Until the door was firmly closed behind her, Melanie managed to keep a smile on her face, but once inside and away from Russ's all-knowing, all-seeing eyes, she slumped down against the door, pulled up her knees and rested her forehead on them. Whatever possessed me to say what I did, about not wanting a husband? Am I still that screwed up by Rick? I really thought I was over the scumbag. Wearily she got to her feet and went off to bed, telling herself that things would look better in the morning.
* * *
Seated in the boat early Saturday afternoon, fishing rod in hand, Melanie gazed at the lakeshore, ringed on three sides with pine, cedar, balsam, spruce, tamarack, and a few deciduous trees peppered amongst them. A slight breeze ruffled the needles gently and she once more felt the incredible sense of peace this place of Russ's held for her. Glancing over at him, she again caught him studying her, but this time, he was the first to look away.
"Time for your first miracle, Russ. See that tiny wisp of a cloud almost directly overhead?"
"Hard to miss, since it's the only one in the sky."
"Here's what we do. Look away from it and imagine a stream of warm air flowing from the top of your head to the wisp of cloud. Hold that thought for a minute or so."
"Eyes open or closed?"
"Whatever works for you. Less distractions if they are closed."
A few seconds went by and she noticed he had closed his eyes. She took a quick peek at the cloud, only to discover it was no longer there.
"Okay, time to look."
Russ opened his eyes, looked up at the cloud, and exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? Where is it? I do not believe this!" And, just as she anticipated, the little cloud started to re-form.
"Look again, Russ."
"It's coming back.!"
"Because you said you didn't believe it. What else did you expect?" She grinned at him. "You're a good student and you'll be a great miracle-worker once you get rid of the doubt. Wow! I've got a fish." Reeling in carefully as she'd been taught, Melanie was pleased to see a good-sized Rainbow on her hook. "Guess you're going to get whupped again, Cowboy."
"The day is young, my dear. Don't get too cocky." Russ unhooked the trout and placed it in the container, re-baited her hook, and dropped it over the side of the boat so she could feed it out. "Tell you what. You beat me today and you bait the hooks next time."