by Marvin Shackelford Lucas van Oort 1. At the head of the lake I tell Brenda over the phone it’s my goddamn house too, I’ve paid my time and money, and it’s my endless goddamn life as much as hers. She’s taken me by surprise. Across the weak waves the water narrows, runs long and slender to the earthen dam and parking lot, unseen beyond, where we started. I’ve come too far. A few camo-green paddleboats circle like predators flipped wrong-side up. Fins disappearing somewhere