by Jeff Vrolyks
“Hey Cheryl,” George directed at the kitchen. “James is an artist. A painter.”
“Oh, exciting!” she said from the kitchen. A moment later she appeared with two glasses of tea and handed them over, took a chair a few feet from her husband.
“So Theo,” George said, “how did you enjoy your first day of fly fishing?”
“I loved it.”
“Excellent. It’s a lot of fun isn’t it? Georgette had a good time, too. I still can’t believe she caught a fish and I didn’t. Sucker was huge, too.”
“She’s so proud of it,” said Cheryl.
Theodore was looking for Carmen without making it appear as such. He was just admiring the house, is all.
“She should be,” James said. “That was a heck of a fish.”
“I made her gut it, too,” George said with a wink. “Got to teach ‘em young.” He faced Cheryl and said, “Honey, why don’t you throw that trout in the oven with the roast. When I was a boy, my dad made us eat what we caught. There’s a lesson in there somewhere, I suppose.”
“Indeed,” James said, “we fish so we can provide food on our tables. What’s a sport to us was a way of life in centuries past. She’ll appreciate it more knowing she caught it; it’ll taste even better.”
“Ain’t that the truth. So you said you stay out here for a month a year, is it always around this time?”
“Yeah, and we leave around the fourth of July. My wife Lea and daughter Jessica fly out for the last week. They enjoy it here, but aren’t like us men; right, Theo? There’s only so much nature and fishy smells they can endure annually.”
“I hope I get a chance to meet your wife,” Cheryl said. “You four are welcome to come by anytime.”
“I bet she’d love that. I’ll take you up on that offer, Cheryl. Actually, our cabin isn’t nearly as large and nice as your home, but maybe you all would like to come out to our place. My wife makes the best standing rib-roast you’ll ever taste.”
“I appreciate that,” George said. “Maybe we’ll get a sitter.”
“You all are welcome over. It will be a cozy seating arrangement with the four of us and you three, but we’ll make it work.”
George grinned at his wife. “I’m afraid it would be cozier than you think, James. I have three girls, Georgette, April, and Suzie.”
“Really,” James said and looked at his son, who nodded, implying that he already knew that. “You have three kids? It’s so quiet here. And clean,” he said impressively.
“They are outstanding girls,” Cheryl said and sipped her own glass of tea. “God blessed us with them. They get along just great with one another, seldom bicker, and clean up after themselves.”
“Amen, we are pretty fortunate, aren’t we hon?”
“Well then maybe a sitter wouldn’t be such a bad idea,” James said, and felt a sad set of eyes looking over at him from his left. “Or we could just come back over here. We could bring our standing rib roast; I’d feel horrible having you cook for us again.”
“Think nothing of it. It’ll be great to have you all over,” Cheryl said. “We don’t get the opportunity to meet many new folks, especially ones from such an exciting place as San Francisco. Our community is pretty tightly knit, we’re like brothers and sisters here.”
“Right,” James said. “Theodore was telling me that you are Mormon. Most of the folks living here in Cedar Hills are Mormon then?”
“I dare say we all are,” George said. “It isn’t so much that everyone living here became Mormon as much as it is people who are Mormon, fundamentalist Mormons, moved here. There aren’t a lot of us in the world, so we like to stick together, you know?”
“Yes, that’s very nice.”
“How about you, James? I don’t mean to offend you, but is your family Christian? Or Catholic, or…?”
“We’re Christians. Non-denominational. I wish we were better Christians, like so many do. We go to church just once a year on Easter.”
The Handles nodded and didn’t appear to be judging him at all, as James thought they might. They were kind eyes, and he appreciated that. He had been afraid they would start talking about their religion, and why he should be a part of theirs.
“Carmen tells me that she shot a bear,” Theo said, pointing to the head of a bear on the wall. “Is that hers?”
George and Cheryl craned their heads around and glanced at the bear. “No, that was mine. My first bear, that was. I get one a year. Lots of meat off a bear. I take the bear to Earl, the butcher in town, and he makes summer sausage, meat-sticks, chops, and hamburger patties out of them. Good stuff.”
“Carmen told me how you get them, trapping them in the tree. Very neat,” Theo said and sipped his iced tea.
“Yes, good dogs. There are people who pay eight-hundred bucks a weekend to rent that pack of dogs.”
“Are you serious?” James said.
“Yep. It’s the closest thing to a guarantee you’ll get to shooting a bear. I’d say eight out of ten times they’ll find one.”
“Incredible. I’d love to watch it.”
“You’re more than welcome to come along with us next time we go. We don’t ordinarily go until August, but maybe we’ll go sooner, if you two think you’d enjoy hunting a bear.”
“We would,” Theo said. “You said Carmen will be there, too?”
George and James grinned at one another. “Yes, she loves hunting. She’s my only son, Georgette.”
The three adults chuckled.
“Where is Georgette, honey?”
“I think she’s out back,” Cheryl replied. “Theo would you like to go out back and visit with your friend?”
