by Melissa Good
Kerry eyed her affectionately. “I know. Typical type A nerd ADD.”
Dar twiddled her thumbs. “Is what it is.”
“You are what you are.” Kerry reached over and smoothed the wet hair out of Dar’s eyes. “And I love what you are.”
Dar tilted her head a little, the words producing a gentle smile.
A cool breeze blew over them, and Janet circled the deck with a tray of mugs, holding what smelled like mulled cider.
Dar took two cups as she came past and offered one to Kerry, once she’d gotten her now only damp shirt back on. “This smells good.”
Kerry sipped it. “Oh, that is good.”
It was some kind of fruit cider with nutmeg and a shot of liquor, and it took the chill off. “Do I wonder how they got this hot?” Dar mused.“Or just enjoy it?”
Kerry chuckled.
“Okay, folks,” Doug said. “This is where we’re stopping for the night. So, the drill is you all get off and find a spot you like onshore, and stake a claim to it. Then we’ll bring over the cots and tents.”
Todd and Amy hopped off the front of the raft and started up the slight slope into the camping area.
Doug watched them, then shook his head a little. “Since its going to be cool tonight we suggest a tent. But if you want, you can just sleep under the stars. Your choice.”
Kerry got up and hefted her dry sack. “Tent?”
“Uh huh.” Dar said. “Back in the day, in Florida, sleeping without a tent regardless of the weather was an invitation to wake up with a palmetto bug on your pillow.”
Kerry paused and stared at her, jaw slightly dropped.
Dar wiggled her fingers up near her temple and snickered. “Don’t worry. They’re tropical.”
“You better hope so.” Kerry shouldered her sack with some dignity. “Or you’re going to find me on your pillow.”
“Mm.” Dar got behind her and leaned in to nibble the skin on the back of her neck. “Lucky me.”
Cool skin, warm lips. Kerry almost tripped on the edge of the seating area. “Oh.”
They made their way off the raft along with the rest, and paused on the beach. Dar pointed to the left, and started in that direction, as the rest of the crowd split up in their small groups and wandered off.
The small beach curved around a little, and they walked along its edge until they came to a small slope upwards. The ground was mostly rock and sand, with a few tufts of hardy grass. They had to lean forward as they climbed up, moving around two large boulders before they found a small, relatively level spot near the cliff wall.
It was quiet, and they turned and looked behind them. The raft was just out of sight, but the sun was slanting against the far wall of the canyon, painting it in a hundred shades of desert colors. They could see the river rushing past, and with a satisfied grunt, Dar dropped her dry bag in the sand. “This works.”
“Nice,” Kerry said.
They heard the others in the near distance, voices echoing softly against the rock, but there was no one else within view. Kerry took out her camera, getting a few shots of the view before she went and sat on a table height rock that had an almost flat top.
“I’ll go tell em where we are,” Dar said. “Be right back.”
Kerry lifted one hand in assent, then leaned back on the rock and let the breeze flutter over her, its dryness already sucking the damp out of her clothes and ruffling her short cut blond hair. She was looking forward to the dinner, and relaxing, and she felt a sense of letting go.
When they’d started driving she hadn’t felt that, since they were in the range of their phones and e-mail and talked about work almost the whole way.
Now, she felt the constant churn of ideas fading. They’d left their phones back in the RV, sending one last message to everyone that they would see them on the other side.
She didn’t even feel anxious about it now. It was getting easier to just live in the moment and let the future wait. This was odd and strange and a little intimidating, but it brought a sense of tentative peace to her that had been hard to find in the recent past.
She braced her hands on the rock, feeling the residual sun warmth against her palms. She drummed the heels of her hiking boots against the stone in idle rhythm and watched the light’s progress across the canyon walls until she heard footsteps approaching again.
“Hey, good spot.” It was Pete, one of the mates, who accompanied Dar with a sizable sack carried on his back. He put the sack down and straightened up. “We’ve got some drinks going down by the raft, why don’t you all take part while I get this set up for you?”
