August 17, 1991

"Audrey, who is that?" her mother asked as a mysterious dark blue SUV pulled into the driveway.

"It's Phil, Mom," Audrey said. "I thought I told you that he was coming today." In fact, Audrey was certain that she had already told Mom that Phil was coming: it was only her selective memory that was keeping her from remembering.

"I don't like that boy," Mom said. "Why do you have to date someone who lives four hours away, Audrey? Aren't there enough cute boys around here?"

Audrey had dated a handful of boys in her tribe, but there was a connection that she felt when she was around Phil that she hadn't found with anyone else. Phil and Audrey had only been together for a month, but she was beginning to think that Phil might be the one. "I like Phil, Mom," Audrey said. "You'd understand if you met him."

"I doubt it," Mom said. "Anyways, you should work on searching for a job instead of running around with your boyfriend. You have a college degree - why don't you have a job yet?"

"I'll revise my resume again after I get back," Audrey said.

"And when are you getting back?" Mom asked.

"I don't know," Audrey admitted. She knew that she was going to a party at Phil's yacht club, but she didn't know how long Clearwater Lake Yacht Club parties usually lasted.

"Call me before you leave the party then," Mom said.

"Mom!" Audrey complained. "I'm an adult now, and you're treating me like a little girl."

"You're acting like a little girl right now," Mom said.

All of a sudden, Phil got out of his car and knocked on the door. Audrey opened the door, and Phil said, "Hi Audrey. Are you ready to go?" He smiled, and Audrey's heart nearly melted.

"I'm ready," Audrey said. "Bye Mom! I'll see you this evening."

"Goodbye, Audrey," Mom said.

Audrey left the house and hopped into the passenger seat of Phil's car. As Phil backed out of her driveway, Audrey changed the radio station to her favorite station, and Phil and Audrey both soon began to sing along. It didn't matter that Phil couldn't carry a tune to save his life - Audrey loved everything about Phil, including his tone deaf singing voice. Once the radio station turned to commercials, Phil turned the radio down and asked, "How are things going for you, Audrey?"

"I'm fine," Audrey said. "How are you?"

"I'm doing much better, now that you're here," Phil said. "The drive here last night was a little lonely. I wish that we lived closer together."

"Me too, but I can't move out of my parents' house until I get a job," Audrey complained.

"How's the job search going?" Phil asked.

"It's just kind of frustrating," Audrey said. "I'm struggling to find any good leads, and there don't seem to be many social work positions open in my area."

"Maybe you should look in the Green Bay area," Phil suggested. "There's more people there, and we'd be closer together."

"That's true, but I'm not that I want to be so far away from my family," Audrey said. "I've looked at a few jobs there - I found one job in De Pere that looks promising."

"I can understand why you wouldn't want to be too far from your family, but you won't be that far," Phil said. "It's still drivable."

"You have a good point," Audrey said.

"I'm just trying to help you, Audrey," Phil said as he took one hand off of the wheel to turn up the music and hold Audrey's hand. Audrey grinned, thankful for her adorable and affectionate boyfriend. How did I get so lucky? Audrey asked herself. She never thought that she would find a man as sweet and kind as Phil Morrison, yet here he was, holding her hand.

Several hours passed by, and although they stopped occasionally for snacks, Phil and Audrey made it to Clearwater Lake on time. As the two of them approached their destination, Audrey began to worry. "Should I really be meeting your whole family this early in our relationship?" Audrey asked.

"Don't worry about it," Phil said. "I'll probably introduce you to my family, but I won't hang around them for long. I usually spend these parties with Theo, and you already met him."

"I've only talked to Theo twice," Audrey said. "He seems nice though."

"He is really nice," Phil said. "You'll like everyone in the yacht club. Most of them are very nice people."

