Love on the Lake

Juliet

I knew this time would come but I didn’t think it would be so soon. The death of my grandparents was sudden. They passed within days of each other. My grandmother passed first, followed shortly by my grandfather. My sadness at their passing was only comforted by the fact that I knew they wouldn’t want to spend any time without each other.

When my parents called with the saddening news, they also put me in touch with my grandparents' estate attorney. I was a little shocked when they left their house for me. The beautiful house on the lake was where my mom grew up and I spent every holiday visiting. I didn’t know what their plans were for the house when they passed but I was overwhelmed with gratitude, love, and grief.

The past few months I had been so busy, that I barely had any time to grieve their passing. I was busy finishing exams and preparing for graduation, all while interning at the best law firm in my city. My college graduation was exciting but also a somber event because I had gotten tickets for my grandparents to see me walk.

I was able to give the tickets to a friend but I missed having my grandparents there, they had always shown up to every special occasion in my life. They even came to my sporting events when I was little, even though I often rode the bench.

While I finished my classes, I worked as an intern at an amazing law firm and once I graduated college, I was offered a part-time position to work there while I went to law school. When I informed them that I would have to return to my hometown to handle the lake house repairs, my bosses were very supportive and worked everything out to push my job start date.

So, I packed up my college dorm room, said goodbye and see you soon to my friends and coworkers, then pilled everything into my car for the long drive back to my hometown.

Welcome to Green Waters, Arkansas.

The rusted old sign greets me as I drive down the main road into town. I pass familiar stores and houses as I head toward the lake. I think about all the memories from this small town and can almost picture myself as a child, running into town to spoil my dinner with ice cream, my grandmother chasing after me with a grin.

Pulling up in front of the house almost makes me cry. The last time I was here, my grandmother was waiting on the porch with a glass of lemonade and my grandfather yelled his greeting from his comfy chair in front of a baseball game on tv.

Now, when I pull up, the house is empty, and no one is waiting on the porch for me.

Actually, wait. There is someone on the front porch.

I quickly get out of my car and approach the house. The sky is still bright enough that the porch lights haven’t kicked on and the setting sun highlights the backside of the man standing on the porch. I approach cautiously, taking in my surroundings. The man, who is rather large and ruggedly handsome from the back, is holding a clipboard and seems to be taking a lot of interest in the windows along the front of the house.

“Uhm, hello? Can I help you?” I call out to get the man’s attention.

He turns around and the sun seems to favor him because it forms a halo around his body. He looks like he’s been in the sun for a couple of hours. He is tanned and sweaty, his body glistens under the light. He’s wearing a dirty old tank top with dried paint specs all over the fabric. His jeans look well-worn and faded, hugging him in all the right places.

“Oh, hey,” the man says and he starts walking toward me as if he knows me. I take a step back and he stops at the edge of the front porch, sensing my discomfort at a strange man’s approach.

“Who are you?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything but awkwardly grunts.

“Right, sorry. I’m Logan.” The man doesn’t move from his position on the porch, blocking me from the front door. “I’m your contractor. Daniel said he was going to talk to you about my company taking on the project. Did he not reach out to you?” Logan continues to explain.

“Oh. Oh! Right. Yes, yeah, he did. You come highly recommended by Daniel, and apparently, you have already worked on a few projects for my grandparents over the years,” I say then immediately feel my chest get heavy thinking about my grandparents.

“Yeah, they were an amazing couple. I’m so sorry for your loss,” Logan offers his sympathies, sounding genuine.

“Thank you. Yes, they were incredible…” I trail off, not yet ready to express my sadness, let alone to a total stranger.

Logan doesn’t say anything, so we just stand in silence as the sun sets around us. It’s a comfortable silence and I start to relax then I realize I was a bit snippy when I found him on my front porch. “Oh hey, sorry for the chilly reception earlier. It’s just been a long day. A long few days, well, months really.” I wave off the thought because he doesn’t need to know everything.

“I’m Juliet,” I say since I forgot to introduce myself and I offer my hand to him.

“Logan,” he repeats as he steps off the porch to shake my hand. His strong hand pumps mine a couple of times before he drops it and turns back to the house.

He walks back up the steps of the front porch and makes a motion for me to join him. I stare at the muscles in his arms for a little too long before I realize that he’s started to discuss the work that needs to be done with the house.

“What? Sorry, can you repeat what you just said?” I cough a little to clear my throat. “Long day,” I repeat as my excuse.

Logan pauses to look at me for a second before turning back toward the house and gesturing at the windows.

