The Lake Season (27 page)

Cooper nodded. “Come on,” he said again. “There's room for everyone.”

As much as the thought of being stuck on a boat between her family and Cooper might have terrified her earlier, the idea was suddenly seeming rather organic. It would be good for all of them to get off the farm for a day, away from the wedding planning and the ghosts of their past.

“Come on, Leah. It'd be fun.”

Leah shrugged. “As long as we're not intruding. How about you, Mom?”

“Well.” Millie paused, her cheeks still flushed from all the laughter. “The Willetses won't be back until tomorrow. I suppose a little outing wouldn't hurt.”

Cooper clapped his hands. “Invite Bill, too,” he said. “We'll make it a boating party.”

“Party?” Lily skipped into the kitchen, her Hello Kitty bag swung over her shoulder. “Who's having a party?”

Cooper grinned at her. “We are!” he said. “Go get your grandpa.”

Twenty-Eight

C
ooper was right about the gorgeous day, but for more than the simple reason of the weather. They'd driven to the south edge of town, to the much larger Lake Wapusk, where motorboats were permitted. Bill had seemed delighted at the invitation, and was sporting a pair of faded seersucker swim trunks in the kitchen before the rest of them were even nearly ready to go. Sadie had finally given in and changed into another suit, though she still was not speaking to her mother. Her hot-pink bandeau top was hardly a measurable improvement as far as Iris was concerned, but she wasn't about to pick another battle. Besides, as much as she'd regretted their confrontation in the kitchen, it did have its silver lining. It was probably the first time all summer that Iris, Leah, and her mother had laughed like that together. Probably the first time in years, in fact, and Iris wouldn't have traded that for anything, not even for a Puritanesque one-piece for her stubborn teenager.

Now, as they moved into the lake, Cooper and Bill sat in the captain's chairs, and the rest of them lounged on the cushioned seats in the back. Iris leaned over, letting the water spray her cheeks as they powered out.

“Where are we going?” Jack shouted above the roar of the engine.

“Anywhere you want,” Cooper shouted back to him.

Iris smiled, pleased that he was so inclusive of the kids. He wasn't trying too hard. Just being himself provided a much-needed bright spot. Even Millie, in her wide-brimmed straw hat, looked pleased. Iris closed her eyes, leaning against the seat, as the kids oohed and aahed at the old mansions along the shoreline that Leah pointed out to them.

When they reached the middle of the lake, Cooper cut the engine, allowing the boat to rock gently. He hopped to the stern and tossed the anchor in. “Who's up for a swim?”

Jack leaped up. “Looks like it's just you and me,” Cooper said to him, tugging off his T-shirt.

Iris studied the freckles running across his tanned shoulders, the same ones she'd traced with her hands just last Saturday after their dinner at the Inn, but which now seemed like a lifetime ago. The recent physical distance between them was disconcerting, and yet in the presence of her family she felt no urge to press her finger to one of those freckles now. Hyperaware of her feelings, she fought the urge to tug his T-shirt right back over his bare chest and cover the man up.

In one swift launch, Cooper was off the boat, followed by Jack, who mimicked his technique.

“Can I go in now?” Lily asked, climbing gingerly up over the seats to the ladder.

“Wait for me,” Iris told her, digging through her swim bag. Where was the sunscreen?

“Oh, come on, I just finished second place at swim camp,” Lily complained.

“Yeah, Mom. Geez,” Leah teased as she made her way to the boat ladder. “I'll take her.”

“Okay,” Iris said hesitantly, “but stay by her. It's deep out here.”

“Dive or cannonball?” Leah asked Lily.

“Definitely cannonball!” Before Iris could object, Lily sprang away from the boat and landed with a small splash. Iris held her breath until she erupted to a chorus of cheers.

“See?” Lily called to her defiantly.

“Good job, baby.”

Leah followed suit, diving clear off the back in a clean arc, splitting the surface of the lake with barely a ripple.

“Now it's Mom's turn,” Leah called out.

“Yeah! Mom's turn!” Lily echoed.

Great. Iris made her way to the ladder and looked down at the four expectant faces, treading alongside one another. The water looked cold, and she felt utterly exposed standing over them.

“You can do it,” Cooper encouraged.

“Mom doesn't cannonball!” Lily laughed loudly.

