The Wheels of Fortune (closed for DarkWarrioress)

[Tio_Narratore]

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, too,” Arthur said as he rose from his seat. “Good night, Tess. If you do need me for anything, I’ll be in the study. I feel some writing coming on.”

He headed for the study, his unfinished whiskey in hand and Tess’s little kiss in his mind. It was odd, he thought, how intimate that kiss felt, a very small peck on the cheek, but very deep in feeling. He felt very good about it as he sat down to another chapter of his tale.

Keeya Moseki found herself sitting on a bench in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum. Art was her passion and, when she was blue, her solace. And solace was what she sought this day, her first day in Manhattan. She was a long way from her home in Botswana, and she left Gaborone in joy. She was to meet Charles Smith, the man she had fallen in love with. She only knew him through the Internet; they had met online two years earlier, as she began her third year in art and cultural studies. He was wonderful, sharing all her interests in art, and now that she had completed her degree, she was to meet him in New York. Not just meet; he had promised her they would be engaged and she would join him in his Manhattan penthouse. And so she arrived at JFK on the flight, at the time and at the date she had told him.

She deplaned and looked for him. And waited for him. And texted him. And never heard back from him; his line was no longer in service. Keeya feared the worst, and anxiously went online to her bank in Gaborone. It was as she feared; her bank account had been emptied, the money transferred to a numbered account in the Bahamas. Not knowing what to do she took her one suitcase and found her way via public transit to the one place she most wanted to see. And there she sat, finding some comfort in the paintings before her.

It was nearly closing time when she felt a tugging at her collar. No one was there, but the tug felt insistent, drawing her towards the exit. She went along with it and stepped out into the street. But it wasn’t the street she expected. It was definitely not Fifth Avenue; she found herself facing a glass pyramid. A pyramid she knew from her studies. She stood, thoroughly confused, in front of the Louvre, with the Tuileries Garden just beyond.

Arthur reached for his glass and refilled it from the Study liquor cabinet. A satisfying sip from the glass, and he leaned bak to reflect, not on what he had just written, but on the prospect of a day to be spent idyllically on the lake and at the beach with Tess. Off to his room, then, for a shower and some sleep.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Tess had climbed into bed, but she was far from sleepy. Too much to think about. She lay back against the bed, folding her arms under her head as she stared up at the ceiling of her room.

What did she want from Life? How did she want to proceed?

Tess knew she wanted to be happy and in order to round out that happiness, she wanted a companion to share it with. How to proceed was a bit trickier to figure out. What had happened to her was traumatic, yes. She was lucky, she knew. She was still alive. Some women weren’t so lucky. Tess knew she was strong. She just had to find her resilience. She could live her life in fear, cowering in dark corners when she felt threatened or she could reach out and grab what the world was offering and enjoy it. Some things weren’t as easy as others. One step at a time, she reminded herself. With that lingering thought, she fell asleep.

The next morning, she was up bright and early. She donned an emerald, green bikini under a pair of shorts and a flowery top. With a couple of towels slung over her arm, she went downstairs with a spring in her step, her eyes searching for Arthur. Not seeing him about, she headed for the kitchen to finish up packing their picnic basket.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

“You’re up early,” Arthur exclaimed as he came into the kitchen. “I was just outside in the shed, gathering up some tackle for our fishing picnic. A couple of light spinning rods and reels and an assortment of lures. I packed a jar of salmon eggs if you’d rather go bait fishing.”

He headed over to the counter to start a pot of coffee.

“I’ll put some up for a light breakfast, with enough left to fill a thermos. I do like a bit of coffee during the morning.”

He stood there for a moment looking at Tess.

“You look nice,” he said. “I very much like your flower-bedecked top.”

Truth be told, he was also looking at her bare legs, and found them rather attractive. He wondered if she thought he looked good in his blue swim trunks and beige tee.

Breakfast finished, they headed out to the lake. As he led the way down the path, Arthur carried the tackle and a cooler box for anything they might catch. Tess followed with the picnic basket.

“Let’s sit a while,” he said as they arrived at the beach. “I’d like to savor the morning with a half cup of java.”

He fetched the thermos and sat in one of the Adirondack chairs facing the lake.

“Feel free to explore,” he said, “if you’d rather not sit.”

 

[DarkWarrioress]

“You’re up early. I was just outside in the shed, gathering up some tackle for our fishing picnic. A couple of light spinning rods and reels and an assortment of lures. I packed a jar of salmon eggs if you’d rather go bait fishing.”

The sound of Arthur’s voice coming from behind her, made her jump a little in startled surprise. She whirled around.

