The Picnic Table

About 15 years ago I had aspirations to write a book about Muskoka Lodges and, to this end, I went to visit a lot of holiday lodges for research purposes. Some of the lodges are open in the winter time and I visited a particular lodge in the month of February. I did a lot of work on my proposed book but it didn't come to fruition. However, I did get much fodder for short stories and The Picnic Table was one of them. It begins, "I ask for a table by the window. No matter that it's an overcast day in February; I want to see the lake. Through the grey-white opacity of winter-ice rises an abandoned picnic table. It awaits a fresh coat of paint, something to give it value, something to say it's wanted, needed." This is a story of a woman who feels like this picnic table. She has come to the resort to recover memories of her summer holiday with Paul, a man who has promised that he will leave his wife and child to be with her. Of course, this hasn't happened and she feels betrayed. As she drives on the highway, "The drone of the engine gives rise to thoughts I should not allow myself--jealous thoughts of Paul living with his wife and child all those months, while I waited on the side-lines for a crumb of his love." She is distracted and not concentrating on the task at hand. What happens next brings her to her senses.