Chapter 21

Jackie put a finger to her lips as Eric started the car and pulled back onto the road. "I'm not exactly sure where I want to eat. We brought our own food so anywhere is possible."

"But anywhere is everywhere."

"Well, I don't know where we should eat then, maybe we should have just had lunch in the ditch back there?"

Eric sighed and realized she was getting slightly aggravated. "Fine, I'll pick a place to eat lunch and you'll just have to put up with it."

"Good!"

"I wonder where the nearest rippers is," he said aimlessly as he tapped the steering wheel with his thumb.

"I don't think so," Jackie said suddenly.

"What, you didn't want to pick a spot, so I'm going to. You made your own bed here and you're going to lie in it whether you like it or not."

"We have a cooler, we made our own lunch, and we'll eat it outside."

"Ah, nude beach it is." He turned down a side road made of gravel, going to the lake that was only twenty miles out of town.

"There's no nude beach out here," Jackie said with a laugh. "You're hopeful wishing won't make it true either."

"Darn, and here I thought I was a magician."

She laughed at him and rolled the window down. The early summer air was warm, especially as noon was settling in, but there was a cool wind blowing in that was rather refreshing. "Did you tell your parents that you might be away for a few hours?"

"No, but that's okay. My parents understand I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Your mother too?"

Eric laughed. "Okay, maybe not my mother, but my dad will make sure she's okay with it." Spying the sign that read Winiscoss Lake, the car passed over a slight uprising by a T intersection. From the tire tracks it was obvious most people turned left, but instead they continued straight down a dusty and narrow gravel road.

"I've never been to the lake before," Jackie said.

"Really?"

"No. You have?"

"A couple times. It's the highest point looking down on Winiscoss Lake. If you walk down the small cliff there's a sand beach that extends about a hundred feet from the water."

"It's a public park then?"

Eric shook his head. "No, not exactly. It's owned by a private businessman from the city. He built a massive mansion on the other side of the lake that is only accessible by boat. He allows people to use the beach by the docks."

"That sounds nice of him."

Eric shrugged. He knew nothing more than what he had heard from others. "There isn't much there. I think there might be an outhouse and a few fire pits, but other than that it's just sand."

"That's fine, as long as there is a picnic table somewhere."

"I think there's a few," he replied with a grin.

Jackie leaned an arm on the open window and looked straight ahead. The road winded back in forth alongside a river, covered thickly by trees and almost impossible to see. "This would be the prefect place to escape reality," she said.

"It is. I always found the sound of the tree leaves and the waves breaking upon the beach relaxing."

"Do you think anyone else will be there?"

Eric nodded. "It's Sunday so I would expect there to be a few. It's not a big beach though, so there shouldn't be too many."

"Good, because I'd hate to run into someone we know and get busted."

"I highly doubt we'll see someone we know."

Jackie laughed. "You can doubt it all you want, but with our luck I wouldn't be overly surprised."

"Nothing is impossible," Eric replied. "Besides, that just means we'll have to keep our eyes open even wider. All this cloak and dagger stuff will keep us on our toes."

"I just wish we could tell everyone," Jackie said with a sigh.

"I know, and I do too, but we have a good reason not to."

"I know," she echoed softly as she looked out the passenger door. Just a few feet from the road were hundreds of trees, and just beyond them she could see the river that no doubt led into the lake.

Eric grabbed her hand in his and said, "It'll be hard, and we'll have to keep our wits about ourselves, but in due time we will tell them. Things like these take a long time to adjust to, and sometimes it's easier to ease everyone into it. I can't tell you how hard it was to fathom you and Hyde together for the first time."

"I really never understood that whole situation. I was selfish at wanting Steven and I didn't really care what it did to my friends."

"When it comes to romance, Jackie, it's hard not to be selfish. It feels so good that you think nothing else matters. I won't hold that against a person if they spring it upon their friends by accident, like how we found you and Hyde, but there is a much better way of going about it. I'm always conscious of not hurting others and I just feel this is the best way to do it."