Kerry took the hint and got up, moving past him to collect Dar, who looked like she might want to take over the tent making process. “C’mon, hon. Let’s go watch the fun.” She hooked her arm through Dar’s and kept going, encouraging Dar to turn and move with her. “Pete doesn’t need anyone telling him how to set up a tent.”
She winked at Pete, who broke into a grin and gave her thumbs up.
They walked down the slope to the river and over to where the rest of the group was clustered around the landing point where some quickly assembled bar height tables were set up with mugs and dishes of trail mix on them.
Sally and Dave were near the edge of the river, pointing across. Marcia was perched in one of the tall directors’ chairs that had been set up facing the west. She had a sketch pad out, and was drawing on it.
“Your mother would love this place,” Kerry said, observing her. “So many colors.”
“She would,” Dar readily said. “I bet when they see the pictures they’ll decide to do a trip.”
Kerry considered that, as they went to the tables to collect their beverages. “Your dad would make these people nuts, hon.”
“No doubt.” Dar started strolling down the edge of the water, and after a moment Kerry caught up with her. “Not with these guys, I mean just in general. Don’t think Dad’s ever been out here.” She watched a bird coast overhead, coming to roost on a small ledge in the cliffs.
They moved around a small bend and paused. Doug knelt by a pile of gear in an alcove that had obviously been used many times for a camp. Doug stood, turned, and paused as well on seeing them. “Oh. Hi.”
“Hi,” Kerry returned the greeting.
“This where you all camp?” Dar asked, noting the well-worn look to the gear.
Doug nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Gotta have a little down time.” He gestured upward. “We let the clients pick the nice spots, and we usually take this area. Doesn’t really have a view and that.”
Dar regarded the river moving past. Then she looked up the slope, which was full of rubble and tufted grass. “You guys make the other side nicer? Did it look like this before?”
Doug came over and regarded her.
“I don’t care,” Dar said, in a gentler tone. “I grew up on a Navy base in the scrublands of far south Florida. I’ve camped a lot rougher.”
He nodded, and shrugged a little. “You know, people pay for a nice experience. If we charge what we charge, we need to put skin in the game and make it worth it, “he said, frankly. “So, sure, we found nice spots to camp so they can take pictures, and go home and show everyone and it’s wow.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Kerry said. ”˜It’s a business. We get it. We run our own.”
Doug relaxed a little. “Yeah, you guys seem cool,” he said. “Some people aren’t.” He glanced past as his name was called. “Sorry. Got to go start cooking.” He gave them a brief grin, and then followed them as they retreated along the shore toward the main camp.
The crew was setting up an outdoor kitchen, and some of them were carrying tent gear and large square boxes up and into the brush.
“The necessary,” Rich said and indicated the latter group with his mug as they arrived.
Janet was busy with a checklist, and she looked up with a smile. “Necessaries,” she corrected. “One for the ladies, and one for the gentlemen.” She shi
fted her eyes, and her lips twitched. “So to speak.”
Todd and Amy approached, and as they did, Dar felt that internal twitch, that silent, unseen prickling of her hackles that Kerry always kindly called her crusader instinct flaring.
But no, she’d decided she wasn’t going to do that, hadn’t she?
“Hey,” Todd said. “How long is it going to take to get that tent up? We need to change.” He indicated himself and Amy, who was shivering in the breeze. “Can you get it moving?”
Rich was quick to sidle up. “Maybe you shouldn’t have picked that way out spot,” he said. “Cause our stuff’s already up. Takes them a while to get the tent gear up to your area.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Todd told him. “No one asked you.”
Janet visibly counted silently to ten. “Okay, let’s see if we can speed it up.” She put her clipboard down and motioned to Doug, who put down the table he was setting up and trudged after her.
“That’s it,” Todd said, “get your asses up there.” He stared at the rest of them. “These guys screwed up our whole vacation. Damn right I want service from them. You got something to say about that?” He looked at Dar, who regarded him steadily.
