The Castaway Hotel - 2 - 2. Chapter 2 - Family Ties

Over the next few days, we did many things together, including taking a nice long hike on state land, which was situated just a short distance from the cottage. Even though Michael had to carry Nicky most of the way on his shoulders and Adrian ended up giving Jordan a piggy ride back, because both boys tired out quickly on the rugged terrain, we all still had a nice time.

I think the only thing my older children weren’t crazy about during that entire week was the fact that Ricky, Cole and Graham taught Jordan and Nicky how to terrorize their parents in the morning, as a way of waking them up. They showed their nephews some of the things they had done to me, but only the milder forms of harassment, and they also somehow managed to keep their clothes on while the others were here. I knew some of them would probably have loved to shed their garments at various times, but the thought of having the women see them naked prevented most of them from doing that.

“Dad, how do you put up with them doing things like that to you all of the time,” Elizabeth asked me, after the boys had startled her awake one morning.”

“Honey, compared to my dreary existence before they arrived, I’ll take that jump-start any day of the week. At least I know it will get my heart beating, even if the old ticker doesn’t want to start on its own,” I added, trying to lighten the moment. My daughter looked at me oddly, before she grinned and responded.

“I guess that’s one way to look at it,” she chuckled, “as long as they don’t give you a heart attack and cause it to stop in the process.”

“Dad,” Marie told me later, “were we ever that mischievous? Those guys are something else.”

“The four of you had your moments too, but maybe not quite in the same manner,” I told her. “Don’t you remember, that’s when my hair started turning gray and falling out.” She grinned.

“Well, we may have been partially responsible for that,” she admitted, “but I believe age had something to do with it as well. By the way, I think Adrian was ready to castrate them this morning, when they come pouncing on him and covering him with wet washcloths, but I know he really loves them down deep.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I responded. “I’ll be sure to keep the sharp objects out of Adrian’s reach while he’s here, so I don’t go home with a group of sopranos,” I teased.

“Yes, you do that,” she agreed.

Things were going great and everyone was growing closer, when Robert finally arrived on Thursday. Not only did Robert arrive, but the precipitation did too.

“So nice of you to show up and bring the rain with you,” Michael commented, pulling his brother’s leg a bit. “You always did have a dark cloud over your head, didn’t you?”

“I thought that dark cloud was you,” Robert shot back. “I never have these types of problems, unless you’re around at the same time.”

I appreciated their playful banter, but noticed it momentarily shocked the rest of the boys, before they realized Michael and Robert were only joking. I don’t think they ever suspected their older brothers teased each other like that and were more like them than they had ever imagined. I suspect that incident shed a whole new light on their possible future relationship with their older siblings.

“Well, seeing that’s more than a gentle summer rain,” Marie began, “did anyone think to bring anything to do in case of bad weather?” We all had to admit we hadn’t.

“Let me look around a bit,” I suggested. I’m sure my friend must have something around here he uses for days like this.” I soon discovered I was correct, when I located several decks of playing cards in one of his cupboards.

In an effort to pass the time, we keep switching cards games to keep it interesting and over the course of the day, we played hearts, spades, pitch, rummy, poker, blackjack and double solitaire. We taught the various games to those who didn’t already know them, but we also played Old Maid, War and Go Fish with my grandsons, so they didn’t feel left out. There were always two or three different card games going on at the same time, so no one ever lacked for something to do.

That evening, my older children suggested I tell one of my ghost stories. They said it had been a long time since they’d last heard one and thought this might be a good time to revisit those nostalgic events from their past, but only after my grandsons went to bed. They didn’t want me scaring the little ones and prevent them from sleeping throughout the night. The boys thought it was amazing their older siblings had made this request, so they proceeded to tell them about the stories I’d already told them and how they suffered through more than one restless evening after listening to one of my renditions. My older children just chuckled and said they understood perfectly.

