It was a hot July 4th afternoon. Five-year old Alex had lots of energy. Susan and I stopped at a picnic area along the banks of the Charles River. Alex ran to the playground, climbing the jungle gym, and sliding down the ramp. Susan and I sat lazily on the child-sized swings. When we heard the sound of lapping water from the strokes of canoe paddles, we turned to see a man with a young boy getting out of a canoe. The man was gently coaching the boy as together they pulled the canoe safely to the riverbank.
I watched and glanced at Susan and to my surprise; she looked quite perky, not limp and sweaty the way I felt.
“Nice man,” Susan cooed in his direction. Her mellow voice was just loud enough to drift gently in the breeze, landing in the man’s ears. The man looked up with a smile and a nod. When the canoe was safely on the shore, Susan walked over to greet them. I stayed on the swing observing from a short distance Susan’s tilting head, her vivacious smile. I could not hear what either of them was saying.
When we got back in the car, Susan said, “Would you mind if I went out to dinner tonight and left Alex with you?”
“Of course not,” I said, amazed at how she had managed to get a dinner date so quickly.
The next day, I took Susan and Alex to the airport for their flight back to Canada. A month later Susan telephoned me.
“Hi, I’m staying with Greg this weekend. I won’t have time to come see you, just wanted to let you know I was in Boston.” Before a year had past, Susan had a work visa. She was house hunting with Greg. It was several more years before they married, but this year they will celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary.
My Turn 