Martin took his friend Paul to the park lake to show him how to row.
Paul had never handled a pair of oars. Martin said the trick was to pull evenly, keep the boat straight and avoid sudden movements. Paul said that sounded like advice for most of his life.
They rented a small boat for an hour. The attendant helped them in, handed over the oars and asked Martin whether he wanted a push away from the landing.
“We can manage,” Martin said.
The attendant shrugged and went to help the next customers.
Martin told Paul to sit still while he demonstrated. He pulled both oars. The boat moved, turned and faced a clump of reeds. He pulled again. Now they were facing the boathouse.
Paul said the view was pleasant from every angle.
Martin thought one oar might be catching more water than the other. He swapped them over. They turned the opposite way and saw the same white swan near the landing.
Paul suggested that the swan was following them. Martin said a bird could easily keep pace with beginners.
He asked Paul to row. Paul pulled hard. The boat rocked and traced a tidy semicircle. Martin complimented his effort and advised him to take shorter strokes. Paul tried shorter strokes. The swan remained in sight.
They changed seats. The boat pointed towards the middle of the lake for a moment, then swung back toward the boathouse. Martin blamed the breeze. Paul looked at the trees on shore. Their leaves were perfectly still.
“Perhaps it’s a current,” Martin said.
“It’s a pond.”
“A large pond.”
A family in another boat passed within twenty yards. Their little girl waved. Five minutes later she waved again from further out. Paul thought she might be circling them. Martin said children enjoyed repetition.
Paul took a photograph. In the background were the boathouse, the swan and the sign advertising the rowboat hire. He showed it to Martin.
“A lovely view,” Martin said.
“It’s the third picture of the same view.”
“We’re finding our rhythm.”
Paul noticed that their boat’s shadow always met the same patch of stone at the landing. He mentioned it. Martin said shadows were tricky near water. Paul asked whether they could aim for the little island in the middle. Martin said they could once he understood what the oars were doing. The little girl in the other boat waved for the third time.
With ten minutes left, Martin put more strength into each stroke. The boat made a full circle. A rope at the bow lifted out of the water and became taut. Paul leaned forward.
“What is that attached to?”
Martin looked. The other end was tied to a ring on the landing. The attendant had never untied it, and Martin had refused the offered push before either of them noticed.
Paul began to laugh. Martin said at least they had practiced steering under difficult conditions.
They rowed back along the length of the rope, which took almost no time at all. The attendant met them at the landing and asked how far they had gone.
Paul pointed to the swan.
Martin handed back the oars.
“Far enough to find our way back.”
The attendant looked at the knot.
“You never left.”