Page 57 of Skipping Stones
By the time Linney went home that evening, they were in agreement. Danny’s party would be a surprise for more than one man.
* * *
Linney had arranged for the newspaper to be delivered, and it quickly became a morning habit to sit on her porch with coffee and the news to start her day. Despite her impatience with everyone in town wanting to know all about her, she thoroughly enjoyed her quiet, leisurely mornings. After breakfast, before it got too hot, she would take the kayak out and after a couple of weeks, her shoulders were strong and tanned. If it was raining, she did yoga on the porch instead. Most days she walked into town, and she’d bought herself some shorts and sundresses that were more appropriate for her vacation than her linen khakis. Because it was summer, Knitworks was on break, or it would have been the perfect place to get caught up on all the local news. Instead, regular lunches with Anna or Kirsten took care of that. The only disappointment was that MJ hadn’t been able to get the time off to come and join her. They’d have to leave her initiation to Silver Lake for another time.
Linney mentioned dating to Derek briefly once or twice but backed off when he got bristly. It was going to take some time to warm him up to the idea. Good thing they still had Danny’s birthday.
Afternoons were reserved for reading, a real luxury, but one Linney needed to decompress. She had a long “to be read” list on her phone that she was working her way through, but she’d also added a couple more paperbacks since her first Page Turners visit.
Linney was used to the familiar sounds of the children coming home from camp and daycare with their dad in tow now, and it signalled that it was time to put away her books. She spent a lot of evenings with her neighbours. Sometimes she’d cook for them and other times she’d eat at Derek’s place. Tonight they were planning to take the youngsters out for an evening kayak ride after dinner. Ivy had warmed up to Linney finally and was like her shadow now, always wanting to sit with her or hold her hand.
“Do you want to go in Daddy’s kayak or mine?” Linney asked Leo as she helped Derek buckle the kids into their life jackets.
“Daddy’s,” Leo said.
“Okay, then the girls will go together, right Ivy?” The preschooler nodded. “In you get!” Linney scooped her up and placed her in the front of her kayak’s cockpit. Derek helped Leo climb into his, and after they adjusted the seats, they were off.
Derek was first to spot a heron in the reeds along the shore, but the big graceful bird flew off before they could get too close. “Shhhhhhh,” they both said to their passengers. As the sun got lower in the sky, Derek guided them along the shoreline and Linney knew what he was hoping to see.
“Let’s be quiet like mice,” she whispered to Ivy as her paddle sliced through the water almost silently. Derek beckoned her to come closer. She raised her eyebrows in question and he nodded with a huge grin.
Linney pulled her kayak up to Derek’s, and he grabbed hold of her cockpit rim to keep them together. She could see that Leo was almost vibrating with excitement. He pointed ahead of them. And there it was. A huge specimen of a moose, at least six feet tall with an enormous rack of antlers. “Wow,” she whispered. No matter how often she came across one, seeing the majestic animal was always humbling.
Ivy twisted around in front of her. “Can we pet it, Auntie Linney?” Linney smiled and shook her head.
“We can only watch him, sweetheart.” And they did, as he munched on lily pads and reeds. “We’d better turn back,” Derek said, as the sun slipped toward the horizon. “Or else we won’t get home before dark.”
Linney nodded and turned her kayak. She and Derek pulled hard strokes, and they got back to the dock, just as the sun disappeared.
“Alright, up to the house and into pajamas,” Derek told the kids. “I’ll be up soon after we put the kayaks away.”
“Auntie Linney too?” asked Leo. “She reads good stories.”
Derek looked over at her. “You don’t have to.”
She shook her head. “I’d love to.”
When the kids were finally in bed, Linney and Derek shared a glass of cider in his front room.
“Thanks for tonight,” Derek said. “I’ve never been able to take them out before.” There was silence while he gathered his thoughts. “Sometimes it’s really hard being a single parent.”
“You’re a great dad,” Linney reassured him. And it was true. From what she’d seen, he lived only for his children.
Derek looked at her with a touch of melancholy in his eyes. “Even here, where it’s easier than the city, I sometimes feel I’m not measuring up. There’s just not enough of me to go around and I can’t always give them what they deserve.”
“You’re doing a great job. But Derek, you need to put yourself first sometimes.” Linney shifted in her seat to look Derek directly in the eye. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but the only way you’re going to find someone else to be in their lives is to start dating.”
“Linney.” His voice was tight, warning her not to continue.
“Derek, you at least need to think about it. You deserve someone in your life.”
He shook his head. “I’m too busy. And they’re too young.”
Linney stood up. “I’ll let it go for now, but not forever.”
* * *
Linney invited her brother and his family for the long weekend in August. Bringing family now meant including girlfriends and boyfriends. The kids pitched tents on the lawn between the house and the lake and the waterfront was busy with kayaks, canoes, and even a jet ski that they rented from the marina in town. The noise level was high as they played games of horseshoes and lawn darts, the young people mixing with the adults.