Chapter 2

I ran back to the house, and changed out of my khakis and Oxford cloth shirt and into bathing trunks, a wicking t-shirt, and an old pair of ratty running shoes.

I went out and opened up the big garage door on the shop and turned the lights on. I looked around and decided that it didn’t look too bad, so I went back inside and got a glass of iced tea and sat on the front porch to wait for Loren.

After maybe twenty minutes, she pulled up. I’d never known what she drove, and was a bit surprised to find it was a Suburu Outback, rather than something sportier.

She pulled in the driveway and got out. She’d pulled her hair back in a pony tail, and was wearing a snug bright blue t-shirt and a pair of semi-loose navy shorts. Somewhat surprisingly, she had on a pair of running shoes even rattier than mine.

“Hey there! Welcome back. You probably ought to park on the street, so we can get the truck out to take the boats to the lake.”

“Oh, crud! I should have thought of that.” She got back in the car and parked on the street. I met her at the bottom of the steps and we walked back through the driveway.

I ushered her through the door into the shop, where I had two wood-strip kayaks and a skin on frame under construction.

I took my time and explained the processes, and showed her the tools I used for building each one. She was obviously intrigued and asked a lot of good questions. I was a bit flattered to have someone new to rattle on to about this stuff.

Once we finished in the shop, I took her across the yard to the shed, where I had (at the time) about a dozen boats on the storage racks. I pointed out the differences in each of them, and then pulled two SOFs and a wood-strip off the rack and carried them out to the truck one at a time.

Loren helped me load them along with a couple of PFDs. I picked a couple of paddles out of the rack and checked one to make sure it was about right for her. We put everyting in the truck and I did a quick tie down.

“Well, that’s it. Do you have your swimsuit on under those clothes? You’ll want to be in it.”

“Nope- it’s in a bag in the car. I didn’t want to get wet and then have to put these clothes back on over it. Where can I change?”

I laughed. “Oh, anywhere back here.” I winked at her. “On the other hand, you might want to go inside and use the bathroom. I’m sure you know where it is, this house is laid out just like the one you grew up in.”

Loren stuck her tongue out at me. “OK, be that way! Inside it is!”

I followed her around front, where she got the bag out of her car. I picked up my tea glass, and we went in the front door.

“Wow- you’ve really done a nice job in here Tommy! Did you do all this yourself?”

“Yep- after Mom passed on, I completely renovated the place. Let me give you the nickel tour.”

I took her around the house and showed her the updates, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. She especially liked the big, zero-entry shower, and the dressing area in the bathroom.

“That shower is great, Tommy! Our shower at home is a little cramped. This one is nice and big. It’s also nice to have more room in here to dress. The pocket door is cool too- no wasted space.”

“Oh yeah- room for two in that shower!”, I said with a wink. “The only thing you need to be careful of is to get the shower curtain inside so the water doesn’t run out.”

Loren laughed again. “OK, perv, get out so I can change.”

“If you’re sure you don’t need any help...”. I chuckled

“I can manage!”

I stepped out of the bathroom and slid the pocket door shut behind me.

I rinsed out my glass and put a strap on my glasses to hold them on. I picked up another one to offer Loren for her sunglasses, which she’d had perched on her head.

Loren came out in just a few minutes. She was wearing a conservative one-piece swimsuit of dark green with bright green trim. For a 64 year old woman, she looked great. Very trim and shapely.

“Ooo la la.”, I teased.

“Oh, pooh!”

“Seriously- you look great. Honestly, I was surprised at how well pretty much everyone from to old neighborhood had held up at the last all -class reunion.”

“Well, thank you!”

“You’re most welcome. Here’s a strap for your sunglasses, you don’t want to lose them if you roll the boat”.

“Just how likely am I to roll, anyhow?”

“Oh, maybe 1 in 3. Depends on how good your balance is. Since you’re pretty athletic, you should be OK.” If you do roll, it’s no big deal, just swim the boat to the shore and we’ll dump it out.”

“OK.”

