A House at the Bottom of a Lake

11

Amelia didn’t recognize how claustrophobic the third lake made her feel until they set out to leave it. Then the word struck her like a slap.

Claustrophobic.

She was afraid the canoe wouldn’t squeeze out the way it squeezed in. Afraid they’d be stuck there, on the third lake, with the house, forever.

It was silly, of course. They could just swim through the tunnel, could walk on shore, a dozen different ways to leave. But still, she’d felt it.

Panic.

But the canoe made it out just the way it’d come in. Only now there were even more paint flakes in the water, more of a dent in the canoe.

“Uncle Bob’s got a good long hose,” James said as they reached shore at last: the short stretch of sand that constituted Uncle Bob’s little beach.

“We keep coming back to hoses,” Amelia said.

“We do. I guess that’s our spirit animal?”

But Amelia thought of the dead fish floating a foot below the surface of the third lake.

James got out of the canoe.

“It won’t work,” Amelia said. “The hose.”

“It won’t?”

“No. I tried it before. It doesn’t work like a straw.”

James looked thoughtful. He looked out across the first lake but Amelia knew he was actually looking farther than that.

“Does your uncle have scuba gear?”

“He might.”

“Would you know how to use it?”

“No.” He looked ponderous again. “My cousin has diving gear.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. I’ll get it from him tonight.”

Clipped syllables. Short sentences. Amelia knew why.

They were planning on returning to the third lake.

Without discussing the idea, they were going back.

This meant something.

“Tomorrow then,” James said.

“Yes. Wait… no. I work tomorrow.”

“What time?”

“During the day.”

“Where do you work?”

“Darlene’s Grocery.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah.”

“All right.”

“The next day,” Amelia said.

James nodded.

“All right.”

They looked into each other’s eyes. Something quiet passed. They’d been given a teaser, a foyer, a hall with a mirror, and they wanted to see more.

You’d go back with or without her, James thought. But the idea felt ugly.

They nodded at the same time, both pretending they were agreeing to a second date in two days. But really both were saying, Yes, yes I’d go back alone.

I’d go back this second if I could.