Dangling the Bait

This is a story told by my father over the years much to my mother's protests. My mother retold the story while she was in the hospital to some of the little nurse's aides.

My father's version of the story went like this. When my parents were young and a few years before they were married they went down to the old swimming hole to swim. According to my father the water was CRYSTAL CLEAR! My dad said he had climbed some rocks and was about to dive into the water when he saw my mother (out in the pond) waving her bathing suit over her head. Unfortunately for him......she had gotten back into her suit before he could swim out to her. Now the only difference in the story according to my mother was that the water was very muddy....and my father was on a cliff about 100 yards away... Somehow that cliff got higher and farther and the water dirtier as the years passed and the story was retold.

Now when my mother was in the hospital just before she went home on hospice she told the same story to the aides only this time she didn't mention the hazy water or how far away my father was. One of the aides asked her if that was how she got her man. My mother's response caught me by surprise....She said, "I didn't get him by taking off my suit...I got him by getting it back on before he could get to me. I said, "Well, wasn't that a little risky on your part?" She responded,"No, I already knew how fast he could swim."