Showcase Sundays today on the Mutual Audio Network. The following audio drama is rated PG-13, suggesting that children under the age of 13 should listen accompanied with an adult. Ever wonder what's beyond the fenced-in acreage of our lives? The struggle between the familiar and the novel is no different than the struggle between comfort or danger.
One is tranquilizing in its effect. The other is thrilling. But given the choice, is the grass greener on the other side of the fence? Or, as tonight's play suggests, Is the water always bluer? Need help with the dishes? No, I'm just giving them a rinse. Jeremy washed the dishes before, but he doesn't rinse off the soap enough. I do love the gingham Ainsley. Do you have my favorite mug?
Thanks, Sarah. It reminds me of when we went to the Wizard of Oz together, remember? And you know I always keep it clean for you, Colleen. Anyone heard from Miriam? Here come the cards again. Sarah, it's supposed to be our book club meeting. God, you know it relaxes me. Leave Sarah alone, Colleen. How do you have time for anxiety when you're married?
How do you not? Ladies, keep focused. Has anyone seen Miriam? Nope. I saw her last week. Where? At the grocery store. I haven't seen her for a month. Heads up, ladies. Hot kettle. Has she been busy? I don't know. We didn't talk. If I knew it was going to be cards and not the book club, I'd have joined you. I thought you were going downstairs. Hey, don't give me that look. With that tea towel in your hand, ladies? She's as good as Zorro's whip.
Thanks for lending us your place this week, Jer. Yeah, my place is a mess. And your wife. It's not like we won't give her back. Now shoo, you. Okay, okay, I know when I'm outnumbered. I'll be in the basement. Where's Mark? Over at Bobby's next door, remember? Oh, right. The overnight. What is it about kids and overnight stays nowadays anyway?
When we were kids, I don't remember spending more than a couple of days away at some other kid's house for a sleepover. Seems like some kids spend more time sleeping over these days than staying in their own bed. Different times. My dad used to tell me, you grew up in a different country from your kids, I grew up in a different world. Yeah. Why didn't you talk? With who? Miriam. Remember at the grocers?
Oh, she wasn't alone. Well, it's not like you don't know Wayne. It wasn't Wayne. I know Wayne. Well, you know her girls too. Jesse and Cassie are both on the soccer team. Same as Emma. It wasn't the girls either. Just some guy I don't know. Some guy you don't know? Ooh. Out with it. Who was he? Easy. You'll spill my tea. Well, who was he, Sarah? Wayne's shorter, stocky, you know? And Wayne's got that... You know, thing. Breasted colored beard that men get when they're losing their hair.
I won't let Jeremy grow a beard. He goes too salt and pepper. And beards chafe your thighs. You're terrible. Go ahead, Sarah. What's this tall, dark stranger of Miriam's look like? Miriam! Sorry. Oh, come on in. Hang your coat on the hook behind you. You're not too late at all. Thank you. You getting enough sleep, you get dark circles under your eyes. Oh, God. You're right. Don't mind Sarah, dear. You know she's on the spectrum. Hey. There's no shame about it. Come on in.
Look at you. You look 10 pounds lighter. And the outfits? You've always had flair, but the fiesta colors of your dress? I like. Sit down, though. It's cold outside. You want some peppermint tea? It'll warm you up. Please. And thank you. So, Sarah tells us you were with another man at the grocery store. Colleen. What? We're not supposed to talk? It's not like we didn't talk about boys when we were in college. Still. Remember? Indian Lake. Darren Jeffries. Not the camera.
The public park and beach. Sure. You and Wayne took the girls there last month, right? Yeah. Did you meet them there? Meet who? The other man. Will you two stop? Go on, Miriam. Ignore the- Well, it was a sunny Friday. Wayne took the day off. We packed a picnic and everything. Wayne... Does Wayne know him? So, he went out beyond the swimming marks. There's all those limestone caves along the other end of the lake. I made him promise he wouldn't go anywhere inside where he'd get stuck.
He brought his underwater flashlight for exploring. The water is so clear there. You can see 40 feet down. So, Wayne went snorkeling. And the girls were building sandcastles by the shore. The lifeguard was on duty, really close by. The beach was pretty full. Not packed, but lots of people. I was laying on a blanket, sunglasses, working on my tan. I guess I drifted off.
It's so nice when you can take the time. It's just so hard to just take five minutes. I had to drop Colin off at Scout's just to have time tonight. I woke up when Wayne came back. was all wet but at least when he dripped down on my face the water was warm oh how sweet of him except it wasn't wasn't what sweet wait What? Excuse me. What? What do you mean it wasn't Wayne? Just that. I opened my eyes, and that familiar kiss wasn't. It was this.