Had Iris really never cannonballed on a hot summer day with her kids? Why was it that she wasn't the “fun one” more often?

“I do, too!” Iris insisted. “I used to do a mean one.” Well—thirty years ago.

Even Sadie looked up from her magazine when she heard that.

Below her, Lily's sunscreened nose wrinkled with skepticism.

That did it. Iris whipped off the sarong she'd tied to her waist. “You asked for it!”

As Iris drew herself up, it all came back to her. The heady anticipation of flight. The feeling of sheer weightlessness as she sprang into the air. The blast of cold water.

“Wow!” Lily shrieked as Iris popped up at the surface. “That was so cool, Mom.”

Iris swam up to her, nose to nose. She grinned. “There are lots of things your mom can do.”

She tipped her head back, relishing the pull of her limbs as they moved beneath her treading water. Cooper swam over.

“Full of surprises,” he whispered.

•    •    •

There was no hunger like that after a swim in cold water. Back on the boat Cooper passed out sandwiches and iced tea. Briefly, Iris worried that he wouldn't have packed enough, having no experience feeding a large family. But she was pleasantly surprised. There was plenty. And it was good! Chicken salad rolls, fresh melon, an assortment of cheeses and crackers.

“Are there fish out here?” Jack asked, peering curiously into the green lake water.

“Plenty,” Cooper said. “I caught a two-footer, just last week.”

“Cool!”

“Can we fish?” Lily asked. “Oh, please! I want to catch a two-footer!”

Cooper turned to Iris. “Are you a fisherwoman?”

Oh, how to share the truth? That, for Iris, it was all about the views, a good book, and rocking gently on the lake? If you went home empty-handed, it was all the better.

But she looked down at Lily and smiled nonetheless. “It's great. I used to fish with my dad when I was a kid. Right?”

Bill laughed wholeheartedly. “Iris is our catch-and-release girl,” he said. “Sensitive to the plight of the fish.”

“In other words, she hates it,” Lily stated.

“Hey, I like fishing just fine.”

Cooper smirked. “Just not the catching part.”

“Or the cleaning and eating parts,” Sadie added. Which made everyone laugh.

Iris stood near as Cooper showed Lily how to bait the hook. “You're a real natural,” he told her, and Iris felt her insides warm.

“That is so gross,” Sadie said, peering over their shoulders. “How can you touch a worm?”

“I'll bait a line for you if you'd like,” Cooper offered her.

Sadie shook her head and flopped back down on the seat. “Nope.”

“No,
thank you
,” Iris prompted, wondering again at the teenager she'd become.

“How about you?” Cooper asked Iris.

“Who, me? The fish hater?”

He winked. “I was just teasing.”

“No thanks, I think I'll help Lily,” she said.

They spent the afternoon casting their lines with little luck, until Bill finally got a bite. “Go, Grandpa!” Lily shrieked. She was so excited that she dropped her pole on the floor of the boat.

“Careful!” Iris warned as the pole slid beneath their feet, its silver hook flashing dangerously in the sun.

Leah retrieved it. “She's fine, Iris. Relax.”

Leah's nonchalance grated on Iris's nerves. Couldn't Leah see how sharp the hooks were? Didn't she realize the line could tangle under their feet?

But there wasn't time to debate those facts. A second later Leah's line tugged as well. “Got one!” she called, and this time Cooper came to stand beside her.

“Reel it in slowly,” he warned. “I think it's a big guy.”

By then Bill and Lily both brought in their catch, small sunfish that wiggled at the end of the line.

“Can we keep it?” Lily wanted to know.

“You have to kill it first,” Sadie said, still lounging behind them on the seat. “Then eat it.”

Lily threw her a hurt look.

“Enough,” Iris warned her.

“What? It's true.”

But Bill was already unhooking the fish. “Too small,” he announced, to Iris's relief. She watched as he threw it back in the water, craning her neck to see it pause before zipping away. A small thrill.

“But I think we've got dinner over here,” Bill said. They stood back, giving Leah room. Iris watched her sister's hands as the spool whipped beneath them, then caught, as she reeled the fish closer.

“That's right,” Cooper instructed. “Give and take. Nice.”

“Go, Aunty Leah.” Jack whistled.