We got in the truck and drove up to the little lake above the house. Many years ago, it had been a small golf course, then a potential housing development, until a flash flood in 1961. By 1970, it had been converted to a small (about 40 acre) flood control and recreational lake, no swimming allowed, but fishing and unpowered boating had gotten relatively popular.

We pulled up at the little gravel launch area and unloaded the boats and gear. I parked the truck out of the way and went back over.

“Since you and I are about the same height, the footrests will probably be OK. If it’s uncomfortable, we’ll come ashore and adjust them. Lets put you in this SOF one first. I think you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is.”

“You’re the expert.”

“I’m no expert, for sure, just an enthusiast.”

I showed her how to brace the boat and then slide her legs inside.

“How do the footrests feel? Comfortable?”

“Well, my feet are on them and my knees are bent a bit. They’re not bumping the deck.”

“That’s about right. Now when you paddle, use your torso and reach forward, then twist back until you’re about to your hip, ease the paddle out and repeat on the other side. It feels funny, but the power is from your torso, not your arms so much.” I demonstrated the motion. “OK now, I’m going to ease you out. To keep your balance, it’s like riding a horse, you rotate at your hips, keeping your upper body upright. There’s more to it than that, but that part is more for paddling moving water where you need to maneuver a lot. These boats turn OK, but they’re more for cruising along.”

I gave her a gentle push out into the lake, then quickly got into my kayak and pushed off.

“Oh, yeah, if you do roll over, just lean forward a little, put your hand on either side of the cockpit and push off, you’ll slide right out. It’s called a wet exit.”

Like any beginner, she wobbled a bit, but quickly got the hang of balancing, as we paddled along.

“Tommy- what about rolling these things? I’ve seen people roll over and then pop right back up.”

“You need to wear a spray skirt for that to keep the water out of the boat. It has an elastic band that goes under the rim of the cockpit and one that goes around your chest. I’m not too great at it, but basic rolling isn’t hard. I didn’t bring any skirts today, since they’re hot, and we’re just playing with the boats. If you get some, I’d advise getting some lessons from a better teacher than I am.”

“OK, that makes sense. You were right that this is easy to paddle. It just glides along! I could get used to this.”

“Glad you like it, Loren. That one is a fifteen footer and goes about thirty-seven pounds. Because of the frames, it doesn’t have as much room for stuff, and it’s harder to get stuff in and out. The wood-strip is the same length but runs around fifty-five to sixty-five pounds. I can build them with two dry storage areas. Otherwise you just put stuff in dry bags.”

“This is fun!”

“I love it. Don’t get to do it often enough, I’m glad I had an excuse to paddle today.”

We paddled up to the end of the lake and then around the sides, until we got back to the launch.

We got out and stretched our legs. Loren helped me put the SOF back on the truck.

We got back to the water and set off again, with Loren paddling the wood-strip.

“This one’s fun too! It feels a little tippier.”

“It’s a little narrower, so the initial stability is lower. It’s easier to turn then the SOF, if you’re edging it a bit.”

“I love this, Tommy! Thank you for taking me out! Hey- can you get some pictures of me paddling these? I want to show Bob.”

“Oh, sure. Did you bring your phone, or shall I use mine?”

“Mine’s in the truck.”

“OK, when we get back I’ll get some.”

We paddled around some more, but the lake just didn’t have much room, so we turned back to follow the shore. Partway along, as we followed a point, Loren managed to over balance and rolled. She made a smooth exit, but she lost control of her paddle. Laughing, I picked it up and paddled over to where she was swimming her boat ashore.

“Well, now you’ve been baptized in the paddling church.”

Loren laughed, then she lunged and grabbed the blade of my paddle and tipped me over.

Sputtering with laughter, I exited and came back up.

“You looked hot, so I cooled you off!” Loren teased.

“You got me! I should have known better.”

“Yep!”

We pushed the boats ashore and dumped them. I used the sponge I kept in my day bag to pull the last water out, and we relaunched.

When we got to the launch, I got out and got some pics of Loren in each boat, then she came ashore and we loaded up.

