SUMMER DREAM

By Christine Tolsma Cain

“Aunt Caroline, this is going to be so much fun!”

Caroline sat on the edge of the dock, looked at the two fishing poles lying on the pier, the Styrofoam container full of worms, and the shining face of her eight year-old nephew, and was pretty well convinced that this wouldn’t be the thrill of a lifetime.

“First we need to put the bait on the hook.” Brandon stuck his hand into the container and held up a large, squirming night crawler.

“Sit down and I’ll hold the pole while you put him on.”

Brandon folded his legs and plopped down beside her, taking the hook in his free hand. He studied it for a couple of minutes, then looked at her. “I don’t know how.”

For about the thousandth time in the past year, Caroline’s heart constricted in her chest. Mark should have been the one sitting here, beside his son, teaching him all the things a boy should know. But a drunk driver’s irresponsible actions took Mark and Joyce – Caroline’s brother-in-law and sister, Brandon’s parents– and left Caroline to care for a child on her own.

She looked back into Brandon’s eyes as blue as the northern Wisconsin lake by which they sat. Cicadas buzzed overhead and the water lapped at the pilings as she contemplated her next move.

“You know, I bet if we look around the cabin, we might be able to find some games to play. What do you say?” Maybe if she had some time to work up her nerve, by tomorrow she’d be able to impale the slimy creature. Never mind that she’d put Brandon off for almost two days already.

“Please, Aunt Caroline, you promised we’d go fishing. Can’t you hook the worm for me? Daddy always did.”

How could she deny such a request, especially after he said please? She bit her lower lip and took the worm from him with two fingers. Taking a deep breath, she was about to stab the bait when it wriggled free and fell into the lake. The only thing she managed to hook was her finger. Out of instinct she lifted it to her mouth to suck on it, stopping short when she remembered she’d recently held a worm in that hand.

Yuck!

“You dropped it in the water. I’ll get you another one.”

“Wouldn’t you rather go play a round of miniature golf before it gets dark?”

“No, I really want to fish today. We have the rest of the week to golf.”

Caroline relented. “Okay, but I’m getting hungry.”

“Then we’d better hurry up and catch some fish for dinner.”

Maybe she should have taken him to Disney World instead. The only reason she’d brought him to this resort was that every summer growing up, she and Mom and Dad and Joyce had spent a week here. They’d had so much fun and now it was Brandon’s turn to build memories that would last a lifetime. Joyce would have wanted it that way.

Caroline thought back on her own childhood. She’d spent many hours as a teenager sitting in this very spot, fantasizing, waiting for some football player type of hunk to come sweep her off her feet. Now she laughed at her adolescent imaginations, but in her mind’s eye, she could still conjure up the apparition she had created almost twenty years ago.

“Need some help there?”

Caroline started at the sound of the deep, quiet male voice at her back. She tucked a stray blond hair behind her ear and swung her legs around to face the voice. Tall, dark, and handsome and vaguely familiar loomed before her. She wanted to say something unforgettable to him, but her mouth went dry and she found herself unable to say a word.

“We want to go fishing but Aunt Caroline can’t bait the hook. Can you help us?”

“Brandon,” she hissed, sending him her most withering look.

He must have misunderstood the meaning behind it because all he said was, “Please?”

“I’d be happy to do what I can,” the man said, squatting.

In one smooth motion he speared the worm, but Caroline paid little attention to the squirming bait in his expert hands. What she did notice was that the man’s skin was the color of pure maple syrup, as were his eyes. Never in her life had she seen such dark, busy eyebrows and his thick, wavy black hair beckoned her to run her fingers through it. Just her luck she’d meet the man of her dreams when she was covered with worm slime. It was nothing like this in her childhood fantasy.

“Look, Aunt Caroline, I cast the line all by myself! He showed me how.” She snapped out of her reverie to see Brandon standing with his pole, his freckled face beaming as the bobber danced on the surface of the lake.

“Great job, sweetie. I hope you thanked Mr…”

“de Matteo. But just call me Chris.”

