—NOW WE END UP TAKING THE LONG WAY HOME

(I’m pre-empting an internet outage, which is more than likely to happen soon due to torrid weather, by posting this a day--or a few hours--early.)

 

Skinny Dip

 

They were too old for it, but they went skinny dipping nonetheless, something different to shake up the years. How had they lived on a lake all this time and never not?

Floating, he thought of divorce, a fresh start. His mother had done it three times in her life and seemed happy enough in the end. Variety, a buffet of men, each more virile than the former. On the outside, it seemed sensible and smart.

Hovering nearby, his wife was thinking, If only he’d see the improvements I’ve made, the weight loss, hair extensions, lingerie with a key hole opening on the back side. If only he’d pay fucking attention... How much I give a shit...

They treaded in place, the water both odd swirls of milky warmth and chill. The rough wind jostled them along, then forced them closer together, like a make-or-break Truth-or-Dare moment.

“I feel a fish, or an eel, brushing up against my leg,” she said, a little panicked.

He smiled and really meant it. He actually did this time. “Honey, there are no eels here,” he said, and they both laughed uneasily before enjoying a soupy kiss that tasted like pond water, earthy and true, as if life itself was coalescing in that very moment.