meditatively then said, “You know, Roz, there are probably other ways to solve the high-water problem. And first, I’ve got to say that I’m not really sure you’ll have a problem. Don’t forget, your house has been there for twenty years, and it’s still standing. This won’t be the first time it’s seen high water.”
“I know, I know,” I protested, “but I can’t just sit there and do nothing. I wake up in the middle of the night and hear those storm waves pounding on my shore and I can’t get back to sleep. Every day the water eats another inch or two of shale. I have this image of the lake slowly seeping into my house, with fish swimming around my kitchen table.” I paused for a moment, horrified at the picture I’d painted. Then I continued, “Have I ever told you one of my mottoes?”
David grinned. “The one about ‘It’s always an adventure in Roz-ville?’”
“Well, I guess that one would relate here, wouldn’t it? But I was thinking of another motto: ‘Leave no worry unworried.’”
David’s grin broadened. “I’ve seen you put that one into effect, what with all your fretting about how you’d pay for Manhattan. Once you get your teeth into a worry, you are kind of like a small dog with a big bone.”
“It’s genetic.” I sighed. “I think I inherited all this worrying from my grandmother.”
“Anyway,” David said, “getting back to reinforcing your lakefront, I could probably think of one or two guys who might be willing to fill sandbags and get them to your house. I have a friend in the volunteer fire department. I could call him and see if they could do something.”
“If they could do something, they should probably help Stan first. He’s closer to flooding than I am, and he could use a hand.”
“He’s got a son nearby, doesn’t he?”
“Aaron. He’d have to come up from Corning, though. It’s a ways off.”
“The roads are clear now, so that wouldn’t be a big deal.”
“I suppose,” I admitted, reluctant to yield my point.
“But you’re on your own. I know Stan will help you, and I’ll stop by whenever I can get away from the winery, but even with three people, reinforcing close to one hundred feet of lakefront is a huge amount of work. Even if you worked on it full-time for weeks, you might not get it done. Let’s face it, Roz.” He looked at me. “Neither one of us is twenty-one anymore.”
“I’m trying to think of it as fresh air and good exercise,” I mumbled.
“Good exercise?” David looked at me quizzically. “It’s also a really good way to hurt your back and get pneumonia.”
“Wow. You’re a fountain of positivity tonight, David.” I gulped an over-large mouthful of wine. “I’m going to give working on the lakefront a shot for a few days. I’ll be outside in the fresh air instead of cleaning closets. At least it’ll be a change of pace.”
I could see him mentally shaking his head, but he only said, “I’ve promised Alex I’d be there for the rest of the bottling this week, and I think he’s going to try to do last year’s pinot, but I’ll help you whenever I get a chance. Anyway, I thought we were here to celebrate your tax refund.”
“You’re right.” By this point the wine had kicked in a bit and I felt mellow and thoughtful, pondering our earlier phone conversation. “Isn’t it strange, the way things work out sometimes? I stressed and worried for weeks about how I’d get the money for that weekend and— plunk! —the Universe just drops the answer in my lap with no real effort on my part. That kind of miracle never happens to me.” I swirled my wineglass in tight circles on the slick Formica tabletop and continued, “Then there are times when the littlest thing you say or do brings your whole life crashing down around your ears, and you had no idea anything would happen.”
“Okay.” David glanced at my glass of wine, obviously trying to gauge how much I’d had to drink. “Like what
“I know, I know,” I protested, “but I can’t just sit there and do nothing. I wake up in the middle of the night and hear those storm waves pounding on my shore and I can’t get back to sleep. Every day the water eats another inch or two of shale. I have this image of the lake slowly seeping into my house, with fish swimming around my kitchen table.” I paused for a moment, horrified at the picture I’d painted. Then I continued, “Have I ever told you one of my mottoes?”
David grinned. “The one about ‘It’s always an adventure in Roz-ville?’”
“Well, I guess that one would relate here, wouldn’t it? But I was thinking of another motto: ‘Leave no worry unworried.’”
David’s grin broadened. “I’ve seen you put that one into effect, what with all your fretting about how you’d pay for Manhattan. Once you get your teeth into a worry, you are kind of like a small dog with a big bone.”
“It’s genetic.” I sighed. “I think I inherited all this worrying from my grandmother.”
“Anyway,” David said, “getting back to reinforcing your lakefront, I could probably think of one or two guys who might be willing to fill sandbags and get them to your house. I have a friend in the volunteer fire department. I could call him and see if they could do something.”
“If they could do something, they should probably help Stan first. He’s closer to flooding than I am, and he could use a hand.”
“He’s got a son nearby, doesn’t he?”
“Aaron. He’d have to come up from Corning, though. It’s a ways off.”
“The roads are clear now, so that wouldn’t be a big deal.”
“I suppose,” I admitted, reluctant to yield my point.
“But you’re on your own. I know Stan will help you, and I’ll stop by whenever I can get away from the winery, but even with three people, reinforcing close to one hundred feet of lakefront is a huge amount of work. Even if you worked on it full-time for weeks, you might not get it done. Let’s face it, Roz.” He looked at me. “Neither one of us is twenty-one anymore.”
“I’m trying to think of it as fresh air and good exercise,” I mumbled.
“Good exercise?” David looked at me quizzically. “It’s also a really good way to hurt your back and get pneumonia.”
“Wow. You’re a fountain of positivity tonight, David.” I gulped an over-large mouthful of wine. “I’m going to give working on the lakefront a shot for a few days. I’ll be outside in the fresh air instead of cleaning closets. At least it’ll be a change of pace.”
I could see him mentally shaking his head, but he only said, “I’ve promised Alex I’d be there for the rest of the bottling this week, and I think he’s going to try to do last year’s pinot, but I’ll help you whenever I get a chance. Anyway, I thought we were here to celebrate your tax refund.”
“You’re right.” By this point the wine had kicked in a bit and I felt mellow and thoughtful, pondering our earlier phone conversation. “Isn’t it strange, the way things work out sometimes? I stressed and worried for weeks about how I’d get the money for that weekend and— plunk! —the Universe just drops the answer in my lap with no real effort on my part. That kind of miracle never happens to me.” I swirled my wineglass in tight circles on the slick Formica tabletop and continued, “Then there are times when the littlest thing you say or do brings your whole life crashing down around your ears, and you had no idea anything would happen.”
“Okay.” David glanced at my glass of wine, obviously trying to gauge how much I’d had to drink. “Like what
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