The Light Beyond The Lake: A Cathleen Cole Novel

June 1995

Cathleen Cole: Chapter 1

In the summer of '95, I was just an ordinary girl. Wavy, shoulder length brown hair and bangs straight across my forehead, to later be teased and curled into something manageable.

My figure was plain, until it wasn't and I finally started to fill out. I had just hit 15 and 5'4", having recently gained the last four inches of height and at least four inches of width.

Diane Redding was my best friend and that summer Diane's Uncle wanted her to spend a whole month up at his lake house in Michigan. But, even better than that, I had been invited too.

We left the week after school had ended, finally sophomores and thinking we were seriously hot stuff.

Just to prove it, I had snuck my new bikini into my duffle at the last minute-after my mom had checked my bag. She would have killed me if she'd seen it. She thought fifteen was too young for 'such a revealing swim suit.'

"Cathy, Diane mother is here," my own mother's voice sounded tense. She hated being late, and felt the same about causing the tardiness of others, so I flung the my bag over the balcony, making sure it would land at the bottom of the stairs, and not on her head. She already had enough headaches with Diane and I going on this trip alone.

I followed close behind it, using the stairs instead of my usual banister route, else my mother would have been likely to explode.

The Redding family wagon was idling in the driveway, Diane's face plastered to passenger side window, but she climbed into the back when she spotted my escape through the front door.

I wasn't looking forward to my mother's patented departure lecture, but we were already pulling out when she made it to the door, waving civilly when she probably wanted to bolt out after us. I waved back through my open window, smiling widely at my freedom.