Happy Campers

by Karen D. Badger

  “I guess I can understand her fear, Cat. I mean, we knew we were okay, but she and Fred were clueless. They could only think the worst and hope for the best. Maybe her reaction sheds light on some of her odd behavior lately.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, when something scares me, one of my first reactions is anger. Maybe Billie’s anger is actually rooted in fear.”

  Cat sipped her coffee. “I’ve never thought of it that way. We’ll have to talk to Doctor Connor about it at our next appointment.”

  “I wouldn’t wait for your next appointment. Today is Saturday, and tomorrow we pack up and go home. If I were you, I’d call and make an appointment first thing Monday morning.”

  “I’d never admit it to Billie, but I’m looking forward to going home. I’ve had as much bad luck as I can handle in two weeks. Getting lost in the woods and scaring the shit out of Billie, Fred, and the kids is not the way I wanted to end this vacation.”

  “Amen to that.”

  A crack of thunder rattled the campsite. Cat lowered her chin to her chest and shook her head. “I can’t believe it.” She looked into the sky. “Can you cut us a break here?”

  Another clap of thunder was followed by large drops of water, lots of large drops of water.

  “Give it a few minutes. It’s coming down so hard, it can’t last for very long,” Jen reasoned. Her prognostication proved to be correct when the torrential rains let up five minutes later.

  “Maybe we should rouse the troops and get them in here for breakfast, in case it starts to rain hard again,” Cat suggested.

  “Good idea.”

  Cat and Jen returned to the screen house a few minutes later and began breakfast preparations while, one by one, the rest of their families filtered in and sat at the picnic table. Cat filled the juice glasses, then grabbed the coffee pot. She filled Fred’s cup and then Billie’s, gently hip checking Billie before kissing her on the head. “Good morning, love.”

  “Grrrr.”

  Cat returned to the stove where Jen was cooking scrambled eggs. “It’s pretty chilly over there,” she said. “I guess, now that she’s knows we’re okay, it’s time to be angry instead of scared.”

  “You’re getting the cold shoulder too, huh? Fred hasn’t said two words to me since we went to bed last night.”

  “I guess I can’t blame them for being scared, but they have to give us some credit, too. After all, we are adults, not children.”

  Another loud clap of thunder filled the morning air. “Not again,” Cat said.

  “Maybe the rain will hold off long enough for us to eat breakfast and head to the arcade in the recreation hall.”

  A deafening clap of thunder heralded the torrential rains that once more fell suddenly from the sky.

  “Well, isn’t this a fine kettle of fish?” Billie said.

  Cat tried to suppress the sudden urge to laugh, the sudden urge that often comes on the heels of a tragic event too incredible to be believed. Her eyes met Billie’s, and a grin split her face. Billie threw up her hands in frustration. “What’s so funny!”

  “This. This is so funny.” Cat pointed to the rain and their drenched campsite. She looked at Jen and saw that she was struggling not to laugh. Within moments, the laughter could be heard above the pounding rain.

  When their merriment subsided, Billie suggested, “What do you say we call it quits a day early and head home?”

  An hour later, they had everything on both sites crammed into their two vehicles. It didn’t matter that everything was soaking wet; it didn’t matter that a layer of mud covered everything.

  They were going home.

  Chapter 38: If It Weren’t For Bad Luck, We’d Have No Luck At All

  “So, tell me, ladies, why are you here today?” Doctor Connor said. “Your next appointment wasn’t scheduled for another week.”

  Billie squeezed Cat’s hand and looked to her for encouragement. Cat smiled and nodded.

  “Well, Doctor Connor, we took your advice and went on a two-week vacation.”

  “Wonderful. What did you do?”

  “We went camping, tent camping, with our best friends and their children,” Cat replied. “I wasn’t aware how much of a sacrifice that was for Billie until after I made the reservations.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Apparently, Billie doesn’t like camping. I know, I know. It sounds downright un-American, but it’s true. I was really touched by her willingness to go despite her reservations.”

  “Camping sounds like a relaxing vacation. How was it?”

  “Anything but relaxing.”

  “Really? Tell me about it.”

  “Well, the ‘fun’ started just a couple of hours into the trip with a flat tire on the interstate highway,” Billie said.

  For the next several minutes, Billie chronicled the nightmarish two-week camping trip for Doctor Connor, explaining in detail every unbelievable misadventure. Cat was amused by the look of shock and disbelief on the Doctor’s face as Billie introduced each new catastrophe.

