It took them al day to get there. They had to fly into Minneapolis–St. Paul International, and then drive three hours to the lake. When they arrived, Button was standing on the porch, waiting for them. “I’m so glad you could join us,” she said to Mary with just a trace of a fake British accent. It
sounded like she had been practicing the sentence.
Mary saw that Button was trying to smile but couldn’t quite get her mouth to go the right way. Ken went in to change into his bathing suit and ran down the path to the lake before Mary had even gotten inside. She gave him a look that said,
“Come meet me when you’re ready!” Mary and Button stared at each other on the porch.
“Let me show you your room,” Button said, and led Mary to a slim rectangular closet off the kitchen. There was a cot set up in there that took up most of the room. Mary put her bag down and tried to seem pleased to be sleeping in an old food pantry.
“Thanks so much for having me,” Mary said. “I’m so excited to be here. Ken always talks about this place.”
Button was flustered. “Wel ,” she said. “Wel , how nice.”
“Do you need help with anything? Dinner or anything like that?”
“No, we’re al set,” Button said. “Dinner is at six.” When Mary was final y alone in the pantry, she decided to lie down and take a nap.
“This is my family now,” she thought to herself. “I am going to be legal y bound to Button.” She tried to tel herself not to be so overdramatic, but then she imagined spending holidays with these people and let a single tear slide out of her eye. She was al owed a single tear. She was going to have a mother-in-law named Button.
The lake was pretty but freezing. Ken took her out in one of the kayaks, assuring her that she wouldn’t die. “Here,” he said, tossing her a life jacket.
“Put this on.”
They paddled out to the middle of the murky lake. Mary was in the front because Ken said the heavier person should be in the back. She kept trying to turn around to ask him questions, but when she did the boat wobbled and so she remained looking straight ahead. The paddles were dripping into the boat and a pretty big puddle was gathering around their feet. The only nice thing about being in the boat was that Button was getting smal er and smal er on the shore. Mary was just starting to enjoy herself when she heard Ken say, “Uh-oh.”
“What?” Mary whipped her head around and the boat tipped to the right. “What uh-oh? What?”
“No big deal,” Ken said. “But we should start paddling back. I think there’s some holes in the boat.”
Mary grabbed her paddle and started slapping it in the water. She could hear Ken laughing. “It’s okay,” he said. “I promise, even if the boat sinks we aren’t that far out. We can swim in.”
When they got back, Button was standing on the shore with her hand pressed over her chest. “Oh, I was so worried!” she said. “What on earth made you think to take the kayak out? We haven’t had those out in years.” Mary thought Button was looking at her while she said this.
“Mom, we’re fine,” Ken said. He was tal er than his mother, and when he put his arm around her, she looked tiny.
“Wel ,” Button said. “Wel , I was worried.”
“I know, Mom, I know!” Ken and his mother walked ahead down the path to the cabin. Mary walked behind them, shivering, with wet feet.
It became clear to Mary that the Walkers had a routine at the lake and that just by being there, she was disrupting it. Sunday night they went to the Lodge for dinner and had wal eye pike and cheese curds. Monday night was hot dogs on the gril . Tuesday night was taco night. When they went to the grocery store, Mary suggested that they get salmon to gril and the whole family looked at her like she was nuts.
“We only eat fish at the Lodge,” Ken’s sister said. Mary nodded like this made sense.
They went down to the Lodge on Wednesday night for bingo. “You know what this place reminds me of?” Mary asked. “The summer place they go to in
Mary felt as though she had just admitted to Button that she watched hard-core porn, and so she shut her mouth and focused on her bingo cards.
Ken was in the other room getting his mother a gin and tonic. He walked in and looked around the bingo tables to see where they were sitting. Mary and Button waved their hands at him together. Ken saw Mary and smiled and then started walking over.
“Oh,” Button said, “He saw you first. I guess you’re his number one girl now.”
For a moment, Mary thought she had heard wrong. And then for another she was just too creeped out to answer. Final y she said, “I’m wearing a pretty bright color. It was probably just easier to see me.”
Ken’s siblings didn’t cater to Button the way that he did. They were perfectly nice to her, of course. They just didn’t watch her every move to make sure she was okay at al times.
“Maybe it’s because he’s the oldest,” Isabel a said to her on the phone. Mary had driven into town and cal ed Isabel a from a pay phone. She had no cel service in Cable and she needed to talk to someone before she lost her mind.
