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br>"Hold your horses Pete", Jane scolded the Golden Retriever gently.
She stepped out and walked around the truck, and opened the passenger door. In a flash Pete jumped out of the seat and was off running wildly towards the trees. Jane had no worries about him wandering too far. Since he was a puppy, the dog always stayed within calling distance, and never failed to come promptly when called.
Jane walked to the back of the truck and took out the worn army surplus pack she had laying in the bed of the truck. Setting it on the ground she glanced at her watch, 1 pm, she was about a half an hour early for her rendevous with the man from the parks department. Reaching into the cab, she grabbed the steel thermos off the seat and poured a cup of hot black coffee. Sitting on the tailgate she relaxed after the long drive from New York State. Ten hours of traffic had done it's work on her nerves, as did the memories of the final , nasty parting scene with her soon to be ex-husband. She closed her eyes and let the coffee work it's magic and revive her, as the soft breeze off the lake and the calming sound of the waves soothed her troubled mind.
Jane Tolenz was 34, 6 foot tall, good physical shape, recently legally separated, and soon to be divorced. She was a soft spoken woman who had spent the better part of eight years trying to make a marriage work that was doomed from the start. She had given up her dreams of becoming an artist, to put her husband through school. Then a few more years of tending to his ever increasing demands, and keeping their home in Rochester, NY, just perfect. She had gone from being a country girl to a city dweller without a fuss. All in all, she had sacrificed everything to a man who in the end barely known she existed.
A trace of a bittersweet smile came to her face as she remembered her husband's reaction when she told him she had applied for this job. At first he simply laughed, in that mocking manner of his, then became angry. This was never suppose to be the end to her marriage, just a break, a chance to step back from their problems and see if they could work them out. He was the one who pushed it to the limit. He demanded she tear up the application. When she refused,, and explained that it would be 9 months or more before she would hear anything, he still wanted no part of it. Slamming his fist down on the dinner table, he made the final demand that was the last straw. Either she give up this crazy notion right now, or she may be spending her summer as a divorcee. Jane refused to be bullied anymore. Her reply was that was fine with her. The next morning she mailed the application, then filed for divorce.
Now close to a full year later
here she sat alone, about to embark on an adventure
that many might find romantic to say the least. Yes,
She Jane Tolenz, was to be the caretaker and summer
guide for the historic Eagles Point Lighthouse on the
westren shore of Northren Michigan.
TO BE
CONTINUED.....
