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Chapter Four: The Beautiful Mysterious Lake
So the move was completed that August. We spent time settling in to our new surroundings. We lived near mostly older folks that had early cocktails and went to bed early. There were books to unpack and coffee shops and bookstores to explore. The animals were settling in, the guinea pigs, the hamsters,the dogs, the Parakeet, and the rabbit. There was much to do as a Homeschooler, there was a Shakespearean Youth Theater,there were piano lessons, and art classes, there was a chess club, there were Homeschool groups for his age. And my son was hooked on the XFiles and All Science Shows on Discovery and TLC. We were reading Harry Potter and there was of course school work to do. Once we moved he cut down on swimming and also horseback riding. But Settling in is hard work, and we had spent many years in Seattle so there was much to explore.
We met some of the kids at the Community where we lived, but many of them hung out at the Community Center to wait for piano lessons. I noticed there and at the Bus Stop down the hill from our House that many of these kids were taking ADD and ADHD medicine. The moms would bring the meds with a snack to their children, almost like they were merely handing out gum. They were nonchalent about it, laughing about it. Frankly it worried me a little, mostly that it was just considered so normal. The kids did also definently have ADD, they were very restless, and frantic and frenetic. My son was puzzled by them for the most part, he spent alot of time observing them, and quietly holding back. We also noticed this at Homeschool Meetings.
I worked hard to make the little house homey.There was painting and curtains to hang, and much to unpack.We would take long walks , especially down to the Lake. The Lake was beautiful it was in many ways mysterious. It was pretty clear, and there were no bugs or frogs, which with an 8 year old boy you need. I was puzzled by that. I would also take the dogs to the dog park down by the Lake, and I noticed that the water level would fluctuate, it would actually look higher sometimes. So I asked one of the other dog owners about it, and he said, " Oh, yeah, they fill it , flush it every now and then." I stood confused, I thought for certain he must be joking.
I asked him to explain, he laughed, said he didn't understand it but that he thought there was a big pipe that flushed it. I said, "Oh, did they do that after the Explosion?". He said No, they had always done it. I asked if they had taken any precautions after the Explosion. I did not think they had, as my son and I had been up during the summer, and people swam and played at the Lake as usual, there were NO Signs. He said" I guess they fill it so we have enough to drink". I stopped and looked at him, " You mean this is OUR drinking water ?" He nodded.
I was puzzled, I had never lived near a Drinking Water Lake, that had people swimming in it, Boats, and was even near a Dog park and a golf Course. He tried to reassure me, " It 's been like this for years ." I nodded numbly. "I mean they clean it ya' know". I nodded again.
I also was very puzzled about my Bassatt, she would not go near the Lake or drink from it, and that was not like her at all. In Seattle I noticed that she drank even from muddy puddles. Our Scotty was very sick, with prostate cancer, so I had placed him on a special diet and bottled water. But Abby my lovely old Bassatt even stopped drinking from the Toilet. I was puzzled WHY now she would suddenly have manners.And I started giving her Bottled water like the Scottie, since she kept drinking his water.
Abby clearly knew Something.
