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Once we’re out the front door, I easily take Melissa’s hand in mine and lead the way. “Sammy and I spent so much time in Elk Lake last summer I’m surprised we didn’t grow fins.”
“It’s pretty spectacular,” she says. “I pity kids who don’t grow up on a lake.”
“Does Lake Michigan count?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “Lake Michigan is so huge it has its own tide. I’m talking about a lake where you can see the opposite shore. Small town lakes, you know?”
“We didn’t have access to a lake in the town I grew up in,” I tell her. “But my parents took us to Door County every summer for a couple of weeks. And while that’s still Lake Michigan, we always had a blast.”
“I like Door County,” she says. “Just not as much as I like Elk Lake.”
“Did you ever consider living somewhere else?”
“Not really. I used to think I’d like to try out something else, but the truth is, I like home. My good friends from grade school are here now, and my job is here. I guess I’m just one of those people who lack a sense of adventure.”
“Do you ever travel?” I ask.
“I go somewhere new for a week every year. This year I’m planning to go to the Cayman Islands.”
“It’s already August. What time of year do you travel?”
“Sometimes I go away in the spring, sometimes in the fall. This year I’m going at the beginning of December.”
“Never in the summer?”
She shakes her head. “Never during the season. That’s when we do most of our business.”
“Do you travel with friends?”
“Not since Paige bought her house. She’s always saving for some project or another.”
“What about Anna?” he asks.
“Married women tend to travel with their husbands.”
“So, you just pick up and tackle a new place on your own?” Before she can answer, I say, “That sounds pretty adventurous to me.”
We’re only a few steps from the dock when she turns to look at me. She bites her lower lip and stares at me like I possess the secrets of the universe before saying, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For thinking I’m adventurous. That means a lot.”
“Why don’t you see yourself that way?”
“I’m not that interesting.”
“What do you think makes a person interesting? Because I think there are interesting people all over the planet. I once met an old lady in a tiny town outside of Sicily and I thought she was the most fascinating person I’d ever met.”
“Yeah, but that’s Italy. I live in Wisconsin.”
“Did you ever consider that people in Italy would find Wisconsin exotic?”
Her head tips to her ear. “I never have. But that’s an interesting point. I’m going to think about that.”
I pull her to get her feet moving again. “I have a friend from college who has traveled the world for his job since graduating, and every time I talk to him, I feel like I’m not doing anything with my life. Last year he told me that he was jealous of me, and he wished he could settle down in one place and grow some roots.”
“Why doesn’t he?” she asks.