“I hope you thanked Mr. de Matteo.”

“Thank you,” Brandon said, not taking his eyes from the bobber.

“You’re doing great,” Chris said. “Hang in there and you’ll have a bite in no time, I’m sure.” He turned and smiled at Caroline. Boy, those were pearly whites if she’d ever seen any. “I didn’t have a chance to introduce myself after church yesterday, so I’m glad I’m getting another shot at it.”

Church yesterday…of course that’s where she’d seen him before. There and in her girlish daydreams.

She smiled. “I’m Caroline Conner. And this is my nephew Brandon Jacobson.

“You must be vying for the aunt of the year award, volunteering to teach your nephew how to fish when you don’t have a clue.”

“I’m Brandon’s guardian.”

Well, so much for Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Since her sister and brother-in-law died, Caroline hadn’t dated at all, which she decided was just as well. She and Brandon needed time together to let God heal them. Besides, experience had taught her that most men weren’t interested in a woman with a kid to raise.

“Hey, Chris, I think I have a bite!”

At Brandon’s exclamation, Chris jumped to his feet. Caroline watched as he worked with Brandon to help him land a small bluegill. The fish flopped on the wooden pier, its bright blue and yellow scales shimmering in the late afternoon sun. Brandon squealed in delight. Grimacing, Caroline wanted to squeal with something else. But being the dutiful aunt, she snapped a quick picture with her digital camera before Chris unhooked the fish.

“Now we can have dinner,” Brandon said.

Chris looked at her and raised one hairy eyebrow. “Are you going to clean it?”

“Absolutely not.” Caroline cringed at the very thought.

Chuckling, he turned back to Brandon. “Tell you what, buddy, I’ll go help you clean it. Tonight we’ll have pizza, on me, and tomorrow we’ll catch a whole bunch more and have a big dinner then.”

“Cool.”

Caroline watched the two of them head towards a small shanty to clean the fish but avoided looking at catch of the day. What she couldn’t tear her gaze from was Chris’s broad shoulders, his muscles rippling beneath the bright green T-shirt he wore. Could it be that her long ago summer dream was coming true at last?

She shook her head. The idea was so preposterous, yet an hour later her stomach was doing flip-flops as she scrubbed her hands, combed out her hair, and applied a little bit of pink lipstick. Chris had gone into town to pick up the pizzas and Brandon was outside setting paper plates on the picnic table. She had never reacted this way to a man before, so why was she now? She knew little to nothing about him, except his name, that he knew how to fish, and he went to church -- the later being the most important thing by far. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was Hollywood handsome.

“Aunt Caroline, the pizzas are here,” Brandon called through the screen door and she didn’t have time to analyze her feelings further. She put the cap back on the tube of lipstick and joined her nephew and Chris outside.

When they all sat down to their meal, Chris took Brandon’s hand in his left and Caroline’s in his right and offered a prayer of thanks for the food. She didn’t hear a word he said. All she could concentrate on was the warmth of his fingers intertwined with hers. His hand was warm and dry and fit hers perfectly.

He said, “Amen!” and she set about opening the first pizza box.

“What is this?” She slammed the lid shut, turned her head and wrinkled her nose. “What is it with you and fish?”

“Hey, I love anchovies.” He chuckled at her reaction. “Your very safe pepperoni pizza is in the other box, but wouldn’t you like to try a slice of mine? You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll stick to safe.”

They dug into the pizza while Brandon chattered on about the fish he caught and all they were planning to do the rest of the week. He stopped to take a bite and Chris turned his mesmerizing gaze to her.

“I see from the license plates on your car that you’re from Wisconsin. Where about?”

“Waukesha. I’m a labor and delivery nurse at a hospital there. How about you?”

“I guess you could call us neighbors. My home is in New Berlin, but I spend most of my days at the clinic. I’m a physician’s assistant.”

“What a coincidence!” she said, but it didn’t stop there. During the meal they discovered that they also shared a passion for cross-country skiing, for reading mysteries, and for contemporary Christian music.