  “Okay, stop,” Doctor Connor said. “Are all your vacations like this?”

  “I swear we must have bad karma,” Cat said. “Bad luck followed us everywhere.”

  “Billie, how did all of this make you feel?” Doctor Connor asked.

  “Angry, anxious, impatient. All of the above.”

  “How about fearful?” Cat suggested.

  Billie’s eyes narrowed. “The only time I felt fearful was when you and Jen didn’t come back from your hike.”

  Cat took Billie’s hand in her own. “I’ve never seen you so distraught, Billie.”

  “Wait a minute,” Doctor Connor interrupted. “This is important. Tell me more about the hike.”

  “Near the end of the trip, Jen and I decided to go on a day hike, while Billie and Fred took the kids to the movies, only somehow we veered from the trail and wound up lost. Jen called Fred’s phone to tell him we would be back later than we thought, but they didn’t get the message until much later. By that time, Jen had ended up almost falling off a cliff while scouting out the area. Unfortunately, her cell phone did fall off the cliff, so we lost our only way of communicating with Billie and Fred. It was almost dusk when we decided to build a lean-to and spend the night in the woods.”

  “Fred and I joined the search party the next day to look for them. I have never been so scared in my life. We searched all day with no luck. All I could think of was that I had lost Cat again.”

  “Lost Cat again?” Doctor Connor probed.

  “Yes. The feelings of loneliness and anxiety I felt when I woke up after the surgery came flooding back. I felt so alone then. Part of me knew I had lost something very important, but I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know until much later, when my memories began to return.” Billie wiped tears from her eye. “When they didn’t come back from their hike, all I could think about was that I had lost Cat again. The sadness was overwhelming. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

  “How did you react to that fear, Billie?” Doctor Connor asked.

  “With anger. I was so angry with Cat, when she did return, all I could do was yell at her and cry. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that it scared me. I’m so afraid of losing her again.”

  Cat knelt on the floor in front of Billie and took Billie’s face between her palms. “Sweetheart, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I love you with all my heart. Yes, you can be a pain in the ass at times, but there is nothing you can do to make me stop loving you. Please believe that.”

  Billie wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Cat. I’m sorry for all the times I lost patience with you, and for all the times I was short tempered. It wasn’t you, it was me. I was so afraid of doing something that would make you leave. I can’t lose you. I can’t.”

  “Well, you get those thoughts right out of your mind. Like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”

  “I love you, Cat.”
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br />   “Right back atcha.”

  Doctor Connor rose to her feet. “So, it appears the camping trip was a successful vacation, after all. Despite your run of ‘bad luck,’ as you put it, I think you’ve discovered the root of Billie’s anger. It’s been fear, all along. Fear is the cause; anger is the symptom. That we can work on.”

  Epilogue: Déjà Vu—Not!

  Cat and Billie were sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast and enjoying each other’s company, when the door opened and Jen popped in. “Morning, ladies.” Jen helped herself to the last cup of coffee, and then set up a new pot to brew. Cat and Billie looked at each other and smiled as they watched their friend make herself at home.

  “Good Morning, Jen,” Billie said.

  “Want some breakfast?” Cat offered.

  “No, just ate.” Jen placed a kiss on Cat’s cheek and stole a piece of bacon. She circled around Billie, deposited a kiss on her cheek as well, then sat down between the pair and helped herself to a piece of toast from Billie’s plate.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to eat?” Billie asked wryly.

  “No. Really, I just ate.” She happily chewed on the toast. “What are you two up to today?”

  Billie and Cat looked at each other. “Don’t know.” Cat shrugged. “I haven’t really thought much about it.”

  Jen looked at Billie, who also shrugged. “Boy, you two are bundles of enthusiasm!”

  “Why? What are you doing today?” Cat asked.

  Billie placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “Yeah, what are you doing today, Jen?”

  Jean grinned. “Same thing you are. Don’t know.”

  “Are we in a rut, or what?” Cat commented.

  “What’s Fred doing today?” Billie asked.

  The three women looked at each other and grinned. “Don’t know!” they all exclaimed together, laughing.

  “Hey, I’ve got a thought,” Jen said. “Since we’re all doing the same thing, why don’t we do it together?”

  “Cool!” Cat said.

  “Go for it,” Billie piped in.

  The back door opened, admitting Fred, followed by Stevie and Karissa.

