The Retirement

Nancy’s in-laws had been given the deed to the island—which was four square miles and located in the middle of Shadow Lake—from a local businessman who operated several resorts in the Adirondack State Park. Her father-in-law was a teacher and worked summers at one of the resorts, keeping it a success, so the businessman rewarded them with the island getaway and a cabin. Because many of the lakes in the area were connected by rivers, creeks, or channels, they would be able to commute to their summer jobs via boat. They started with one cabin and expanded each time the family grew. It now was a complex of four cabins, each able to comfortably house a family of eight, a boathouse, and two maintenance sheds that were the size of small barns. There were two towns within an easy boat ride of the island: the town of Dartford, located on the lower end of the lake, and the village of Bluffton, snuggled in the upper bay.

With the island being located at the center of a lake, the family kept several motorboats on-site, along with a large collection of canoes and kayaks for the kids and grandchildren. That morning, Sarah had taken the pontoon boat in case her mother and grandfather arrived, allowing for plenty of room on the return. The pontoon boat was a large, lumbering beast they used to haul big loads to and from the cabin. Jon’s father, Ray, had purchased the boat years ago, after one of the locals had charged him an exorbitant amount of money to transport lumber out to the island when he was building one of the cabins. Within a week, Ray found and purchased the boat that was billed as a party boat. It was used for that purpose, as well as for hauling untold amounts of supplies and building materials. Sarah had learned to handle each of the boats like an expert, and that morning looked to be no different as she steered the vessel up to the dock, aligning it perfectly.