Chapter 2

Saturday

It was Saturday morning and the boys had been dropped off by their parents and were helping me load the van with our personal luggage and the coolers filled with the food we would need for the week. Everything else we would need was already at the cabin.

There was Billy Smith the youngest at 14. A tow-headed boy with an average build for his age and a ready smile.

Charles McCormick, 15. Charlie was tall for his age and played center on Peter’s JV basketball team.

Carl Williams, 16. Carl was the only black student we had at the high school. He was a bit of a cut-up and was always ready to make people laugh. He was well-liked and I even noticed a couple of the girls making eyes at him that seemed to want to be more than friends.

Last but not least was Greg Baily. Greg just turned eighteen a couple of months ago. Greg was a born leader. Whenever he was in a group, leadership almost always passed automatically to him. At the end of the summer, Greg would be headed off to the state college on a partial academic scholarship.

Patty came out of my house and said, “Okay boys put these last two coolers in my Jeep. Who is going to ride with me?”

Carl and Billy raised their hand.

I clapped my hands and said, “Let’s mount up and get this show on the road.” Greg and Charlie climbed into my van just as Patty and the boys got in her Jeep. Peter was sitting on the porch with his cast propped up as he enjoyed watching the morning’s activity. I went back to the porch and kissed Peter goodbye. He wished me luck and fifteen minutes later we were on the main highway headed north.

We arrived at the cabin a little past noon and got everything unpacked. The caretaker had been there and turned the water and electricity on and stocked plenty of wood for the wood stove we used for heat. There was a privy out back and an outdoor shower on the side of the cabin that had hot water if you did not take too long.

The cabin was a basic log cabin shell with a covered porch with two wicker chairs set out for relaxing and watching the sunset. Inside the cabin consisted of an open area with the wood stove on the right side as you came in the front door and on the opposite wall was the sink, electric stove, fridge and cabinets, with kitchen table and chairs. The right side of the cabin was set up with a leather couch and two leather chairs facing the couch with an area rug and coffee table in the middle. We did not have a TV or internet although cell phones did work which surprised me when I first came up here with Peter.

The two bedrooms were in the back of the cabin with a hall between them that led to the back door. Along the two walls of the halls were bench seats that served as storage when you lifted the seats up. Fishing poles were hung on one wall and an empty gun rack on the opposite wall. The caretaker had removed the gun and keeps it at his place for when we are not here and the week that the boys are here.

Our cabin is pretty isolated. We are surrounded by woods on three sides and the closest cabin to ours is at least a mile and a half away. The cabin is set back about forty yards from the beach area and the dock. I took a walk down to the beach and saw that the picnic table had been uncovered and our aluminum rowboat and the canoe were tied up to the dock. Everything seemed to be in order. I went to the cabin and finished unpacking.

It was around 1:30 in the afternoon by the time we got everyone fed and settled in. It was a warm day so I suggested that the boys put on their swim trunks and go to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. I put on my one piece swimsuit and a pair of shorts and went down to the picnic table to keep an eye on the boys. I wanted to see if they all could swim fairly well or if I was going to have to make them wear life jackets. They were doing cannonballs off the dock and they showed that they could swim well enough to save themselves if they fell out of a boat.

Patty came down about a half hour later in a two-piece bathing suit that I thought was a little too revealing. I made a mental note to ask her later if she had something more appropriate to wear when around the boys.

Everything went as planned. The boy’s spent the afternoon swimming and after we had supper we took them fishing. They caught and released a few yellow perch and a largemouth bass. We had all the boys tucked in by eleven and Patty and I hit the sack too.