Theo was indecisive. He wanted to but didn’t want to impose, or seem like he was overly-anxious to see her. And maybe Carmen would prefer to play alone, or with her sisters. “It’s okay, she’s probably busy.”
“Nonsense,” George said. “She’d love your company. She hasn’t stopped talking about you since we left Fallbrook.”
Theo blinked. “Really?”
“Go on.”
“Okay, thank you.”
He strode to the back of the house and out the back door.
“That was awfully kind of you, George,” James said. “To lie to my son to make him feel better.”
“A lie? Why do you think it was a lie?”
“Because I have a daughter, and I know she would never confess interest in a boy.”
George’s smile said James was right. “She didn’t mention Theo, but I could tell she’s curious about him.”
“I hope this doesn’t scare you,” James said, “but I think your daughter is my boy’s first crush.”
“Aww, how cute,” Cheryl said.
“And I have no doubt that my boy would disown me if he heard me tell you that just now.”
Theo stepped tentatively onto the covered patio, awed over the enormous stack of wood spanning at least thirty feet long and six feet high. Beside the door was a bow and a quiver of arrows. Theo thought it was the coolest thing ever, and saw a target mounted to a distant tree. Off to the side he saw a little dwelling, like a guest house only much smaller. It was wooden with a flat roof, one window on the side. It wasn’t much larger than his bedroom at home. He saw movement through the window, and wasn’t positive but thought it was Carmen. He approached it nervously, palms sweaty.
He knocked.
“Who is it?” Carmen drawled.
“Theo.”
“What’s the password?”
“How should I know?”
“Then you can’t come in,” she said and giggled.
“Give me a hint.”
“He’s the quarterback of my favorite team.”
Jeff Garcia was the quarterback of his favorite team, the Niner’s, but her favorite team was probably something else. There were no teams in Montana. Which states were nearby? Michigan? Wisconsin? He thought Green Bay was a possibility. “Brett Favre?”
He heard her gasp and then unloc
k the door and open it. “How’d you know?”
“Just a lucky guess.”
“I love Brett Favre. He’s good, and handsome.”
“I suppose.”
“Come on in.” She gestured him inside the place and closed the door behind him. “That’s cool, you like football.”
“I love football. Go Niner’s!”
“The Packers are better.”
“Let’s agree to disagree.”
“Let’s agree than I’m right,” she said and slapped his shoulder playfully. “Can I get you something to drink? I have Hi-C punch.”
Theo thought she had learned this act of hospitality from her mother. “I had some iced tea inside the house, but thank you.”
There was a two-cushioned sofa against the far wall and she sat down, patted a spot beside her: he took the seat. “Oh my gosh, it was so gross,” she said, “my dad made me gut the fish I caught when we got home.”
“So did mine.”
“It was probably a lot easier for you, since your fish was about this big.” She positioned her index fingers about three inches apart.
“Very funny,” he said without mirth. “You mom is going to cook that trout and your dad is making you eat it for dinner.”
“I thought we were having roast?”
“That too. They’re teaching you the value of catching supper or something. You know how parents are.”
“Yes, they’re incourageable.” She had meant incorrigible.
“Guess what, Carmen.”
“What.”
“My dad and I are probably going to go bear hunting with you guys.”
“This year? Really?”
“Yep. I’m excited about it. My first time. So is this your clubhouse or something?”
“Yes, do you like it?”
“I love it. Your own place, that’s really neat.”
“It’s great, until my little sisters come along and want to play in it.” She rolled her eyes. “April brings a bag of toys with her and plays loudly, turns this place into a pig sty.”
“Where are they?”
“Probably watching The Lion King.”
There was a stretch of silence. Theo was beginning to feel uncomfortable, that maybe she didn’t want him there. “I guess I can leave you alone,” he stood up.
“I’m sorry,” she said sincerely.
“For…?”
“For not being a good host, for boring you into leaving.”
“It’s not that. I just figured you’d rather be alone.”
“I’m alone too often. It’s nice to have company. Friends.”
“Am I your friend?” His heart was beating ferociously.
“I don’t know, are you?”
“Do you want me to be?”
“Of course,” she said. “We have stuff in common. Do you think you and your dad will go fishing again next Saturday?”
“Saturday and Sunday. We fish every weekend we’re here.”
“Cool. Then I guess we’ll see each other again next weekend, won’t we?”
Her smile made his heart quiver. He couldn’t believe a girl could make him feel this way. His dad had been right. It would and did happen to him, his inevitable interest in girls. What scared him wasn’t just that he enjoyed her friendship, it was something more. He wouldn’t admit to himself that he wanted to kiss her, but how would he feel if she forced herself upon him for a kiss? It was a laughable notion, but how would he feel? He’d like that. There was no doubt in his mind he’d like that.
* * *
The Handles extended the dining table by inserting a leaf, to accommodate the two guest diners. Cheryl uncorked the merlot and poured three glasses. Once she had the roast and trimmings on the table, she summoned the girls, who were indeed watching The Lion King. She opened the back door and hollered for Carmen and Theo. They were shooting arrows into the target and came right in.
