Chapter 19
Nineteen
“ I t’s such a beautiful day,” Grace said as they lifted one of the two rented double kayaks from the back of Trevor’s truck.
There was no way to drive to the beach at Raspberry Ridge, but on up the road a short distance at Blackberry Bay, there was not just a way to get kayaks in the water but also a nice peaceful cove which was perfect for kayaking.
Even if a sudden spring storm came up, which they checked the weather and there wasn’t supposed to be, there were plenty of places where they could get out of the water.
Plus, the water would not be nearly as rough as the regular lake water.
Blackberry Bay was perfect for kayaking.
She needed to do this more often. It was only a few minutes away from her house.
“It’s a gorgeous day. It makes me wonder why you haven’t bought a kayak up until this point.”
She laughed. “I was wondering the same thing. They’re expensive, but as many times as I’ve rented them, I could have bought one long ago.”
“Then you have to find a place to store it and make sure you don’t lose the paddles and everything. If you rent it, all responsibility is on someone else. Sometimes that’s nice. ”
She nodded, looking at him thoughtfully. There seemed to be something that had shifted in his personality since she had seen him last. “Yes. All the responsibility is on someone else. Isn’t it nice when that happens?”
She smiled at him as he looked at her. They had talked a couple of times on the phone, but not for long, and they hadn’t made any more plans. She realized now that maybe they should have. At least figured out what they could suggest for their parents to do next to keep them together.
“My goodness. I remember doing this with you girls when you were little, but I don’t think I’ve done it in twenty years.”
Gita looked like she was having the time of her life. Her yoga pants emphasized her slender legs, and she wasn’t moving like someone who had just had hip replacement less than four weeks ago.
“Trevor and I go a good bit. Although this is the first time this spring we’ve been out. This time of year, you have to watch for those sudden spring storms popping up.”
“I know. I kept checking the weather, and everything is clear, but you just never know.”
“I don’t think we need to worry about that too much.
As long as we stay in Blackberry Bay, we’ll be able to get out of the water easily.
Even if something comes up suddenly, the water here doesn’t get nearly as choppy as it does out on the lake.
” Trevor sounded confident, as well he should, if he was out kayaking as much as Don said they were.
“If you want to get in, you can, and I’ll push the kayak out in the water so you don’t have to get wet,” Trevor offered as he set their kayak down in the water.
Don was doing the same for Gita, and Grace said, “Can you hold on one second. Please?”
He nodded, and she hurried over to offer a hand to her mother to help steady her.
“I know you’re almost as good as new, but it’ll make me feel a little better if I give you a hand till you get in the boat.”
“I’m glad you did. I’ve been doing my exercises religiously, way more than what they asked me to, but I still don’t feel like I have my balance completely back. ”
“That’s what your therapist said was important,” Grace said, and Gita nodded, like that’s exactly what she had been thinking about.
Grace held a hand out, and her mom placed hers in it. She put first one foot and then the other into the boat.
“I’m holding it as steady as I can,” Don said as the boat rocked just a little, and Grace moved another hand to help her mom steady herself.
Finally, her mom was settled in the boat. Grace thought about offering to help Don but figured he would be insulted.
Instead, she went back to her own boat.
“Thanks. I know she probably would have been fine, but…” She shrugged a little.
“I like seeing you take care of your mom. It makes me happy in some elemental way. I know that’s weird.”
“I don’t think that’s weird. It makes me happy to see you taking care of your dad. It’s what kids are supposed to do.”
“It’s weird when that kind of flip-flops, you know? Where you realize that your parents need you, and it’s not just you doing something good, it’s you doing something necessary.”
“Yeah. I’ve been seeing that more and more. It’s hard for me to imagine my mom not being the strong, capable woman that she’s always been, but you’re right. There comes a time when that shift happens, and that’s what we get.”
“I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing.
It teaches kids to think about what their parents did for them and to be grateful.
It also teaches you to think beyond yourself.
