River's Call

by Melody Carlson

  The autumn storm seemed to put a damper on everything and everyone. To Anna's relief, everyone seemed to stay in their rooms. It wasn't until dinnertime that the strange group reconvened. As Anna set a heavy platter of roast beef, potatoes, and vegetables on the dining room table, she could see that Lauren had calmed down some, although she was still treating Ardelle and Eunice rather coolly. After grace was said, Clark, bless his heart, attempted to make pleasant conversation and even managed to get Ardelle to laugh a couple of times. Just the same, Anna was greatly relieved when the meal ended and she could escape to the kitchen to clean up.

  "Before I excuse myself for the night," Ardelle said loudly in the living room, "I do have a small announcement to make."

  With a dishtowel in hand, Anna returned to the living room to listen.

  "I took it upon myself to invite Donald to come for a visit."

  "You what?" Lauren exploded.

  Ardelle nodded. "That's right. I felt that Donald should make an appearance, Lauren."

  "You didn't even ask me!" Lauren shouted.

  "No need to act like a juvenile," Eunice told her.

  "I think it's a good idea to have Donald come out here," Clark said to Lauren.

  She blinked. "You do?"

  "Yes. For one thing, I would like to meet this young man. And, although I realize I'm only your stepfather, I would like to have a word with him."

  "Why?" Lauren's eyes narrowed.

  "I think he needs to be held accountable." Clark glanced at Ardelle. "I assume his own father might agree with me on this."

  Ardelle just shrugged. Anna remembered Harry Thomas from her years in Pine Ridge. He'd always been a pushover. Ruled by his wife, he had never seemed to wield much influence over his rebellious son.

  "Anyway, I think Donald might benefit from coming out here," Clark continued, focusing on Lauren. "You two need a chance to air your feelings and sort things out. Hopefully, without everyone else putting their oars in." He turned back to Ardelle and Eunice. "Don't you think so, too, ladies?"

  To Anna's surprise, both women simply nodded. Whether it was because Clark was a man or because they were surprised he'd taken such an interest, Anna was thankful.

  "Now, if you'll excuse me," Clark said, "I'll go downstairs and make a nice fire for Eunice and Ardelle to enjoy before they go to bed."

  Anna sent him a grateful smile, and before long it was just Anna and Lauren in the kitchen. To Anna's surprise, Lauren had offered to help. "I'm so nervous," Lauren admitted as she scrubbed a pan. "I can't believe Donald is really coming here."

  "Well, I agree with Clark," Anna said as she mixed some batter for tomorrow's breakfast. "I think it will be good for you and Donald to talk . . . undisturbed." She thought about the cabin that was getting close to completion. "In fact, I'll ask Clark to put a couple of lawn chairs in the cabin so you two can have a private place to talk. It's a little messy in there, but Clark could make a fire in the fireplace and you could at least have a place to sit and be warm."

  "Thanks, Mom." Lauren sighed. "But I'll be surprised if Donald is willing to talk. In fact, I'll be surprised if he even shows up." She frowned. "What kind of pressure do you think Ardelle and Grandmother are putting on him?"

  "I don't know, but I assume it has to do with finances. If Ardelle cuts him off, he probably won't be able to continue in college. And perhaps the job your grandmother plans to offer him will be tempting." She shook her head. "Honestly, I don't know." Anna wanted to say that she hated to imagine the ways those two women might pressure Donald and Lauren . . . or what that kind of pressure might do to a young couple.

  "I was thinking about you and Daddy," Lauren said quietly. "You were about my age when you married, and I was born about a year later, right?"

  Anna nodded sadly. "But we chose to marry, Lauren. No one forced us. And even though we thought we were in love . . . well, I still feel we married too quickly. Your father didn't even tell Eunice until after the wedding. And, as you know, Eunice never really got over that."

  "But if Dad hadn't come home from the war, well, you know . . . messed up . . . don't you think you could've had a happy marriage?" Lauren looked so hopeful.

