Tilly Town Lake

Sunday afternoons are beautiful at Tilly Town Lake. There are bicycles for hire as well as paddle boats and row boats. The lake is designed in such a way that each type of vessel has its own route. Row boats keep right. Paddle boats to the left. There are about three bridges used as landmarks for traveling limits during the hour the vessel is hired.

It's so beautiful out albeit extremely hot. It's 98 degrees Fahrenheit today and will reach a high of about 103 by noon. As Jack steers his paddle boat to the centre of the lake, he stops paddling and just enjoys the natural movement the current provides. He removes his shirt to catch up on his tan. Throws his hands behind his head, scoots his pelvis down, closes his eyes, raises his face to the sky and takes a deep breath. This is life. It's more than dinners and one night stands.

A guy rows past Jack. That was his third lap. Jack thought he looks pretty fit, probably a pro.

Some kids disturb the peacefulness with their skateboards but thankfully that only lasted about ten minutes. Jack counted four couples taking a stroll, licking away at their soft serves. Some are not talking. Jack wondered what it would be like to reach that point of comfort with someone. That even in silence, a lot is being said. One of the couples were photo obsessed. They were probably trying to get the perfect photo but Jack counted nearly eighteen attempts.

He moves his gaze to a couple of women running around the bicycle track. One was struggling badly. She might be the client and the other, the personal trainer. The struggling one didn't look overweight but was clearly heavier than what seemed natural for her height. A young couple was arguing nearby and the two women stopped and used that oportunity to catch their breaths. The arguing couple rented a paddle boat too. Great, thought Jack.

Jack didn't want to start up his paddle boat immediately as he thought it might come across as rude because he was sitting idle the whole time and to move now might have been obvious. The young man screams "Eva, this is the last time I'm going to say this! You can't see my phone because you need to trust me! Nine years Eva! Nine years!" Eva looks around in embarrassment. She didn't look surprised at him raising his voice but she seemed surprised that he would do it out in the open like this. She didn't even respond. The young man steers their paddle boat to the other end from Jack, who was relieved. They sit idle under that last bridge too. They carry on arguing but Jack was not able to make out the words as they were carried off by the slight breeze.

As it gets later in the morning, more people come out to the lake. One more paddle boat. This was a couple that looked to be in their thirties. As soon as they get on the water, they light up a joint. Jack hates that smell so he made it a point to glare at them until they moved to the other extreme of the lake. So Jack is sandwiched between the unhappy couple and the thirty something couple. Jack adjusts his GoPro to make sure it was in the right spot on his cap. He hears Eva this time. "Stop!!!" Jack looks over more intently to see that the guy is shoving her roughly with his elbow as she sits next to him. He is beginning to grow concerned for Eva because it's an isolated area that's the perfect setting for an accident. Jack deduced their story is, the dude got caught cheating and now he's trying to make Eva look crazy. "What do you mean?" shouts the guy and Eva says "Where were you last night?!"

Jack wondered how and why some couples date for nine years. That could have been a nine year marrige but then, at least there's a reason to make it work. In this case, he definitely doesn't love her. He's probably living a double life while Eva is only finding out now who he truly is, nine years later.

Jack thinks about doing a lap but figured he didn't want to pass the smokers. He looks over to the other end, and sees only the guy. He sat upright quickly and his reflexes kicked in. In the middle of a lake... There's not much option. He starts up his paddle boat immediately and paddles closer to where Eva was. The guy paddles off from his spot he was in, never looking back. Jack sees Eva's white top ballooning on the surface of the lake. He jumps into the lake as he can do a better job swimming than paddling. His heart is racing. Hang in there Eva. Hang in there, I'm coming. He reaches her, grabs her and swims to the pier. The two women watched everything and one shouted out to Jack "she's with 911" making a phone gesture with her hand.

Jack starts chest compressions and the whole process. Time is of the essence. Eva coughs. Jack exhales.