Page 1 of Skipping Stones

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Linney McDonnell picked up a small stone, flat and smooth, in the chilly September dawn. She’d been at it for ten minutes or so, as the horizon turned a bright pink and now slowly morphed to orange. A loon called out across the misty lake and Linney turned the stone over in her hand, concentrating hard. Angling it just so, she sent it flying toward the lake and then tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she held her breath.

One … two … three … four … five. Would there be a sixth? Yes! She jumped with pleasure as whoops of appreciation from her childhood friends carried across the water.

“Good one, Linney! I don’t think I can do better than that.” Derek’s deep voice rumbled beside her and he high-fived her on the Silver Lake shore before they scrambled up onto the dock and under the blankets to join the warmth of the others.

Kirsten handed Linney an insulated mug while Anna pulled a striped Hudson Bay blanket more tightly around her shoulders. The fall mornings had turned chilly, but the four friends had been determined to get together for one last sunrise before Linney left them again.

“I wish this didn’t have to end,” she said with a sigh. “It’s been so good to be home.” It was the end of a month-long vacation, full of kayaking on the lake, spending time with Gran, and visiting with friends. She’d spent hours devouring book after book curled up on the porch of the house she grew up in. But real life awaited her on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

“One last hug,” said Anna, as she regretfully shrugged off the blanket and stood up, her posture perfect as always. “I do need to get home. It’s a school day.” Anna had married right out of high school after falling head over heels with a local contractor. She now owned the town’s dance studio and had two adorable daughters, just a few years older than the friends had been when Linney first moved to Silver Lake. She threw her arms around Linney. “We’ll miss you. But we’ll get our fix watching you on the news. The girls love it when they see their Auntie Linney on TV.” Linney sniffed softly. “No tears, okay? And no goodbyes. We’ll see you soon.”

Linney nodded, and after another hug, Anna jogged off the dock, her long ponytail swinging behind her, heading past the house and back to her family.

Kirsten looked at Linney sadly. “I should go too if I’m not going to be late.” Kirsten’s nursing shift at Silver Lake General Hospital’s emergency room started at seven o’clock. She’d come this morning in her usual boxy scrubs that hid her curvy figure. “But I’m glad we saw the sunrise with you. Safe travels, and don’t be a stranger, okay? If you wait too long to come home again, I might have to come see you in London.”

Linney wiped a tear away from behind her glasses with her forefinger as she pulled her petite, shapely friend to her. “You know I’d love that.”

Turning her attention to Derek, Kirsten grinned. “Glad you could come up for a couple of days. See you soon.” The dock bounced slightly as she jumped off and walked up to her car.

It seemed impossible to Linney that five years had passed since she had been recruited to the TeleCan News bureau in England right out of university. Back then, while Derek finished his law degree in Toronto, Anna was already an exhausted and busy Silver Lake mother of two preschoolers and Kirsten had landed a job at the local hospital. But Linney and Derek always had big plans, and staying in Silver Lake had never been part of them.

Full of excitement for her overseas job, Linney quickly found a tiny, bright flat at the top of four flights of stairs in the London neighbourhood of Notting Hill and started at the bottom of the ladder as a fact checker for more experienced reporters. She raised her hand for every extra assignment and soon gained a reputation for her quick and thorough work. Linney hadn’t slept much in those days, but it had paid off with a string of promotions. She still remembered how excited she’d been when she’d called Derek to proudly inform her best friend that he was talking to the latest TCN on-air reporter.

In the years that followed, she’d covered all manner of news stories, from business to politics, and from royalty to sports. Lately, though, she was feeling restless and was hoping for the challenge of an assignment further afield. Iran, Somalia, Ethiopia—she didn’t care where. She just wanted to be where the action was, and she wanted to be there soon. Whether she made it or not, the whole population of Silver Lake, all 2,566—2,567 when she was home—was already proud of “their” Linney McDonnell.

The last colours of the sunrise faded as Derek and Linney sat on the dock in comfortable silence and the rising sun started to burn off the fog that had been hovering over the lake. The friends had been watching new days start together on this dock since they were young. A cool breeze made Linney shiver. Derek put a brotherly arm around her, and she leaned into his familiar broad frame as the loon called again. They sipped the last of their coffee as the sun slowly started to warm them.

It was Derek who broke the silence. “I’m sorry Olivia couldn’t make it up to the lake this weekend,” he said. “This deal she’s working on has her chained to her desk. I’ve hardly seen her for weeks.” Derek’s long-time girlfriend was a successful mergers and acquisitions lawyer who was just as smart and driven as he was. They had sparred often during mock trials at law school. He’d won two more cases than she did—not that anyone was counting—but he had a softer heart.

