For People Who Love Up North
Rhythms of Leelanau
A walkabout from Suttons Bay to Glen Arbor helps our protagonist find new direction in life. A short story.
(page 4 of 4)
The sun had been up for some time, and the sounds of the shore were everywhere. Shalda was roaring, the seagulls were screeching, and the waves rolled gently against the shore. The fire was completely out, the rocks making the fire pit were cold, and there were no logs stationed nearby. The sand was smooth and undisturbed. I stood and looked at the beautiful sky laced with large white clouds moving ever so slowly to the southeast. A couple of sailboats were moving in harmony to the north between the shore and the Manitou Islands now bathed in sunlight. Down the beach a mile away two people were walking north toward my camp. Early sunbathers I figured. I tried to recall how my discussion with Jack ended and nothing came to mind. It was like he was there one minute and gone the next. No tracks were in the sand from either direction, so I reasoned he must have walked out along the water coming from the Shalda. I looked around for the logs I gathered late the evening before and they were not here. I walked to the shoreline where I found several logs the night before. It began to feel like I was losing my mind. Jack was real and I spoke with him for over two hours … I thought.
I could not stop thinking of the remarkable comments and wisdom the old man offered last night. He had given me a testimony about what life meant for him, and I could see my own life through his. I continued to struggle with exactly what had happened as I made coffee and cooked up some French toast in my little skillet. As I looked to the south the two people were still coming my way. They looked to be women, walking barefoot and enjoying the sand and water. I continued my cooking task crouched over the fire and watching the flames do their work. From behind me I heard a woman say, “Can we join you for a cup of coffee?” I turned and felt the arms of one of the women clamp around my shoulder and kissing me on the cheek. “Hi Daddy, surprised?” It was Jenny and she wasn’t alone. Her mother, my wife Jeannie, was with her. She came to me and held my hand as she looked deeply into my face. “I know you are a better man than the one I’ve seen over the last few years, and I want you to do whatever it takes to come back to the one I’ve known most of my married life.” Jenny couldn’t resist a smile over the drama her ruse had unleashed. She came close and hugged us both.
“Did you see a man, an old man this morning, walking the beach from your direction?” Both Jenny and her mother looked around somewhat confused.
“No, we have been walking since dawn to this section of Good Harbor bay hoping to find you, but there are no cars parked on the upper road and no other footprints except ours on the beach. We are all alone.” Jeannie revealed an affectionate smile. “Dad, I had a call from the store owner I worked for last summer, and he wanted me to come to work again this summer. But the best news is he would like to sell the business this year and wondered if I wanted to run it while he looks for a buyer. I thought maybe with your job gone and all you might consider it.” Jenny held her breath and prayed for a positive sign from her dad. Jeannie looked at him grabbed his hand again and said, “If it’s going to bring you back to us then please do it.” The devotion in her eyes was clear; she wanted him to do this.
We three spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon walking south toward Pyramid Point, enjoying the day and the special feelings I had gained from my short adventure. Thinking of Jenny’s remarks, I said, “What’s the name of the place you’ll be working at?”
“It’s called the Best Chance Mercantile, kind of an old fashion general store with lots of charm, located in Glen Arbor.” Jenny’s eyes beamed at my interest.
“And who is the owner looking to sell?”
“His name is Chance, Jack Chance; and he’s a great old guy with a permanent smile on his face.”
I thought back to my discussions with “Jack” just six or seven hours earlier and wondered whether he was real or imagined. It didn’t matter, for I knew what Jenny had meant when she told me to go and get some “soul repairing” in Leelanau. She was right, and I did. My life was going to change.
Richard Trevae is an entrepreneur and business consultant who has recently begun a pursuit of writing. His first novel, The Tarasov Solution, will be released in autumn 2009. An espionage thriller, the story centers on a nuclear missile threat to the United States capital, a threat based on warheads submerged in the Caribbean during the Cuban missile crisis.
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Reader Comments:
Hey Jeff:
Wonderful job on presentation..thanks so much. I've linked to my FB page and sent a blast email to about thirty of my closest friends aware I'm doing this writing thing.
Nice job!!
Tom Eurich