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Bill crept up behind them and stomped his foot on the concrete, chuckling as they jumped. The snakes immediately disappeared among the rocks and driftbrush. The snake in the water dived beneath the surface.
Kelsey lifted her head. "Grampa!"
Martin straightened, letting her go. "They're harmless," he said. "Lake Erie water snakes. Endangered."
Bill wrapped his arms around his granddaughter. "Just 'cause they're endangered don't mean they're not dangerous. Tigers are endangered too, but they're still dangerous."
Martin smiled and stepped off the slab. "You come back any time you want to see my snakes now, Kelsey."
They said goodbye to one another. Martin watched until they were off the property, then went inside and watched out the window to be sure they didn't come back.
The setting sun sheened off the windshield, causing Martin to slow the car as he passed the black-clad teenagers strolling down the road, trading cigarettes. A pink-haired boy sneered at Martin and Lucy, shaping his hand into a claw and gouging at them. The other kids laughed.
"Are you sure you feel well enough to do this?" Martin asked Lucy.
She ran her fingertips over her face to smooth the skin. "It's been long enough. We have to get back to normal some time. And I do feel better."
"Good." Martin pulled into the lot of the Limestone Island Winery, tires crunching on the gravel. He jumped out and opened the door for her.
They walked up the steps. The winery sat on the waterfront, within walking distance of the docks. The terrace faced the lake so that's where the tourists gathered. A Jimmy Buffet song started over the speakers, an impromptu singalong shaking the walls as Lucy and Martin went into the pub.
Martin traded nods with a few locals watching the TVs and waved to the fortyish woman behind the bar. She wore a tight T-shirt, logoed with a bottle of Two Worms Tequila, a picture of a lemon, and the slogan "Suck this."
She waved back as Lucy and Martin took their usual booth in the corner. Then she yelled something into the kitchen, threw the towel over her shoulder, and came to join them.
"God, Lucy," she said, sliding in across the booth. "You're
radiant. You look wonderful. You sure you've been sick?"
An enthusiastic chorus of "wasting away again" came through the wall from the terrace outside.
"Hi, Kate," Martin said above the singing.
"I don't look nearly as wonderful as you," Lucy answered, smiling. "Is that a new perm?"
She struck a pose, vamping the hairdo for them. "What do you think, Marty?"
"Looks terrific."
Kate's daughter, Maya, a high school senior, stepped to the kitchen door, looked around, and then carried over a bottle of red wine and three glasses. "Thanks, honey," Kate said. "Now don't serve anyone else. Make Mike do it."
"He hates coming out of the kitchen, Mom."
Kate wagged her finger. "I'm not kidding." As Maya stepped away, Kate snapped the towel at her butt. She twisted around, frowning. Martin winked at her.
"Now don't go making eyes at my daughter, Mr. Marty Van Wyk," Kate said, threatening him with the towel.
"Here, give me the bottle," he said. "I'll open it."
"What happened to Christie and Boyko?" Lucy asked, looking around. All summer long, Christie had waited tables while Boyko worked the kitchen.
Kate curled her lip dramatically. "The Vulgarians?"
"Bulgarians," Martin corrected.
"You ever notice the way they pawed each other all the time?" Kate asked.
Lucy leaned her head on Martin's shoulder. "They're in love with each other. It's very sweet."
"It was out of control."
The cork popped out of the bottle. Martin poured the dark red liquid into their three glasses. He slid the first one over to Kate. "Why are you talking about them in the past tense?"
"Didn't you hear? Hristina"-Kate pronounced it with the accent-"and Boyko disappeared two weeks ago. Not a word-we were worried! But then someone saw them over at Sandusky Pointe, ru
Lucy sipped her wine.
"Everybody disappeared at once," Kate said. "First it was those two, then you, then Pitr. We all suspected-" She dropped her voice and lifted her eyebrows. "-foul play."
Martin swallowed his wine the wrong way and coughed. Pitr was Czech, from some small town with a castle south of Brno; he came over through the same agency that hired the other foreign workers. "Pitr?" he rasped. "He go over to the mainland too?"
"Probably." Kate leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyes glittering. "Say, did he ever come out to your place to fill that hole of yours?"
Lucy pressed her leg against Martin's. "He wasn't interested in doing any yardwork."
"Who's talking about yardwork?" Kate laughed. "Pitr's not interested in
any work, but he's still good for business. God, he's gorgeous! Every woman who came in here wanted him."
Lucy put a hand against her throat. "He has such a lovely, full mouth," she said, just above a whisper.
"Uh-huh," added Kate, who overheard. "And what was his mouth full of? I bet Marty knows." She glanced down at his crotch and winked at him.
"If I did," Martin said, "I certainly wouldn't tell you."
"Oh, pooh! You two are no fun tonight."
Martin dipped his finger in his wine and pressed it against Lucy's forehead. The droplets sizzled. "We're just tired," he said. "And Lucy's not quite as well as we thought."
They left the winery, sitting at the island's only traffic light just outside the parking lot. A tiny beetle of some sort, attracted to Lucy, buzzed around the inside of the dark car.
"Oh, that was so awful," she said, trying to chase it away.
Martin reached up and flicked the overhead light on. The beetle flew to it, rested a second, then buzzed back at Lucy. "We've got a little money left. Enough to get away somewhere."
"No, we can't."
"Let's go over to the mainland then. See if we can find a doctor-"
"No! I'll get better."
Martin could see the light getting ready to change, but he waited while a couple trucks full of quarry workers sped through the intersection and parked across the street in front of the Ice Cellar, a rougher bar where locals hung out.
"I suppose it has to get better," he said, turning onto the road that led to the other side of the island and their house.
Lucy swatted at the beetle. "It can't get worse."
The next morning she was too weak from the fever to rise from bed. Martin sat in the easy chair by the bed and popped the tape into the VCR. He turned the sound off so he wouldn't disturb her, and hit the play button.
Despite what Kate thought, Martin only liked to watch. He had been hiding in the closet under the stairs the day Lucy invited Pitr over to do the yardwork.
The peephole made the picture hazy around the edges. Lucy stepped into the room-the "special" guest bedroom, next to the closet stairs-shook off her robe, and turned around right in front of the camera. Performing for it. Underneath she wore only a black corset, black stockings, high heels. She had rings on her thumbs and fingers, bracelets on her arms.
She looked as gorgeous as Martin had ever seen her, ten years younger than her actual age, timelessly beautiful.
The second figure stepped into view from the left. Pitr. Prettier than Kate's description. Scrumptious. "To die for," Lucy had said. And Martin had agreed. Dark skin, all muscle, pale blond hair, and lips so full they looked as though they would burst like bubbles if you touched them.