Even Iris drew closer as Leah worked the line, her expression calm, her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth in concentration. The loose line flew out into the water as the fish ran with it, then went taut as Leah coaxed it back, reeling quickly. Back and forth it went. Iris had to admit, it was a beautiful if fateful dance.

“You've got it,” Bill said, leaning over the boat for a closer look.

“Where? I can't see,” Lily cried, leaning over the edge of the boat beside him.

Iris reached for her T-shirt, gripping the back.

Leah, who'd remained silent all along, grunted as she reeled the line in one last time.

“It's a giant!” Lily shouted.

Bill leaned over the boat with a net, just as the green speckled bass burst out of the water on Leah's line.

In one deft scoop, the fish was on board, and everyone surrounded it.

“Way to go!” Cooper exclaimed. He clapped Leah on the back, and in the excitement she turned and hugged him hard.

Iris watched, her annoyance growing.

“How big do you think it is?” Bill was already kneeling, examining its size. “It's gotta be at least one and a half feet.”

“We're keeping this one, right?” Lily asked excitedly.

“Better believe it,” Leah said, wiping her brow. “What do you think, everyone? Dinner tonight?”

Bill clapped his hands. “Absolutely. Cooper, I insist you join us. I've got some vintage pinot that will be a fine accompaniment.”

“Sounds great,” Cooper said, looking to Iris for approval. But Iris was watching the sleek fish twist and turn on the line, its gills straining for breath. “Put it in the bucket,” she said quickly.

“I'll get one,” Bill offered. To Iris's relief he emptied one of the bait pails into another, and leaned overboard to fill it with freshwater.

But it was too late. “That's okay, I've got it,” Cooper said. She turned as Cooper raised a club and brought it down on the fish with a gut-wrenching thud.

“Mommy!” Lily screamed. She buried her face in Iris's side and began crying.

“Wait,” Leah said, rushing to cover the bloodied fish with a towel.

It flopped again, spattering the floor of the boat in blood.

Lily howled into her side, as Iris covered her eyes with her hand. “Make them stop!”

Suddenly Cooper understood. Between them the fish flopped grotesquely beneath the towel.

“Oh, just get it over with,” Iris cried, turning Lily away.

Cooper looked stricken.

“Let me.” Leah grabbed the small club decidedly from him, and Iris shuddered at the sickening
thwack
that followed.

“It's over, baby,” she whispered to Lily.

Cooper came up behind them and crouched by Lily, who still hid her head in Iris's lap. “Lily,” he said softly. “I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you like that.” He looked up at Iris apologetically. “I should've warned you.”

“I didn't know we had to kill it,” Lily moaned.

Sadie slid over on the seat and put a hand on her little sister's back. “Lils, the fish either dies a slow death because it can't breathe, or you can end it fast. What they did was actually kinder, if you think about it.”

“But I didn't want to kill it.”

“I'm sorry, baby,” Iris said, trying to sound brave for Lily. “It's over now.” She offered Cooper a nod, trying to reassure him that it was okay. But secretly, she was furious.

At herself, for not thinking sooner about how this would go. At Leah, for so blithely relieving Cooper of the club. For the matter-of-fact way she brought it down on the bloody fish. There was so much that a mother wanted to shield her children from.

•    •    •

Back at the docks, Iris lingered with Cooper as he secured the boat.

He climbed out, looking sheepish. “Well, that was a disaster.”

“What do you mean? It was a great day, even with the fish incident.”

“Right. What's a few years of therapy for poor Lily?”

“It's my own fault. I forgot that her dad hadn't taken her fishing before. Paul used to take Sadie and Jack when they were little.” Her voice softened at the memory. “They loved fishing with Paul.”

Cooper listened with strained politeness.

“Oh, sorry,” Iris said.

Cooper chuckled. “No, no. Next time, let's invite Paul, too!”

Now she was laughing. “You're a sport, Cooper Woods.”

Jack shouted to them from the parking lot. “Are you guys coming? I'm hungry for dinner.”

Cooper looked to Iris uncertainly. “I wouldn't want to intrude.”

“Join us!” Bill called, unwilling to take no for an answer. “I'm going home to get the grill started.”

Iris grimaced. “Great. We can grill the fish.”

Cooper followed her off the dock, shaking his head. “Maybe you could make Lily spaghetti?”