“Oh! You startled me, Arthur. I didn’t expect you up so early either.”

She wrinkled her nose.

“I think I’ll stay with bait fishing.”

She had never tried the other and perhaps, depending on how their day went, she’d ask Arthur to teach her.

“You look nice. I very much like your flower-bedecked top.”

The sincerity in his voice made her smile.

“Why, thank you and you look pretty darn good yourself, Mr. Hawthorn.”

Her eyes made a show of wandering over his form with appreciation in her eyes. After they had breakfast, they wandered down to the beach. It was a glorious morning.

“Let’s sit a while. I’d like to savor the morning with a half cup of java.”

Tess smiled as she set down their picnic basket.

“I’ll remember that for future reference.”

She smiled as he invited her to stay or go exploring.

“I think I’ll join you in that coffee,” she spoke as she rummaged around in the basket for the couple of coffee cups she had put inside of it.

She sat back in the chair and watched appreciatively as the sun started to slowly rise. At the moment, sunbeams poked through the tree branches and spread out across the lake, making it seem like the lake was shimmering in gold. The water of the lake itself was peaceful and calm. They could hear the morning birds making their own conversations. Tess leaned her head back against her chair, closing her eyes. The birds were singing. Arthur was quietly pouring coffee into the two mugs she had produced for him. It was simply… lovely.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Arthur sat back, enjoying the coffee and the morning. He’d sat here often since he lost Emily, and it was always a bittersweet moment as he thought about the mornings there with his wife. Today was different, though; Emily was in his mind, but he felt completely at ease; there was no bitterness to take the edge off the sweetness of the morning. ‘Is this what the end of grieving feels like.’ he wondered as he sipped his coffee.

He glanced at Tess as he sat next to her. He liked seeing her there as he listened to the sounds of the morning. A sudden splash on the lake took him from his reverie. It was a loon landing not far from his beach.

“We should get out soon,” he said, “the fishing will be better; they tend to take it easy during the heat of the day.”

As soon as they finished their coffee he headed to a little shed to take out the rowboat.

“Would you like to give me a hand?” he called to Tess as he opened the doors of the boathouse.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

It was so peaceful out here. Tess sat back in her Adirondack chair and let the atmosphere relax her. She wasn’t sure if it was the lake or Arthur’s presence, perhaps both, that relaxed her so much. She couldn’t remember a time in her life, ever, that relaxed her so much. The sound of something hitting the lake drew her out of her lazy reverie. Turning her head slightly, she saw a loon had landed on the water and was fishing. It made her smile.

“We should get out soon. The fishing will be better; they tend to take it easy during the heat of the day.”

Tess turned her attention to Arthur with a soft sigh.

“I suppose you’re right. As the afternoon approaches, they’ll go deeper to avoid the heat.”

She finished her coffee, took Arthur’s cup and stowed them both in the picnic basket along with the thermos. Getting to her feet, she followed him to the boathouse.

Would you like to give me a hand?”

“Of course, Arthur. What would you like me to do?”

She could help him carry the boat down to the lake. With the two of them doing it, it shouldn’t be much of an effort. She stood just inside of the door, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness of the boathouse before she turned them toward Arthur.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Arthur looked towards Tess and found her eyes on him. He smiled in the darkness.

“It’s a lightweight boat, mostly Kevlar and carbon fiber over a wood skeleton, “ he noted. “Only weighs about sixty pounds. Maybe seventy-five with the three oars. So, hook your fingers under the gunwale just fore of the thole and we should be able to trot it the few yards down to the water with no trouble at all.”

He took hold of the boat on his side so Tess could see exactly what he meant. Sure enough, they were down to the water’s edge in less than a minute. He held the bow line as they shoved it in and then fastened it to a stump by the shore.

“Let’s take the basket with us in case we want to eat out on the lake.”

He walked back to the chairs and table to get the tackle while Tess took care of the picnic basket. Back to the boat, then, and he had Tess sit on the center thwart whle he sat at the stern. All settled in, and he pushed off. Once adrift he positioned the sculling oar and began propelling them forward. Tess had a good view of the lake and the surrounding shore and countryside, and Arthur had a good view of Tess’s back.

As they sailed around, following the shoreline, Arthur pointed out the various features around the lake. They both kept their eyes open for signs of wildlife, and they weren’t disappointed, with two does and a fawn watering in a little cove providing the highlight. Around the far side of the lake Arthur steered them towards the middle, staying far enough away from his only neighbor’s beach. He stopped sculling and let the boat drift.

“This is the deepest part of the lake. The water here is cold and refreshing,” he said. “Would you like to take a dip before we head back towards the shore to fish?”