  Anna smiled. "Yes, I do think we could've been happy. But only if we'd gotten a house of our own, Lauren. Of course, that wasn't possible with the way things they were. Still, if by some chance you and Donald do decide to marry—and I'm not even suggesting that's the best choice for you—but if that happens, I hope you will not accept your grandmother's offer to let you live in her house with her." Anna sighed. "I'm afraid that would be a huge mistake."

  Lauren laughed, but her eyes were sad. "Well, it's highly unlikely that Donald will really want to marry me anyway. And I refuse to marry him unless it's really his choice and not just because his mommy is pushing him. I may be pregnant, but I still have my pride."

  "Good for you." Anna hugged her. "And I am proud of you. I'm so glad you're facing this head on. It's nice to see."

  "You mean finally?"

  Anna smiled. "We all have our own journeys. Some take longer than others, but as long as we eventually arrive, it doesn't really matter."

  Lauren nodded. "I like that."

  It was during a break in the storm that Henry delivered Donald to them. Dressed in a letterman's jacket and blue jeans and loafers, he didn't look much different from when he was in high school. Except his expression was different. A strange combination of surliness and shame, Anna thought as she and Clark greeted him on the dock. Anna was relieved that Clark had insisted on joining her in this less-than-pleasant task. He carried the bulk of conversation, mostly small talk about the weather and the boat trip. Meanwhile Anna said as little as possible as they showed Donald to his room, right next to his mother's.

  "Make yourself at home," she said stiffly, turning to go.

  "I expect you're mad at me." Donald's voice was quiet.

  She turned and looked evenly at him. "Not mad . . . but I am disappointed."

  His blue eyes clouded as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

  "Even so, I hope for the best for you, Donald. For both you and Lauren. And I hope you can figure out what is the best thing to do in your situation." She glanced at Clark. "And I don't necessarily agree with your mother or Eunice."

  Donald looked surprised. "You don't?"

  She shook her head. "I believe a marriage needs a strong foundation of love and commitment to work. Without that, I don't see the point."

  Clark nodded. "That's my sentiment too. However, I do believe that whether or not you and Lauren marry, you still have a responsibility to your child. You are the child's father and that makes you legally, morally, and ethically responsible. I hope you will take this responsibility seriously. Both to your unborn child and to Lauren. Do you understand?"

  Donald's eyes grew wider. "Yes, sir. I do, sir."

  "Good." Clark explained about the cabin where Donald and Lauren could talk privately. He was barely finishing up when Ardelle and Eunice burst into the room.

  "Oh, there you are," his mother said as she hugged Donald. "It's so good to see you."

  "We want a word with you," Eunice said in a conniving tone.

  "Yes," Ardelle smiled in a catty way. "In private, please."

  Anna and Clark took the hint and excused themselves. "I'm so glad you got to speak to him first," she told Clark as they went upstairs.

  "He doesn't seem like a bad kid," Clark said.

  Anna chuckled. "I think you scared him a bit."

  "Maybe he needs to be scared."

  They went inside to see Lauren nervously pacing in the kitchen. "Was that him?" she asked with worried eyes.

  "Yes, he's settling in," Anna explained. "Clark told him about the cabin where you can speak together in private."

  "Is he there now?"

  "No, he's talking with Eunice and Ardelle." Anna made an uneasy smile.

  Lauren grabbed her coat. "I'm going over to the cabin now," she said quickly. "If Donald w
ants to speak to me, tell him I'm there."

  "It should be nice and warm," Clark said.

  With Lauren gone, Anna started pacing now. "I know I need to just let it be," she confessed to Clark, "but I feel so concerned . . . for both of them. This is such a big decision . . . what if they decide to marry for the wrong reason?"

  Clark put his arms around her. "Unfortunately, that happens all the time, Anna. We can only hope for the best and be prepared for . . . well, whatever."

  Within the hour it seemed that they were really getting "whatever." Lauren burst into the house, and with flushed cheeks and large blue eyes, she informed Anna and Clark that she and Donald were going to marry. "Oh, it won't be a big wedding like I've always dreamed of," she admitted. "But at least we'll be married. That's what counts."

  "This is what you want?" Anna asked.

