Page 69 of Love's Cure

“I’m ready for something to eat,” Emmett said to Crystal.

“Let’s go.” They headed out together.

The picnic table set up on the front porch held an array of dishes. Bowls of macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, baked beans, assorted cold salads, chips, and fruit covered most of the red-and-white checkered tablecloth. Crystal’s cookies and assorted slices of cake sat with other desserts on another table with a coffee maker, paper cups, cream, and sugar.

“At these gatherings, nobody goes away hungry,” said Crystal, opting for a handful of chips before having dinner.

Garth Beckman was helping Nick at the grill cooking ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken wings, and bratwurst sausages.

Ross and his tennis pal, Mike Dawson, were climbing the rise of the lawn to the house with Misty. Dirk and Melissa called to them.

“Come with me,” Crystal said to Emmett. “I want to show you the rock where I spent many summer hours sunbathing after swimming in the lake.”

They walked down to the rock and climbed on top of it. The gray granite was smooth and warm from the sun. Crystal sat down and then stretched out on her back along its surface. She turned to Emmett. “This is how we play games with the clouds.”

He lay down beside her facing the sky. A willing participant, he looked up and said, “Okay, what do you see?”

She concentrated on a large white cloud floating by and squinted. Staring at the shape and a long narrow strip of cloud emerging from one end, she said, “That’s easy. I see an elephant.”

“No, it’s a dinosaur. See? It’s got a big body, a long neck, and a tiny head.”

“Over there. What do you see?” she asked, pointing to another cloud.

“A warrior,” he said. “A man with a hatchet.”

Crystal chuckled. “I was going to say a woman with a bonnet and watering can.”

As they laughed together, Crystal realized how different his world was from hers. But then there was the Venus and Mars thing. So, it wasn’t alarming.

Whitney approached. “Mind if I join you?”

Crystal sat up. “Not at all. We were playing the cloud game.”

Whitney laughed. “How many hours did we spend doing that each summer growing up?”

“Those days seem long ago,” said Crystal, unable to hide a hint of sadness.

“It’s a nice memory though,” Whitney said, staring out at the water. “I’m thankful GG gave my sisters and me this cottage. I want Timothy and all the little ones in our group to be able to have summers like we had. Life had taken us in different directions, and it’s wonderful to be back again.”

“I’m very glad you returned,” Crystal said, smiling at her best friend.

Pirate, Dani’s black lab, wandered over, looked at them, and then with a groan of pleasure, sprawled out on the rock next to them.

Crystal liked that everyone in the group was comfortable with one another, including Pirate and Mindy. She hoped to have a dog one day. A baby too. She gazed at Emmett still lying on the rock, his eyes closed. He was such a special friend, a generous lover.

Whitney caught her eye and winked.

Crystal winked back, happy to share the moment with her.

“Come and get it!” called Nick, waving his cooking spatula at them.

Whitney got to her feet. “C’mon. We can’t keep them waiting. They’ve been cooking for a long time.”

Crystal shook Emmett’s shoulder and stood. “Time for dinner.”

Emmett instantly sat up. “Whoa! I almost fell asleep. This lake air got to me.”

“It’s been a busy weekend for everyone,” said Crystal helping him up.

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