Page 40 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

‘You know, it’s probably about the same distance to the beach at this point,’ said Ben, nodding at the sandy beach just to the side of the hotel.

‘That still seems like a long way away,’ Lily told him, with a grimace.

‘It’s a beautiful autumn afternoon,’ he said. ‘What else could we be doing?’

He seemed in a particularly cheerful mood, thought Lily. And she couldn’t help but agree with him. The sun was shining on them and despite the exertion of the rowing, it was nice to be out in the fresh air.

She was just about to tell him that she agreed when she noticed that the water sloshing around the bottom of the boat was deeper than it had been initially.

‘Is it me or is there more water inside the boat than there was earlier on?’ she asked.

Ben looked down and gave a start. He looked back at her with wide eyes, full of alarm. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘We’d better get going a little quicker.’

She nodded in agreement and they picked up the pace of their rowing. But the quicker pace seemed to cause even morewater to flood into the bottom of the boat. And more water meant that the boat became heavier and less easy to move.

Soon, the water was over their ankles and up to their calves. It was becoming increasingly apparent that pretty soon it would be up and over the sides.

‘Are we going to sink?’ asked Lily, glancing at the beach which was still some distance away.

‘I don’t know,’ said Ben.

But he wasn’t meeting her eyes any more and she knew the truth.

Pretty soon, the boat began to sink under the weight of the water.

‘We’re going down,’ he told her. ‘Brace yourself.’

Lily just had time to take a deep breath before the boat capsized, pulling them both into the lake.

She gasped at the cold temperature of the water as it enveloped her. The only good news was that she could feel the bottom of the lake under her trainers, meaning that they were close to shore. Therefore, they were both able to stand up and keep their heads above the freezing cold water.

In unison, they both began to wade towards the beach, desperate to get out of the chilly water. Finally, they were on the sand. But a breeze across the lake made them feel even colder.

They shared a grimace and slopped their way in sodden clothes and trainers towards the hotel. Lily shivered in the cool air, aware of her clothes clinging to her and making her feel even colder.

Finally and somewhat gratefully, Ben held open the front door of the hotel and let her go inside first.

They squelched their way across the entrance hall but stopped as Frankie came out of the office.

She took a long look at them both, up and down before looking up into their faces in astonishment. ‘Is it raining outside?’ she asked.

Lily looked at Ben and they both burst into laughter at the same time.

20

After one long and very welcome hot shower, Lily joined Ben in the kitchen to regale the family with the story of their disastrous escape from the boathouse over dinner.

‘And then the boat sank!’ said Ben, finishing the story to huge roars of laughter.

‘I should have taken a photo when Ben and Lily came into the reception,’ said Frankie, laughing in memory. ‘They looked like they had actually fallen into the lake.’

‘That’s because we had,’ added Ben with another laugh.

‘Have I taught you nothing about being on the water?’ asked Walter, shaking his head but smiling.

‘You’ve taught me that I shouldn’t get into another boat without checking that it’s actually able to float first,’ replied Ben.

‘Then you’ve learnt your lesson,’ said Walter, with a nod.