A lot of times with our parents, we’re always thinking about what they can do for us, and it’s good for us to start thinking about what we can do for them. ”
“Yeah. I suppose that does grow you, along with a lot of other things,” she said, thinking about the discussion that they’d had before where they talked about trials making them better people.
“I’m really looking forward to this today,” he said as he held out a hand to help her into the kayak.
She glanced at it, trying not to take too long but remembering when it used to be her right to hold that hand. When that hand had comforted her and sat gently on her back or on her thigh. When they walked down the street casually clasping hands and laughing together .
There were so many memories bound up in that hand.
She knew she hesitated a second or two too long, but she put her hand in his without further comment.
He helped her in the boat, and he didn’t say anything either.
Kayaking was something they hadn’t done when they were together, although she wasn’t sure why. It was a fun activity that they both enjoyed.
“I’m in,” she said as she settled down on her seat. She wished there was something she could do to help him and put her oar in the water, figuring that she could at least try to ballast the boat as he moved it into the deeper water, so when he set it down, the underside didn’t scrape on the bottom.
“I’m fine. Brace yourself, because it might wobble a bit when I get in.”
She noted that Don had gotten in without any major issues, meaning that her mother was still dry, as was he.
The physical therapist had told them that swimming would not hurt her, but she should continue to make a concerted effort to not fall down.
The kayak shook as Trevor got in behind her, and she did what she could to keep it steady, although she wasn’t sure whether she was actually helping anything or not. Despite growing up by the lake, she wasn’t that great at being on the water.
A tendril of nervousness, coupled with fear, tightened in the pit of her stomach, and she remembered why she didn’t kayak despite being so close to the lake.
She wasn’t going to think about that today.
She hadn’t thought about it when they suggested the outing; it had been nothing but a fun trip.
And that’s the way she wanted to keep it.
She wasn’t going to keep living her life constantly thinking about the past and allowing it and the fear it brought to control her.
“I’m in. That wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I don’t know how many times I’ve capsized my kayak getting in and out. Of course, that was back when I was just learning.”
“I’ve capsized mine multiple times too. It’s not bad in the summer when it’s warm out. It’s nice today, but I don’t think I want to go for a swim if I can keep from it.”
“I’m in agreement with that. When I was younger, I might have disagreed with you, but at this point in my life, I know I would be cold and miserable for the rest of the day. Or at least until my clothes dried out enough that I could feel like I was warm.”
“Sometimes I would get wet and wouldn’t be warm the rest of the day. So, especially if clouds come up and it starts to get windy.”
“True. And I don’t expect that to happen today, but that would generally keep me from getting warm again.”
“Of course, nothing makes a hot shower feel better than to be freezing for the six hours prior to it.”
“Good point,” he said good-naturedly.
She didn’t like sitting in front of him where they couldn’t see each other. She’d rather turn around so they could face each other, but that wasn’t the way the kayaks were made.
Gita and Don were out ahead of them about fifty yards and seemed to be chatting and enjoying themselves.
They were quiet for a bit with just the dipping of the oars, and while they could hear their parents talking, they couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“What you said about voices carrying, I can hear them but can’t make them out. I think we’re safe to talk if you need to.” Trevor’s voice came low and soft behind her.
“I was thinking the same thing,” she said, smiling, although he couldn’t see her.
“Good. I feel like our parents are moving closer without us even doing anything,” he said. “I know they talk on the phone every night, and a lot of times, he’ll mention that he’s talked with her in the morning before I get back from my jog.”
She hadn’t realized that he ran in the morning. And she found that almost as interesting, maybe more so, than knowing that their parents talked so much.
“I guess I knew that. I wonder what in the world they could have to talk about. But they seem to discuss pretty much anything and everything. ”
“I think that’s what the best relationships do.
They are interested in each other’s opinions and listen.
Conversation really does seem to bring people closer together.
” She could hear him sigh. Even though the strokes were slow, the rhythmic splashes of his paddle never wavered.
They fell into a rhythm that worked for both of them, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever kayaked with someone who got her so quickly and easily.