Lakeside

by Davis, Mary

  Gretchen pointed out three bedrooms on that floor then three more on the lower level. The rec room had a couch and a Ping-Pong table, and in the far corner stood a weight machine. So that was how Garth kept in such good shape.

  After the quick tour they sat down and polished off the rest of the pizza before the movie began. Gretchen opened a bag of chips and one of pretzels and rummaged through the refrigerator until she located some dip. They sat on the couch opposite the TV with Gretchen in the middle, though she had tried to sit on the end.

  The movie was a tragic love story. Love searched for and found, love lost, and love that had waited a lifetime to return. And it was all set on Mackinac Island. She wanted to see it for herself now more than ever. By the end Lori and Gretchen had tears coursing down their cheeks.

  Garth handed them a box of tissues. “Did you two enjoy the movie?”

  Lori felt embarrassed to become so emotional over a movie and quickly dried her eyes.

  Gretchen playfully backhanded her brother in the chest. “Don’t act like that.”

  “Like what?” He put his hands up to feign surrender.

  “Like you are completely unaffected by this movie. I’ve seen you cry at the end before.”

  “Me?” His single word dripped with innocence.

  Gretchen growled. “Yes, you.” She pulled the pillow out from behind her and bopped him with it. “You are the most sensitive guy I know!” She started to swat him with the pillow again.

  Garth held up his arms. “Uncle! I give! I do like the movie.”

  “And?”

  “And what?” He smiled.

  “And you have cried at it before.” She poised the pillow over her head.

  He raised his eyebrows in teasing disbelief, and she smooshed the pillow into his face.

  “Okay, okay!” he said, laughing.

  Seeing the two interact in fun tugged at Lori’s heartstrings. She missed Doug and felt the overwhelming urge to start crying again. It was only because of her heightened emotions from the wonderfully sappy movie, she told herself. She had to go—now.

  “Thank you both for a wonderful day and the movie—and the sand dunes.” She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She could tell they were both taken aback by her abruptness. “I have to go.” She hurried out the door before either one could stop her.

  Six

  Garth stared at the closed door for several seconds, wondering what had happened. He turned to Gretchen.

  She shrugged and answered his unspoken question. “I have no idea. I suppose one of us should go after her.”

  “I’ll go. You don’t have your shoes on.” Not that if she had shoes on, it would have stopped him.

  He pushed off the couch and exited, jogging to catch up to Lorelei’s hurried pace. “Lorelei, wait—please.”

  She stopped and turned slightly toward him as he came up beside her but kept her gaze averted.

  “Is everything all right? You left kind of suddenly.” He half expected her to run away. She was so flighty around him. Since he could think of nothing he had done, he figured it was her way, and he’d take things slow.

  “I just had to go.” Her voice sounded a little strained. “I didn’t realize how late it was.”

  A quarter to nine? “If Gretchen or I did something to offend you, we’re sorry.”

  She looked up at him, startled. “No. You and Gretchen have been more than kind.”

  He could see tears brimming in her eyes but didn’t want to embarrass her by mentioning them. He knotted his hands into fists to keep from wrapping his arms around her until her tears were gone. Was it the movie that put those tears there or something else? “If you ever need to talk—”

  “No, no.” She looked at his chin, the lake, the sand, anywhere except at his eyes. “I just needed to go.”

  He nodded and let her go, watching until she disappeared up the path beside the cottage. A small amount of satisfaction washed over him when a light came on inside. Though he still wanted to make sure she was safe, he had to believe she was and would be fine. With a prayer for her he turned and headed back home.

  When he entered the cottage he turned his attention from one upset woman to another. Gretchen sat on the edge of the couch with the card she had bought in her hand, but this time she wasn’t laughing. He sat down beside her. “Not quite as funny as it was earlier.”

  She burst into tears and leaned against his shoulder. As quickly as her tears began they stopped, and she pulled away from him, balling up her fists. “I’m so mad at him.” She swiped at her tears. “It served him right to be left standing there with a bunch of dumb flowers. I’m glad I know, though. It’s as if I’ve been set free, but it still hurts.”

  His sister was a torrent of emotions. This was going to be a long night. “You want to back up and fill in a few of the blanks so I can follow along? I assume ‘him’ is Lonny?”

  “Of course Lonny. Who else?”

  “As I recall, you two broke up two weeks ago; that’s why you were here then.”

  “We did, or rather I broke up with him.” Her voice got soft and dreamy. “But the past two weeks he’s been so sweet.” She lingered on the last word.

  Uh-oh. That sounded like trouble, as if he were trying to make up for a transgression.

  “Until—” She jumped up from the couch and frowned. “I can’t believe I was actually considering that jerk’s proposal.”

  “W–wait a minute. P–proposal?”

  “Insincere proposal, no doubt,” she spat out.

  “So you told him no?”

  “I said I needed time to think.”

  “When were you planning to give him your answer?”

  After a moment’s hesitation she said in a small voice, “Last night.”

  “But something went wrong, and you ended up here.”

  “Lon is such a—such a—a. . .”

  He could tell she was searching for the worst possible thing to call him; he wondered what she would find.

