Bruce was my neighbor, and basically my best friend. About ten years ago my wife and I moved in next door to Bruce and his wife. The women hit it off before we even unloaded the moving truck. That weekend, Bruce and his wife had us over for dinner. That's when I found out Bruce likes to hunt and fish just like I do. After a couple weeks, he invited me fishing with him and a couple of his friends. It was great. Over the years we hung out a lot. Our wives even got pregnant about the same times. We each now have three kids.
Some weekends we would take turns pairing off and watching the kids. My wife and I keeping their kids, and them keeping ours. Bruce and I would even keep the kids, so that the wives could have girls weekends. That worked perfectly for when Bruce and me would take a weekend to go hunting and or fishing.
Most of our trips ended up being just the two of us. It was hard for any of our other buddies to get away much. Having your best friend right next door, and our wives besties too, made it easier for us.
The last trip we took is what this is all leading up to. Bruce and I decided to head out fishing, and since no one else could go, Bruce suggested that we go to a lake that his dad used to take him when he was younger. His Uncle owned a cabin up there, and had a small boat we could use.
It was about three hours drive, and out in the middle of nowhere. We made good time, and decided to get out on the lake when we arrived at about 10:30 am. We weren't having much luck, and after a few hours, decided to head back in, and try early the next morning.
It was October, and even though it was unusually warm, the temperature started to drop as we headed back to the boat dock. While Bruce was tying the boat down, I started grabbing our gear. I guess I wasn't paying much attention, because the next thing I know, I hear a big splash.
Somehow I accidentally hit Bruce with a fishing pole, and he fell in the lake. The water felt as cold as ice. I was able to pull him out of the water, but he was freezing. I got him back to the cabin and started a fire in the stove to help him warm up, then went back and got all our gear and put it in the truck.
When I got back into the cabin, Bruce was shivering. He was still in his wet clothes. I told him he needed to get undressed and dry off, but at this point, his energy was drained. I figured it was my fault he was all wet, so I had to help him. I took off his shoes and socks. Then his shirt and t shirt. I was hesitant at this point, but I didn't want him to fall over, so I took his pants off of him. His underwear was soaked too, so I dried him the best I could, got him to the bed, stripped the underwear off him, then covered him up.
I put more wood in the stove, and realized that the temp had fallen even more by this point. I looked over at Bruce, and he was still shivering. I went and sat in his bed, and he seemed so out of it. I reluctantly decided that the only thing I could do is to lay in the bed with him, and use my body heat to help warm him up.
I threw enough wood in the stove to last the night, then I stripped down to my underwear, and laid down beside Bruce. I covered us both, and wrapped my arms around Bruce to try and get him warm. We must have laid there for a couple hours. I had dozed off, but had woken up. Bruce finally stopped shivering, and seemed to be sleeping pretty soundly. I went to get up, but I was tired, and it was cold, so I just said what the hell, and went back to sleep.
