to an explosive level. There were quick little glances at the other. There were the long slow applications of sun block. There were quiet little conversations that drew them ever closer to each other. The frequent little trips to the lake to cool off didn’t help reduce the tension as they each intended. After each trip, there was the application of sun block that only heated things up to a higher level.

It took almost four days before the explosive release of sexual tension occurred. They had finished dinner and, feeling a little tense, decided that they would go for a walk. They held hands and walked along the path by the lake. It was a little before the sun set when they reached a little bench. Sitting down, they turned to each other and looked into each other’s eyes. For the space of five seconds it was as if time stopped. They kissed and all restraint was lost.

They ended up on the ground making love under the open sky. The first coupling was hard and frantic. The second was slow and languid. The fading light of twilight gave it a supernatural feel. It was very late when they finally stumbled back to the lodge. Parting at the doors of the lodge was almost impossible. The next day they moved into a single room.

Maybe the universe was conspiring to make them a couple, but just because it was a conspiracy didn’t mean that it was evil. Mike and Cathy were both satisfied by the results as would be a number of conspirators.

Upon arriving at home, Mike wasn’t surprised to get a call from his mother. When he answered the phone, she asked, “So how was the vacation?”

“It was okay,” Mike answered.

There was a long pause before she asked, “So did you meet anyone there?”

“If you mean meet as in get introduced to someone new, then I guess not,” Mike answered with a smile. He had a feeling that his mother had something to do with Cathy’s arrival at the lodge. He was also pretty sure that Cathy hadn’t known a thing about it.

“Did anything interesting happen there?” Louise asked after another long pause.

“Interesting? I wouldn’t describe it that way,” Mike answered. He’d call it spectacular, exciting, or exhilarating, but not interesting. He could hear his mother getting more frustrated by the minute.

Giving up all pretense of subtlety, Louise asked, “Did Cathy show up there?”

“Was she supposed to?” he asked back.

“Yes,” Louise answered.

“Then I guess you’ll be pleased to know that she did show up,” Mike said.

Getting excited, Louise said, “Tell me about it.”

“I’ll let her tell you about it,” Mike replied. He figured that his mother, Sally, or Teva would be talking to Cathy sometime in the near future.

“You’ll bring her here so that I can meet her?” Louise asked.

“I thought you knew her,” Mike answered.

Surprised at the suggestion that she knew Cathy, Louise said, “I don’t know her. I’ve never met her.”

“So how do you know about her? How did you know that she was going to be at the lodge?” Mike asked.

“Oh, Gunny told me about her. I suggested that he send her out to where you were vacationing,” Louise answered knowing that Mike would discover everything sooner or later.

“Gunny? Master Gunnery Sergeant Joe Dinkins?” Mike asked. Dim memories from twenty five years ago of a much younger Joe started resurfacing.

“Yes. Your father and Gunny go back ages,” Louise answered.

“I didn’t know that,” Mike said.