This is part 1 of a 5-part mini-serial. You can read all episodes by going to the “Rainy Rendezvous” page or by navigating using the menu above. You can listen to my audio recording by pressing “play” on the AudioBoo player below and/or read the full text that follows.
“Rainy Rendezvous: Episode 1 – Off Course”
by P.J. Kaiser
Stephen pulled his paddle out of the water, lay it across his lap and glided in the yellow kayak. The sound of dripping filled his ears. Raindrops plopped in the water all around him. Water pooled on the the rim of his vinyl hood and dripped onto his arms and chest. His tears mingled with the raindrops and ran into his collar.
He didn’t know what had upset him so; he had only been dating Katie for six months. But it seemed as though it might be over now.
It had started out as a beautiful sunny day and he had wanted Katie to come kayaking with him. But no amount of convincing would persuade her to come. She had just run her fingers through her bangs, looked at the floor and said, “No, I don’t want to go kayaking with you. But you have fun.” He supposed that she was hurt because he had been working such long hours. But he was working so hard to build up his savings so they could have a downpayment on a house. Of course he couldn’t tell her that yet – he was waiting until next Valentine’s Day to propose. By then he would have had enough money saved up.
But this changed everything. She didn’t want to spend time with him. She had given no explanation and couldn’t even look him in the eyes when she told him she didn’t want to go. Stephen wiped away his tears, took a deep breath and began paddling again.
He steered the kayak close to the shoreline and watched the people ensconced in umbrellas and slickers on the boardwalk above him hustle to get out of the rain. Although it was mid-afternoon, restaurants had already turned on their lights to entice customers. He wished for a moment that he was among them, walking with Katie to the Beach Club to enjoy a sumptuous steak dinner. It didn’t seem that would be happening any time soon.
Stephen paddled away from the shoreline. As the activity of the boardwalk faded from view, he thought about the ghost story he had heard as a child growing up along the banks of Lake Washington. It was something about a young couple who had taken a boat out onto the lake. The young man was in the process of proposing when a storm blew up. The boat overturned and the couple drowned. They say that if you’re out on the lake in the rain, you can hear the young man whistling as he did when he paddled the boat before the storm. In fact, just a few months earlier, he had read a story in the newspaper about a supposed ghost sighting on the lake.
Raindrops grew bigger and the mist crept closer. The water around the kayak churned as the rain pounded the surface. He had been on the water for an hour and thought maybe he should turn back before the weather worsened.
He dipped his paddle back in the water, but after a few strokes he realized that he had no idea what direction he was heading. With visibility of only a few feet, Stephen wiped the rain from his face with the back of his hand. If he headed the wrong way, he could go towards the center of the lake, and further away from the safety of the shore. At twenty-two miles from northern tip to southern, Lake Washington was not a place that he relished getting lost in, especially in this weather.
After several moments of deliberation, he decided to trust his sense of direction and hope the boat had not been turned around by the driving rain that continued to bombard him. Paddling became more difficult as the waters grew choppy. The rainfall intensified and the sound of the pounding water echoed in Stephen’s ears. Waves lapped at the side of the boat rolling it violently from side to side. The wind blew against his back, helping to propel him through the water.
After some time, Stephen realized that he must have chosen the wrong course because he hadn’t reached land. A wave of panic went through him. The wind changed direction and blew up larger waves that crashed over the kayak. Stephen could no longer row, he had to focus on leveraging the paddle to keep the kayak upright. His muscles ached from combating the water and terror filled his mind. He saw a large wave approaching but had no time to brace for it. It rolled the kayak. Stephen, trapped underwater with the skirt of the kayak around his waist, immediately snapped into reflexive action. He loosened the skirt and pushed his torso out of the kayak in one motion and fought his way to the surface of the water. The paddle slipped out of his hands and bobbed in the water. He would have had to let go of the kayak to retrieve the paddle and decided he couldn’t risk it. He climbed on top of the hull and grasped the kayak with all his strength. Waves crashed over him. Stephen wondered how long he could hold on.