Audrey was going to respond, but she was distracted by a gorgeous view of Clearwater Lake. This wasn't her first trip to Clearwater Lake - in fact, she had stayed in Clearwater Lake for three weeks with her best friend Elisa the previous month for the Clearwater Lake regatta - but somehow, this particular trip seemed different. The lake was no longer just a venue for a race: it was Phil's home. He looked out over these waters every single day, just like Audrey looked out over the lake at home. Audrey knew that Clearwater Lake was an integral part of Phil's life - his grandparents had founded the yacht club here, after all - and if she wanted to be with him, she would have to deal with that.

Phil parked his car in front of the largest house on the block. "Where are we going again?" Audrey asked.

"This is the Staffords' house," Phil answered. "They're hosting the party."

"I see," Audrey said. She stepped out of the car, and she followed Phil into the Staffords' backyard. The yard was quite large, but it was crammed with unfamiliar people. Audrey couldn't recognize a single face other than her boyfriend's, and she couldn't find the handful of Clearwater Lake residents that she had met during the regatta. The Staffords had a pool in their backyard, and there were even more strangers swimming in the pool.

Slightly overwhelmed, Audrey found a cooler leaning against a tree. When she looked inside, she found all sorts of beverages. She took a bottle of water and started to drink it, while Phil ran off to talk to a middle aged, pale-skinned man with an awkward gait, a middle aged woman with deep brown skin, and a woman around Phil's age with light brown skin and hazel eyes. All of a sudden, Phil brought all three of them over to her.

"Audrey, these are my parents and my sister Holly," Phil said. "Mom, Dad, and Holly, this is Audrey."

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Audrey," Phil's mom said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you too," Audrey said.

"So Phil, is this that girl you've been talking about nonstop?" Phil's dad asked.

"What do you think, Dad?" Holly said. "Why else would he have brought her here?"

"I don't know," Phil's dad said. "Anyways, welcome to Clearwater Lake, Audrey. I'm glad you're here."

"Thank you," Audrey said.

"Phil, did you really have to bring your girlfriend here?" Holly asked.

"I just wanted her to meet you guys," Phil said. "Maybe someday you'll actually let us meet Chad."

"Who's Chad?" Audrey asked.

"Holly's boyfriend," Phil said. "Apparently they've been dating for a year, but Holly still won't let us meet him."

"Flights from Oregon to Wisconsin aren't exactly cheap," Holly said. "It's bad enough that I have to fly there when school starts again."

"You're just making excuses," Phil said.

"I'm not!" Holly exclaimed.

"Could you two please stop arguing?" Audrey asked.

"Fine," Holly said.

She walked away, and Phil headed toward the pool. Audrey followed Phil as he said, "A few of my friends are over there."

Audrey immediately spotted Theo dipping his toes in the pool. "Hey Theo!" Audrey exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Audrey!" Theo exclaimed. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Phil brought me to the party," Audrey said. "I wanted to meet some of the other members of his yacht club."

"Actually, a lot of them are right here," Theo said. "Greg Stafford is on the other side of the pool, and his girlfriend Jacqueline Sterling is right next to him. Greg's parents own this house, and they're pretty nice, but Greg and Jacqueline are total snobs. You wouldn't believe how mad he was when you won the regatta."

"Who else is here?" Audrey asked.

Theo pointed out so many people that Audrey quickly began to lose track of all of them. She couldn't remember which of the Vega twins was which, and she definitely couldn't tell the difference between the Kaufmans and the Kauflins. She had no use for that information now - she would be leaving in a few hours - but Audrey began to envision a life as a part of the Clearwater Lake Yacht Club, a life with Phil by her side. These people would be her friends and neighbors, even though they were strangers now. She would definitely miss her family, but she would have Phil, and maybe someday they would even have a family of their own. It was far-fetched now, but that didn't stop Audrey from dreaming.

"Hey, I think the food's ready," Phil said. "They're serving pizza today."

"Yes!" Theo exclaimed. "Pizza!" He got up and immediately ran towards the pizza table, and Phil and Audrey followed him. All of a sudden, an elderly couple joined the line behind them.

