Chapter Text
Every time they arrived at the cabin, it was like something shifted. Claire couldn't put her finger on what it was, exactly, except that everything seemed easier, simpler, when they were there. Maybe it was all the fresh air. Or the lack of internet. Or the lack of people. Or the wide open spaces and huge skies. Maybe it was the absolute darkness when the sun set, with nothing but the moon and stars providing light. She knew Owen thought it was all those things. But Claire still wasn't sure.
But whatever it was, she enjoyed it. They all did. It wasn't easy to get all their schedules to line up so that they could spend as much time out there as she knew Owen would prefer. But, in a way, it made their visits that much more special. Each feeling like a gift they needed to cherish.
It had taken a long time to get the cabin finished, what with Owen moving to San Francisco and the lack of time they could ever get out there. It had meant that many of their initial visits had consisted of them squeezing into the trailer, or a few memorable nights spent sleeping out under the stars on the platform of the then unfinished cabin. But, it was finished now, making their visits even more enjoyable, as they no longer were running around trying to somehow both relax and complete the next step to move the cabin forward.
It was still a tight squeeze for the three of them, as they'd chosen to stay close to Owen's original design. The main floor was mostly open, with the kitchen / living area sharing the majority of the space. They had squeezed in a bedroom that just fit a queen bed, a bathroom, and a small storage/laundry room. Owen had planned to include a small loft for additional storage space, but they ended up dividing it in half, keeping half for storage and the other half as a bedroom of sorts for Maisie. They rarely seemed to spend much time inside when they were there, so the lack of space never felt constraining, the outdoors always beckoning them.
They would spend their days roaming around the lot or heading down to the lake for a swim. Lately, Maisie and Owen had been on the hunt to find the perfect tree for a treehouse, although they agreed this one would be less elaborate than what they had built back in San Francisco. Claire would often stay behind, choosing to curl up in the hammock with a book, although often falling asleep instead. And their evenings were filled with campfires and roasting marshmallows.
Owen owned a couple of boats. He had a small motor boat he liked to take out to go fishing, often early in the morning. Maisie had been thrilled to go out with him, learning how to drive the boat on the quiet lake under his careful supervision. The other boat was a canoe. A canoe that Claire had taken one look at and had flashbacks to summer camps from long ago, and immediately shook her head. Nope, she was not getting into that thing. She'd fallen out of one before, and it was an experience she felt no need to repeat.
Yet, without fail, every time they were out at the cabin and they decided to go down to the lake, Owen would ask her if today she would be willing to change her mind. Couldn't he convince her now? Didn't she trust him?
Claire would scowl and shake her head, searching for towels and the umbrella she would always take, her fair skin needing protection from the harsh sun.
She'd pack the cooler, before shoving it at Owen to carry, her own arms laden down with the rest of their gear, while Maisie would be tasked with carrying any sand or water toys she wanted for the visit. It was actually a fair hike down to the lake, which meant it always felt like an eBen longer walk back up, after spending a day tiring themselves in the water. But it was worth it, that she was sure. How they would ever manage to get the canoe down there (and back) was a question she didn't even want to consider.
But today, today somehow he'd tricked her into agreeing. She still wasn't quite clear how the conversation had gone down. One moment they had been planning out their day, jumping between ideas on what to do and Owen asking what everyone wanted to eat for breakfast, and the next both Maisie and Owen had been looking at her, wide-eyed.
"What?" Claire had asked nervously, trying to replay the conversation in her head. She'd been distracted, a work thought having popped in, and had been mostly just nodding along, content to do whatever they would decide.
"I can't believe you agreed," Owen said. He turned to Maisie. "You heard her, right? She agreed."
"Yup," Maisie nodded, laughing. "Although, I'm not sure she knew what she was agreeing too."
"Clearly, I don't," Claire said, her gaze jumping between the two cautiously.
"The canoe," Owen said, his eyes wide with glee. "I can't believe I'm finally going to get you in it!"
"What? No!" Claire shook her head emphatically. "Not happening."
"I asked and you said yes," Owen put on a puppy dog expression. "Are you really going to take that away from me?"
"Yes."
"Not fair," he pouted. "Seriously Claire, just this once. If you hate it, I'll never ask you again."