James watched the two youngest girls enter the room and couldn’t believe how cute they were. It reminded him of when Jessica was that age, and how cute she was then. Now at thirteen she was at her happiest with her friends, not her parents. And these girls had such wonderful manners! They called James sir and sat patiently in their chairs waiting for grace. Once all were seated and grace was recited, Cheryl excused herself into the kitchen and returned with a plate of trout, sat it before their eldest daughter.
“Mmm, it looks good, Mom.” Carmen looked across the table to Theo and said, “Would you like some of it?”
“No, thank you. We’re having the trout we caught for lunch tomorrow.”
“You’ll still be hungry then, might want to cook some hamburgers.”
“Georgette Lynn Handle,” George scorned, “that is not nice.”
She lowered her head.
“She was just kidding, sir,” Theo said. “We were joking around about it earlier. She didn’t mean any disrespect by it.” Her eyes peered up at Theo’s.
“Oh,” George said uncertainly. “I see. I’m sorry, dear.”
“That’s okay, dad.” She was still looking across the table at Theo. Theo thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever lain eyes upon, crooked teeth or not.
She mouthed the words Thank you.
Chapter Four
It was the longest week of Theodore’s life, from the moment he left the Handle’s until the following Saturday morning, when he and his dad pulled onto the dirt shoulder of road 17, behind the Chevy Silverado.
George and Carmen were sipping travel-mugs of coffee and hot-cocoa, respectively, at the back of the truck. James stepped out of the truck and stretched, paced over to his new friend and shook his hand, asked how he was doing. All was fine. Theo took it upon himself to grab the things from the back of the truck before saying hi to Carmen. Truth was, he was nervous. It had almost seemed too good to be true, last Saturday, and he half-expected her to be less than enthusiastic about seeing him again. But she allayed that concern when she approached him at the back of the Ford and asked him what was up.
“Hi, Carmen. Ready to go fly fishing?”
“You bet. How did you do last Sunday?”
“I caught two, but they were both pretty small. My dad caught four. Two were small but the other two were keepers.”
“Cool. Hey, you should come over later.”
“To your house?” His stomach tickled.
“Sure. If you want, that is.”
“Okay, I’ll ask my dad later. Is it okay with your folks?”
“They won’t mind.”
“Great.”
After setting up camp, James and George plodded upstream along the bank. The kids thought they’d try their luck downstream. It was nice to get a break from the parents every now and then. Theo spotted a felled tree up ahead, part of which was submerged in Fallbrook River. He suggested they fish near there. As soon as they were fishing they got busy trying to learn more about the other. She was curious what San Francisco was like and he did his best to describe it. He thought it was a good city to live in if you love sports, as they have the Niner’s and the Giants. She was jealous that he had a home team and she didn’t, but she routed for her Packers just as rigorously. She wondered what there was to do out there, besides watch sports.
“It’s not all that different from here, I suppose. I mean, it looks a lot different. Lots of cars, buildings, traffic. But it’s not like we do different things than you do out here. Like fishing, we fish out there. There aren’t a lot of places to fly-fish, but we fish for striped bass and catfish. I don’t know, I guess we go to the museum sometimes, miniature golfing, the usual stuff. What about you? I know you like archery, fishing, and football. Is there anything else going on out here? Oh, and hunting.”
“I like hiking. Exploring, you know? My parents don’t care for me doing it alone, but as long as I’m home by dusk, they put up with it. My dad got me pepper spray. A little can. It’s for in case I encounter a bear or coyote or mountain lion or something. I haven’t used it.”
“Yeah, it’s safe here. We don’t even lock our doors. Everyone knows everyone here.”
“Must be nice. We hardly know our own neighbors. You should show me around sometime. Where’s your favorite place to hike?”
“I don’t really have one. Oh, you know what?” she mused. “There’s a mine.”
“A mine? What do you mean?”
“It’s probably an old silver mine, I don’t know for sure. Cedar Hills was founded by people who mined silver here. There’s an old mine I found a few days ago. I almost didn’t see it, there’s all kinds of underbrush growing around the… what do you call where you go inside?... the entrance? It’s the same place as the exit, and there is no door.”
“Mine shaft?”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know, but I’ve heard the term before.”
“Maybe. I had thought about going inside but it started getting dark and it was pitch black inside. Maybe if I had a flashlight.”
“That sounds cool. Would you take me there sometime?”
“Okay. How cool would it be if we found some silver?”
“We can try. Should we bring shovels and do some digging? I’m not sure how mining works.”
“Me neither. Let’s just bring flashlights and check it out the first time. You’re going to be here a few more weeks, right?”
“Yes.” A few more wonderful, glorious weeks, he thought.
“Then you go back to California and we don’t see each other again?”
Theodore thought she sounded saddened by that. How wonderful would that be if it was the case? “I suppose not until next year.” It would feel like a hundred years, no doubt.