Eve just smirked and raked her fingers through her hair. “Ugh! You messed my hair up!”
Silas, Eve and Hazel continued down the overgrown path toward the dock. It was already hot even though it was early in the morning. There was an acerbic but still captivating odor of earth and grass drying in the sun. Eve’s glossy hair swayed back and forth as she walked, glimmering sporadically as it caught the sun.
When they reached the dock, Silas hopped straight into the boat. With one leg in the boat and the other stepped up onto the dock to stabilize the swaying, he reached his hands out to help the girls in. Hazel joined first, paying careful attention to her feet but self-conscious about displaying even a trace of uneasiness. Eve followed next, with another dramatic display of precisely placed feet and hands and squeals. There was something admirable about how free and accessible Eve made her discontent. She was so bold and open with it. She wanted her thoughts and feelings out there for the world to see. For Hazel, those reactions were far too precious, far too private, to expose to anyone, let alone everyone. She used to feel she could show her mom, but her mom had other priorities now. And even if Hazel did share how she felt, she wouldn’t get anything in return. So she kept all of her feelings close and clung to them with such resolve that no one would even think she had them.
Hazel followed Eve into position on the back seats of the boat. Eve stretched her leg out casually across the bench and draped her arm along the edge of the boat—a swift, Eve-like transition from the theatrics to such graceful comfort. Silas assiduously fiddled around with ropes and strings and levers, and then sat behind the wheel of the boat and slipped his sunglasses on. He turned the key and the boat began to rumble. The boat drifted slowly away from the dock and the smell of fuel displaced the fresh aroma of summer lake. They were in near open water now, and without even turning around, Silas moved the boat into a different gear.
The boat suddenly leaped forward. It jerked with such force that Hazel nearly fell over the back. She giggled and grabbed the rail on the edge of the boat to brace herself and looked over at Eve, who was still lying comfortably on the cushions with her eyes shut, enjoying the sun. The thunderous clang of the engine drowned out the sounds of the lake. As they rode across the lake, the nose of the boat rose into the air and then thumped back down onto the water. This repeated over and over with a slightly syncopated rhythm. The rumble of the engine reached its crescendo just as the tip of the boat reached its zenith. Hazel’s grip around the rail relaxed as she became more expectant of the seesawing patterns of the boat beneath her body. She looked over at Eve, who was now kneeling on the bench, her torso angled out over the edge of the boat into the considerable spray fanning out from all sides. Her silken hair thrashed around in the wind and then fell over her cheeks for just a moment before being lifted and thrashed again by another whoosh of air. It didn’t surprise Hazel that Eve looked so effortless. She always did. Hazel’s face, on the other hand, began to feel stiff and ungraceful against the pressure of the wind, and she tucked her knees into her chest and pressed her face into her legs for protection. The vibration of the seat beneath her body provided some reprieve.
After only a few minutes, the sound of the engine faded, and the boat puttered to a stop not far from a small, rocky island. Silas twisted the key to the engine, and the faint chirps, crackles and splashes of the lake became audible once more. Hazel lifted her head up to find Silas rooting around in a compartment in the center of the boat. He eventually hauled a small anchor from the pit and tossed it by its chain over the side. Hazel tilted her body over the ledge to watch the anchor fall deeper and deeper through the clear water, its shape losing its form and wiggling at the edges until it was completely out of sight. Silas declared it a good place to swim, and took his shirt and sandals off. He stepped up onto the bow and dived into the lake. As Silas’s body dipped beneath the water, Hazel noticed a feeling of being left behind creep up through her. It surprised her.
By the time Hazel had turned to Eve, Eve had already pulled her phone from the pocket of her shorts to inspect. Eve shook her phone again, as if she were shaking an ensnared snack from a vending machine.
“Ugh,” she groaned. “This place has literally no service.”
Hazel had learned by now that she need not respond to all of Eve’s grievances. Hazel just let Eve’s words evaporate into the clear air.
Eve lay back onto the cushion harshly, unzipped her life jacket to expose her slim belly and chest to the sun, and slid her long legs out in front of her. They looked more tanned, and perhaps even a bit more toned, here at the lake. Her breasts were so full and round, even in her supine position. Her hair draped perfectly over the side, still glimmering in the sun. Hazel lay back and observed her own breasts. Gravity had already pulled them flat into her chest. She looked down at her own legs, a little chubby with a stubble of hairs poking out from her skin. She tried to pull one out but failed. She pulled her hair out of her ponytail and shaped it in front of her shoulders. She could see in her shadow that her hair’s awkward waves and thin layer of frizz persisted.
Across the lake on a distant shore, Hazel spotted a fuzzy image of tiny shapes and figures sitting out on their beach. She could hear people talking and laughing, though she was unable to make out any of the words. Two small boys played in the shallow water in neon-colored bathing suits. They were shrieking as they splashed each other and jumped up and down, their little bodies glittering in the water. They transferred water in various-sized buckets, back and forth from the lake, into what appeared to be a moat crafted around a messy sandcastle. Hazel thought of her little brothers. How much they would like it here. Hazel’s heart clenched at the thought of it. Did she miss them? Her heart clenched again. She needed to distract herself from the thought as quickly as possible, so she jumped into the water. It was cold and refreshing. After swimming a few small circles, Hazel felt tired. She was out of practice and so she pulled herself back into the boat. Eve propped herself up on her elbows and peeked out from behind her sunglasses to watch Hazel. Silas, too, had returned to the boat in that time and was sitting on the nose with his feet dipping in and out of the water as the boat rose and fell.
“Look who’s back!” Eve remarked with a smile.
“Nice out here, isn’t it?” Silas half declared, half asked proudly and spread a towel out between his hands for Hazel.
“Oh yeah!” Hazel said and walked into the towel. Silas wrapped her in it tightly and gave her a firm pat on the back. If Hazel had any chill before, it was entirely gone now. Everything felt warm inside. This was exactly what she had hoped this new life would be like.
24
After dinner that next night, Silas held the screen door open and suggested Hazel and Eve join him outside for another treat.
“Ugh, it’s always full of bugs out there,” Eve complained and then slunk down in her chair.
Silas smirked and removed his hand from the door and let it slam shut. The door creaked, bouncing in the doorframe as Silas stood there, eyes locked on Eve, willing her to move. When she didn’t, Silas shifted his weight and then walked over to her. Eve had already begun smiling in anticipation of the creative ways Silas could convince her to move from her position in the chair.