"Never?" Claire considered the offer. It would mean one less thing she'd have to think about. Could she handle one final canoe adventure in her life?
"Never," Owen promised, looking at her hopefully. Out of the corner of her eye Claire could see Maisie was hanging on their words.
"How long do I have to agree to?" Claire asked cautiously. She'd been down this path before with Owen. She would need to make sure he couldn't wiggle out of their deal; claim she'd somehow violated their agreement later.
"An hour."
"No way. Ten minutes."
"What? We'd barely have left the shore! Forty-five."
"Twenty."
"Thirty and that's my final offer."
Claire hesitated. "If I fall in…"
"You won't, I promise," Owen said quickly. "But if you do," he added, when Claire started to counter, "we'll call it time."
Claire nodded slowly, before reaching her hand out. "Okay."
Owen quickly shook her hand in agreement, a look of glee on his face.
x x x
She should've known it couldn't be that easy. Nothing ever was.
The first hurdle came as Owen finally confronted one of the issues that Claire had been worried about all along – how were they going to get it down to the lake. They still had all their other supplies they needed to take.
"Oh," Owen said, standing in front of the canoe and looking at it critically.
"Yeah," Claire nodded, standing beside him. "It doesn't look very light." She looked over at him. "How have you taken it out before?"
"I haven't used it on this lake," Owen confessed. "But I usually had it strapped to the top of the trailer or use my truck." He looked over at the truck for a moment. "We could drive down. I mean, that's what Maisie and I do with the boat."
"That's probably best," Claire agreed. "We need to take lifejackets and stuff too."
"What? No we don't," Owen disagreed vehemently. "It's just a canoe, Claire."
"I'm not getting in that thing, in the middle of a lake, without a lifejacket," Claire shot back. "And neither is Maisie."
"Why?" Owen looked at her questiongly. "You're a strong swimmer. So's Maisie. We don't need them."
"Yeah," Maisie said, joining the two. "We don't use them in the other boat."
"You what?" Claire said her expression looking scandalized, as she turned to Owen, hands on her hips, eyebrow cocked in question.
"Maisie doesn't know what she's saying," Owen quickly covered, pulling Maisie towards him and covering her mouth. "Of course I make her wear a lifejacket."
Maisie giggled as she pushed against Owen, shaking her head at Claire.
"Owen!"
"Nothing's happened," Owen said, raising his hands defensively, letting Maisie go. "Nothing's ever happened, and nothing will ever happen."
"You don't know that," Claire said, biting her lip as her gaze darted away. How many times had they assumed that would be the case in the past? How many times did the world need to prove them wrong before they started listening?
"Fine," Owen grumbled. "I'll get them."
Unsurprisingly, they got down to the lake much later than they planned, even with the benefit of not having to walk. It had taken time for Owen to sort out where he'd put everything to tie the canoe to the truck, and then locate three lifejackets (Claire had not been impressed when he'd initially tossed only two in the back).
Settling the canoe on the shore, Claire helped Maisie get into one life jacket, before she donned the other. Then the two had stared at Owen as he huffed, before he finally put on the third. They were just about to move the canoe into the water, when Claire noticed something.
"Hey, where's my paddle?"
"What paddle?" Owen asked, standing at the back of the canoe.
"Mine," Claire said, turning to face him from the front. "Why's there only one?"
"You don't need one," Owen shrugged.
"Really?" Claire just gave him a look, to which he finally sighed, turning back to the truck.
"You're just going to complain that your arms hurt later," Owen muttered.
"I heard that," Claire called back to him. She gave him a little credit that he'd at least packed two originally, and they didn't have to wait for him to drive back to the cabin to get it.
A few minutes later, they were pushing off, Claire at the front, Maisie in the middle, and Owen steering from the back.
"Thirty minutes," Claire called back to Owen. "It's 11:14 now. I expect to be back on shore at 11:44."
"Yeah, yeah," Owen grumbled. "You know, you may actually like this if you gave it a chance."
"That wasn't part of the agreement," Claire said, looking over her shoulder to smile back at him, smirking as he groaned.
They paddled quietly for a few minutes, heading steadily towards the center of the lake.
"Would you just pick a side," Owen interrupted the not quite peaceful silence that had descended over the group.
"What?"
"You keep switching sides," Owen explained. "You're supposed to just paddle on one side."
