2000-05-23
This past Saturday was B's fortieth birthday. To celebrate, we decided to rent a power boat. We got one we've seen versions of when we canoe; the brand names are Sea Patio and Aqua Patio, and they are essentially big flat surfaces afloat on two long cylindrical pontoon-type things. I'm sure there's an official generic name for this type of craft, but it beats me what it is.
We invited an acquaintance of B's and the acquaintance's wife, Mike and Roxanne. I'd never met either and B had never met Roxanne. They've been in this area a couple of years, transplanted from Long Island, and are both really warm, open people.
The boat was extremely cool, but between the motor and the wind as we zipped around the various nooks and crannies of the twelve thousand-acre lake, it was hard to communicate except in the most crude ways: shouting and smiling.
When our four hours were up we repaired to our house, specifically the back porch. Our two dogs joined us and Mike and Roxanne took the dogs in an unusual fashion. I try to restrain myself here, but B and I are pretty attached to our pups, fascinated with their smallest nuances in a way I really never would've predicted. So it was mildly stunning to me that within an hour or so of their arrival, Mike and Roxanne had zeroed in on two features we thought only we noticed: our hound's phenomenally soft coat and our shepherd's unusually prominent eyelashes. This level of attention prompted me to point out another idiosyncrasy of our shepherd, which I'm sure they would've noticed had the light been better: all of her toenails are black except for a single white one on her back left paw.
I have never been part of a couple who has another couple for friends. (I'm sure there's a more elegant way of phrasing that but you get my drift.) It has always seemed extremely enviable, those foursomes you sometimes see or hear about, and I'd love for us to find another couple with whom we clicked.
So this outing took on a bit of a first date feeling. So far, so good, I'd say. B wonders whether they'll stay in this area -- Roxanne misses her family and Mike has a medical condition exacerbated by heat and humidity, which this region has in spades. But you never know, they could stick around.
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