Part I:
“Yaaa!” Bill yelled
as he cannon-balled into the river with a huge splash. Water sloshed up over the
edge of the dock and splattered the mass of kids hanging out in the sun. He swam out towards the rowboat anchored out
in the middle of the swirling St. Joe River.
Sunlight glistened off the top of his bald, wet head as he hauled
himself up onto the side of the boat and screams emitted from within as the
boat rocked precariously from side-to-side, inches from taking on water as it
dipped down and up and back down. Two
sets of legs waggled in the air when Lois and her niece, Lorraine, sat up,
laughing and holding on to the sides of the boat for dear life.
“Hey ladies,” Bill said as he hauled himself over the side
like a wet seal and plopped on the floor beside Lois. He shook his head and sprayed her with bright
drops of water.
Lois sputtered and wiped the water off her face and
arms. “Bill!”
“Hi.” Lorraine climbed over the seat and curled up against his wide
chest.
He wrapped his arms around the dark-haired
twelve-year-old. “How’s everything out
here in the girl’s boat, Rainy?”
“Good.” She smiled up
at him, her warm blue eyes and sweet smile so like her mother’s. Her long hair was pulled back in a braid that
emphasized her heart-shaped face. “But,
it’s not a girls’ boat anymore now that you’re here too.”
He grinned down at her.
“Nope, it’s just a boat now. A
boring old boat.” And with that, he
began to rock the boat back and forth.
Rainy latched her hands on his arm and laughingly
squealed. “Stop it, Uncle Bill. Stop.”
And that was it. Lois was a goner. She knew in that moment,
watching him with her young niece, that he was and always would be the love of
her life.
to be continued...
