A tall, red haired woman in jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt stood at the top of the landing, her hands clasped in front and a warm smile on her pretty face. "Hi," she said tentitively.

"Honey, this is Ken and Karen Foster, my wife Adrian, and these are their girls, uhm..."

"Heddy and Pauline," Ken said, indicating each with his hand luggage.

The women shook hands, and Adrain helped Karen with their bags into a large bedroom with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the lake.

"Oh my, what a beautiful view!" Karen turned to Ken, her expression a mix of concern and embarrassment. "I think Adrian and Gene should have this room, I mean, they were here first..."

"No," Adrain laughed, clapping her hands, "they're both identical, come see." She led Karen down the hall into a matching room with the identical view. "See."

"My God, this is just... heaven." Karen walked to the window and looked down at the shimmering water. "What about the kid's rooms?"

"That's the one shortcoming," Gene said from the doorway, "there's just one big room with two beds."

Out in the hallway, Heddy and Pauline ducked their faces and stared at one another aghast. Karen started to speak, but Ken held up a hand and showed her a calm face,

"Let's just have a look before we start worrying."

They all filed out and down the hall to the last bedroom. It was large, even larger than the other, bedrooms, with a corner window that looked onto the lake and back into the dense forest of pine. Below the window was a king-sized bed, loaded with puffy cushions and across the room, on an inside wall, was a single bed where a young boy sat reading a comic book.

"Andy, this is Mr. and Mrs.... Ken and Karen Foster, and their daughters, Pauline and Heddy. This is our son Andrew."

Heddy and Pauline manoeuvred to a position between their parents, muttering weak hellos to the boy. He was a little taller than Pauline, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a crooked smile. He twisted the comic book in his hands and slapped it nervously against the side of his jeans.

"Well, I think we can make this work okay," Ken said, wandering around the room and gauging the distance between the beds.

"Actually," Adrian interjected, "we found a dressing screen in our room that's probably large enough to use as a- a divider. Why don't you bring it in Gene?"

She looked hopefully to the Fosters as Gene scurried down the hall, returning with a six-foot-high folding screen, decorated in full colour with grouse and pheasants.

"We can stand it over here maybe," he said, unfolding the four panels and propping them in an arc around the single bed.

"I think you'd want to give the boy a little more room than that Gene," Karen started chuckling as he walled the bed off with barely enough room to get inside. "Look, I think we're worrying unnecessarily here. The girls don't mind sharing the room," she glanced at their blank faces and grinned, "and I'm sure they can all find enough privacy when it's needed." She turned to Andrew, "Do you mind sharing this room with the girls Andy?"

He looked at his parents and blushed, "No ma'am."

"They can change for bed or whatever in the washroom, which by the way is the next door down, and it's the only one." Gene offered, "That okay kids?"

The girls giggled and shuffled their feet, pushing one another while Andrew just kept whacking his leg with the comic book.

"Great, you guys run off and explore the house while we get everything put away and organized."

*****

"How old are you?" Heddy asked, as the three children went down the stairs and out onto the porch.

"Thirteen," Andy replied.

"I'm nine and Pauline's twelve."

"What kind of name is that... Pauline?"

"It was my grandmother's name before she got married. She's dead now." Pauline flopped down among the cushions on one of the porch chairs.

"And Heddy?" He asked looking curiously at the younger sister.

"It was my mom's name at home."

"She means before she married our dad. Our grandparent's name is Heddy. They live down in the city."

"What about your name?" Heddy asked belligerently.

"What, Andrew? It's just a name." He hopped up on the railing and began swinging his feet.

"Did you want to come here?" Pauline asked, changing the subject.

"Not really... well, I didn't really care."

"Why not?"

"I had nuthin' to do anyway. All my friends go away in the summer. Cottages and stuff."

They all fell silent, listening to the bird and insect sounds around the lodge. Out on the lake, a speedboat raced across the still surface sending a radiating, V-shaped wake behind its path. The sound barely reached the lodge.

"Don't wander off. Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes." Ken poked his head out the door, signalling the kids.

"Can we go down to the water?" Heddy asked.

"After dinner if it's still light enough. Maybe you should come in now and wash up."

They all groaned, and dragged themselves across the porch and into the lodge.

*****

"More salad Ken..."

"No. Thanks. I'm..."

"...Karen made it."

"...maybe just another mouthful."

"Dad's afraid 'cause mom made the salad," Heddy teased loudly from across the table.

"Your father doesn't have to be afraid, hon, he knows I'll eat it if he doesn't."

"Yeah, see. I'm saving your mom from overeating."

"I don't see any danger there," Gene piped in, smiling.

Karen blushed at the compliment and pushed back from the table. "Did you know the cupboards are all full of staples? Somebody stocked the place up before we got here. Ken and I brought all kinds of soap and detergent and stuff."

"So did we," Adrian said, "but Gene found a note from the agency that said this place came with a caretaker... what was his name Gene?"

"Gallow. Ithmus Gallow."

"You're joking, Ithmus? Really?"

"Yeah, I left the envelope on the counter for you. You want to fetch that for me, Andy, please."

Andy went to the kitchen and returned with a kraft envelope, handing it to Ken.

"Thank you. This is the contract and a list of all the amenities, etcetera, including some dos and don'ts. Here we are. Mr. Ithmus Gallow is the lodge caretaker, residing on the property. He is responsible for maintaining all the services, which include water, power, laundry and kitchen staples, firewood, waste disposal, fuel for the boat, fishing gear and bait.

"Guests are required to advise Mr. Gallow before using the outboard or lighting a fire in the main fireplace. An outdoor pit is provided for evening campfires and may be used at any time with the provision that only wood is burned, no paper, boxes or anything that would be considered garbage. It's followed by a welcome greeting and a list of emergency telephone numbers."