"Then we'd end up going in a circle," Claire replied.
"No, we won't," Owen said. "I'm steering. You just need to help us keep our momentum."
"Why do you get to steer?"
"Because I'm at the back!"
Claire huffed, but fell silent, focusing on paddling steadily on one side. Of course, a few minutes later her shoulder started to hurt, and she wanted to switch, just to balance it out. She pushed forward for a few more strokes before pausing.
"Why'd you stop?" Owen called out.
"I need to switch sides," Claire quickly replied, doing so before he could say anything.
"Why?"
"Balance," Claire said, after a moment of hesitation. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right, that she was going to be complaining about being sore later.
"Are you sore?" Owen asked, and Claire ignored him, paddling steadily on the opposite side now.
A couple minutes more went by before Owen spoke up again, unable to help himself. "You know, the forward position is the power position. Canoeing requires arm strength."
"I have arm strength," Claire protested, already feeling her other shoulder starting to hurt. Why had she agreed to this again? She looked down at her watch. It was only 11:28. She still had 16 minutes to go. "If this is the power position, why aren't you up here?"
"Because the experienced canoeist goes in the back," Owen shot back.
Again, silence settled over the canoe. This time, when the struggle got too much, Claire just switched over to the other side without saying anything. And, luckily, Owen chose not to comment, although she had tensed, expecting it.
Taking a look around, Claire did have to admit the view was really nice from the center of the lake, with the mountains rising above them. If she looked just up and to her left, she could see their cabin, the bright red of the hammock standing out against the porch. Okay, maybe this wasn't so bad.
"Look!" Maisie's voice shouted excitedly.
However, it wasn't Maisie's voice that got Claire's attention, but the wild rocking of the canoe that accompanied it. She dropped her paddle, grasping the sides of the canoe in a white knuckle grip, trying to keep steady.
"Whoa Maisie," Owen called out calmly. "Slow and steady movements when you're in a canoe. We don't need to capsize today."
"Sorry," Maisie said, still leaning over the side and peering into the water.
"What do you see?" Owen asked, slowing the canoe to a standstill, peering in the same direction.
"There's a school of fish down there. It's really clear," Maisie told him, pointing at the water.
Owen couldn't see them from his place, not with the reflections bouncing off the water, but he nodded anyway.
"Why have we stopped?" Claire called back nervously, still clutching at the canoe. She could feel it leaning slightly to one side, but she was too nervous to look back to see what was happening, not wanting to upset the balance anymore.
"Just looking at some fish," Owen replied calmly.
"Ten minutes," Claire reminded them, glancing at her watch.
"You ready to move again?" Owen asked Maisie a couple of minutes later, and she nodded, settling back in the center of her seat.
Claire could feel the canoe steady again, sitting level on the water. She picked up the paddle that had been resting across her lap, and started to paddle. It may not have been too bad, but she was still ready to be done.
"Why aren't we turning around?" Claire asked a minute later, after realizing they were paddling parallel to the shore, but still heading away from the boat launch area. There was silence from the back of the boat, and Claire quickly realized that she was sort of trapped. She turned, carefully, in her seat to look back at Owen, who was humming and looking pointedly not in her direction. "Owen," she said calmly, "Why aren't you turning us around?"
"Just thought we should enjoy this while we're out here," Owen finally replied, still not meeting her gaze.
"You promised," Claire reminded him.
"Yeah, well…" Owen gave her a cheeky smile, finally meeting her gaze. "It won't hurt you to be out here for just a few more minutes.
"Fine," Claire snapped, turning back, digging her paddle into the water. If he wasn't going to turn them around, then she would.
"Whoa," Owen called out, as the canoe wobbled. "What are you doing?"
"Turning us," Claire replied, continuing to try to force the canoe to turn.
"I'm the one who's steering, remember?"
"Yeah, well you're doing a crappy job," Claire retorted. "So I'm taking over."
"You can't steer from the front."
"Watch me."
A couple of minutes later, both her arms aching, Claire had to admit he was right. The canoe was still pointing in the same direction it had been before.
"Owen, if you don't turn us around right now…" Claire threatened.
"What are you going to do?" Owen taunted from behind her. It had been easy enough to counter her actions from the back, switching his own paddle from side to side in time with her movements.