“I was just saying that I’ve been looking over the windows and some of the frames are starting to rot so we’ll have to get in there to rip them out and replace them,” Logan explains and I nod like I am paying attention but in reality, I just wish this man would move out of my way because I had a long and tiring drive and I just want to go to sleep for the next 12 hours.

“Okay, that’s fine.” I lift my hand to stifle a yawn but Logan catches me and the corner of his mouth turns up in a little half-smile.

“I should get going. We can discuss this tomorrow,” Logan says and he drops the clipboard to his side, taping his leg with it.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” I sidestep to allow him room to get off the front porch. He seems to catch the drift so he moves off the porch and suddenly I notice a truck in the driveway with his company's logo on it.

How did I miss that before?

“I’ll come back around nine tomorrow, is that all right?” Logan turns around to ask while he walks back to his truck.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I debate asking him to come over later so I could sleep in but I will probably be up by then anyway. My body is used to waking up early to get in more studying before my finals.

“Okay, well, it was nice to meet you officially. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Logan unlocks his truck and is about to climb in when I call after him.

“Hey!”

“Yeah?” Logan looks back at me.

“Are you usually here this late?” I ask and it makes him laugh.

“Ah, no not usually. I had just finished another project at a house nearby and had a suspicion about your windows. I knew it would bother me if I didn’t check it while I was so close,” Logan explains with a sheepish grin which makes me chuckle. “But no, don’t worry, I usually work normal business hours, unless it’s an emergency.”

“Good to know,” I chuckle and Logan shrugs.

“See you tomorrow,” Logan says.

“See ya then.” I watch as he hops in his truck and pulls out of the driveway.

I go back to my car and unload a couple of my suitcases then drag them up the steps of the porch. I pause before pulling the house keys out of my pocket. My hand shakes slightly and I feel tears prick my eyes.

Once I get the door open, I am greeted by darkness and I am overwhelmed by the familiar scent that hits my nose. I step inside and flick on the light. The front entryway is illuminated and memories come flooding back to me. Everything is organized as usual and there are shoes lined neatly by the door. I take a deep breath and swipe at my eyes to keep the tears from falling.

I decide that I don’t want to deal with anything tonight.

I tromp through the living room, staring straight ahead as I navigate in the dark to find my old bedroom. When I reach my room, I shut the door behind me before turning on the bedside lamp. I look around the room and can't help smiling at the decorations all over my room.

My grandmother always found out my latest interest and filled the room with whatever it was. Unfortunately, she never got rid of any of the old things when she learned about my new interests so the room was filled with everything I had ever loved over the years.

Laughing at the memories makes me feel a lot better.

I toss one of my suitcases on the bed and decide to save the unpacking for tomorrow. Right now, I just need to get my toiletries and my pajamas. I had stopped at a fast food place right before arriving in Green Waters so thankfully, I didn’t have to scrounge around the kitchen for something to eat.

While brushing my teeth in the Jack and Jill bathroom, I peek into the other room. The room was my mom’s growing up. She had shown me pictures of what it used to look like when she was younger but now it’s more like a guest room.

She and my dad used the room whenever they came to visit so my mom wanted my dad to feel like it was his room too. The layout is very similar to my room but my room still contains the old rocking chair where my mother and grandmother would sit with me when I was fussy or whenever they wanted to help me sleep.

I finish brushing my teeth and wash my face. Looking around for a towel, I find a fluffy set of towels already on the drying rack, set out for any guests. My grandmother always knew how to keep a house tidy and was a great hostess.

When drying off my face, I press it into the towel and inhale deeply. The towel smells like their laundry soap and it engulfs me like a warm hug. I drop the towel back into place and sigh.

“I should get to bed. It’s going to be another long day tomorrow,” I say out loud. It feels weird but thankfully my voice doesn’t echo in the empty house. Although I probably still shouldn’t start talking to myself, that is never a good sign.

I go back to my room and change into my pajamas before climbing into bed. The house is too warm so I push the quilt aside. I will need to check the thermostat tomorrow. I know my grandparents liked to keep it toasty in here but I will need it much cooler while I’m working here.

Hopefully, everything is working properly with the AC. I’m not sure I could afford for any big expenses to pop up. I’ve spoken to the bank about getting a loan for the renovations but the thought of large, unplanned issues popping up is something that scares me about this project.

Sighing, I push the project out of my mind and turn onto my side in bed. I grab my phone off the nightstand and scroll through social media until my eyes get heavy. Then I set my phone aside and let the whirring of the overhead fan lull me to sleep.