Orion Sky

A sad smile came to him as he looked out over the lake. Thanksgiving dinner was done, dishes tucked safely away, guests on the road home. Now it was finally time to close down the cottage for the season as they had always done, on the Canadian Thanksgiving and go back to the States for the winter. His eyes were drawn upward by the sound of the geese honking as they flew, silhouetted against the backdrop of the starlit sky, Orion the Hunter rising majestically behind them. He was drawn to walk along the beach, neglecting his chores for a little while longer. The waves softly lapped the shore. His bare feet felt the cool sand beneath his gait. The air was crisp and leaves littered his path. Autumn was her favorite time of year.

It had been several years since she passed. He’d reminisced as he walked. Thirty-one years they’d spent there. Growing food, growing their family and growing in love.

She and the kids spent summers there as they grew up. Working stateside, he would meet them there to spend hot summer nights with the waves lulling him to sleep. Lifetimes of memories were embedded in the worn floorboards of that little cottage.
He looked up at the sky and smiled. She was always so good at naming the constellations. Because of her, he remembered Orion. Orion fought Taurus, the eye being the group of stars clustered together. She’d point them out to the kids year after year. Must have caught on, because he’d overheard his son pointing Orion’s belt out to his grandson. That made him smile and miss her just a little bit more.

Lately he’d thought about selling the cottage. It was certainly out of place, this little bungalow and beautifully gardened area that they had was on a large chunk of prime real estate on the lakeshore. Amongst all the new builds there, it almost looked like a shack.
A comfortable old shoe in a closet of stilettos. Not the prettiest sight, but loving and warm, nonetheless.

As he walked on, he hummed Moonlight Serenade. Ole Glenn Miller…they danced many a nights together beneath the stars whilst the kids slept. Those old tunes made them both feel young; something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He sighed as he turned back towards the cottage. He still had a whole work day ahead of him and tonight he decided he’d sit on the veranda and have a drink and think of her.

Back on the porch, a glass of aged scotch in hand, he rocked slowly. The killdeer’s calls were wafting on the cool breeze off the lake. The waves rolled to shore in time of his rocking, or was it visa versa? Ah, he didn’t care. He felt her with him as he enjoyed the evening. She was with him always, but he felt her more when he was at the lake. The smooth, smokey taste of the scotch warmed him inside out.