It was a sad departure, but one that never the less had to be made. I was leaving the mental safety of a home and area that I had known for years.
Lake Murray just outside of Columbia S.C. was always going to be a bittersweet memory. Too many good times to recount, but lately, a little more often than not, the bad memories outweighed the good ones. So, with the trusty F250 loaded up and pulling a U-Haul trailer filled with all my worldly possessions, Molly and I headed north toward New York state. Before I get to far ahead of myself, Molly is my only friend. A 6 year old, chocolate lab. Beautiful, but let's just say that no one would ever cheat off her homework.
Being 42 years old, recently single and self-employed as an architect gave me the leisure of moving anywhere suitable for my needs and for some unknown god forsaken reason, I picked Cross Lake near Syracuse NY. What the hell was I thinking? The drive was beautiful but uneventful, unpacking went off without a hitch and the house and view of the lake were even better than I remembered. Maybe things were moving in a better direction for me.
Day 1. Getting supplies with Molly was a breeze as the area has all the amenities of many much larger places and if anything was missing, it would be just a short drive away. Plus, this region is overrun with small wineries and craft breweries. Looking up, looking way up.
Loaded up with enough supplies to hold me over in the event of a short-lived apocalypse, I headed home. Driving in the Finger Lakes Region gives you the feeling that you should have the windows down, the music cranked and maybe be having a roadie. Tempted, very tempted.
Pulling into my laneway and driving toward the house, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I was certain that I saw someone scurrying into the trees. I let Molly out of the truck, but she had other ideas, apparently the lake was calling to her. I unloaded the goods and started up the hot tub on the deck, all the while feeling as though I were being watched. My ex wife was crazy, but would she have followed me here? No. Really? No, she wouldn't. Fuck it, I got my Ruger SR9 anyway, just for safety sake. It was small and to the point.
I started the BBQ, opened a beer and settled in. The steak didn't stand a chance nor did the first 3 beers. The beer was from one of the aforementioned craft breweries in the area. This one was called Two Goats, go figure. As I sat in the hot tub, I had to laugh at myself, beer in one hand, 9mm near the other. Did I really need it for protection from a 107lb ex-wife? Probably not, but I still had a weird feeling like someone was watching me.
Day 5. I am becoming very comfortable with my new surroundings. With not much on my plate, I ended up diving headfirst into my work. Six hours and I was ahead of schedule. So down to the lake to try my luck. I caught a few fish in the lake, I was considering a purchasing a boat over the beaten-up canoe that I have been using / falling out of. So, a fish fry for a late lunch it would be.
Tonight, was going to be a special night for me, it will be my first social interaction in the community. A stockcar race. Being from the south where racing is more sacred than religion, I knew that I would eventually find a track and tonight is the night. I headed over to the Weedsport Fair grounds, to the track around 4:00pm. I hoped that a great night of racing was head of me. The track is a half mile dirt track and tonight's show has a lineup of sprint cars and big block mods on the menu. Hell yes.
Before the show began, I decided to grab a cold beer and listen to the band for a few minutes. Standing anywhere at an event like this is an excellent place to do a little people watching and tonight would not be the exception to that rule.
Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a guy with a world class mullet. Business in the front, party in the back. Where the fuck is my phone when I need it. This was a definite hall of famer. Just when I was about to laugh, I was stopped dead in my tracks. Mullet boy and his woman were staring right at me. I did the casual look over my shoulder to see who behind me. Nope, they had all eyes on me. I quickly wiped any grin I had off my stupid face, turned and focused on getting my beer.
No luck. I felt a soft touch on my arm. When I turned, I was met with the extended hand of a blonde beauty.
"Hi, I'm Kate. I believe that we are neighbors out on the lake".
"Nick, pleasure to meet you."
"That is my husband Jake over there." Lucky bastard. Kate looked the part of the "All-American" beauty. Long wavy blonde hair, golden bronzed skin, delicate features that would soften the hardest heart. To top it off, under all her layers she appeared to be very well put together. It is tough to imagine that a girl wearing hip hugger jeans, a small tank top cover with a flannel shirt, well worn cowboy boots, topped by a Tractor Supply Co. hat could pull off sexy, but holy shit did she ever. I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I silently sang Bob Dylan's Girl from the North Country.
I waved to Jake, who just gave me a flip of the hand and continued to chat it up with his race buddies. Kate proceeded to tell me that they lived in a place not far from me, but not on the lake or with any direct access to it. She mentioned that after that past owners moved out, she had made an arrangement with the real estate broker to keep an eye on the place. In return, she was able to use the hot tub, the pool and the lake. Kate said that for the past 5 months she has been having the time of her life, but now it was ruined thanks to me. I apologized with a smile and told her that I was away often during the day and she should help herself. This brought a grin to her face and said she would hold me to it, as long as, I didn't shoot her. Turns out that it was Kate that I had seen running into the trees. I asked why she hadn't stayed to say hello. She replied that she was only in her bathing suit and was shy. My turn to grin and also my turn in line. I ordered a beer, bought an Angry Orchard cider for Kate and Coors Light for Jake. She said it was unnecessary, but I told her it was just being neighborly.
Parting ways to find my seat, I looked back over my shoulder and as luck would have it, got caught checking out Kate's ass. My luck sucks. She will think of me as a dirty old man evermore. I saw Kate and Jake throughout the evening but unfortunately did not have any further contact with either of them.
Day 8. Sitting on my porch with my laptop, drinking an iced tea, the corner of my eye catches some movement. It's Kate. She was a fair distance away, but there is no missing her essence. She was moving fluidly near the tree line. Wearing a sun dress and a white floppy hat, if she chose, she could grace the pages of any fashion magazine. When I notice she has been cutting wildflowers, I knew that I should say something, so I pounce on my chance.
"Hey, in some states stealing a person's flowers is a punishable offense."
With a laugh Kate responded, "You should spend more time working in your garden and I wouldn't have to weed it for you."
"Fair enough. Care for a cold Iced tea?" She gave me a long drawn out pause.
"Sure"
When she approached, I was once again taken aback by her stunning beauty. She was glamourous and humble all wrapped up into the same package. From what she was wearing at the races to this outfit, she appeared to be two different people.
Once Molly had said her hellos and headed away for greater adventures Kate sat and looked out over the lake. She commented that she had sat in the exact same spot over the past 5 months enjoying the view. She said that it was her favorite spot to curl up with a book and read. I asked if Jake joined her. Kate told me that Jake, actually worked out of town, at times out of state and when he left, he was gone for a week a more at a time.
The next 4 hours flew past. In an impromptu 20 question session we learned lots about each. Kate was 23 years old. She and Jake were high school sweethearts and had just celebrated their second wedding anniversary. No pets. No kids. Kate at Jakes request did not work. Nor did she drive. No family to speak of and so on. I told her my details. Divorced, also no kids, not by choice, etc.
Kate stayed for supper. Salmon, salad, paired with some good wine. Hard to fuck that up, so it made a good impression on my guest.
After the second bottle of wine Kate asked me a question that would become the start of many deep conversations for us.
"Why did your wife leave you? You're handsome enough, a good cook and it looks like you can support yourself."
"Don't remember saying that she left me. I said we divorced. As far as looks go, thanks. And yes, I do okay financially."
