—Emily Brontë (Left by Marvin and Gracie, fifty-fourth anniversary in Cabin 3) Chapter 18 Bliss. I don’t know what else you’d call it. Life in Moses Lake was suddenly bliss. Jack and his son spent time riding, fishing, tooling around the lake in one of Jack’s boats. Daniel worked regular hours . . . well, farmer’s hours, anyway. He was up early in the mornings and left at dawn to make his rounds in the test plots and beat the heat. Sometimes he met us at the Waterbird for lunch, and we wiled away the high-noon hour listening to Burt, Nester, and the other fishermen telling stories. Once, Jack and his son even came to lunch with Daniel. Mason West was a nice-looking man in his mid-forties. He did resemble Daniel in many ways—same build, similar facial structure—although Mason was about ten years older, with forehead lines and a dusting of gray at the temples. Like most politicians, Mason was well-groomed and well-spoken, confident and charismatic.
