Waiting for the Boat

Waiting for the Boat

Alan sat in the rowboat near the edge of the lake. It was a little cove he and Sandra had discovered early on, out of sight of the houses and roads, and off a place too overgrown for anyone to try getting through to the water. A dream of a hideaway.

They had met on the water over two years ago. Quickly becoming friends, yet, even then they were always discrete for fear of what Sandra’s husband would do. Frank kept Sandra in their house like it was a cage. Only bringing her out to show her off in public, like she was his pet. Still, Alan and Sandra never meant to fall in love.

Today they were running away together. Alan was getting nervous though, Sandra should have been here by now. Had she changed her mind? Their suitcases were already in the car parked by the bridge, Sandra was supposed to paddle over, in their rowboat, as soon as Frank left for work. The plan was to let the boat go loose so everyone would think she fell in the lake, and drowned. They both knew death was the only way Frank would let her go.

As Alan waited, he gazed across the lake. It was so still, like a mirror, he could see every cloud, every bird flying overhead on the smooth surface. Feeling calmer at the beautiful sight, he leaned over to look into the lake, finding that the shade of the cove let him see all the way down through the clear, still water. He looked up, startled by a siren abruptly sounding from a fast boat heading his way. Suddenly he realized that Frank must have found out their plan. He sighed, gazing back down in the water, and into Sandra’s cold dead eyes.