“Yeah, I do,” Dar said. “If your SO is cold you should give her your shirt.” With a shake of her head she moved past and went over to the bar top tables to investigate the trail mix.
Todd took a breath, then released it, visibly nonplussed. “Uh.”
Kerry scratched the bridge of her nose, and stifled a laugh as she followed Dar, leaving the discontented pair behind. Rich scrambled to join them. “He wasn’t expecting you to say that.”
Dar had sorted out the mix and gotten a handful of cashews, which she offered to share. “I mean, c’mon.” She took a sip of what was apparently rum punch. “How about some common sense?”
Rich laughed and took a handful of the mix and tossed them into his mouth. “That was funny. But I think you pissed him off.”
Dar sighed “Wouldn’t be the first. Won’t be the last. I’m waiting for the words””don’t you know who I am””to come out of his mouth.”
“Yeah, me too,” Rich said. “He is someone, by the way. Sally googled him before we left. His dad’s the owner of some big company.”
Dar rolled her eyes. “Even better.”
Kerry had seated herself so she could see behind them.
“Mm...but he gave his shirt to her, so there’s that.” She took a swallow of her grog. “And he won’t be the last to take advice from you, hon.” She gently poked her elbow into Dar’s side. “His father was probably one of our old customers.”
“Meh.”
Sally and PJ came over. “We get veggie fajitas,” Sally announced, with some satisfaction. “And yellow squash soup.” She took a handful of the mix. “I think you guys are stuck with either steak or chicken.”
“Moo,” Dar responded. “Too bad they didn’t bring milk.”
IT WAS DARK when they left the dining area, the sounds of harmonicas and guitars having faded into the night silence that was now broken by the sound of the river, and their footsteps against the sand as they climbed.
“That wasn’t bad,” Kerry said, as they got up to the level where their tent was pitched, and approached it. “I really liked that soup.”
“I like your cooking better,” Dar said. “You use better spices.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” Kerry had her arm around Dar’s waist and she unwound her hold now as they got to the tent. She undid the ties and drew aside the flaps, exposing the neatly made interior. “Ah.”
Dar entered and removed the flashlight from her pocket and moved the beam around the inside. There were two folding bunks made up, with a foam pad on them, covered with a sleeping bag, and at the head an inflatable pillow covered in a cotton pillow cloth.
A small battery lantern was hung at the apogee, and she switched it on, turning off her flash as Kerry came in and knelt next to one bunk and pulled over the duffel bag she’d last seen getting on the helicopter.
It was nice. Dar sat on her bunk and opened her duffel. Along with those, the raft team had delivered a six pack of water for each of them and a kit for the toilets, including hand sanitizer.
It was good to get her hiking boots and socks off, “I think those water boots were a better idea. Like what Rich has on,” she said. “They dry faster.”
“And no socks,” Kerry said. “Next time.” She set her boots and Dar’s near the doorway. “Glad we brought spares.” She paused to poke her head out. “Turn that light off, would you Dar?”
“Sure.”
Behind her, the light went out and then she was able to look up at the night sky, full of stars. The distinctive swath of the Milky Way splashed across the center of it. “Oh wow.”
Dar poked her head out. “What. Oh.” She studied the view. “Yeah that’s nice. You want to change and then sit outside for a while?” She indicated the two director’s chairs planted in the sandy ground.
“Yes, I do.”
They ducked back inside and changed, and Dar took the time to open the three screened in window panels, to allow the breeze to enter.
Then they took a bottle of water each and emerged into the night, taking seats and settling in to enjoy the stars and the residual warmth of the sun in the sand under their feet.
“So,” Dar said, after a few minutes of compatible silence. “What do you think so far?” She reached over and took Kerry’s hand in hers. “What you expected?”
Kerry leaned back and tipped her head up so she could study the stars. They were dense and beautiful, and so much more plentiful than she was used to back at home. “I’m not sure what I was expecting,” she answered. “I just mostly wanted to be with you, and not be dealing with work for a week. So, in that case, it’s definitely met my expectations.”