"Do you want me to come back there?" Claire said, turning around swiftly this time, causing the canoe to rock again.
"Do you want to fall in?" Owen replied, having watched Claire immediately grab the sides of the canoe when it rocked. He shifted his weight from side to side, easily causing the canoe to rock some more.
"Owen!" Claire knew what he was doing. She could see it in the grin on his face. "You promised. Thirty minutes. It's now been," she looked at her watch, "Thirty four."
"Fine," Owen replied, using his paddle to quickly turn the canoe around.
Once they were heading in the right direction, Claire debated putting her paddle in, but decided that for now Owen could do all the work. He was the reason they were still out there, after all.
"Why aren't you paddling?" Owen asked a minute later.
"I thought you didn't want me to paddle," Claire shrugged.
"You're the one who wants to get back," Owen reminded her.
"So?"
"You know some people call these 'divorce boats,'" Owen grumbled. "I never understood why before."
"Fine." Claire put her own paddle back in the water. She was more than ready to be done. 'Divorce boats.' Yeah, that made sense to her. She just needed to survive a few more minutes. A few minutes and she would never have to sit in a canoe again. She could make it.
And she almost did.
It wasn't really Owen's fault that they didn't. It's not like he could've planned for the group of kids who were out joyriding in the speedboat to make a wide sweeping turn by them at just the right moment, and for the wave they kicked up to hit the canoe at just the right angle. They were in the water before Owen even had a chance to fully realize what was about to happen. Before he could call out a warning to Claire and Maisie.
A moment later, they were all bobbing upright, the lifejackets doing their job of keeping them afloat like corks. Maisie was busy laughing, while Owen raised a hand to swipe the water off his face, before swimming back towards the canoe before it could start to float away. He could faintly hear some shouted "sorry's" being sent their way by the kids.
They weren't far from shore when it had happened, so he focused on dragging the canoe behind him, knowing it'd be easier to flip it back over once he could stand up, prodding Maisie to swim towards the shore too. He looked over and saw Claire following them, clutching the two paddles. He had to bite back a remark, the scowl that had settled over her face making him both want to laugh and also pull her into a hug.
"This is all your fault, you know," Claire said as she waded out of the water, collapsing onto the sand, still fuming.
"My fault?" Owen said, looking at her in disbelief. "You think I asked them to do that?"
"I wouldn't put it past you," Claire grumbled.
"Things happen," Owen shrugged. "It's only water. It's not like you haven't willingly swam in this lake before."
"Sure, things happen," Claire replied. "But if you'd listened to me, we wouldn't have been out on the lake anymore when they went by. So yes, it is your fault."
Owen just shrugged again, turning back around in the water to deal with the canoe. He pulled it closer to shore so Maisie could help him as well.
Claire watched from her spot on the shore, still fuming over it all. She knew it wasn't really his fault. And, to be fair, she hadn't actually hated it, before they'd tipped, like she'd expected to. But she wasn't about to let him know that. He'd be insufferable.
"Owen?" Maisie asked hesitantly from where she was helping to steady the canoe as Owen worked to tip it over, draining as much water out as he could.
"Yeah?" Owen replied, only half paying attention.
"Is Claire going to…" Maisie's hesitation had Owen pause in his actions, and he looked towards her as she finished: "... divorce you?"
"What? No," Owen said emphatically, risking a glance over Maisie's shoulder at Claire, who was still scowling on the beach. "Why would you ask that?"
"You called it a 'divorce boat,'" Maisie shrugged.
"That's just a term people have given boats with two paddlers over the years," Owen laughed. His expression turned serious when he realized Maisie wasn't laughing with him. "It's just a play on the fact that the two paddlers have to work together to get the boat to where it's going, and that some people struggle with it. It's a term used regardless of whether the people are married or just friends or strangers." Owen reached into the canoe for the small hand pump he kept attached to the side and started pumping out the remaining water. "You know Claire and me, we both like to lead. I should've expected that we'd bump heads trying to paddle a canoe together."
Owen watched Maisie carefully. He felt like he could see the wheels turning in her head, as she sorted through his explanation. After a moment, she nodded.
"Kiddo," Owen said, moving towards her, ready to pull the canoe out of the water. "I promise she's not about to divorce me. She's mad, and she has a right to be. I didn't keep up my end of our agreement. But she's not that mad. I'll make it up to her."