This guy. I didn't know who he was. Oh, okay. What'd you do? What do you mean? Some guy. What do you think I did? I freaked out. I pushed him off me. At least you weren't alone. People went wild. I must have sounded like I was being murdered. I was so embarrassed. Everyone screaming and running around me. I would have panicked. He didn't hurt you. No. Familiar. Familiar? Yes. And that made it more alarming.
Like I knew Paul. So you realized you did know him? Wait a minute. Paul? That's his name. He was just as startled as I was. I could see it in his eyes. He was shocked that I pushed him off. hurt even. But it was a matter of People ran up to us and shoved him and pushed him back away from me. He was sort of... Faded away? Faded away? The girls must have freaked. They were alarmed by the noise. They didn't see the... The kiss. Didn't even see Paul then. They were so busy playing in the sand.
Came to see what the noise was. They were more worried by my face than anything else. Oh, Ben. Where's Wayne? He wasn't there. Gone? What do you mean gone? Don't badger her. Take your time, honey. Tell us what happened. Well, Paul left and everyone else sort of melted away. Except for the lifeguard. He wanted to know if I wanted to call. How does she know his name is Paul? I guess everyone on the beach, the whole thing spoiled the day for them. People backed up and went home.
It was almost three o'clock anyway. The girls went back to finishing their sandcastle. But I couldn't see Wayne. Paul had left too. I told the lifeguard I didn't want to make a... It was just some misunderstanding, and I apologized for causing such a commotion. We do that all the time. Apologize for some men's bad behavior. It's not your fault, Miriam. I know, I know. Anyway, that was only the beginning. I remember walking out to the shore's edge to get the girls. Wayne was gone for hours.
his footprints in the sand. You don't marry someone without noticing every little thing, like wide, stocky feet. But... Beside them, another set of prints coming in. Only coming is... Wayne's okay, though, right? I don't know. You don't know? What do you mean you don't know? And who's Paul? Guys, let her speak. We won't interrupt anymore. Go on, sweetie. You need to talk this out. I know. Wayne didn't... Nope. From the water. I told the lifeguard. And they cleared the...
They called in divers and the police and everything. Oh, that's a lot. I took the girls to my mom's. You know, when she sold Wayne and I her house. she moved to a smaller place. I figured I'd drop them off and go back to help with the search. Mom had so many questions. Who was this guy? Where was Wayne? How long should she keep the girls? Just need to get out of there and back to the beach, you know? Of course. That makes sense. I'm sorry. They didn't find him. Wait.
I thought maybe, in all the commotion, he'd gotten a ride home. So I asked Mom to keep the girls overnight, and I went home. The lights were on. I was so ticked off. Wayne's always leaving the... It's weird what you get angry at when you're really worried, isn't it? You can yell at your husband for the... I was ready to let Wayne have it for scaring us so. I imagine him just sitting there reading or something and clueless about our search for him.
I mean, I have his cell phone and his keys. Sure, he could use the hidden key by the railing at the back door, but... But Wayne never made it. So he left the lights on? No. No. It was Paul. Paul? Yeah. Paul. He was waiting there. And he started... Started shouting at me. Such... Such... Force! He was so upset that I had freaked out at the beach when he kissed me. Force? Did you go get help? She held me. Held my arm.
And then held me like, you know, in a big pair of... and told me he was where he was. What the... Uh... He's big. I saw how big he was. He works out, obviously. You must have been terrified. Yeah. was weird. I mean, part of me was frozen there. Who was this guy in my house? Grabbing me. Holding me. Another part of me? Knew he wasn't going to lie. He was somehow... familiar. Like... You just liked to... Take charge. Like, you don't have to worry about anything. Yeah. Like that...
We talked all night. Well, mostly talked. Ooh, mostly talked. Hear that, ladies? Our Miriam is a player. It's not like that. Well, not at first. And he knew everything about me. grew up he knew about jimmy johnson going under my shirt middle grade everyone knows that That must have been so strange. Who is he? He's... He's Paul. He told me we met in college. He told me the professors we shared, the classes we studied together with, how we fell in love. How you fell in love? I know how it sounds.
But he knew everything, and when we finished talking, I knew he had to be telling the truth. The truth? At least his truth, Ainsley. What's the difference? His truth? My truth? I was so confused. He didn't know the girls, didn't know Wayne. Boy, talking about Wayne got him angry. He broke more. He's that jealous? That's when he's scariest. When, well, he makes a lot of money. And he's very, well... Direct. About what? Everything. He knows what he wants.
