Fourth Lake, Chapter 9

Judy woke up first on Thursday, August 1, 1974.  She looked at Phil who was sound asleep.  Judy decided to let him be while she pondered the events of yesterday.  She thought it to be a pretty good day, taking everything into account.  Besides her husband, two other men had paid attention to her.  How good is that?

Judy remembered the drinking she and Phil had done at the Laughing Loon Tavern.  They obviously overdid it.  So much so they decided it would be better to have dinner right there.  Mitch gave them a menu from the Woods Inn restaurant upstairs.  They chose a couple of items and a waiter brought them down so they could eat right at the bar.  Mitch was never too far away, ready with more drinks and more conversation, especially with Judy.  When they were ready to leave, Mitch called Joe who came with his pickup truck to take Judy and Phil back to their cottage.  They were in no condition to walk back, even such a short way.  When the two of them got out of Joe’s truck, they both were pretty wobbly.  Joe took very good care of Judy, but Phil was on his own.

The only negative Judy could recall was that bitch at the grocery store that seemed to be flirting with Phil.  Had he encouraged her?  Judy wondered.  She decided she wouldn’t let Phil go back to the grocery store alone, or at all.

Judy also vaguely remembered the two of them trying to make love as they fumbled around in the dark after entering their cottage.  It was a kind of a blur.  She didn’t remember all the details.  Finally, Phil woke up and she decided to finish what they had started before falling asleep the night before.

Later, during a breakfast of scrambled eggs, they discussed what they would do that day.  Their energy level had returned.  Phil and Judy were in the mood to try something new. 

There was another Watergate report on the radio that suggested Ron Ziegler, the White House Press Secretary, was being muzzled by President Nixon.  Ziegler’s Assistant, Jerry Warren, issued a denial in his absence.

While she was showering, Judy remembered the information that Mitch had told her about Dollar Island and the currently unoccupied mansion on it.  He mentioned the dock on the far side of the island that was used for arriving boats.  He also described the interior of the house that he had personally visited on one occasion.  He had worked as a waiter for a birthday party held there some years ago.  He referred to a large, rustic, sparsely furnished room where the twenty or so guests were gathered.  There was an expensive-looking, large rectangular table with chairs where they ate chocolate cake and drank French champagne.  He also remembered a staircase going up to a second floor, which he never saw.

Among the travel brochures they had of the area was one about nearby Rocky Mountain, not to be confused with the Rocky Mountains out west.  It described a half mile, steep hike to the 2,225 foot summit of the mountain which had some great views of Fourth Lake and the surrounding area.  There was a well worn trail which led to the rocky summit.  The elevation gain amounted to 448 feet.

After relaxing on their dock for about an hour and a half, Judy packed a picnic lunch and the two of them drove into Inlet.  Fortunately, when they passed the grocery store, May Flanagan was no where to be seen.  Phil and Judy then drove out the other end of town for the short distance to the parking lot across the road from Rocky Mountain.  They put on their hiking boots and Phil carried his camera with a zoom lens in its carrying case.  They started their climb to the top.

The sign at the entrance said to follow the yellow markers on the trail.  How hard could that be?  The trail consisted of a pathway through an ever rising mountain, thick with trees and rocks.  How many thousands of people had preceded Phil and Judy, making this trail, pointing their way forward and up?  They were asked to register at one point for safety sake, in case they got lost.  Lost?  They thought this was supposed to be easy. 

In some places, Phil and Judy had to climb over fallen trees to stay on the trail.  In others, there were steps made of large rocks.  Stay on the trail!  Where is that next yellow marker?  Are we lost?  There it is.  We aren’t lost...yet.  They had to be careful of their footing, especially when there was a sharp incline to the right or left on the trail.  There were so many rocks and trees.  And walking uphill was tiring on their legs.  Occasionally, there was level ground.  But then, up again.  Near the end of their climb, the path seemed to turn totally into a trail of boulders.  Finally, they reached the summit and there they had a gorgeous, breathtaking view of the entire Fourth Lake.

Phil and Judy sat down to rest.  But, they couldn’t take their eyes off of what was down below, what they had just left a short time before.  Judy had a fantasy about what she wanted to do on top of Rocky Mountain, but they were not alone.  There was a family of four nearby that had already arrived and were eating their picnic lunch.  This gave Phil an idea.  But before he could open his mouth and start on his bologna sandwich, Judy gave him a romantic kiss on his lips, something all mountain climbers do with their partners when they reach their objective.

While Phil was eating his sandwich and drinking a Coke, Judy took his camera, looked through the lens and zoomed the focus toward Dollar Island.  It looked even better to her from this angle.  She could see the dock Mitch mentioned as they were now on the opposite side of the lake from their cottage.  She zoomed the image as much as she could to see the mansion as large as possible.  She starred at it.  Judy was now determined more than ever to go to Dollar Island and see the mansion from as close up as possible, and to take Phil with her, kicking and screaming, if necessary.  She wasn’t going to leave Fourth Lake before visiting that house.