Page 72 of It Started at the Lake

“I don’t, I’m sorry.”

She swipes at her eyes.

I turn my blinker on, edging to the right. An overlook of Lake Lloyd is a short walk down a dirt path. Seeing the lake in its entirety is breathtaking. Parking, I get out and open Millie’s door for her. “About five minutes down this trail is a beautiful view of the lake. There are benches we can sit on for a bit until you’re ready to go.”

“Lead the way.”

We stay quiet on the short jaunt. A family with two smaller kids and an older couple are sitting, enjoying the view of the kidney-shaped lake. Millie and I head to the left, away from the other people.

“Breakfast or dinner?” Millie asks.

“Dinner. Preferably one I don’t make.”

“You keep making waffles and bacon, and I’ll do dinner.”

“I’m fine with what you just said because I hope when we get back to Amherst we’ll keep hanging out, but if we were dating for real, again, comments like that are too soon.”

Her shoulders sag. “Right. I’ll learn eventually.”

“You’re doing great, Mils.”

“Sure, I am. Ice or fire?”

“Who has a preference for ice or fire?” Some of her questions are ridiculous. I like ice in my beverages and fire on cool nights. Saying one is better than the other is pointless.

“Some people might.”

“Do you?”

She shakes her head. “Nope. Totally indifferent over here.”

The families behind us leave, and I guide us to the bench. Sitting, I stare out at the lake, letting memories from every summer come over me. Including the last one with Jen.

Millie’s become a friend the past month and a half. I’m comfortable with her and want her to understand why I’ll never get over Jen. Maybe sharing this secret I carry around will help Mils see why I’m broken and truly can’t handle moving on.

“Do you see that island out there?” I point to a small formation on the right side of the lake.

“The one with only two pine trees on it?”

“That’s the one. When I was seven, I begged my dad to take me out there. I wanted to explore like Christopher Columbus. My dad kept telling me no, that specific island was dangerous. I didn’t believe him. I thought he was being lazy and didn’t want to get the boat out.

“After weeks of begging, he finally relented. I showed up at the dock in my swimsuit, flip-flops, and a notebook ready to scout out everything we found. When my dad came down, he was in long pants and tennis shoes. I was confused and remember asking him why he was dressed like that. All he told me was, ‘you’ll see.’

“As we approached the island, I kept seeing things move on the sand. I thought they were crabs or something. When we dropped anchor, I refused to get off the boat.” A shiver moves through me, remembering what I saw.

“Bennett, you can’t stop there. What happened?”

“Thousands of spiders, crawling everywhere.”

She pushes my shoulder. “You were seven. I bet you're exaggerating.”

I slowly shake my head. “I assure you I'm not. I’ll take you out there if you want, but we all give that place a wide berth.”

“I kind of want to see it because I’m not sure you’re remembering right, but I’m also not a big spider fan, so…”

I can handle one arachnid on its own. Tens of thousands? It’s enough to give anyone the heebie jeebies. “The reason I told you that story is because there have only been two other times in my life when I’ve been that scared.”

Millie eyes me. Lines appear around her eyes and across her forehead. “When were the other times?”

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