Jackie smiled. "Even Fez thinks it was a mistake."

"He does, but he'll figure it out before everyone."

"Well, we decided we would tell him before he left."

"I guess we did. I just hope he can keep a secret."

"He can when he's not surrounded by the rest of us. He can blabber about us with his friends on tour all he wants, but none of them even know who we are."

Eric nodded and said, "I guess we're lucky there."

"Incredibly lucky," she replied and rubbed his hand with her thumb. "When do you think it will be okay to tell them?"

He smiled helplessly and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe we'll just know when it happens, but maybe it might serve us best if my mother tells them. Honestly, I have no idea and it's something I'm scared about."

"More like terrified."

Eric nodded and gripped her hand tighter. "I'm not sure how everyone will react, but they've all changed. I just hope none of them hold a torch for you anymore."

"Not just me, Donna could have a thing for you still."

"No, she let that part of her life when we broke up. She is much happier with Randy than I could have ever made her."

"You underestimate your ability to make someone happy," Jackie said.

"Oh, I know I could make her happy in a certain way, but in the end she wouldn't be. I could be the best boyfriend and eventual husband. I could have pampered her silly or simply been the most loving man in the world, but she would still be somewhat resentful of me. Donna is destined to leave Point Place."

"I thought you didn't believe in destiny?"

"I don't believe in predetermined destiny. Donna's goal has always been to get out, and she needs to do that. She may return, or not, who knows, but she needs to leave and see what else is out there."

"Same as what you did when you went to Africa?"

"In a way it's the same."

Jackie said, "As long as she finds what makes her happy."

Eric nodded and turned the steering wheel a little to take a sharp corner. "That's all I want for her too."

"It must be nice to have the ability to do something difficult when you want the complete opposite. I remember with Michael and Steven. Even though they cheated on me, I still wanted each of them. I ended up going back to them each time and got hurt again. Those are hard lessons to learn."

"I know, and I wish everyone could be spared that pain, but I do understand that each person has to learn in some way. I learned through an unspeakable horror, you learned through emotional distress, but we're both technically in the same spot. We're both a little smarter for what we experienced and we know what not to do to stay out of that pain again."

"What pain is worse, what you saw or the break up with Donna?"

Eric thought about it for a second, then said, "The first time we broke up it was parallel to what I witnessed in Africa, but the pain of a breakup doesn't linger like the pain of death. And when we broke up a year ago it was more of a relief."

Jackie let go of his hand and turned in her seat, leaning both arms onto the window sill and resting her chin on them. "Let's just hope what we're doing doesn't end up painful. I don't think I could live with myself."

He sighed. There was a pain within her that he couldn't really familiarize with. She had been through two very emotional and very hurtful relationships. It had scarred her, made her skeptical about what true love was. She had thought herself in love in both instances, and now she doubted if she could go through that pain again. Placing a hand on her back, he said, "I know you've been through a lot, but the worst thing you could do is shut yourself away. From there loneliness is only a step away, and believe me, it's not somewhere you want to be."

"Do you know how un-assuring your words are when I can't even begin to believe you?" She sighed in frustration and closed her eyes.

Eric removed his hand and set it back on his knee. "There are certain things each person has a hard time believing. You accept my advice about life without hesitation, but when it comes to relationships you're so scarred by the past you simply can't believe that there is something out there such as true love."

"I should believe there is, happiness and love go together."

"No, not exactly," he replied.

"What?" she asked as she turned back to him and wiped away a small tear forming in her left eye.

Eric said, "Love and happiness is not the same thing. They can be if you're one of the few people in this world that needs love to make them happy, but you're not."

"How do you know that?"

"Don't ask me to explain, I just know." When she continued to look skeptical, he said, "When I look into your eyes I can see it plain as day. You're searching for what will make you happy. Sure, maybe a man can make you happy in some regards, but you have to find something else that makes you happy; A job perhaps, children, family, who knows. You won't find it until you've tried it."

