Robert nodded while chewing a cookie. He swallowed then looked at Mary with a raised eyebrow. "Pumpkin pie?"
Mary smiled. "But of course."
Robert beamed. "Ah, excellent. Pumpkin pie is so much an autumn pie." Robert paused looking thoughtful. "Okay, pumpkin pie is good anytime during the year but I think of it as an autumn pie, the pie of Thanksgiving."
"I don't think you'd get any argument there." Mary sipped her tea. "You said that you came here years ago."
"Yes. I think the owner..." Robert's voice trailed off.
"Bob Bender."
Robert found his thought. "Yes, Bob Bender. The cottage has been in his family for at least two generations now and twenty-five years ago when I rented it, the young Bob Bender had already taken over running the place from his dad. Gosh, how old is Bob now?"
"We sent him a card this past April. He turned eighty."
"Ah yes, now I remember. He is two years younger than myself. Good for him. I'm assuming he's still going strong."
"We don't normally see him. I talk with him once in a while, but for the most part, our communication is done through email. My husband and I book via email then mail him a money order. Since Bob is an American, we've always sent him money orders so he doesn't have to wait several weeks for an international cheque to clear at the bank."
Robert nodded. There was a moment of silence as Robert ate another piece of cookie. "I noticed the inner tube raft is no longer around."
"I think it's been five years now it gave up the ghost. Apparently, Bob had repaired it several times over the years but finally, we came up here and it was sitting in the water flat as a pancake. We tried to blow it up but realised it was leaking badly from one of the seams. When we reported this, Bob decided there was no life left in the old girl and never replaced it. I'm not sure anybody really misses it. It seemed like something for young children and I saw that my own children as they left their teenage years behind them lost interest in it. I know Bob's kids are middle-aged but I'm assuming that's the case for Bob's other renters." Mary took a sip of her tea. "Don't we all start coming to cottages because we have young children?"
"I suppose." Robert smiled.
"The same for your kids?"
"I guess. I don't really know."
"What do you mean?"
Robert hesitated. He looked a little uncomfortable. "I've been divorced for over twenty years now."
Mary looked at him. "I'm sorry."
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