"Okay," Maisie nodded again.
"Great, can you help me pull it out?" Owen asked. "I think we're probably done with it for today."
"Yeah," Maisie agreed, grinning at him. "But maybe we can take it out again another day."
"Sure," Owen said easily. "Maybe just the two of us." He winked at her and Maisie laughed.
"I'm strong," Maisie said, flexing her bicep. "I can paddle."
"Perfect. Then we're all set."
x x x
Owen didn't get a chance to speak alone with Claire until late that evening. He was pretty sure she had been avoiding him all afternoon, or at least making sure that they weren't alone together. Considering she probably needed time to cool off, he hadn't pressed the issue. But, now that Maisie had gone to bed, he figured it was about time they talked. Or, more accurately, that he apologized.
He found her out on the back porch, sitting with her legs dangling over the edge as she stared down at the lake. The sun had long set, but it was almost a full moon, and while the edges of the lake weren't clear, the reflection of the moon provided hints of the watery surface.
"I'm sorry," Owen said, dropping down to sit beside her. Claire turned to him, raising an eyebrow in question. "We made a deal, and I didn't keep up my end."
"You didn't," Claire agreed.
They lapsed into silence, and Owen wasn't sure if he was forgiven or not. But a quick look in her direction, and he knew that she was still thinking something over.
"Why didn't you?" Claire finally asked. "I mean, I expect you to try and find some sort of loophole, but … this wasn't that."
"Yeah," Owen nodded, "It wasn't." He then admitted, "I don't have a good excuse. I was having fun. Maisie was having fun. I guess I was just hoping that you were, too."
"I was… sort of," Claire admitted back.
"You were?" Owen wasn't sure if he was surprised or pleased or just feeling justified by the revelation. It was probably a combination of all three.
"I mean, I didn't hate it, at least, not until the end," Claire said.
"Yeah?" Owen was definitely feeling pleased now. "Maisie's already asked when we can go out again."
"You better not be including me in that we," Claire said, turning to look at him.
"Don't worry, I didn't," Owen replied. "Actually, I also need to apologize for the 'divorce boat' comment."
"Why?" Claire asked, surprised.
"Maisie was a little concerned about it," Owen confessed. "She was worried you might divorce me."
"Really?" While it definitely had never made her actually consider divorcing him, she still thought the term was pretty apt for the canoe. "Do I need to talk to her?"
"No, I explained it," Owen said. "Although, it would probably help if you weren't looking so angry towards me tomorrow." He grinned as he said that last line, knowing that it would get a bit of a reaction.
"I wasn't acting…" Claire started, before cutting herself of because she had been, sort of. Although, her tactic of avoiding him had been more so that she didn't act angry towards him. "Yeah, okay." Claire agreed with his assessment. She pushed up off the porch, ready to head inside for the night. She could feel both her arms already starting to ache and she was not looking forward to tomorrow.
"You know," Claire paused, looking back at Owen who was still sitting, looking down at the lake, "if you'd actually held up your end of the bargain, things might have worked out differently…" She chuckled at the shocked expression on his face, as he quickly turned to look at her, before she continued towards the patio door.
"Wait, you were willing to go out again?" Owen scrambled to his feet, following after Claire.
"I guess you'll never know now, will you?" Claire said, continuing forward without pausing.
"Hold up," Owen reached out and tugged lightly on her arm, pulling Claire to a stop.
"What?" Claire said, turning to face him with a sigh.
"Nothing, just…" Owen pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry. You know that, right?"
"Yeah," Claire nodded.
"Can I make it up to you?" Owen asked.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Well…" Owen said, dipping his head down for a kiss, one of his hands sliding up her back and threading into her hair. Claire sighed into him, her own hands reaching up, pulling him closer.
A couple minutes later, Claire pulled back, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. "That seems more like something for both of us."
"Well, we are a team," Owen grinned, "Win and lose together, right?" He moved quickly to pull her back into another kiss before she could respond.
"You still owe me," Claire managed to get out when he shifted, pressing kisses along her jawline and down her neck.
"Yeah, whatever," Owen agreed easily, barely shifting away from her as he spoke, pulling her with him as he moved them towards the cabin. "Let's discuss that later."