He's so confident and sure of himself. I figure he makes ten times what Wayne... Wayne did. What does he do? He won't tell me. Tells me. That's not something I need to worry about. He pays for everything. You mean he's still living with you? Yes, without Wayne, well, I couldn't float the house. Paul's already paid off as much as the mortgage... As they'd let him. He... He paid? Yeah, he insisted. Said he already paid it once.
He got into it with the manager at the bank. The man apologized, even though it was clear Paul didn't pay anything before. At least... Here. Here? He yelled at a bank manager. That must have been so, like, hot. You totally screwed him when you got home after that, didn't you? Did you? No. Actually, it was in the backseat of the car. In the parking lot right afterwards. Keep it down. Jeremy's going to wonder if we lost our minds. Well, Miriam lost something.
us something. I can't explain it. It's not like Wayne. We'd talk. He'd listen. But Paul... Paul... takes charge. You dirty slut. Colleen! Well, she totally is. I'm jealous. There's something more. can't explain why he has this hold on me it's like he he's got this this If I met Paul in college. If? Ainsley. I mean, if I had met him. Like he said, I did. But you didn't, Miriam. If you did, we, all of us, would have known. You what? What if? And I know this sounds crazy.
But what if the stories about the lake were true? The Indians used to say that it was a portal to another world. What if Wayne, when he went swimming, he and Paul... switched. Switch. You get the cope she's bringing here? She's having the best affair of her life, and she's talking about dimensional worlds. Just listen to me. You never listen. The lore says that there's a hole in the lake somewhere. What if... Now listen. What if Wayne went through it and Paul came back?
And Wayne? At least I hope. I pray. Wayne is in the other place, trying to figure it all out. Like me. Could you, I don't know, find Wayne if you went back there? I told you. I don't know where he is. Well, Paul does wonders for you. I swear you're a whole dress size down. He must be working out a lot. It's Paul. He doesn't like me so fat. He has an eating plan for us. He keeps us under a thousand calories a day. And the girls? He doesn't care.
Seriously, they aren't his. I think you'd let them drown in the tub and it wouldn't bother him in the slightest. His whole focus is on us. At best, my daughters are acute affection. At worst, they take me away from him. He calls a babysitter. He says he can't be tied down with business dealings happening all the time. I think... I think he hates that they're a reminder of... Wayne. God, Wayne. Oh, he must miss them. I swear the past couple of years he loves the girls more, not me.
I missed when it was just us. And now... Yes, honey. Of course. I'm coming. Yes. I remember. Thank you. Sir. I gotta go. But you just got here. I'm sorry. It's my fault. Paul got us reservations at Ches Robert. We're dancing after that. He's picked out my dress. He'll be here. He's here. Well, thank you. I... Wait. Be well. Call us if you need anything. Okay. Sure. Lucky bitch.
Hmm. Rich, hot guy. Who knows what he likes? Talk about the jackpot. I know. She doesn't have to make a single decision. He's totally in charge. Alan constantly asks me what we're doing. I can barely manage the kids through the day. We ought to go to Indian Lake ourselves. Bring our families. Find ourselves some hot new men. And did you see how thin she looked? She looked awesome. Where are you going? We'll meet next month, hon. Gotta go home and convince the hubby for a picnic this weekend.
Yeah, I get a report to file for tomorrow's meeting. Work never ends, you know. Well, okay. See you at the game on Thursday. Bye. Thank you so much. Thank you. Good meeting? Oh, hi, hon. I didn't hear you come up. They left early. Yeah. Yeah, they did. What is it? Oh, nothing. Hey, let me help you with the dishes, huh? What is it? A decade of marriage and I think I can tell when... So, we go on to Indian Lake this weekend?
Jeremy Townsend, we are never going to that lake. Not now, not ever. Do you understand me? I love you, Ainsley Townsend. Another month, another book club meeting, another series of choices along the beach of life. The Water is Always Bluer is written and directed by Jack J. Ward and produced by Austin Beach. This feature stars Jessica Kinney as Ainsley, Angela Young as Colleen, Mel Rose as Sarah, and Jennifer Tizo as Miriam. Jeffrey Billard is Jeremy.
I'm your host, Joe Stofko. This episode is part of the Darker Musings Anthology. Good night from Nova Scotia. You're listening to a Sonic Cinema production. There we have our weekly series of dramatic, theatrical, classic, eclectic and live radio drama. So yeah, either the main mutual audio network feed for all types and genres of... The Mutual Audio Drama Network, where we listen and imagine together.