As a teenager, Derek had developed a reputation around town for his volunteer work at the local food bank and by rescuing more than one stray animal. He’d been known to shovel sidewalks for some of the town’s elderly population in the winter, and in the fall, colourful blankets of coloured leaves would mysteriously be raked from front lawns into piles by the roadway for pickup when Derek was around. As a lawyer, he had more tools to help people and these days, Derek could be found with his shirtsleeves rolled up as he fought the system for immigrants, refugees, and the poor at a bustling Legal Aid office in downtown Toronto. The cases Olivia and Derek worked on couldn’t be more different, and neither could they. But opposites attract, and they had been together since they’d met in the law school library.

“She loves her job.” Linney shrugged, always amused that Derek was smitten with a driven Bay Street lawyer.

“So do you.” Derek turned to look at Linney and teased, “You can’t fool me. As much as you’re sad to leave, you’re looking forward to being back in London with Mac as well.” He stood up and jumped down to the shore, looking for another stone.

Linney rolled her eyes, but she knew he was right. She did love her job. And she couldn’t deny that the heady, tempestuous romance she had with storied reporter Finlay MacGregor was an amazing bonus. The roller coaster ride was exhilarating.

A bone of contention between them was Mac’s inability to understand why Linney kept returning to her hometown, despite having been so eager to leave. Compared to the hustle and bustle of London and the adrenaline-filled news business, he often teased her that the Silver Lake community she described sounded sleepy and insular.

He had a point, she had to admit. Not a lot had changed since Linney had left for London. Silver Lake was a small town, and while it did have the benefits of being the county seat, that only went so far. The county offices were on the edge of town, in a nondescript brick building designed for efficiency, not looks, and Silver Lake was home to the county hospital, library, and schools. The not-so-cleverly-named Main Street curved around the crystal-clear lake and hummed with activity during the busy summer cottage season. It was home to a number of businesses in old Ontario heritage buildings, including Page Turners, the popular bookstore that Kirsten’s family owned, and which drew people from many towns over.

Across the road beside the lake was grassy Centennial Park and the beach, where all Silver Lake holiday gatherings were held. On Victoria Day, the cottage season kicked off properly, and high school students served strawberry shortcake every year to raise money for activities. On Canada Day, a band played to summer crowds in the 1800s pavilion before the fireworks began. All through the summer, the ice cream stand where Anna had worked as a teenager was still the place where folks, old and young alike, held hands, flirted, and watched the sun set.

The annual Fall Festival in October was Silver Lake’s last big celebration. It brought summer people back for one last week after Thanksgiving, to hike in the autumn leaves and visit festival booths that featured handicrafts, preserves and other local food, pumpkins, and hayrides.

But behind the spit and polish that brought the town of Silver Lake to life for summer people lay a far less prosperous one. When cottages were closed after the Fall Festival, many businesses also closed their doors for the season. On the other side of the summer facade, there were Silver Lake families who struggled, living paycheque to paycheque as the town limped through winter. At Christmas, when the park was just for locals, the huge spruce tree beside the pavilion, laden with snow, was lit with a few strings of lights. In January, volunteers groomed a section of the frozen lake for skating.

Away from the lakeshore and beyond the town limits, some families relied on a combination of social assistance and the food bank, reluctantly accepting the kindness of strangers to make it through the winter. What Silver Lake lacked in monetary wealth however, it made up for in caring and the town always looked after its own. Linney’s grandmother taught her to pretend not to notice if a classmate’s sister went to school in her hand-me-downs. Several women banded together in a group called KnitWorks, to ensure that nobody was ever without mittens and scarves.

The downside to all this caring—everyone poking around in everyone else’s business—had driven Derek and Linney crazy as teenagers. He said you couldn’t sneeze without the whole town knowing about it. They couldn’t wait to escape for relative anonymity in big cities where not everyone knew everything about them. Others chafed less at the intrusion and these days, both Anna and Kirsten were avid KnitWorkers.

“Can I trust you with a secret?” There was a note of conspiracy in Derek’s voice. They’d always been each other’s confidants and there was no one Linney trusted more. Back on the dock, Derek picked up a blanket, folding it carefully, busying his hands and buying time.

“Go on.”

“I bought a ring. I’m going to propose to Olivia.” The gold flecks in his brown eyes glittered with excitement.

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