Waltz of Her Life

Early the next morning, Linda noticed Mr. Glienke cutting hedges around the house. While she knew nothing existed on earth like the beautiful crystal pool she dreamt about, she asked her landlord to tell her about the best places to swim outside in the area. As was his habit, George Glienke paused for several moments to ponder the question, as if he was a student answering an essay question on a test. "There's Wild Orchard," he replied, "and Mystic City. If you don't mind driving a little further, there's Lake of the Woods beside the Granite Pillars."

Linda remembered hearing about Lake of the Woods during her freshman year. In Earth Science class, she'd learned that the glaciers advanced as far south as their area during the Ice Age. They pushed great slabs of granite ahead of them, which caused the one hundred feet high Granite Pillars. Someone had said that the water in Lake of the Woods was fairly clear, and nice for swimming. "Is the water pretty nice there?"

"Oh yes," Mr. Glienke said, returning to his hedge trimming. "It's a man-made lake, fed by the water table. It used to be a quarry way back when."

Linda blanched at the idea of swimming in a quarry, wondering if her foot might catch on a submerged crane or derrick. Yet, she'd also driven past Wild Orchard and Mystic City. Both of those lakes, while nice, seemed like giant mud puddles to her. If Lake of the Woods seemed too nasty a place to swim, also, they could always just picnic along the banks. She'd never been there, but Mr. Glienke wrote her a whole page of explicit directions including landmarks.

When she drove to the Shady Acres to pick up Seth, he was already dressed in the shorts he'd bought the night before. He seemed rested and happy, his hair perfectly combed, spicy after- shave recently splashed on. "Well you're in a good mood," Linda said as they descended the stairs toward the parking lot.

He gazed down at her quizzically, one side of his lip curled upward. For a moment he reminded her of Errol Flynn in Captain Blood, a dashing pirate. "Why wouldn't I be? I get to spend the day with a beautiful lady."

Linda tried to keep from rolling her eyes at that remark. As they entered the car, Seth worked the seat levers to give himself more legroom. "This car's a trip," he said. "Does it take regular gasoline or do you just put butane lighter fluid in it every now and then?"