Once Nicky and Jordan were safely tucked in and fast asleep, I told them all the tale of the Lady of the Lake. “Eleanor was a very lovely girl and full of life, She had many friends and was very popular, until she fell deeply in love with a man who was ten years her senior. They seemed truly in love with each other, and that’s why she gave herself to him completely, cutting herself off from nearly everyone else in her life.

“One evening, her lover brought her out to this very lake for a romantic, moonlight boat ride. Eleanor assumed he was doing it to set the mood and this would be the night he would propose to her. She had told him a few days previously that she was carrying his child, so she surmised he was going to do the right thing and ask her to be his wife.”

I now changed my tone from the light, wispy tenor I had been using, to a dark and foreboding baritone to make this next point. “You have to remember that this was in the early 1900’s and having sex before marriage was taboo. Much of society shunned unwed mothers and unmercifully gossip about them, but Eleanor knew this would not be her fate. Her boyfriend would never allow this to happen to her.”

At this point I switch back to my first voice again. “That evening, she got in his rowboat, eagerly anticipating his surprise. She enjoyed watching her lover handle the oars so deftly, as he rowed them out to the middle of the lake.” I pantomimed rowing a boat as I said that. “Seeing there was no motor, and therefore no noise to alert others nearby that anyone was out on the water in the middle of the night, they went completely undetected. Once her lover stopped rowing, he let the boat begin to drift and gently rock in the small swells on the lake, as he moved toward her. Eagerly, she awaited his touch, as she suspected he was about to wrap his arms around her, before smothering her passionately with kisses, under the modest glow from the crescent moon.

“When he reached her, she was greatly surprised that he grabbed her and shoved her out of the boat, instead.” As I said that, I stood up abruptly and made like I were pushing someone out of the boat, which startled a few of my listeners. “Seeing she wasn’t prepared for this to happen, she sank under the water almost immediately. As she struggled to resurface and inhale a fresh lungful of air, her many garments became completely waterlogged and the weight of them began to pull her into the depths.

“As quickly as she could, she began to frantically pull at her dress and the many petticoats beneath it, literally ripping the buttons off of the garments, in an effort to break free.” Now I was mimicking her struggle with her garments, making like I was trying to tear off my own. “With her last ounce of strength and her lungs burning from a lack of oxygen, she broke free of her clothing and shot upward, now bobbing like a buoy and gasping loudly.

“Once she regained her bearings, she frantically tried to climb back into the boat, but as she did so, her lover slammed one of the oars into her skull.” Now I swing an imaginary oar through the air and gave a loud ‘whack’ when it would have struck something. “A sickening ‘crack’ was heard, as the two made contact, and she fell backward, either dead or unconscious.” I heard some of the boys gasp, as I went through this last part of the story, although I assumed they were all anticipating something foul to happen.

“Her body quickly sank to the bottom of the lake, and because the water is so very cold there, it never rose to the surface again and was, therefore, never discovered. No one else knew for certain what had happened to her. Some of her closest friends, whom she had told about her situation, suspected she had run off, in order to avoid the disgrace and ridicule that would follow her throughout the years to come. Others, who merely knew about her tryst with the older man, conjectured she ran away because she’d been jilted or that possibly even some sort of misdeed had befallen her.

“It wasn’t until many years later, when her lover lay on his deathbed, that he finally confessed to what he had done. He felt, at that point, he needed to clear his conscience, before going to meet his maker. Although several searches were conducted after he made this fact know, nothing was ever found which might confirm his story. To this very day, her body still lies at the bottom of this lake – probably still appearing much as it did in life, because the frigid temperature of the water would preserve it perfectly.

“Every so often there are reports of a woman wandering around this area, walking along the shore and appearing to be searching for something. Nearly everyone who has seen or heard about this believes it is Eleanor, who has returned from the depths. Some claim she is seeking her lover, in order to pay him back for what he did to her, while others believe she is merely lonely and seeking the company of young people like herself, so she won’t have to spend the rest of eternity in those cold depths alone. Every so often, someone will come up missing while visiting the lake, and most of the locals feel she has just taken another poor soul to keep her company.” I looked about the room now, gauging my audience, and found them all transfixed and staring at me intently, so I added my final words of caution.

