Guest Author Alex Knight

It took a few weeks for life on Marilyn’s houseboat, Just Reward, to settle into any kind of normalcy. She had trouble sleeping initially; every sound was foreign to her and it kept her nerves taut and her mind and body alert. Eventually she came to recognize the routine sounds and could now easily dismiss them.

At first her days seemed lonely, after all she had not intended to retire this early or alone. It was true that she was used to Daniel being away ninety percent of the time, but she had always counted on sharing their retirement time.

It was during the third week that Marilyn finally started to unwind and develop a schedule. She would start the day with a quick shower followed by breakfast of a half of a Ruby Red grapefruit, black coffee and whole-wheat toast. Then she would take the canoe out and go fishing for rainbow trout. Sure she could just fish from the deck, but she wanted the exercise the paddling provided for both her body and mind. (more…)