"The Drowned Man" from the 'Doorways to the Unseen' Story Collection

The Drowned Man

"We've spent every summer at Lake Ultio for five years in a row, and it's always tranquil." Jessica stood next to the parked car and looked out over the circular lake's sun-spattered surface with its clear, cerulean waters as the early afternoon sunlight reflected on it. "There are neighbors on the other side of the lake, but there are some thick woods between us and their cottages. We have so much privacy here that I hate to ever have to leave it."

April, who was carrying two of her bags from the car trunk, asked, "If the neighbors want to visit, how do they stop by? Or don't they ever come to see you and your family?"

Jessica reached into the tightly packed trunk of the car and grabbed a plastic cooler by the handles. "They have to take a rowboat from the other side and park it at our dock, but neighbors don't really pay us many social calls-at least not as many as they did in past summers. Those cottages are rental units, so their summer residents are different almost every time. I can't tell you who might be living over there this tourist season."

Jessica continued to lug her cooler as she spoke to April. "I've only ever stayed here with my parents and brother, and we've never brought company. This is my first time flying solo. We used to rent one of the tiny cabins on the other side of the lake until we bought this house."

Jessica walked toward the house's cement side porch with the bulky cooler and placed it on the ground near the porch's metal railings. The one-story ranch-style house was of simple design and construction, with white aluminum siding and a red shingled roof, but it was well maintained and could easily fit into any suburban neighborhood.

"I used to sleep in what will be your room this time around, with Marcus at the foot of the bed. He would wake me up with his whining and growling in the dead of night-I'd have to throw him outside just to get some rest. Marcus never seemed to like this place. He's more of a water dog than a guard dog. If there is an intruder, we'll probably have to fend for ourselves."

Jessica sighed a bit at the thought of keeping Marcus in her room at night if they were hit with a bout of rainfall and he couldn't be allowed to roam free. She scanned the somewhat overgrown front lawn leading to the dock for Marcus, before stepping inside through the house's side door that abutted the porch. The dog had not budged at all and had made no attempt to enter with them, persisting at his spot by the dock, his sight locked on the house.

*****

April sat down next to Jessica at the kitchen table after they had finished filling the refrigerator from the cooler and stocking the pantry shelves from a few cardboard boxes that had been taped shut for the trip. Jessica had been talking at length while they stowed away their supplies and continued with the story that she had begun while unpacking. "So Richard and I went to Times Square for New Year's Eve. We saw a live show at Radio City Music Hall, and then we wanted to grab something to eat on the way back to the hotel. There was a Burger Mecca just a block from where we were staying, so we walked in and got in line to order dinner.

"Ahead of us was a customer arguing with the Burger Mecca employees who were behind the counter. He was waving his arms and shouting, demanding a refund for his meal but not getting anywhere with his request.

"With no warning at all-no one could have seen this coming, as the Burger Mecca workers hadn't even raised their voices to the customer during all this-two of the female crew members jumped over the counter and just started wailing on him. I mean, they were punching and kicking, and he was just taking it." Jessica hunched her shoulders and leaned in toward April from her chair, with a gleeful expression on her face.

"The man broke free from their assault, and they ran outside after him, pushed him to the ground, and there he was, getting his ass kicked in the snow." Jessica smirked while remembering the beating. "We decided to order room service instead."