JAY: Spoken like someone not good enough to make employee of the month.
AARON: At least no one suggested pizza parties.
* * *
The next day’s tourist activity was kayaking on the lake. It had been Rachel’s choice, and she giddily strapped on a life vest and dragged a bright red kayak into the water, wielding her oar like a pro, while Aaron and Mark stood on the shore and watchedher. In the course of the sixteen years they’d spent together, their only interaction with a body of water was splashing in the ocean on their honeymoon.
“Do these things tip over?” Mark asked.
Aaron nodded gravely. “Absolutely.”
“Do you think this is dangerous?”
“Without a doubt.”
“Are we going to drown?”
“Definitely.”
Mark sighed. “I guess it’s good for me to expand my horizons.”
“Are you coming?” Rachel yelled at them, knee-deep in water as she held on to her kayak.
“At least there are no waves.” Aaron infused as much cheer as possible into the words and forced himself to move.
Kayaking was better than expected—the warm sun on his skin, the rhythmic splash of oars in the calm water, the slight burn in his muscles. He got the hang of rowing right away, slowly racing Mark back and forth along the shoreline, while Rachel made laps around them. The glare on the water made it hard to look ahead, and he spent a lot of time looking at the bottom of the lake through the surprisingly clear water.
Eventually, he came to a stop, letting his kayak bob in place. The smell of algae hung in the air, occasionally replaced with the unmistakable aroma of french fries drifting from one of the restaurants on the shore.
This was nice. If Aaron looked away from the distant buildings and let his gaze blur in the blinding white of the sun’s reflection, he could almost relax. As much as he’d dreaded taking the time off work, he was glad for the opportunity to be in nature. He’d missed it. Between the long hours at work and joining Chain Reaction, the past few months had been intense. Too intense. He’d forgotten to take better care of himself.
Aaron’s kayak jostled, and he glared at Mark, who didn’t seem the least bit guilty about ramming into him.
“This is not that bad,” Mark said. “Birds chirping and everything.”
Before Aaron could agree, Rachel slid up beside them, stopping with ease. “Are you planning on going further out?”
“Pass.” Aaron shook his head. “I like being able to see the bottom.”
Rachel laughed. “Pretty sure you can touch the bottom. This is four feet of water, at most.”
“And I like that. Besides, my arms are tired. I’m just gonna hang out here.”
“Me too,” Mark added. “I don’t live life dangerously.”
Rachel tutted before gracefully gliding away toward the center of the lake.
“Be careful!” Mark shouted after her, and she raised an arm in acknowledgment.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching Rachel’s journey and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere around them.
“She’s good for you,” Aaron told Mark. “She breaks you out of your shell a lot more than I ever could.”
“Yeah…I got lucky. Twice.” Mark turned to Aaron and smirked. “Now you need to find your Rachel.”
“What, someone young who’s going to drag me out to axe throwing and pottery lessons?” Aaron quipped, referring to Mark’s last few dates with Rachel.
“How about someone who’s gonna make your heart sing?”