"But I was happy with Michael and Steven."

"And you eventually became miserable. No one relationship will make you one hundred percent happy. That's just a given, but it's when that percentage is heavily favored in the happy department is when you might have found something that could add to your happiness."

Jackie snorted a laugh. "This would be much more helpful if I was talking to someone who knew what made them happy."

Eric laughed and said, "Just give me time."

She laughed at his pleading. "I'll give you all the time you need. Who knows, I might even complete my journey towards all this before you do."

"You very well could, but this isn't a race."

"I know that, I was just saying."

"I know," he said with grin and put a hand on her knee. "Time is a precious thing and we just have to allow it to take its course."

"I'm not a very patient person," Jackie said.

He pulled into a small parking area where only a few other cars occupied, and parked. "I know you're impatient, but that's okay. I'm the opposite and I intend to keep you occupied for a while."

"What do you have mind?" she asked, getting out of the parked car and closing the door.

Eric leaned his arms on top of the Vista Cruiser and looked across the roof at her. "I don't have anything planned, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. It all depends if you like things to be spontaneous or not."

Jackie thought about it for a second as Eric removed the cooler from the back seat. "I'm not sure if I'm the spontaneous type or not. I spent most of my life knowing what I was getting into. Money was always there and I knew where I was going to spend it. I never made brash decisions with it, even when I had more than enough to burn miscellaneously."

He walked around the vehicle and took her hand gently in his and guided them to the small walkway that led to the cliff. "We'll see what happens. I'll surprise you a bunch of times and then plan some things. Then we'll see what you like more. I tend to believe you're more spontaneous than you might think."

"Really?" she asked sarcastically as they went down a dirt path into the surrounding forest.

"I think you would like to be surprised. They would be good surprises of course, but when I see that look on your face I just can't get enough of it. It's one in a million."

She smiled and looked at him. He was one in a million himself, but she would tell him that some other time. "Do you have any surprises in store for me today?"

"Maybe," he replied slyly with a grin.

"When?"

Eric laughed and said, "If I tell you it won't be a surprise."

"Humbug," Jackie cursed softly, earning a chuckle out of Eric as he held tightly onto her hand. His fingers easily enveloped her own. They made her feel safe and protected, as if he was her own personal bodyguard. It amused her that of all lectures she had received from Donna about how a woman should be able to take care of herself and feel safe, but she still felt better with a man by her side. Donna would have pitied her if she had told her that, but Jackie knew enough to know she needed a man by her side. It felt right.

Suddenly they came out of the woods, each stopping quickly at the breathtaking sight before them. Laid out in front of their eyes was a lake, completely still and calm as if it hidden away in the recesses of time.. It was easily three miles across to the other shore, the width nearly the same size. The massive mansion on the other side of the lake was clearly evident, the sun shining off the windows and reflecting back to them. The shoreline was right up to the forest, save where there was a beach front at the mansion.

Jackie closed her mouth slowly and stared agape. It was easily one of the more beautiful things she had ever seen. The tranquility and the sound of only birds caused a calmness to sweep through her body and warm her to the core of her being. "It's beautiful," she said a second later after overcoming her amazement.

"That it is," Eric replied as looked around the large lake. He had seen it a few times already, but it never failed to amaze him every time he saw it.

"I don't see the beach."

"It's this way," he responded as he guided her over to a thicket of brush and trees, finding a small worn path that lead down the hill.

Jackie held onto his hand as the path became narrow, the odd rock causing her to stiffen slightly as she realized she wasn't in the best footwear for such an endeavor. Eric seemed to pick up on her hesitancy and squeezed her hand tighter, reassuring her that she'd be fine. Smiling at him weakly, she continued down the slippery path with caution, taking small steps every time he would take big ones. It took a few minutes, but by the time they were at the bottom, her calves were aching and her feet were sore. The instant they took another step forward, they hit beach sand and she removed her heeled sandals. With them off she stood almost a head shorter than the man holding her hand, but she didn't care.