"Hi Grandma and Grandpa," Phil said, turning to face the couple.

"Hi Phil," Phil's grandmother said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Phil said.

"How's your job?" his grandmother asked.

"It's going well," Phil said. "How are you, Grandma?"

"I'm fine," Phil's grandmother said. "You missed the race yesterday though. It was crazy - I almost won the whole thing!"

"That's awesome, Grandma," Phil said.

"Who's that girl with you?" Phil's grandfather asked. "I've never seen her around here before."

"I'm Audrey," she interjected. "I'm Phil's girlfriend. It's very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Phil's grandpa said.

"Phil, you didn't tell us you were bringing your girlfriend," Phil's grandma said. "I would have done something special for her if I had known."

"Grandma, that's really not necessary," Phil said.

"Yeah, I'm just here to meet some of Phil's friends and family," Audrey said.

She took a slice of pizza as Phil's grandma said, "Just be good to our Phil."

"I will," Audrey said.

Phil and Audrey found a table, and they chatted while they ate their pizza. A few minutes later, Theo joined them. However, their meal was interrupted by the commodore's speech. She talked endlessly about race results and various events going on in the yacht club, causing Theo to remark, "If I'm ever commodore, I'm going to keep all of my speeches super short."

"Me too," Phil said.

After the commodore's speech, the party soon died down. Audrey couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed - she was starting to enjoy hanging around Phil's friends. However, Phil suggested to Audrey, "Why don't we go sailing together?"

"I'd enjoy that," Audrey said.

Phil and Audrey got back into the car, and Phil drove them both back to his house. They both headed towards the pier, and Phil showed Audrey his boat. "It's called Seaclusion III," he said.

"Why not just Seaclusion?" Audrey asked.

"That was Grandma and Grandpa's boat," Phil explained. "My dad named his boat Seaclusion Jr., so now I'm Seaclusion III."

"That's kind of sweet of you to stick with the family name," Audrey said.

Phil smiled as he got into the boat and said, "I'm glad you like it." Audrey hopped onto the boat as well, and the two of them set sail.

For a few hours, Clearwater Lake was theirs and theirs alone. All of the races were over for the day, so there wasn't anyone else on the lake when Phil and Audrey zigzagged across Clearwater Lake. Audrey loved the feeling of the wind rushing through her long hair as she and Phil worked in perfect harmony. The boat was moving quickly, and for a while, Audrey felt unstoppable.

However, Audrey knew that she had to go home eventually, and she would miss the bus home if she stayed much longer. Phil tied the boat to the pier again and drove her to the bus stop. As she climbed out of the car, Audrey kissed him goodbye. "When will I get to see you again, Audrey?" Phil asked.

"Soon, hopefully," Audrey said. "I'll call you when I get home."

"That sounds nice," Phil said. "I'll see you soon."

"See you soon, Phil," Audrey said, grinning as she stepped out of the car. She waved to Phil as he drove away, looking desperately lonely. Audrey wanted to stay longer, if only to wipe that sad expression off of Phil's face. It broke her heart to see him like this.

A few minutes later, the bus arrived, but the ride home was terribly lonely. She missed Phil already, even though she had seen him not that long ago. It was moments like this that made her think that Phil might truly be the love of her life.

Audrey's dad picked her up at the bus stop, and thankfully didn't object when she turned on the radio at full volume. Every song seemed to remind her of Phil, but it was better than silence. When they arrived at home, Audrey's sister Cora was there with her husband, and they immediately asked her all kinds of questions about Phil and the party. Audrey answered every single one of them, ignoring her mother's rude looks, but she couldn't stop wishing that she was back in Clearwater Lake with Phil instead of merely talking about the experience over dinner.

After dinner, Mom and Dad wanted to make some dessert, but Audrey knew that she had to call her boyfriend first. She picked up the phone and dialed Phil's number. It took a few seconds, but when Phil said, "Hello?" Audrey knew that everything was right in the world.