  “Man!” She stomped her stockinged foot.

  Well, now, that was terrible. He was a man.

  She started pacing. “He is the lowest of the low. He could play handball against the curb. No, that would be too big. He could fit under a pregnant earthworm.”

  Garth had to say her name three times before his voice penetrated her tirade. “Hold on a minute.” Everything so far was emotional. “Let’s go back. You never did tell me why you broke up with him in the first place.”

  She rolled her head upward. “His wandering eyes.” Her tone was dramatic. “Even when we were out together, he would look at other girls or tell me about the pretty girl who sat next to him in one of his classes. Of course she wasn’t as pretty as I was, he always told me.” She gestured widely with her hands as she spoke. “I told him I didn’t like it. Then he would say”—her tone dropped to mimic a man’s—“ ‘God made pretty women for guys to look at. It’s only natural. It’s not like I’m asking any of them out. It’s like window-shopping.’ ”

  Garth narrowed his eyes. Shopping for what?

  She pressed her hands to her temples. “I couldn’t take it any longer.”

  “Why did you put up with it at all?”

  “Because I was in love with him. And he loved me.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “I do, too. At least now I do. But I believed it up until yesterday. It wasn’t so much that he scanned the scenery but that he didn’t seem to care how it made me feel. The final straw was last night. He was supposed to pick me up, and we were going to go out to dinner and talk. I ran down the hall to borrow a hair band from a friend who lives in my dorm. When I came out, Lon was at my door ready to knock, but he was looking the other way at a girl walking away from him. Probably leering. She turned the corner, and then he knocked on my door.” She picked up the card that had fallen to the floor and shook it. “Just like this, with a stupid four-dollar bouquet behind his back, as if that would fix everything.” She ripped the c
ard up and started to cry again.

  Garth stood and put his arms around her.

  “I left him there. He never knew I saw. I hid in my friend’s room until he was gone.” She pushed away from him. “Which, by the way, only took him seventeen minutes. He begged me to marry him, and he waited only seventeen minutes. My first impulse was to go home, but I couldn’t face Mom and Dad. They never did like Lon.”

  “I never heard them say one negative thing about him. Although it appears they rightfully could have.”

  “And they never would. It was more what they didn’t say and how they acted. I knew they didn’t approve of him.”

  “So you came up here to sort things out.”

  “I did that on the way.” She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “Mostly I thought about what I said to Lori about you the night of the get-together at Shawn’s.”

  “What!”

  “Oh, don’t look so scared. You remember I told her how great you were. I got to thinking about what makes you so different, so much better than someone like Lon. You are kind and compassionate, loyal and honorable, and you consider other people’s feelings.”

  “I think you’re prejudiced because I’m your favorite brother.” He grinned.

  “Garth, why did you come back so quickly? Why didn’t you go over to her place and find out what was wrong?” Her look was intense and inquisitive.

  “She didn’t want to talk, and I didn’t want to embarrass her by pushing. I prayed for her, though.” I hope she’s feeling better and able to sleep.

  “I rest my case.” She had a forlorn, far-off look. “I wonder if I’ll ever find a man as thoughtful and considerate as you.”

  At twenty she was worried about finding a life partner. “Don’t use me as a comparison. I’m only human. You should be seeking Jesus.”

  “Yes, I know.” She turned to him. “But unless a guy is as kind and thoughtful as you, he’s out.” She gestured with her thumb like an umpire.

  They talked until after two in the morning.

  “Thanks, Garth, for talking with me. You always did understand me best.” She yawned into the back of her hand.

  Understand? He couldn’t claim he understood her at all. Even though he had four sisters and a mother, women were still a mystery. This one in particular. He gave up a long time ago trying to understand his baby sister and just accepted her as is—with giggles and tears alike.

  He strolled outside to the tree and prayed again for the woman he wanted the chance to understand.

  ❧

  The butterflies in Lori’s stomach fluttered more furiously the closer it got to eight o’clock. She had debated whether or not to call Garth and say she wasn’t going to church this morning or she would drive herself. But that would only emphasize her abrupt departure last night and make her more uncomfortable.

  She knew all she needed last night was a good cry, and cry she did until she fell asleep. But she was comforted in the fact she was not alone. Jesus was with her, feeling her pain and loss, suffering with her and for her. She had slept well and felt refreshed.

  She closed her eyes to lift up her praise for the day. Thank You, Jesus, for always being with me. No matter what the circumstances I’m not alone.

  At eight o’clock on the dot Garth’s truck rolled down the drive with Gretchen in the passenger seat. Lori felt a little awkward during the ride to church, but having lunch together after the service helped her relax. Then she hugged Gretchen and wished her well on her return to school after the weekend.

  When it came time for the Wednesday night meeting at church, she had almost forgotten she had fled Garth’s house a few days earlier. And she was looking forward to visiting Mackinac Island on Saturday.

  On Thursday Josie called to tell her she and her parents were coming up for the weekend to prepare the cottage for winter. They needed to bring in the dock, replace the screens with storm windows, and stack firewood. She would have to cancel her plans to go to Mackinac Island with Garth.

