getting the notes right. He wanted to recall the song. He glanced back to the
cottage, hoping he would see signs of life. Still dark, no lights on.
He heard a boat engine start up on the other end of the lake. He wondered if they
would be fishing. He had never been fishing in his life. The lake seemed peaceful
at this time of morning and William could imagine himself fishing.
He imagined Casey teasing him about the way he jumped at a small fish. She would
joke that he fished for revenge, comparing him to Ahab and the fish to Moby Dick.
He chuckled at the thought of Casey calling him Ahab.
He recalled going with Casey to one of her co-worker's Halloween parties the
previous October. There were two men both dressed up as Captain Jack
Sparrow. Each had claimed they made a better pirate. Everyone was shocked when
Casey said they needed to have a Captain Jack Off to figure out who was the better
one. The coworkers stopped inviting her to parties.
He watched the boat across the lake take off. The engine wasn't loud but it drowned
out the small waves crashing on the dock. William could only make out the outlines
of the men in the boat. He imagined they were his father's age.
The boat, moving through the water, sent bigger waves to William. He thought about
getting up and sneaking back into the cottage but his left leg had fallen asleep.
He massaged it to wake it up.
He watched the boat go out to the deeper part of the lake. While it wasn't a huge
lake, William lost sight of them.
He could feel the pins and needles fade from his leg. He scrunched up his toes to
make sure the feeling was back in his foot.
He looked across the water, trying to spot the boat again, but couldn’t. Something
bumped into his leg. He glanced down and saw a small fish floating sideways against