“While we are here, I must warn you to be careful if you wander near the lake at night and see a young woman approaching. It just might be the Lady of the Lake, roaming the water’s edge and seeking out her next companion.”

“Okay, I’m not going swimming in the lake any more!” Cole screamed, as he moved farther away from the water.

“Oh, you’re okay during the day,” I attempted to assure him. “It’s only after dark that she’s been seen and when others come up missing.”

“Well, I’m not taking any chances,” he countered, “so no more swimming for me.”

“Daddy, why did you let Danny and Dustin go out fishing with Michael and Adrian then?” Graham asked, extremely concerned. “It was still dark when they left and they were out in a boat on the lake.”

“Yes, I understand that, but in their case, there were too many of them for her to do anything,” I advised him, before seeing a look of relief spread across his face.

“Maybe she doesn’t take them so she won’t be lonely,” Elizabeth added. “I think she probably wraps her cold, slimy hands around the neck of any guy she believes might do such a despicable thing.” I do believe this comment shocked most of the boys and caused them to wonder about their sister, but she wasn’t finished. “Any guy who would do something like that to an innocent young girl deserves no better.”

My younger daughter had always been sort of a strong feminist, but I truly believe her comments were intentionally made to add another element of dread to my story. However, her words did make the boys wonder if she might do such a thing, and then try to make it look as if the Lady of the Lake had been responsible. Silently, I thanked Elizabeth for adding this additional touch of horror to my tale.

Later, after we returned to the cottage, Cole and Graham announced they wanted to sleep with me tonight. I wasn’t convinced this was only because their little buddies were already sound asleep, even though that is what they insisted was the reason. I still think their decision had been inspired by a lingering touch of uncertainty after listening to my story, even though their older brothers kept assuring them I had made the whole thing up. Whatever the reason, I did not sleep alone that evening.

Friday turned out to be another lovely day, so everyone spent it out on the lake. Cole and Graham were still a little hesitant at first, but once they saw everyone else swimming, water-skiing and soaking up some rays, they finally became convinced it was safe and joined the others.

Sometime between breakfast and lunch, the boys talked Robert into taking them for a hike around the lake, which wasn’t going to be an easy feat. The lake was quite large, so I figured it would take them several hours, at a minimum, to accomplish this task and warned them so. However the older group was determined to do it, and Robert was eager to take them, so I let them go. I would stay back and not venture very far away from the van, just in case I had to drive out to pick them up, if things didn’t work out as planned.

In the meantime, the couples set out to enjoy some quiet time with each other, while I kept Cole, Graham, Jordan and Nicky entertained. Well, that isn’t exactly true. Cole and Graham actually kept Jordan and Nicky entertained, while I merely sat around and kept an eye on them all.

The group hiking around the lake didn’t show up until after dinnertime, in fact it was quite a while after the normal time to eat. They were exhausted, yet excited.

“Dad you wouldn’t believe what we saw out there,” Kevin told me. “It was amazing.”

“Yeah, we saw some deer drinking from the lake not far from here, but that wasn’t the scary part,” Ricky announced, which immediately sent a chill up my spine. Wasn’t the scary part?

“Pop, it really wasn’t all that scary,” Robert informed me, although I think it was just to get my heart rate back to normal.

“Danny, tell me what Ricky is talking about,” I pressed, knowing Danny was the most likely to tell me the whole truth.

“Dad, it was just that we saw this black bear off in the distance, but it wasn’t really anything to worry about,” he assured me.

“Then why did Robert tell us to run into the lake and swim out as far if we could, if the bear started toward us?” Ricky countered, and quickly drew glares from the others as he did so. I raised my eyebrows, hoping this would get me a plausible response.