“Mm.”
“And the views are pretty, like I thought they’d be,” Kerry added, after a pause. “You?”
What did she think about it? Dar considered that for a while. “I like the rapids. Those are fun,” she said. “I like the hiking. The views are really different. But I don’t know that I enjoy hanging out on the boat getting from point A to point B.”
“Mm.” Kerry regarded her with a sideways glance. “Why not see if Marcia has another sketch pad? I could see you were getting bored. I have my camera.”
“Nah. I can read a book,” Dar said, wiggling her toes. “I’ve got a few with me. I’ll put one in my dry bag tomorrow.”
“What is it?”
“Lord of the Rings trilogy.”
Kerry started laughing. “You really did come prepared.”
Dar chuckled along with her. Then they both paused and sat up as a shrill scream broke the silence of the camp. After a moment, there was the sound of running and the moving spears of flashlights, and another scream.
“Hope it’s nothing serious,” Kerry said, gathering herself to stand. “And it isn’t a palmetto bug.”
THE SCREAMS WERE coming, it seemed, from the outhouse. Kerry was a step ahead of Dar as they joined a group of others, the combined light of their flashlights illuminating the tarp covered structures.
Janet arrived and moved decisively forward. “Hey! What’s wrong!” She tapped on the outside of the tarp. “What’s all the screaming about?”
“Snake,” Dave suggested.
“Scorpion,” Rich disagreed.
“No toilet paper,” Dar dryly supplied, and chuckles rose around them.
“Hey. That’d make me scream,” Marcia said. “My age? You betcha.”
Janet had apparently received permission to enter as she’d unlatched the tarp and stepped inside, with two of the raft crew standing hesitantly behind her. A moment later she emerged holding PJ’s arm, who was limping, tears visible on her face.
“Huh.” Kerry folded her arms over her chest. “Wonder what happened?” The two other crew members ducked inside, and she could see flashlights moving around.
Janet guided PJ over to one of the camp chairs. “Sit down.” After the girl was seated, Janet shone her light on her foot. Janet’s eyes widened as blood was immediately visible. “Oh, crap. Doug! Get the kit!”
“It looks like a cut,” Marcia said, in a low voice.
“Janet, here it is.” One of the crew had emerged and came over, holding something in his hand. “Someone must have broken a beer bottle. It’s a big piece of glass.”
Dar got a brief glimpse of the item, which was long and curved, and a pale gold in color. “Ouch,” She muttered.
Janet briefly glanced at it, her lips tightening. “Get the rake, and make sure that’s the only one,” she said, sternly. “And go through the checklist and see that nothing else was missed.”
The crew member gave her a glum look, but carefully put the shard into one of his cargo shorts pockets and moved away, the other crew trotting off to get some tools.
“Oh, my God it hurts,” PJ moaned.
Janet stood and faced the crowd. “Okay, folks. Show’s over. Please go back to your tents and give PJ some space.” She made shooing motions with her hands. “We’ll get her fixed up.”
“That’s bad luck,” Kerry said, as they moved through the darkness toward their little camp. “She was saying how much she was looking forward to hiking.”
Dar glanced casually around, then tipped her head back a little, looking up at the small escarpment where Todd and Amy had put their gear. She saw a shadow against the pale rocks past it, and as she watched the shadow moved and disappeared.
They walked back to their tent and settled back into their chairs. Dar put her elbows on the chair arms and steepled her fingers, brow slightly creased. “That was a big piece of glass to miss,” She commented, after a moment. “But I’m not sure I’d be walking around here without shoes either.”
“No, that’s true. Though you go barefoot all the time at home.”
“I’ve paid for that.” Dar removed one of her sandals and directed her light to the bottom of her foot. “Still have marks where that damn fish bit me. I remember how much that hurt, so yeah, it sucks to be her.”