Sarah Allen - Lost Lake

Eby stepped out into the sunshine and took a deep breath. She felt like she’d been away for a while. She and Lisette had slept well past breakfast, which had vexed Lisette. Even when she was sick, Lisette always went downstairs in the mornings to see Luc. Eby thought it was marvelous, the sleep, like the way you sleep when you’re finally home. The dance floor and the canopy were still on the lawn, and some stray cups and plates were still scattered around, but Lisette had cleaned up the rest. Eby had heard her leave the house when everyone had gone home and the grills had finally cooled. Lisette missed nighttime.

Last night Eby had dreamed of George again, but not in Paris. He was right here. He was sitting on the lawn, and she was lying beside him in the grass with her head in his lap. He was stroking her hair, smiling down at her. There was such a feeling of peace around them, it was soft and pink and smelled of butter. She woke up to Lisette standing over her, petting her hair away from her face. Lisette had pointed to the clock on the bedside table, then left.

Eby saw Kate sitting on one of the picnic tables. She had two bottles of water in her lap.

Eby walked over to her. When her shadow fell over her, Kate turned. “I was just waiting for Devin. She wants to go for a hike.”

“Like myself again.”

“Is she okay today?”

“I think so. I think we’re both finally okay.”

Eby looked down at the lake, at Devin crouching by the water in her pink romper and fairy wings and Selma standing next to her with her white parasol. Selma pointed to something, and Eby followed her finger to the trail around the lake, where she thought she caught a fleeting glimpse of a little boy in overalls, walking away.

Eby’s breath caught.

“Eby? Are you all right?” Kate asked.

Eby turned to her. “What? Oh, yes. I’m fine. I thought I saw … it was nothing. Just a little déjà vu.” She shook her head. It was so long ago, she’d almost forgotten. “I was remembering the first picture of Lost Lake I ever saw, just after my honeymoon. It was on a postcard George showed me of some investment property. I felt like I was looking into the future. Maybe I was. Maybe I was looking at this very moment. Maybe I’ve come full circle.”

Kate stood. “Or maybe it’s just a new circle forming.”

Eby smiled at her as Kate walked away to get Devin. Eby put her hand to her chest, to check for that familiar fluttering there. But it was gone now, released to the wind like a caged bird.

The only thing she could feel now was the life inside her, the beat of her heart and the filling of her lungs.

She was alive and well, with plenty of fight left in her.

She looked at the postcard scene at the lake again and shook her head.

The big sign she’d been looking for had been here all along.

A short time later, already sweating as the sun rose higher in the sky, Kate and Devin broke through the woods and finally found themselves on the dirt road leading to Wes’s old cabin.

They walked up the road, and as soon as the clearing came into view, so did a large white van with Wes’s handyman logo on it.

Wes was leaning against the front of the van, staring at where the cabin had once stood. He was wearing shorts and a long-sleeved T-shirt, and black sunglasses hid his eyes. He was as still as a statue.

Before she could take Devin’s hand to quietly lead her away, not wanting to disturb his moment with this place, Devin yelled, “Wes!” and ran toward him.

He turned quickly.

Devin reached him and hugged him, which made him smile and he put his arms gently around her fairy wings.

He watched as Kate approached him.

“We didn’t know you’d be here,” Kate said. “Do you want us to leave?”

“No, not at all,” he said. “I had a job down the highway this morning. On my way back, I found myself turning up the old road to this place. I don’t know why.”

Devin ran into the clearing. Her wings were starting to droop. They’d seen better days. They’d snagged on some branches on the trail, and there was a bit of Spanish moss clinging to one of them.

Kate leaned against the van beside him. The engine was cool. He’d been here awhile. They hadn’t interacted much at the party after bringing Devin back from the woods. They hadn’t danced again. Kate wasn’t sure where they stood.

“I talked to my uncle one last time this morning,” Wes said. “I couldn’t change his mind. He said he’ll still be coming by late this afternoon to give Eby another chance to sign over her land. Otherwise, he said he’s going to sue. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m sorry I got mad at you at the party,” Kate said. “I know you’d never do anything to hurt Eby.”

“What do you think she’ll do? Do you think she’ll fight him?”

“Oh, she’ll fight him,” Kate said. “But I don’t know what will happen.”

“What are you going to do?”

She pretended to think about it. “Oh, I don’t know. What are the schools like around here?”

“The schools?” he asked. “They’re good.”

“What are their dress codes like? Do they allow tutus and fairy wings?”

He looked to Devin, then back to Kate, his brows rising from under his sunglasses. “Are you staying?”

“Fifteen years ago, I never wanted to leave in the first place,” she said. “I’m just finally making my way back.”

He smiled and made a huh sound. He paused, and she could see the tension growing in his shoulders as some sort of realization set in. “There was something of yours in the Alligator Box. If you’re staying, I think I need to show it to you now.”

“Something of mine?”

He pushed himself away from the van, then went to the side door and pulled it open. The Alligator Box was there, tucked in a mesh hammock. He opened the box and took out a plastic sandwich bag. Inside the bag was a letter. He handed it to her.

On wide-ruled paper, in fading gray pencil, Wes had written:

Dear Kate,

I was sad that you had to leave. You didn’t even say good-bye. But that’s okay. I know your parents made you go. I asked Eby for your address and I’m writing you to tell you that I’m coming to Atlanta to live! Yes, you read that right. My uncle Lazlo lives there, and he will take me and Billy and my dad in. My dad works in construction, and I’m sure Lazlo will give him a job. Please write when you get this and tell me what school you go to so I can go there, too, since we’re in the same grade. Won’t that be great? Maybe we can get lockers beside each other. Will they let us do that? I’ll sit beside you at lunch, if that’s okay, until I meet more people. I’m hoping Lazlo will give me an allowance if I do chores for him and my aunt Deloris. I have two cousins I don’t like very much because I heard them once call us embarrassing, but it will be worth it to be nearer to you. Once I get some money, would you like to go to the movies with me? My treat!

Listen. This is a secret. Don’t tell anyone, okay? Dad will never leave this place, and Lazlo thinks we’re fine as long as we have this land and a roof over our heads. So I have to get rid of the cabin. I’m going to set fire to it on Monday after Dad leaves for work. Billy and I will be out of the house with our stuff, and we’ll watch it burn. It will take forever for the fire department to get here. Dad got drunk once and fell down and hit his head, and it took an hour for the ambulance to get here. No one ever believes us when we say something’s wrong here. I don’t know why.