Juleka and Ethan were on a date together!  She was so happy they got to spend some time alone.  It seems like it has been ages since they were last on a date.  She knows she has to wear a safety vest, but who cares?   Just as long as she is with Ethan, what could go wrong?

           Ethan slips his life vest on over his t-shirt and fastens it in place.  Next, he helps Juleka with hers.  He figures what kind of boyfriend would I be if I let my own girlfriend, drown?  He smiles as she takes his hand.  He helps her into the canoe he has available just for the occasion.  

    Once Juleka sits down next to him, Ethan  unties the ropes that hold it to the dock, and rows it out into the lake.  The young couple enjoys the nice view.  There is a heron out in the water.  It sees a fish and scoops it up in its mouth.  A deer is along the shore with its fawn.  How adorable!  Next, an eagle soars overhead.  Finally, they see a dragonfly go by. 

   The lake is definitely a nice place to be on a cool, summer morning.  It sure beats the heat of the afternoon.  This way they do not have to worry about sunburns.  The two enjoy each others company.  Ethan and Juleka have been together for over a year !  Ethan thinks, it is so much fun to go out with this girl!   Who knew, that his trip to Paris, France would result in his having such a great, girlfriend?   

  Around lunch time, they enjoy a nice meal of  gummy worms, ham and swiss cheese sandwiches, some oreo cookies, and some bottled water.  Soon after this, as Juleka leans forward to take a photo of a crane that flies overhead the canoe tips!  

   As in it tips over, and both Juleka and Ethan end up in the lake.  They get all wet,but at least the life vest keep them above the water.   Ethan tries hard not to laugh as his girlfriends hair just looks, so funny all sopping wet with lake water.  Try as he might he finds him overcome with laughter!  Soon Juleka joins in with him!  She thinks, if he looks so funny like this than imagine what a mess I must be right now? 

     "Ethan, you look great all coated in lake water, what with the lake scum all in your hair and face!"  Juleka teases him.

   "Oh, yeah!  Well, you look rather pretty yourself, wet girl!"  Ethan teases her in return.

     "I bet we are mess in a half!"  Juleka says.

   "Yes, you can certainly say that again!"  Ethan says as he tries to find a way to get out of the lake.

     One of the lake workers happens to look outside the window the front office.  He sees Ethan and Juleka in the middle of the lake.  He takes a closer look with his binoculars and can see the canoe is cap sized in  the water.  He shakes his head, and thinks, no wonder they are such a sight for sore eyes!    He puts on a life vest, jumps into a motor boat and hurries over to the young couple.  Once, he reaches them, he pulls Ethan out first, then Juleka.  He laughs almost the whole way back to the dock.  He hooks the boat up to the dock, makes sure the ropes are nice and secure.  He gets out of the boat and helps Juleka out.  Ethan gets out on his own.  

   Ethan and Juleka walk back to his truck.  He opens it and hands her a towel.  

   "Here you can put this on your seat, so it stays dries."  Ethan says.

  "Okay, sounds good !"  Juleka says.  

     Ethan and Juleka chuckle almost the entire time on the way back to Ethan's apartment. When they get inside, Juleka goes upstairs, enters the bathroom, washes her hair, and face in the sink, and dries them off with a spare towel.  She wraps her hair up in the towel, borrows the shower for a quick wash, dries off with another towel, and changes into a t-shirt, pair of shorts and flip flops she finds on the shelf in the bathroom.  

      Juleka comes out and Ethan uses the bathroom next.  When he is done, she goes back inside and dries her hair with the blow dryer, and borrows a comb to get the tangles out.  She smiles, hugs him and with a  quick peck on the forehead makes her exit.  

   Juleka  goes back home with a huge grin on her face!  She is just glad there is no one there to tease her about her sudden change of clothes.  She gets out her journal and begins to write an entry in it.  This is what she writes:    Dear  Journal,  Well, one things for sure, today was a blast!  I went on a date with Ethan to the lake!  He is the best!  We had a nice time.  It was romantic as it was just the two of us.  Anyway, I try to take a nice photo and next thing I know the canoe turns over and we both end up in the lake!  Haha, we were such a funny sight!  We did not care, because it was so much fun!  Ethan even flirted a bit with me, which I am accustomed to by now, and I teased him back.  One of the lake workers came and fished us out.  Ethan took us to his place where I borrowed his bathroom for over an hour.  I came out in a spare set of clothes I found in there.  I figure, why not?  At least , this way I got to come back to my place clean, dry and all cozy.  Ethan seems  upset that I did not stay. Well, he will get over it soon enough.  _Juleka Cuffaine

       Ethan sees Juleka run off after she hugs him and kisses his cheek.  He blushes at her touch.  He loves her!  One day, he will tell her and ask her to marry him!  For now, he is just glad they got to enjoy time together on this nice summer day.   Why even when things did not quite go as planned, we made the most of it!  That is one of things  I love about my Juleka, she always seems to enjoy almost any place we got to on our dates, and she never seems to mind if we have to  do something different than we originally thought we would.  She sure is one great girl!

      the end ... Hope you all enjoyed, The Canoe Tips?  one-shot story   -Summer Cheng