All the while, Caroline thought she must be dreaming. This guy was almost too good to be true – except for the fact that he liked anchovies on his pizza.

“Can I go play on the playground?”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Caroline blushed as she remembered her nephew sitting at the end of the bench, kicking up dust with the toe of his sandal.

They gathered the empty pizza boxes and the dirty paper plates and threw them in the dumpster on their way down the road to the jungle gym. In no time Brandon had made a couple of friends and was busy chasing them around, down the slide, and over the rope bridge. She and Chris settled on a nearby bench to watch.

“Tell me how you became Brandon’s guardian.”

For the briefest of moments Caroline hesitated, but the softness of his voice and the gentleness of his smile allowed her to open her heart to him. She laid out the entire story, from the moment she heard of the accident, through the grief and anger both she and Brandon felt, to the healing and peace God was bringing to their hearts.

“So he’ll be with you permanently.”

“Yes. And even if there was someone else to take him, which there isn’t, I could never let him go. We’ve grown very close in these past months and we need each other. He’s with me until he goes to college, and you know kids these days. He may end up back with me after that.” She tried to laugh, but instead an errant tear trickled down her cheek. She and Brandon both missed Mark and Joyce and Caroline knew she’d never completely fill their shoes in her nephew’s life. But she was determined to try.

She turned to look out over the lake. Its glassy surface reflected the dusky pink sky, a picture so beautiful it almost hurt to look at it.

Another stray tear fell. Now that he knew Brandon was part of the deal, she wondered if Chris would still be interested in her. Most-likely he wouldn’t. Her summer dream had probably been short-lived, but it had been wonderful while it lasted, a sliver of time to be cherished. She’d had so few of these special moments lately, she wanted to take what she could get.

She turned back to watch Brandon, now swinging high, trying to touch the stars with his feet, and she became aware of Chris’s hand on her shoulder.

“Caroline, you are one amazing woman.” His voice was quiet, almost soothing.

She shook her head. “I’m doing what anyone else in my position would do. I didn’t ask to be a single mother, but now that I am, I have to be the best one I can.”

“Give yourself more credit. In these few hours since we met, I’ve watched your interactions with Brandon. They’re filled with grace and humility and courage and selflessness…and the love you feel for him is obvious. You’ve had motherhood thrust on you, but you’ve come fit the role. I admire you for it.”

She didn’t know how to reply, so she stayed silent, intent on Brandon but very conscious of the man beside her.

“I’m looking forward to fishing with you guys tomorrow.”

“Really?” Hope rose within her.

He smiled. “Really. And I don’t know what your plans are for the week, but I know some great picnic spots and the best mini-golf course around. I’m warning you though, I usually average about 54 for a round of 18 holes.”

Caroline smiled back. “I’ll have you know, I’m happy when I can break 100.”

“That bad, huh?”

She nodded.

“Well, if I beat you, I’ll make up for it when we get home by taking you to this great new Italian place downtown. They have the best cannelloni, or so I hear.”

She crinkled her forehead. “Even after I told you that Brandon is a permanent fixture in my life, you still want to see me? Are you sure?”

“Like I said before, you are the most amazing woman I ever met. Yes, I do want to get to know you and see what kind of good things God might have in store for us. As for Brandon, he’s the anchovy on the pizza, as far as I’m concerned. He’s a wonderful kid and the thought of taking him to the zoo or a Brewer’s baseball game or out fishing doesn’t turn me off in the least. In fact, I think it makes everything better.”

His words warmed Caroline’s heart. “You’re the one who is amazing, Chris.”

“Yeah?” He sent her a teasing smirk. “I’m glad you think so.”

They laughed together and he pulled her in a little closer to himself as a cool breeze blew off the water. For the first time since the drunk driver changed her world, Caroline couldn’t wait to wake up tomorrow and find out what the day ahead promised.

It looked like God was going to make her summer dream come true, after all.

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