Chapter 12 - Swan Lake
Kate heard birds chirping peacefully. She felt the warmth of the sun, as well as the warmth of Caroline's hands covering her eyes. And there was a smell of long grass and something else that she couldn't quite pin point.
"Alright then. Open up!" Caroline removed her hands. "What do you think?" she asked with a bright smile.
Kate observed the rather old, paint-chipped rowboat sitting on the edge of a midsized pond surrounded by tall grass and weeping willows. A grin appeared. "Oh my god, Caroline. This is... amazing. Are we going out in that?"
"I'm afraid so. It belongs to a friend of my mum's. This whole property does, actually." She stepped over by the boat and held out her hand. "You game?"
Kate gave her a playful, apprehensive smile, clasping both hands behind her back. "I don't know," she said slowly, as if asking Caroline to convince her.
"Oh, come on, hop in you little fraidy-cat."
Kate gave in, taking Caroline's hand as she stepped carefully into the boat.
"No, it's your birthday. I'm rowing." Caroline directed her to the passenger's end.
"I must say, Caroline, I never dreamed I'd see you rowing a boat," Kate commented, settling in as Caroline pushed away from the shore with an oar.
Caroline let go long enough to circle her hand as if giving a bow. "Anything for your birthday. Well... maybe not anything, but you get the general idea," she said with a seductive smile, taking up the oar once again. "Ah, here we go. Takes a bit of muscle, doesn't it?"
Kate smiled at her in amused silence.
"Now, don't you go judging my rowing skills, little miss. I learn quickly. We'll be gliding around this pond with grace and swiftness in no time."
"Of course," Kate replied, trying to muffle a giggle as she watched Caroline wrestle with the oars.
"Believe it or not, I used to go out fishing in this very boat with my dad- once upon a time. I called this little pond Swan Lake. Seemed massive then."Caroline looked around as she rowed. "It's all a bit unkempt now, but overall it's more or less the same."
"I so love that ballet. Is that what inspired the name?"
"Mhm. I went to see it with my mum one evening. Was absolutely captivated. The next day, I was on the lake with my dad for the first time, and I imagined that geese were dancing on the water."
Kate sat quietly, observing Caroline as she spoke. How she loved it when Caroline opened up about the happier times of her past. "And did you like spending time out here- with him?"
Caroline stopped rowing, still observing her surroundings. "Yeah... I did. You don't really think about it at the time, but this was one of the only places where he seemed to be happy. Peaceful. Then we'd go home and, I suppose, the weight of his job and an unsuccessful marriage were there waiting for him." She started rowing again as if trying to distract herself.
"It's good that you have some happier times to remember him by," Kate said, joining Caroline's survey of the pond. "I'm sort of thankful that me and Richard weren't able to have children- when were married. We argued all the time and would have felt obligated to stay together for the little ones. Who knows what they would have had to put up with. I know now that incompatible parents can scar their children for life, though, it's hard to see it at the time."
"I wonder why it is so hard to see, though. I thought I loved John when I married him but know better now. My mum thought she loved my dad which, I suppose, is the reason she stayed with him- even while he was shagging god knows how many other women."
Kate sat thoughtfully, listening to the oars dip in and out of the water. "Perhaps it's because we're drawn to relationships that we feel we deserve. And as we grow older, some grow wiser and more confident, and are able to see what love really is- that love has nothing to do with cheating or abuse but, rather, love restores... and rejuvenates."
Caroline let out a sarcastic laugh as a gentle breeze lifted her hair. "Tell that to my step sister. I mean, I feel sorry for her. She used to be in an abusive marriage until her husband died... quite tragically, actually. But I don't think she knows what she deserves anymore. As if every time her husband raped her, a piece of self confidence and stability was taken from her. But she's a feisty little thing. Not the kind to go out without a fight, that's for sure."
Kate raised an eye brow. "Sounds like you get along splendidly."
"Hmm." Caroline smiled deviously. "Let's just say, when we first met, I called her no good, low-life trailer trash."
"No." Kate tried to sound shocked despite being amused.
"Mhm. She took my parking space," Caroline said innocently.
"Well then, you two may never get along- being step sisters and all."
"She's Cinderella, and I'm the two wicked step sisters rolled into one." Caroline raised an eye brow and looked as if she rather liked the thought of being wicked. "Anyway, I don't dislike her entirely. We get along every now and again. We even have the same birthday."
"Really?"
"Mhm. Odd, I know."
"I think it's sweet. You have a twin!"
"Oh god, no" Caroline stopped rowing as they had reached the middle of the pond. Squinting into the sun, she put on her rather large hat. "I know, don't even say it."
Kate giggled. "Say what?"
"You think I look like a granny in this hat."
"No, it's adorable," Kate replied, forcing a serious face.
"Whatever." Caroline gave a flirtatious smile. "Oh, speaking of grannies, did you know Alan and my mum are going on a honeymoon?"
"Really?" Kate wrinkled her noes.
"Yup. They're trying to decide between Italy and New Zealand," she said organizing her hair beneath her hat as the boat turned with the wind.
"So far away?"
"Well, I think they feel as if they could float around the world in eighty days in a hot air balloon at this point."
"How sweet."
"Yeah..."
Kate raised her eye brows as if asking for more.
"Well, it's... I've never seen my mum like this- you know... 'in love'. I suppose I'm still getting used to it."
Kate smiled as if she were remembering something. "Richard and I went to Sicily on our honeymoon. I'll never forget it- when we first got off the plane, the air smelled distinctly like basil. I haven't had bruschetta that has tasted as good since."
