Moonlight on the Water

By Di

Back in my "younger days" I frequently found an escape from what I considered life's problems by revving up my motorcycle and riding far out into the country until I reached a hidden lake. The lake was too small for boating and was only used during the day by the occasional fisherman. It was the perfect spot to sit and reflect on where I had been and planning where I wanted my life to go in the future.

The motorcycle was sold many years ago and, looking back now, I had to smile when I think of what I considered to be life's problems back then. Never in a million years would I have foreseen all of the different paths that I would travel in the next twenty years nor would I have been able to imagine all of the hard choices I was going to have to make that would change my life irrevocably. When my partner and I started our business from scratch, we knew it meant long hours and hard work which put a strain on his marriage and precluded me from committing the energy required to build a new relationship. Ten years later, his marriage has survived and his kids are grown. While boyfriends have come and gone over the years, I'm still looking for that one "magic" relationship and becoming more and more disenchanted as I watch the marriages of my friends starting to crumble after many years.

Today everything just seemed to crash around me. I had just lost a large account which was going to greatly affect the bottom line at work and I had nothing in the works at the present time that would come close to replacing the lost income. As I walked into my townhouse that evening, I was acutely aware that I had no one to share this with. At this point I didn't want to hear words of consolation or encouragement. All I wanted was to have someone put their arms around me and to feel the warmth of another human being. Knowing this wasn't going to happen, an idea flashed through my mind and I grabbed my car keys and headed to the garage.

Easing my car into the traffic on the freeway, I headed north and away from the lights of the city. After several miles the traffic began to thin and I passed through several small towns before spotting a "public access" sign announcing boat docks off to the left. Once I made the left turn I could see moonlight reflecting off the water through the trees and brought my car to a stop about a half mile later directly in front of the small dock area.

I was immediately transported back to an earlier time when the biggest decisions I had to make were which boy I thought was cuter, which movie I wanted to see on Saturday night and if there was some way I could talk my parents out of some extra money to make the ends meet since I had insisted on moving into my own apartment.

Thinking of those days brought a cynical smile to my face as I slowly got out of the car and walked to the end of the dock. Sitting cross-legged on the wooden planks, I planted my elbows on my knees and braced my chin in my hands as I watched the water rippling slowly around the dock pilings in the moonlight. The sound of the bubbling water was extremely relaxing and I felt myself being lulled into a more peaceful frame of mind as I closed my eyes and leaned back against the pillars of the dock.

My reverie was suddenly broken as footsteps sounded on the wooden dock behind me. My eyes flew open and I spun around to face whoever dared to intrude upon my self imposed solitude. Seeing boots and jeans directly behind me, my eyes quickly traveled upwards taking in the leather jacket and long hair pulled into a ponytail and finally settling on the stranger's breathtakingly handsome face with the slight smile and twinkling eyes.

"Where did you…???", I stammered as he knelt down and placed his forefinger against my lips to silence the question. As he nodded towards the shore, I saw the reflection of moonlight off chrome as I made out the motorcycle parked there. I hadn't heard anyone drive up! He must have been here watching me the whole time!

The weight of the entire day came crashing back as I turned to confront this stranger with fury in my eyes. As my eyes met his, however, all the pent-up anger drained from my body and I felt myself instinctively drawn towards this stranger. Leaning forward on one knee, he raised my chin with his finger as he brought his lips to mine. The kiss was so unexpected that I didn't even think to move away and quickly found myself surrendering to the warmth of his lips against mine. Smiling as he broke the kiss, he slowly moved to sit behind me, pulling me against his chest as he brought his arms around my waist and lowered his chin to rest on my shoulder. I'm not sure how long we sat together that way, mixing kisses with the silence but together we watched as the sun slowly rose over the water in the east.

Hating to break the peacefulness that had settled over us during the night, I regretfully made a move to rise. Stiffness had settled in due to the damp air and I gratefully accepted the hand he extended to help me to my feet. With his arm around my shoulders and mine around his waist, we slowly left the dock until we were standing next to my car. After coming together for one final kiss, I slowly turned to unlock and open the drivers door. Just as I reached for the door handle, I heard the sound of a motorcycle engine coming to life and turned just as he pulled the bike up next to me.

Looking deeply into his eyes which had turned amber in the morning light, I smiled and kissed his lips quickly as I whispered, "Thank you for being here."

"My pleasure, querida!" he said in a smoothly accented baritone as his eyes twinkled and a slow smile curved his lips.

Turning back towards my car, I willed myself not turn around as I heard the motorcycle roar down the gravel road towards the highway. I knew, even if I never saw him again, that there truly was magic in watching the moonlight on the water.