“Pop, I was just being cautious,” Robert responded, “in case the bear did come at us. I knew there was nowhere else to go and we couldn’t do much else. I just figured it would be less likely to follow us out into the water.

“I’ll give you credit for quick thinking, Robert, as that was a pretty good plan, under the circumstances,” I admitted. “But don’t treat me like some doddering old idiot who can’t tell what went on out there.” All the boys cringed as I said this, realizing they had greatly misjudged the situation and my reaction to not being told about it sooner.

“I knew there was a chance something out the ordinary might happen out there,” I continued, “especially where nature is concerned, but please don’t try to soft sell me, so I won’t prevent you from doing things like that in the future. I think you should all know me better than that, especially you, Robert.”

Robert’s reaction to my pronouncement was similar to a man on trial hearing the jury foreman read the guilty verdict. He hung his head, went weak in the knees and looked as if his world had just come to an end. After a few seconds, he managed to look up at me again.

“Pop, don’t blame the others,” he began. “It was my idea to encourage them to keep this information from you. I didn’t want to give you any reason not to trust me out alone with them in the future. I should have known you’d find out, one way of the other, just like when we were kids. Whenever we thought we’d kept you from learning about something we didn’t want you to know, you’d ask us about it and we knew we’d been had.”

“You never learned then either,” I told him, which caused us both to chuckle nervously. “I’m not upset, but I’m glad this came out now, rather than later. I’d have been more upset if I’d found out some other way, like overhearing a conversation about it, days down the road.”

“See, I told you,” Ricky chided them. “I knew Dad wouldn’t get mad about what happened, but he would get upset if we didn’t tell him.”

“You were right, Ricky,” Robert agreed, although I think he might have batted Ricky upside the head for ratting them out in the first place, if I weren’t still there.

“Okay, let’s put this behind us now, but no more secrets where the boys’ safety is concerned,” I offered, with all of the boys going along with my statement, sooner or later.

Over the next hour or so, each of them came up to me and apologized for their part in the duplicity in what happened earlier and I told them all was forgiven, as long as they didn’t repeat their mistake. They assured me they wouldn’t, and I pretty much believed all of them… except for Robert. If he didn’t learn that lesson when he was growing up, I think it was too late for him to learn it now.

That evening we all went to bed early, as nearly everyone was drained. Tomorrow, my older children and their families would be leaving us, with the exception of Robert. Therefore, there was also a touch of sadness in the air as we spent our final evening together.

The next morning, I awoke early, while the others got up in their own due time. As my older children came into the dining area to join me, I would pour them a cup of coffee and fix them some breakfast, in order to ensure they had a good start to their day. They would all be leaving before lunchtime, and I didn’t want any of them to leave hungry.

By nine, both sets of parents went to awaken their sons, who hadn’t joined us yet. When they went to the area where they were sleeping, they discovered their sons already awake, but clinging to Cole and Graham. The foursome were all hugging each other fiercely, knowing they soon would be separated again. They had enjoyed an invisible bond during their whole time with us and we all understood it would be very difficult for them to be parted now. There were plenty of teary eyes to prove the point and that malady soon became contagious and began to spread to the rest of us.

“Mommy, when can I see Unka Gwam again,” little Nicky asked, looking more sorrowful that I could ever remember seeing him.

“We’ll go to see Papa and your Uncle Graham at both Thanksgiving and New Year’s, honey,” she assured him, hoping that would be enough to alleviate his concerns. However, Nicky wasn’t satisfied yet.

“How many days is that?” he asked.

“It will go by fast, sweetie, and you and your Uncle Graham will be able to spend more time together then.” Although he kept pressing for an exact number of days, he never got one, but Graham helped put an end of Nicky’s interrogation of his mother by telling him he’d see him soon.

I think many of us had tears streaming down our cheeks, as both families drove away in their rental cars and headed back to their own homes.