"The sand is nice and warm," she said.

Eric guided them towards a picnic table in the sand, it's feet closer to the water than he would have preferred. Normally such a close proximity to the water would mean seagulls left and right, but luckily there was none.

With her sandals dangling from her right hand, she walked with him towards the red picnic table. As they got closer she could tell that there was no one else on the beach. "Where is everybody? There were cars back there."

"Most people just use the trails that run around the lake, but it could be that the owner across the lake is here." He nodded his head to the small dock not two hundred feet away. "The boat isn't there, so I would assume he is."

"Well, if I remember correctly those cars back up on the hill looked rather expensive."

Eric simply nodded and put the cooler on the picnic table. The table was painted red, the color beginning to fade from the effects of the weather. It was splintered horribly on the seats, but he found a suitable spot and let Jackie sit there. "I wouldn't want you splintering that perfect bottom of yours," he said as he held her hand as she stepped over the seat carefully.

"Well, I'd hate to see you hurt yours."

He sat across from her and said, "I'm wearing jeans so I'm good."

"Oh," she replied, pulling the cooler towards herself. She pulled out her soda and opened it. Taking a gentle sip, she looked out upon the water without blinking. It seemed like perfection.

Eric reached into the cooler and withdrew his drink and sandwich. He could see Jackie was transfixed by the calm water. "You should see it when it gets windy."

"What?" she asked, turning to him suddenly as he had ripped her from her moment of silence.

"When the wind picks up, the waves reach almost four feet high."

She peered back to the water and said, "I find that hard to believe."

"The lake is rather big if you think about it, and when the wind picks up it comes in from the west over the small hill just beyond the shoreline. It funnels down onto the water and pushes it here to the beach. It can get pretty choppy."

"And you've witnessed it?"

Eric shook his head and said, "No, but last time I was here there was a moderate breeze from the west and the waves were over a foot high. It's not a stretch to believe that with a strong wind the waves would be considerably high."

"Oh," she said as she reached into the cooler and retrieved her sandwich. Removing it from the wrapping, she took a bite and chewed. "When was the last time you were here?"

"About two and a half years ago. I came by myself."

"By yourself?" she asked with a frown.

"Sometimes I like to just think and this place seemed like the best place. It was much like today, no people, just me and the water. Oh, and the odd mosquito. That being said, it was a great place to come and think. I sat on the end of the dock for almost an hour."

"Did you not get a sunburn?"

Eric shook his head and swallowed a mouthful. "It was sunny, but there were enough cumulous clouds in the sky that I'd only been directly in the sun for a minute or two at a time."

Jackie looked up to the sky and squinted. "Much like today."

"Very much so, but I'll admit it's nice being here with someone else who can appreciate it. The first time I was here it was for a beach party in high school. It was night and we really never got to see all this." He swept his hand out to the water. "It's truly a magnificent site."

"It sure is," she replied through a mouthful of food. She swallowed hard and took a drink. "Eric, you've explained to me what you saw in Africa, but is there anything you liked about it?"

He peered at her from behind his soda can, inspecting her face. She seemed genuinely curious, so he said, "There were a number of things I liked."

"Tell me about them," Jackie said as she took another bite of her sandwich.

"Well, one of the first things I remember fondly is the children I taught. South Africa is sort of a small British colony. The children in the schools in the larger cities spoke with a British accent. I didn't mind since we understood one another rather well, but it surprised me that after teaching them for a few months they began to sound more American."

"How did that happen?"

Eric shrugged and said, "I guess that listening to me talk all the time they picked up on it. When I would teach English I would teach what I knew from school. Some words they had never heard, and sounded strange in their accent. In time I guess they began to incorporate those words into their vocabulary and it affected the rest of their language. It was truly a remarkable sight."

