By the Shores of Lake Fairview

   It has been said that “misery loves company”, and this author has to agree with the sentiment. When wallowing in the thick, dark, muck of despair, who wants to be in the presence of someone glimmering with the stardust of happiness? The sharp contrast in feeling cutting like a blade into an already aching heart? 

     And this is why it comes as no surprise that Mr. Robert Gerhardt was seen having dinner with a certain recently widowed teacher in our very school district. The details surrounding this sudden change in marital status are cloudy at best, as murky as the waters that are said to have taken her husband’s young life. We believe the late Mr. Harrison to have died suddenly, tragically, in a boating accident while fishing. Mrs. Harrison herself will attest to his love of a weekend adventure at their lake house. His need for occasional solitude and escape from his highly stressful profession as an attorney. One who, of all things, specialized in divorce. It would be a safe wager to imagine Mr. Harrison knew all the workings of divorce proceedings. Who would benefit most in a division of the most holy union between two people, and whom would be left in social and financial ruin? It would also be safe to wager that Mr. Harrison had a certain privy of information when it came to the individuals in our peaceful little town who would be utilizing his services. Perhaps Mrs. Amy York, for example. The lovely Mrs. York, who also had a fondness for the great outdoors. This author wonders if Mr. Harrison had come to know Mrs. York through his work, and out of the kindness of his heart, offered her the same solace and solitude to be found at his secluded lake house. 

     This brings us back to the late night dinner of the newly widowed Mrs. Harrison, dressed in black, tissue in one hand and red wine in the other. And Mr. Gerhardt, who everyone in this town knows to carry his sour disposition like a business card in his back pocket. Ready to present in any given social interaction. 

     Yet there they sat, nonplussed, drinking wine and commiserating over life’s unfair hands to be dealt. For you see, Mr. Gerhardt, too, has had a series of misfortunes. That wine he was drinking could not be helping his vow of a sober lifestyle after his DUI two years ago. Wrapping his Mercedes tightly around Mrs. Lowell’s oak tree earned him an arrest, but luckily it was only the oak that felt the impact that night, not an innocent member of our fine town. Walking away unscathed physically, Mr. Gerhardt left prison with determination never to drink again. But oh, how temptation reaches in and settles into a soul, guiding thoughts, words, actions. 

     Temptation can be hard to resist. And it can make a person weak, unable to avoid what should be resisted on every moral compass. The temptation of a beautiful, young, soon-to-be divorcee for example. One who may have been spotted at a lake house as a guest, seen enjoying a picnic on the grassy shores of Lake Fairview. Bottle of wine, picnic basket of crackers and a variety of cheeses, would have been a perfect snack prior to a romantic boat ride upon the calm waters. Staring into each other’s eyes, feeling the longing, knowing it to be wrong. Temporarily wrong, that is, until certain circumstances changed in their favor. 

     Mr. Harrison’s boat was purchased only the year before, an upgrade to his grandfather’s old metal rowboat. While that boat was filled with nostalgia from Mr. Harrison’s boyhood, it did not satisfy his need, his overwhelming desire for something newer and prettier. Ah, temptation. 

     He docked his grandfather’s shiny gray vessel and replaced it with an expensive 6-seat motorboat with all the latest bells and whistles. An impressive addition, and one he surely would have taken an opportunity to show off. Possibly to Mrs. York on a weekend get-away. 

     Now, what happened that summer weekend will never be clear, despite Officer Amos and Detective Lawrence’s best investigative efforts. They still aren’t sure who broke into White’s Market last year, stealing every last penny from the suspiciously unlocked safe that night. But what we do know, my friends, is that Mrs. Harrison is not one to be underestimated. Hell hath no fury, should a woman find herself in a precarious position of a possible affair. 

     Or, perhaps it was all a misunderstanding. As Mr. Gerhardt was known to tell all his potential employers following his incarceration. None willing to take a chance on a man with a prison record. It was just a misunderstanding, the fact that he was arrested. But, what else could such a man be capable of? Desperate times call for desperate measures, and a desperate man may be forced to take on any job that came his way. And a man with a sour disposition and background in auto repairs, well, he may have a particular skill set some in this town could have used. Perhaps on just one occasion, under cover of a summer’s night too cloudy to reveal dark activity down near the waters of Lake Fairview. The swift movement of a wrench, the pocketing of several shiny screws. 

     The weather was clear the Sunday Mr. Harrison took an early morning ride out onto the lake. One thing the confident Mr. Harrison did not do that morning, or on any ride on the lake, was to secure a life jacket. What were the chances he’d fall in? And what were the chances he wouldn’t be able to swim leisurely back to the boat or shore? 

     When his shiny new boat, sparkling with water droplets cast up from each wave, reached its full speed, what were the chances the engine refused to slow? The chances he would try to stop, but couldn’t, and in a panic turn the wheel and get thrown from the vessel? 

     The news of Mr. Harrison’s death shocked this sleepy little town. You could see the questions on everyone’s faces at his funeral. Well, most everyone’s. 

     Yes, my dear friends, misery does love company. But sometimes, that company is seen clinking glasses, mouthing the word “cheers” in a dimly lit restaurant not far from the shores of Lake Fairview.