  "It's what I've dreamed of, Mom." She patted her stomach. "We'll be a family. Donald and me and the baby." She let out a happy sigh. "We'll live happily ever after."

  Anna had to bite her tongue.

  Lauren explained that, like Eunice and Ardelle suggested, she and Donald would elope the following day. "The sooner the better." She giggled. "And now I have to pack."

  "Do you need help?" Anna offered.

  "Just make sure that Henry can pick us up tomorrow morning." Lauren did a happy little spin, just like she used to as a little girl. "We're all leaving in the morning," she explained. "Grandmother and Ardelle too. They'll go back to Pine Ridge, but Donald and I will drive straight to Reno." She giggled. "It'll be a long drive, but by tomorrow night, we will be legally married. And Grandmother gave Donald enough money for us to have a real honeymoon too."

  The rest of the plan was for Ardelle and Grandmother to travel back to Pine Ridge, where they would do damage control by feeding the rumor mill with exactly what they wanted people to know. "They'll tell everyone that Donald and I were so in love that we eloped and quit school." Lauren laughed. "All's well that ends well, right?"

  Anna simply nodded, watching as Lauren skipped blissfully to her room. "Oh, my." She turned to Clark. "Can you believe this?"

  He made a sympathetic smile. "We can't live our children's lives for them."

  "I just wish that our children didn't have to repeat our mistakes." The idea of Lauren and Donald living together under Eunice's roof concerned Anna more than she cared to admit, even to Clark.

  By the next morning Anna felt sick about the whole thing, but keeping her emotions to herself, she bid her daughter farewell. "Please stay in touch," she told her for the umpteenth time. "And if you ever need anything, please, call me. You will always be welcome here. You know that."

  With tears in her eyes, Lauren thanked her. "I don't know why I'm crying," she said, "I've never been so happy. Before midnight tonight, I will be Mrs. Donald Thomas, Mom! What could be better?"

  Anna touched Lauren's cheek. "I wish you nothing but happiness, darling." And, just like that, all the unexpected "guests" were gone.

  "My goodness," Hazel said as the three of them waved from the dock. "I feel like we've just survived a whirlwind."

  Anna wasn't positive she'd really survived. "I have a lot of housework to do," she said quietly. "That should keep my mind off of things for a while."

  "And I have a cabin to work on," Clark said as they walked down the path from the dock.

  "And I have a thesis to finish," Hazel said as she turned toward her cabin. Then she paused and looked at Anna. "I remember a saying of your grandmother's . . ."

  "What's that?"

  "You probably remember it too. Pearl said we all have to paddle our own canoes."

  Anna smiled. "I do remember it."

  "And that's what Lauren is doing now, paddling her own canoe."

  Anna nodded. "Yes, despite pressure, I do believe she made up her own mind about this." Anna glanced back at the river, looking up to see that the clouds were still thin and not full of rain. "In fact, I think that's exactly what I'm going to go do." She chuckled. "I am off to paddle my own canoe."

  Clark grinned. "Good for you."

  "That's right," Hazel told her. "Housework can always wait. But the weather and the river . . . now that's something you need to grab when you get the chance."

  12

  Seasons changed gently, almost imperceptibly on the river. Winter had occasional days that masqueraded as summer, and spring sometimes blew as cold and hard as winter. But eventually the trees budded, grasses greened, and foliage thickened . . . and finally the wild flowers began to bloom, and that's when Anna knew that summer was around the bend. How much she had looked forward to summer this year! Primarily because Lauren's baby was due in late June, but also because six of the new cabins were up and ready for guests, and, slowly but surely, the reservations were coming in.

  "Anything in the mail?" she asked hopefully, as Clark came in for dinner.

  "A card from Mom." He held up a postcard with pyramids on it. "Sounds like she's having a good time."

  "I think your mother could have a good time anywhere." Anna read the back of the card and smiled. "Can you believe she rode a camel?"

  He chuckled. "Doesn't surprise me in the least."

  Anna shook her head as she handed him back the card. "But nothing else in the mail?"

  "Just the utility bill. I put that on the desk."

  She sighed.

  "Why don't you just call her, Anna?"

  "You know why." She turned back to the stove, checking on the marinara sauce, although it was fine.