 

[DarkWarrioress]

“It’s a lightweight boat, mostly Kevlar and carbon fiber over a wood skeleton Only weighs about sixty pounds. Maybe seventy-five with the three oars. So, hook your fingers under the gunwale just fore of the thole and we should be able to trot it the few yards down to the water with no trouble at all.”

She moved to his opposite side and lifted. He was right. The boat was amazingly light and she easily held up her side.

“Let’s take the basket with us in case we want to eat out on the lake.”

Tess took up the picnic basket and set it inside of the boat before she got in herself. She studied the lake as the boat rippled through it, disturbing the placid waters. The sound of the oar pushing them through the water was oddly relaxing. She watched a few loons take flight as they moved in their direction. Now and then, she could feel Arthur’s eyes on her back and she wondered what he was thinking. Then Tess gasped softly. A doe and her fawn had come down to drink from the lake. Her eyes were riveted on them. The sound of Arthur’s oar stopping made her glance over her shoulder at him, a question in her eyes.

“This is the deepest part of the lake. The water here is cold and refreshing. Would you like to take a dip before we head back towards the shore to fish?”

“Cold, hm? Refreshing?” She grinned, “I guess I should find out for myself.”

Tess slid her top over her head, setting it aside before removing her tennis shoes and socks and then took off her shorts, revealing her emerald, green bikini.

“Um, is there any graceful way to get out of the boat and into the water?”

Her eyes held a teasing light as she looked at him expectantly.

“And are you joining me in the lake, Arthur?”

 

[Tio_Narratore]

“Yes to both questions,” Arthur said with a laugh. “There are a number of ways of gracefully abandoning ship.”

He shifted to the port side of the dinghy so Tess could get out on the starboard. His eyes were on her the whole time, savoring the sight of her body, so well exhibited and accented by the green of her bikini. His mind, not unexpectedly, turned again to thoughts of sex.

“I’ll sit opposite your entry to balance the boat. You can either dive in or jump. Stand up on the center thwart, and I’ll hold the boat steady.”

As soon as Tess was in the water, Arthur stripped off his shirt and set a drift anchor. When she surfaced, he dove in on the port side and swam under the boat to surface right behind her.

“Nice and cold. Very refreshing,” he said as he brushed against her. “Do you like it?”

 

[DarkWarrioress]

She had been wondering how to exit the boat gracefully. Shooting Arthur a grateful look, she slid over the starboard side and into the lake. Her first contact with the water and after she surfaced, slicking back the hair out of her eyes, made her gasp and shiver. It was cold but invigorating. Tess heard Arthur’s entry into the water, but caught no sight of him. Where had he gotten to? There was a disturbance under her treading feet and she expected him to pop up between her and the boat. Instead, she head his voice come from behind her, making her gasp in surprised as she whirled about, feeling him right behind her.

“Nice and cold. Very refreshing. Do you like it?”

Tess smiled and continued to tread water.

“It takes a bit of getting used to, but yes, I do like it.”

Now more than ever, she became aware of Arthur, treading water right behind her. Oddly, she thought she could feel his body heat as well. For a split second she had this insane urge to whirl about and wrap her arms around his neck as the two of them lightly kicked through the water. Instead, she took a deep breath and dove down, swimming under him and further out into the lake. It was serene down here under the surface. Chilly as well, but the peacefulness of the lake made it barely noticeable.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Arthur followed her under the surface, enjoying the sight of her nearly nude body as she swam through the clear water of the middle of the lake. He was pleased that she wore a bikini; it afforded a view of all her muscles rippling under her skin as she stroked her way through the water.

“The boat will pretty much stay where it is,” he said as they surfaced some distance away. “But still we shouldn’t get too far away from it. Sometimes the cold of the water catches you suddenly. Too much blood to your core and not enough to your muscles.”

They stayed in places, kicking lightly to tread water as they quietly listened to the sounds of the lake. After a few minutes a fish broke the surface near them and stirred Arthur from a little reverie. He’d have to talk about it in a way with Tess later.

“Let’s head back to the boat now,” he suggested, and began swimming on the surface.

“Now,” he began as the reached the rowboat, “getting back in is a bit trickier than getting out. It’s a bit easier if we help each other, You stay here and hold onto the gunwale while I go to the other side.”

“Put some weight onto your side while I use the water to get me up and in.”

He bobbed up and down three times, shooting himself up and over the gunwale with the buoyancy of the last bob.”

“See, you use the buoyancy of the water to get you up. I’ll lean back on my side to help hold the boat steady while you get in.”

Once Tess was in the boat he retrieved towels for them and once again enjoyed seeing her movements, this time as she dried herself.