  “Seth and Tara are upstairs, sweeties. Go on up,” Cat said to the children.

  Stevie and Karissa immediately took off into the living room, while Fred helped himself to a cup of coffee. “Morning,” he said to everyone. “What’s up?”

  “Don’t know!” all three woman said at once as they dissolved into laughter.

  Fred looked at the three of them as though they were nuts, then into his coffee cup. “Okay, what did you put in the coffee?”

  “Have a seat, Fred.” Billie pushed a chair out with her foot.

  Fred accepted the invitation and joined the women at the table. “Really, what’s up?” he repeated.

  “We were just sitting here discussing how exciting our lives are these days,” Cat said.

  “Boring is the word for it,” Jen piped in. “We really need to do something to get out of this rut.”

  “What do you mean boring?” Fred said. “What do I mean?” Jen exclaimed. “Hell, Fred, it’s Saturday night and none of us has a date,” she said pointedly.

  “Huh?”

  Jen placed a kiss on Fred’s head. “Sometimes you are so dense. Why do I keep you around?”

  “’Cause you can’t resist my good looks and charm?”

  “Oh, please.” Jen groaned. “Look, here we are, four healthy adults, five healthy children, and what are we doing? Sitting around pulling lint out of our belly buttons. Sheesh. How boring is that? We need some excitement in our lives, like maybe another camping trip.”

  “Been there, done that,” Billie said dryly. “Gotta admit, it wasn’t boring.”

  “It wasn’t so bad, Billie. Your shrink recommended it after all,” Jen pointed out.

  Billie looked at Cat; Cat looked at Billie. A silent look of agreement passed between them. Billie picked up the half grapefruit from her plate and shoved it in Jen’s face, twisting it around, and then letting it fall onto the table.

  Astonishment written all over her face, Jen sat there with grapefruit pulp hanging from her nose.

  Fred’s eyes bulged out.

  Cat covered her mouth with her hands to keep from laughing.

  Billie leaned toward Jen. “Now, tell me, Jen, was that exciting enough for you?”

  “Oh, yeah.” The grapefruit pulp jiggled as Jen nodded her head. She reached for a napkin to clean her face. “So, I guess this means no more camping trips, huh?”

  The look on Billie’s face spoke volumes.

  “Okay. I can take a hint... no more camping trips,” Jen confirmed. “What would you say to a cruise, or a trip to Disneyland, or... or...”

  Billie rose to her feet, a devilish look on her face.

  “Billie, I don’t like that look on your face. Billie, I’m warning you.” Jen rose to her feet.

  Jen managed to escape from the house before Billie could reach her. She cleared the porch steps in one jump and was off and running across the yard, trying to escape the madwoman nipping at her heels.

  Cat stood to watch the race across the back yard, cringing when Billie made the defensive tackle. She returned to her seat and gave Fred a sympathetic look. “Well, what are you planning for today?”

  “Don’t know,” he replied. “You?”

  “Don’t know!” Cat answered, sending them both into peals of laughter.

  Author Karen Badger Photo Credit: Song of Myself

  Photography, Provincetown, MA

  About the Author

  Karen D. Badger is the author of On A Wing And A Prayer, Yesterday Once More (a 2009 Golden Crown Literary Award winner for Speculative Fiction), In A Family Way, Unchained Memories, and Happy Campers: Books I, II and III of the Commitment Series, and her current novel, The Blue Feather, all published by Blue Feather Books, Ltd, and re-released by Badger Bliss Books.

  Born and raised in Vermont, Karen is the second of five children raised by a fiercely independent mother, who remains one of her best friends to this day. Karen earned her B.A. in 1978 in Theater and in Elementary Education, and in 1994, earned a B.S. in mathematics. In addition to her novels, Karen is the author of many technical papers on photomask manufacturing, which she has presented at numerous semiconductor industry conferences, and is the holder if several technical patents. Karen is currently in her 37th year as an Advisory Engineer with the IBM Corporation in Vermont.

  Karen and her wife, Barb (a retired Lt. Co. in the US Air Force) live in the beautiful state of Vermont—home of Ben and Jerry's and civil unions. They spend their spare time with family: sons Heath and Dane, their respective ladies, Kacie and Daisy, and their three grandchildren, Kyren, Ariana and Ellie, as well as doing home improvement projects on both their homes in Vermont and New Mexico. They also enjoy camping, kayaking, motorcycling and singing Karaoke.