  She knew she should call him as soon as she hung up with Josie. But she feared her disappointment would steal into her voice. Or, worse, she might hear no disappointment in his. He may be glad to be off the hook. So she waited until the next day and called while he was at work to recite her rehearsed message.

  ❧

  Garth had an uneasy feeling on Friday when he came home from work and found his old Pontiac once again parked by the cottage. Gretchen was back, and that wasn’t all. She had all her belongings stacked to the roof.

  “You quit school!”

  “Don’t be mad at me, Bash,” she said sweetly with a puppy-dog look. “I thought you of all people would understand.”

  “Understand? No, I don’t understand. You are a complete anomaly. What did Dad and Mom have to say about this?”

  She bit her bottom lip and averted her eyes to her shoes and not because of the sequins and stars scattered over them.

  Garth let out a groan. “They don’t know, do they?”

  “Not exactly,” she said quietly.

  His nerves tensed immediately. “Translated, no! And you came up here to hide.” He raked his hands through his blond hair. “Why, Happy? Is this about Lonny?”

  “No. He’s almost quit being a pest.”

  “Then why quit school?”

  She sighed. “There I sat in Ed 301 while Professor Black droned on, wondering why I was there. Ever since I can remember, I was told I would be a teacher. I played school with my dolls and stuffed animals, so naturally that meant I was destined to be a teacher. I accepted it. It was easy.” She looked intently at him. “Do you know a lot of people play school who aren’t even education majors?”

  She walked over to the window, holding herself around the waist, and looked out. Her voice became distant. “I don’t want to be a teacher.”

  She paused then turned quickly to him. “I have nothing against teachers. I have a family full of them. It seems we Kessels either have to be one or marry one. You’re a teacher, Dad’s a professor, and Mom teaches third grade.” She ticked each person off on her fingers as she listed them. “Robin is a special education teacher, Mike’s a principal, Pete’s an administrator, and Audrey is so close to finishing her degree. But even if she never becomes a teacher, that’s okay because she married one. And Ryan will be a student forever—that’s almost as good! Oh, and let’s not forget Ruth. She homeschools her and Blake’s two girls.”

  She was really worked up now.

  “You didn’t have to quit school,” Garth said more calmly than he felt. “You could have simply changed majors.”

  “How unthinkable,” she said, her face red and her fists balled, “if a Kessel should not have a college degree!”

  “An education is important,” Garth said.

  “Lori doesn’t have a degree. She barely has a high school diploma.”

  He glared at her, frowning. “She has had a difficult life. And we weren’t talking about her.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to get a degree—in whatever. It’s just not for me right now. I want to do other things. I want to break the Kessel mold, be an original.”

  “You’ve already succeeded.” He clenched his mouth. “What things can’t wait another two years until you finish?”

  “Life. I want to go places. . .see things. . .have adventures. I was thinking about maybe being a missionary or joining the peace corps.” The excitement showed in her eyes as well as her voice.

  “The peace corps?” he said. “You can’t exactly take your curling iron into the jungle.” He could not picture his baby sister living in rugged conditions.

  “Actually I’m most interested in working on a cruise ship—as a cruise director or something. I could see new places and meet new people.”

  Only Gretchen could lump a luxury cruise ship with the peace corps and missionary work. She was an anomaly. He agreed to let her stay—but only if she called their parents.

  ❧

  Lori stewed all day abo
ut the message she’d left on Garth’s machine. Now she wished she hadn’t been so chicken and had talked to him in person.

  Garth couldn’t have been home more than a few minutes when Lori’s phone rang. Garth offered to help Mr. Davenport, and she promised to pass along the offer to him.

  Lori tucked her hair behind her free ear. “I’m sorry to have to cancel on Mackinac Island.”

  “That’s okay. It’s open through October. I checked. The trees should have more color this coming weekend—that is, if you don’t have other plans.”

  She could hear the tentativeness in his words. Her heart wanted to shout, “Yes, I want to go with you,” but her head said, “Don’t be foolish.” She knew she should discourage any kind of relationship from budding, but she really wanted to go. “No, I don’t have any other plans. Mackinac Island would be wonderful.” She managed to sound casual and not too excited.

  “I’ve never been to the island this late in the season. I look forward to it.”

  She did, too, and tried to tell herself it was only the trip she was eager for and not the company.

  ❧

  Garth came home on Monday to find his answering machine blinking with seven messages. He didn’t receive seven messages in a week, let alone in one day; and besides, Gretchen was around. Or was she? Her car was still here, but she was suspiciously absent.

  He pressed the Play button and sifted through his mail but stopped at once when he heard his mother’s worried voice. Five of the messages were from her, one from his father, and one from another sister—all inquiring about Gretchen’s whereabouts.

  He looked at his watch. His mother’s last call had come only five minutes earlier. He left the cottage to search for his wayward sister before his mother called again. Since she hadn’t driven her car she would be close by, and she drew strength from people. Who was around she could go to and hide behind so he wouldn’t make a fuss? Lorelei. To his surprise he was already halfway to her place. On the beach he walked around dock sections stacked on the larger dock that floated on the lake in the summer. He had helped Mr. Davenport bring them in over the weekend.