The Secrets of Lake Road

Last night her mother had held her; this morning she had pushed her away. She wondered what it was about her that made her mother treat her this way. What did she do wrong?

“Is Gram still sleeping?” she asked. At least Gram could stand to be around her even if her mother couldn’t.

“I don’t know, Caroline.” She put the cup into the sink. “I’m getting a shower.”

In the next minute, Caroline heard the bathroom door lock and the pipes clank as the water turned on. She stood from the bench seat. Somehow the cold treatment from her mother always stung more after the times she had shown her the slightest bit of affection.

Well, she’d show her. She picked up the empty water jug and carried it back to her bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed and twisted the cap on and off, debating whether or not she had the courage to go through with what she was thinking about doing.

The well was located on the other side of the lake, and Caroline had been filling jugs with water for as long as she could remember. When she had been little and too weak to carry them on her own, Gram had accompanied her, and the two of them had made the trek. Her job was to hold the jug steady under the stream of clear cool water while Gram pumped. Gram said it was the best tasting water around. After all, the lake was one of the few freshwater lakes in the state of Pennsylvania, and she felt lucky to have a summer cabin next to it.

Caroline was sure Gram had other jugs of water in the pantry, and she’d replace the one in the refrigerator soon enough, but this wasn’t about replenishing their supply. Her mother made her feel bad about herself all over one stupid drink, and that in turn made her angry. She chewed on these emotions, biting her bottom lip for a minute more. She decided she would refill it. She’d take only the one jug for no other reason than for spite.

After a quick change into shorts and a T-shirt, she stuck her baseball cap on, grabbed the jug, and slipped out the screen door, making sure not to let it bang shut.

When she reached Lake Road, she paused, thinking of the best route to take without being seen. She didn’t think she could bear another day watching underwater recovery on the lake, and she certainly didn’t want to risk bumping into Johnny or Chris or anyone else for that matter. She wasn’t sure, but she imagined her eyes looked as if she had been crying. Her face was probably pink and blotchy. Her mother had told her once she wore her heart on her sleeve—right before she had advised her to toughen up.

Thinking about her mother’s words enraged her more, and she stomped through the woods, taking the same path she had the night before. She wasn’t halfway down the narrow trail, staying clear of the poison ivy that covered most of the area on her left, when the same dog started barking again. Darn dog. She spotted the mutt through the oak and maple trees. He was tied to a dog coop on the side of a cabin. She recognized him: Cougar, a name that mocked the poor animal before it ever stood a chance. No wonder he barked incessantly. He was looking for attention and, knowing his owners, Stimpy and his wife, he was hungry, too. She made a mental note to bring poor Cougar some food at some point during the day.

When she came to the edge of the parking lot, she spied the underwater recovery team’s vehicle. Two of the men stood next to the truck, drinking coffee. Three other cars were parked in the lot. A couple sat on the hood of a sedan parked closest to the truck and men. Caroline recognized Sara’s mother. She was wearing the big sun hat she had worn on the day Sara disappeared. Her knees were pulled close to her chest, and she was hugging her legs tightly. A man sat next to her, presumably Sara’s father, hunched over with his feet propped on the front bumper. Both parents’ shoulders slumped, but Caroline could tell solely from the way they held their heads, necks craned forward and chins lifted, that their eyes had never left the water.

She turned away from the scene, her stomach feeling as if a thousand minnows swam back and forth in it, making her seasick. She wound her way unnoticed to the far side of the Pavilion. The sign on the door was the same from yesterday: CLOSED.

Turning at the sound of a car coming down Lake Road, she took off in the opposite direction of the beach and the recovery team, deciding on the longer route to the well. She’d have to walk in a near full circle around the lake, but the idea appealed to her. She wasn’t in any hurry to return to The Pop-Inn and face her mother, or Johnny the Jerk for that matter. Nor was she in any mood to listen to Megan’s obsessive talk about makeup and boys and kissing.

She stuck close to the back of the cabins alongside the lake, smelling bacon and eggs as she passed. Sometimes she’d hear voices and the clinking of silverware inside. When she came to the last cabin before a stretch of woods, she saw Adam sitting on the pier all alone, holding a fishing pole.

“Hey, Adam,” she said. “Catch anything?”