Tuesday's Tales - Lake House

Welcome to Tuesday's Tales, where you the reader get to read new stories every week based on a word or picture prompt. This week's Tuesday's Tale is a picture prompt of a lake house. We have only 300 words to work with. Once again, I bring Eric out to play, but he's being quiet this week. Very unusual for Eric.

To read the rest of the stories by some fine authors, visit the Tuesday's Tales Web Site.

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Doing nothing was a lot easier than you'd think. After going for a swim in the lake, Eric and I sat in the living room in front of a roaring fire, enjoying each other's company.

We didn't talk. The TV wasn't blasting. Music didn't blare over the loudspeakers. A loon's plaintive cry sounded over the lake. Crickets chirped. A breeze blew through the trees. The fire cast a glow over the room, and its warmth covered me like a child's blanket. I lay in Eric's arms on the couch, sipping hot cocoa, not saying a word.

I thought about our twenty years together; how much we had grown in each other's embrace. Our bodies had softened and our minds had sharpened, but we never tired of each other. We gave each other surprise gifts when there was no special occasion long after other couples gave up. Eric's thoughtfulness drew me closer to him. He lived to see me happy, and I wanted to bring as much joy to his life as I could. He was my rock. My foundation. Without him I would be lost.

Fire crackled in the hearth. This cabin by the lake was new to us, but it would become a familiar haven to get away from life's stresses. Not that we had much stress. Simplifying our lives over the years, we had eliminated the fast pace, rush hour traffic, debt, and other hazards of living. We had each other, our son, and our four cats, one of which curled in his lap. We brought Lucky to the beach house to keep us company.

As I basked in the quiet, I relished how good I had it. Others weren't so lucky. Grateful, I sipped my cocoa and closed my eyes. Life was good.