"So you didn't mean to make them speak like you?"

"Purely unintentional," he replied, taking a drink. "What about you, how in the world did you end up getting a job doing the weather?"

Jackie perked up a little as she was asked a question about herself. Even if she was a changed woman, she still took pleasure indulging others in her accolades. "Well, I owe a lot to Donna. She had become so good at spinning the dials at the radio station they put her in charge of producing her own show. Her work was very original and quite remarkable and in no time the television station came calling for her. I was working as an assistant for a woman at the stations afternoon sit down show when Donna was given the assistant producer job for the morning and lunch newscasts. It was two weeks after she had gotten the job that they were looking for a rookie on camera reporter and naturally she suggested me and I got the job."

Eric said, "It sounds like Donna has a lot of pull around the news station."

"She does, but she still had a directing producer above her that had final say. He said I was perfect for on screen because I was beautiful and perky."

"Perky?" he asked with a frown.

"Yeah, yeah. Well anyways, I got the job and I spent almost a year in the field covering all sorts of stories. Some were boring, but the odd time something exciting might happen and I'd get to cover it. It's hard breaking in, especially with the experienced men on important assignments, but I got a lucky break. The weatherman retired, he was well into his sixties and the station wanted to go in a fresh direction. They thought putting in a weathergirl was a good idea. The next day I came in ready for my assignment in the field, but the director just shoved me into the makeup room and said I was doing the weather."

"Scary?" he asked.

"Frightening is more like it," she replied. "I thought I'd screw up so horribly they would fire me before I was done the weather. Luckily Donna was right there smiling and encouraging me on; otherwise I would have messed up. When I finished the morning news I was sweating."

"Sweating?" he asked in shock.

Seeing his eyebrows rise, she said, "I know, I never sweat, but there were more than a few drips falling from my brow. Luckily I was off the air by the time they got into my mascara."

Eric said, "I could only imagine how horrified you'd have been with running mascara on live television."

"I know, I would have likely run away." When he laughed slightly, she continued. "I got changed and by the time the news at noon rolled around, and I had seen my tape of the morning news over and over again, I was pretty confident. From then on it's been a rather easy ride to where I am now."

"I'm glad you enjoy your work."

"It's what I always thought I'd be good at."

Eric said, "Not only are you more than beautiful enough to be on TV, but we get to see you every weekday. I'm sure there are a dozen men in Point Place with a crush on the local weathergirl."

"Isn't that just flattering," she said sarcastically with a grin as she finished her food.

"Soon you'll have your very own stalker."

She admonished him by slapping his hand on the table with her own. "I'm not a celebrity."

"You never know, everyone needs to start somewhere."

"I don't think I could handle stardom."

Eric frowned. "I always thought you dreamed of being an internationally acclaimed model slash actress."

Jackie shrugged and said, "I always dreamed of it, but now I'm not sure if I really want it."

"This is my fault then?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Yes, it's your fault," she replied, slapping his hand again. "If you had never ripped the veil away I would be on the path to becoming the next greatest diva."

"You'd never be a diva."

"What?" she asked with a frown.

Eric chuckled and said, "You're too short."

"I am not! I'm the perfect height for a woman. Put me in heels and I am that much more stunning. Heels are a girl's best friend don't you know."

He smiled and nodded. "Inferiority complex 101."

"I do not have an inferiority complex about my height," she said rather pointedly.

"Yes you do, you're surrounded by a best friend who's a great deal taller than you, and I'm six feet. You're the smallest person in the group."

Jackie laughed at his teasing and said, "Maybe I should just hang out with your mom, she's my height."

Eric's brows rose on his forehead. "I guess you can learn how to cook then."

"Maybe it's time I learned," she replied. "I can't be making sandwiches my whole life."

He finished his food and said, "Hey, there's nothing wrong with a good sandwich."