Caroline looked entirely uninterested in hearing more about Richard. "Italian gelato is quite sexy."
"You've been there?" Kate asked, resting her elbows on her knees with a curious smile.
"Not since Oxford days. I went tramping around Italy with... a friend." She tried to catch herself.
"Mhm. A friend?"
Caroline smiled. "A girlfriend."
"Ah. Should I be jealous?" Kate asked, reflecting her smile.
"She was my first and, no, nothing to be jealous of."
"So... why didn't it work out?"
Caroline sighed, turning her face into the wind. "I don't know. I don't think either of us really knew what we wanted. We hadn't told our parents. I tried to tell my mum, I suppose. After a year or two, we got tired of fighting for approval. You know how it is."
"And so, you married John."
"Yeah, I married John," she replied with a bit of a dismayed smile. "I wanted stability. And, more than anything, I wanted to have- everything. You know, the job. Family. And that's enough 'til one day you realize that enough isn't the best."
"Like walking in a garden of fake plants only to realize you need a real garden that you can smell and water and nurse back to life?"
"Well... something like that." Both smiled contentedly for a few moments as the sun began to disappear behind the clouds. Caroline sighed and almost seemed nervous all of the sudden. Almost. "You know, Kate, I wanted to bring you here- for your birthday. But, as you know, we've been together for a few months now and have known each other for more than three years come September."
Kate studied her. "Yes?"
Caroline sighed again and reached in her jacket pocket only to pull out a little box.
Kate's heart began to race.
"Not to sound depressing, Kate, but- when Gabe died last month, and we were standing side-by-side watching them lower him into the ground... something happened. Suddenly, I realized that we're not getting any younger. And as I watched his wife on the other side of the grave, I thought- how awful would it be for that day to come and not have someone there. Someone who you've promised to be there for no matter what. So- all that to say..." Caroline looked down as if trying to find the right words to say. "Why don't we get married?" she asked, opening the box.
Kate didn't take her eyes off the ring that Caroline held before her. A thousand thoughts were going through her mind while she remained quite speechless. A then- a broad smile appeared on her face as she attempted to suppress a joyful giggle- but it was no use.
"What... what is that?" Caroline smiled like a little girl as Kate held out her left hand. Between the happy laughs and giggles, Caroline took Kate's hand and slid the ring onto a shaky finger. Both leaned in for a kiss but quickly pulled back when the boat tipped a little too far to one side. "Oh shit. I suppose I'll just have to row us back to shore so we can properly snog."
Kate beamed, smiling at her ring, still in shock. She then looked up upon hearing thunder in the distance. "You better row fast, Caroline."
"And shit."
"What's wrong?"
"Leak!"
Kate looked down, suddenly noticing the water collecting around her ankles. "Oh! Shit!"
Caroline tried to bail out the water with her hands.
"Caroline, you do realize that's not going to help?"
She gave a heavy sigh and grabbed the sides of the boat with her hands. "For fuck's sake."
"This could be sort of romantic. Maybe?"
"Hole."
"What?"
"We're finding the hole," Caroline said in her problem-solving voice.
"Caroline."
"Question is.. how to find it?"
"Caroline."
"What?"
"We're sinking, and we're probably going to have to swim."
"Dammit."
"And you've now exhausted the dictionary of curse words," Kate said, examining the water.
"Oh, just wait until we're neck-deep in shitty pond water."
"It is a little murky, isn't it? Looks so pretty until you realize you're going to be drinking it."
"I half expect some sort of Gollum-like creature to come slithering by any second. Oh Kate- the ring." Caroline reached out and took her hand.
"Oh, it's going to get wet..."
"Here, I'll put it on my finger. That way, if we lose it, it will be all my fault and you won't feel bad about it."
"I would prefer you didn't take it," Kate said blankly.
"Why not?"
"You might disappear." She tried to keep from smiling at her own joke.
"Oh god, Kate. We really should find a new obsession besides Lord of the Rings."
"Harry Potter?"
"I spend enough time at school as it is." Caroline took a breath and surveyed the situation. "Right. We need a plan."
A mischievous smile dawned on Kate's face and, in one swift action, she managed to tip the boat enough for both of them to topple out and into the water. Caroline gasped for a breath of air after her head emerged out of the water while Kate bobbed her way over to her. "Caroline, are you okay?"
"God, Kate. Why did you flip the boat?" Caroline choked out, rather annoyed and out of breath.
"Well, I thought it would be better than waiting for the boat to sink in the middle of a thunderstorm," she replied as they started to make their way back to land.
"I'm pretty sure there's a little fish nibbling on my toes."
Kate laughed as Caroline gave her a glare.
"This is so not how I planned this to turn out," Caroline moaned, blowing water out of her mouth.
"Isn't there a saying that says something about an inconvenience only being an adventure wrongly considered?"
"That's Emerson and, in this case, I can't take him seriously."
They reached dry land, both dripping from head to toe, with a few green, stringy plants hanging here and there. Caroline turned and looked at the sinking boat as the rain drops turned into a steady downpour. "There she goes."
Kate looked at Caroline and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "That little boat meant a lot to you, didn't it?"
Caroline nodded her head silently.
After watching the last of the old rowboat disappear beneath the water, having suppressed the tears that went with it, Caroline looked down at her finger and then turned to Kate. "I think this belongs to you, Kate McKensie," she almost whispered, slipping the ring off her finger and sliding it back in its rightful place.
Caroline gazed into Kate's dark, happy eyes and pulled her arms around her waist. They looked at each other for a few moments, foreheads together, and then kissed- forgetting about the rain, their soaked clothes and, perhaps, the existence of time itself.