When we got back to my place, we put the boats back on the rack and the gear away. Loren got more pics of the boat in my fleet, and the shop. I locked everything up and we sat on the back porch with some iced tea.

“Well, I guess I ought to go get a shower and get the lake water off, and get out of your hair, Tommy” Loren said after a little bit.

“No need to rush off, unless you have something else to do. I’m not bored, and I’d just be piddling around the house this evening anyhow. You can use the shower in there if you like. Linda’s stuff in the shower caddy.”

“Well, if you’re sure. I feel like I’ve monopolized you today.”

“Well, I don’t mind. I’ve enjoyed showing off my hobbies, and the house. If you don’t have anything better to do, we can throw some hot dogs on the grill and just hang out.”

“Well, I sure don’t have any other plans. This was kind of a rush trip after all.” Loren smiled at me. “I guess I’ll take you up on the shower.”

“OK, what do you like on your hot dogs, and what would you like to go with them?”

Oh, I’m not picky. I like the usual “West Virginia Dog”, you know: mustard, chili, onions and slaw. I also like kraut and mustard. Dill relish is good too.”

“I have all that, I actually have homemade chili frozen. I’ve got chips and dip, too. Ice cream for dessert?”

“Homemade chili? I make my own too. I got Garnet’s recipe- it was the best!”

“Well I’d have to put Jennie’s recipe that they used at the old dime store lunch counter first, but Garnet’s is good. I got Jennie’s recipe from Mom, and that’s what I use.”

“OMG, those hot dogs were so GOOD! And her pies were to die for!”

“Well, Mom got her Graham Cracker pie recipe before she retired, so i’ve got that going for me, too.” I said with a wink.

“Oh Lordy! You’ll have to give me both of those!”

“Sure thing! Anyhow, if we want ice cream, I’ll need to run and get some- I can’t have it in the house, or I’ll eat it in a sitting. What kind do you like?”

Loren laughed a little. “You’ll think it’s silly, but I like the Neopolitan. You know, the vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry?”

I grinned. “I know- we always used to have it for birthday parties when we were kids, because pretty much everyone liked it.”

“I guess I’m still a kid at heart, then.”

“OK, I’ll go get some, and you can get a shower. Towels and wash cloths are on the wire shelves by the shower. I’ll clean up when I get back and we can fire up the grill and eat later.”

“That sounds like a plan- if you’re sure it’s no trouble.”

“Nope- if I were here by myself, I’d probably just read or piddle in the shop for a while and then go to bed.”

“You wild man, you!”

“Oh yeah, I’m just an outlaw! OK, I’m out of here. I’ll lock the door behind me, and be back in fifteen or twenty minutes.” I gave her a grin, got up and headed out. It was just a short trip to the store. I got ice cream, and on impulse, got some marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars, just in case we wanted s’mores. I also picked up some potato salad, which thought would go well with the dogs. I paid up, hopped back in the car and was home in the stipulated time.

Bag in one hand, keys in the other I opened the back door and hollered “Lucy, I’m home” in my best Ricky Ricardo accent.

As I stepped inside, I hear Loren call out. “Just finished.” as she came out the the hallway dressed in her shorts and blouse. She was barefoot, as her runners were soaked. “Would you mind running out to my car and grabbing my sandals out of the passenger floor? I was going to go out myself, but the pavement’s going to be hot.”

“I can’t believe a Florida gal is worried about hot feet. Don’t ya’ll go barefoot down there all the time?” I teased. “Let me put the ice cream away first”

She stuck out her tongue at me. “I’m atypical, I guess. I don’t like going barefoot outside the house. Too many things that have spines, or want to bite, and people thrown crap on the ground. We’ve even found used needles in our neighborhood!”

“Oh, the junkies are everywhere now. Even up here. Want to give me your keys?”

“Here you are, It’s this fob. The other one’s for Bob’s SUV.”

“Got it. Be right back.” A quick trip in and out, and I was handing Loren her sandals. “Thanks”, she said, as we walked back through the house to the kitchen. She pulled out one of the chairs from the dinette, and sat down to put them on.