The Scrabble Game

“There’s no way you can drown wearing this life jacket!” Al said to me.

“Besides, we are here to rescue you if you fall in,” added his brother Bob.

I was at Clear Lake, California with a group of young single adults for a weekend of water skiing. Al’s parents owned a cabin and boat on the lake and he invited about 14 of us for Memorial Day weekend fun on the lake. We went out in the boat in shifts of 6 people at a time.  When it was my turn, I was enjoying the sun, riding in the back of the boat, and watching the others ski.  The wind was blowing in my hair, and the misty lake spray blew on my face.  It all seemed like I was in the movies. This was California!

“Marcia, it’s your turn,” yelled Al.

“I can’t swim. Afraid I’ll drown.”

That’s when he and Bob assured me that was not going to happen on their watch. The others on the boat encouraged me with how fun it was.  I ought to try it.  After all, Al and Bob were responsible guys and they all would be there to help.

Here was my turn. I had never been water skiing before and joined this group for the adventure. This might be an experience of a lifetime.  I decided I couldn’t be an observer always and should participate.  I put on the life jacket and climbed into the cold water. They threw me the rope and maneuvered the boat so that I would be in position at the back.

“Keep your legs straight and we will just pull you up. Just stand up!" Al shouted.

The boat started to move and I could not stand up. I was just dragged along.  I was squinting fearing I would lose my contact lenses.  Don’t know how much water I swallowed too.

Bob said, ”We’ll have to jerk you up. Hold tight and when the boat takes off, stand up.” I did as he said but when the boat jerked. I was still dragging in the water.

Al said, “No we have to pull her up slowly because she is so light. Hold on tight then stand!” I was 4’10 and under 100 pounds so this was going to be like pulling up a child, a scared one at that.

I did as he instructed and after several feet, I got the hang of it and stood up. The people in the boat cheered for my ride around the lake as each of them had done. I was water skiing!! I was hanging on for dear life, stiff as a board but skiing nonetheless. That didn’t last long. I fell backward when I lost my balance.

Al yelled, “Let go of the rope!” By the time I did, I was already prone on my back. As I let go, the rope hit my leg cutting a gash in my knee. My knee was bleeding and I was bobbing up and down in the water like a beach ball. Al and Bob pulled me out of the water as promised. The others said I was courageous and they were sympathetic about the gash in the knee.

“You better go in and clean that out. Lake water is not good for that kind of open wound,” directed Al.  They dropped me off at the dock and I hobbled in to wash up.  I found paper towels to compress the wound to stop the bleeding.

When I came out to the patio deck, a handsome guy was basking in the sun for he had already been on his ride. “I watched you. You’re pretty brave. That looks nasty.”

“You’re going to go on the water? I asked.

“No, I already had my turn.  It’s fun but I’m not a big water ski fan.”

“What brought you on this trip?” I asked.

“I like the people and like to travel, after all this is the Travel Club!  It’s nice of Al to invite us all.”

After a few casual remarks, he asked, “Do you want to play Scrabble?”

I could barely walk. Sitting was the only thing I could do. “Sure,” I said.

Now we're pitching vocabulary and spelling back and forth.  He is a lawyer, and I am a teacher. Quite a good match.  He specialized in lawyer talk. I specialized in music teacher talk.

Little did I know, this was the first of thousands of Scrabble games that I would play with the man who became the love of my life for more than 50 years now.  We still play Scrabble at home after dinner, at airports, on cruise ships, in hotels,. We have our own Scrabble game that travels with us all over the world.