  "Because of Eunice," he answered for her. "But even if she does answer the phone, you can insist that you called to speak to Lauren."

  "It's just not worth it, Clark. By the time I get Eunice to hand over the phone, that is, if she's even willing, I'm usually so miffed that I have a difficult time speaking a complete sentence to Lauren. And she's usually in a foul mood anyway. I just wish she liked writing better."

  "At least she knows how you are doing," Clark sneaked a breadstick.

  "Sometimes I wonder if she actually takes time to read my letters."

  "Oh, sure she does." He pecked her on the cheek. "I'll go wash up."

  As she sat the table, Anna wondered about how Lauren was really doing. She knew she was unhappy, but she couldn't tell if that was because of Eunice . . . or Donald. Most likely it was both. Poor Lauren. But Anna knew this was part of letting her daughter go. These were the lessons Lauren had to learn on her own.

  "Hello to the house!" called a man's voice.

  "Hello back at you." She peeked around the corner to see that Stan and Martha, two of her guests, were just coming in. "How was fishing?"

  "Fabulous," Stan told her.

  "Stan spent the last hour cleaning the trout," Martha said. "And I got them all wrapped and packed into the freezer."

  "Convenient that you folks have the big locker freezer down there," Stan said as he thumbed through a hunting magazine from the coffee table.

  "I keep telling Stan that you folks think of everything," Martha said as she came into the kitchen. "You spoil me so much that I'll never want to go to another fishing lodge."

  "That's fine with me." Anna smiled.

  Clark came in now, offering the middle-aged couple beforedinner drinks and making light conversation like usual. Before long the other guests trickled in, two brothers from Idaho and a youngish couple from Eugene. Tonight there were eight for dinner, but Anna had served as many as twelve before. Fortunately the cabins were equipped with kitchens, so if the inn was ever completely full some guests could be on their own for food. But at times like this, Anna didn't mind the extra company at the table. And the additional money came in handy when it was time to pay bills.

  However, the best part was getting to meet so many new people, witnessing them interacting with each other, and hearing their reactions to the river and the inn. "I tried that lavender soap in the shower," said Shirley, the younger woman. "I thought it would smell like my grandmother, but it was actually
really fresh and nice."

  "My friend Babette makes that herself," Anna told her. "She says that lavender has a restorative, healing quality to it."

  Shirley nodded. "I think it must. I felt completely refreshed after using it . . . and relaxed too."

  "There must be something in the air here," Martha said. "I've slept better than ever these past few nights."

  "It's because it's so quiet," her husband told her. "Lots more peaceful than home."

  "That's true. But we have three teenagers at home," Martha explained. "My dear old mother is there with them now. I can't even imagine what kind of headache she must have . . . I don't want to know."

  Stan laughed. "Maybe we should stay a few extra days, honey."

  "I saw an enormous bird today," Shirley said suddenly. "Long legs and a long bill. Very majestic."

  "Was it dark blue?" Anna asked.

  "Bluish gray, I guess."

  "That's the Great Blue Heron."

  Now they started talking about the other birds and wildlife seen along the river and Anna offered Shirley a bird book as well as binoculars to borrow.

  "And see, you thought you'd be bored here," Shirley's husband teased.

  "Well, it seemed so remote . . . I wasn't sure."

  "I knew she needed a break like this," he said. "She works for an insurance company and they just run her ragged."

  "Well, this is really a special place," one of the brothers said. "I plan to become a regular here."

  "So do I," the other brother added. "Next time, we'll be bringing our wives."

  "Maybe even our kids," the other said. "This seems like a great place for kids."

  "We've got the canoes," Anna pointed out. "And there's swimming in summer. And sometimes we have bonfires at night for roasting hotdogs and marshmallows."

  "Your kids must love it," Shirley said. "I mean, if you have kids, that is."

  Clark and Anna exchanged quick glances. "We do," he said. "A son who's about to graduate high school and a daughter with a baby on the way."

  "Oh, a baby," gushed Martha. "You must be so excited." She frowned at Anna. "Although you look far too young to be a grandmother."