Broken Faith

by Lois Cloarec Hart

  Bemused by the onslaught of emotions, the lawyer drew in a deep breath and sternly instructed herself to watch the road. She managed to keep her eyes focused on the road ahead, but her thoughts stayed exclusively on Rhi. Marika was awed at the depth of what she was feeling. She had loved before, and been loved before, though not at the same time; but never before this small woman entered her life had she felt so completely and utterly overwhelmed by that particular emotion.

  Sneaking another glance, she smiled at how vulnerable the young woman looked sound asleep, then smirked at the thought of applying that adjective to Rhi. This was the woman who stood up to bullies-whether in her home or in an alley; who had courageously tackled a knife-armed fanatic in their office; who had fearlessly kicked a psychotic killer in Marika's defence; and who even now was defying that same killer by adamantly refusing to separate herself from the lawyer.

  Marika knew that Rhi could have bought herself at least a chance at life by abandoning her friend to Cass' influence, but she hadn't done that in Vancouver and she'd refused to consider it in Calgary, even with her life very much on the line.

  The lawyer was stunned at the loyalty Rhi extended so selflessly. In turn, she wanted nothing more than to protect this small woman with everything she had. She had already decided that if it wasn't safe to return to work at the end of their enforced holiday, she'd take a leave of absence and whisk Rhi away somewhere that Cass couldn't find them.

  Yeah, if you can talk her into it!

  Marika gave a wry chuckle. Rhi was the farthest thing from a coward, and it might be difficult to convince her that running was the appropriate tactic.

  Well, she didn't mind leaving Calgary today.

  The lawyer smiled, fully aware that the eagerness both of them had displayed so openly at leaving the city had nothing to do with getting away from Gao, and everything to do with getting away with each other.

  Marika shivered as desire coursed through her body, and she looked wistfully at the air conditioning control, but didn't want to wake the sleeping woman by increasing the flow of cool air. It was getting harder and harder not to touch Rhi all the time, and she'd noticed the younger woman was reacting in the same manner, as if there were a magnet drawing them inexorably together. Even when they'd stopped briefly at a roadside café for a sandwich and coffee, they'd sat side by side in a booth, unable to forego the sensation of their legs pressed together.

  Take it slow! You don't want to scare her!

  Aware of Rhi's inexperience, Marika was determined to let her young lover set the pace, or delay things all together, if that's what she wanted.

  Though the way she kissed me this morning...

  The thought made the lawyer smile. She was pretty certain that Rhi was as eager for their lovemaking as she was, but she was still determined to rein in her desire and let the younger woman direct their course.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud yawn from beside her, and Marika cast an affectionate glance at Rhi as she stretched and opened her eyes. Blinking a little, she sat upright and looked out the window.

  "Where are we?"

  "Almost there. The last sign I saw said thirty kilometres to Sicamous. We'll stop there for groceries before we head for the cabin."

  Rhi reached lazily for the area map, which had been folded to display the entire Shuswap region. "Kind of looks like an H, doesn't it?"

  Marika smiled. "It does. We're going to be on the south shore of Shuswap Lake proper, across from Copper Island."

  The younger woman inspected the spot that Marika had circled earlier and compared it to David's hand drawn map. "Looks like that's the least populated area."

  "Well, from what David said, the cabin has been in Conor's family for ages, long before the lakes became such a tourist hotspot, and the road in there isn't the best, but that'll work to our advantage."

  Rhi glanced at her sharply. "You don't think we'll be followed here, do you?"

  Marika eased her foot up, slowing the big car as they approached the Sicamous town limits. "No, I don't. Lee was very careful to cover our tracks and there's no way anyone could know where we went. Besides, there's a thousand kilometres of shoreline in these lakes...It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack." She smiled at Rhi. "We're just going to have an unexpected holiday; and by the time we get back, the whole mess will be cleaned up."

  Rhi gave her a delighted grin, then dropped her eyes and said shyly, "Can't think of anyone I'd rather go on a holiday with."

  "Neither can I." The words were soft, but fervent, and both women were smiling uncontrollably as Marika turned into the first large grocery store they came to.

  Once inside, Marika quickly abandoned her intent to buy a balanced menu of food groups, giving in instead to Rhi's irrepressible good humour as she tossed hot dogs, hamburger, buns, chips and pop into their basket. When she tried to protest, the younger woman just grinned at her.

  "We'll eat healthily when we're back in our home again. You're supposed to eat junk when you're on holiday."

  She started down the aisle towards the marshmallows as Marika shook her head in amusement. Exhilarated by Rhi's reference to their home, the lawyer followed, pushing the cart past an astounding display of junk food.

  When she pulled even with the younger woman, Rhi was contemplating two bags of marshmallows, and Marika almost laughed out loud at the intense look on her face.

  Thrusting the bags out, Rhi asked seriously, "Traditional white, or fruit-flavoured-what do you think?"

  "I think I love you."

  Marika was as startled by the spontaneous words as the woman she'd spoken them to. This wasn't exactly the romantic setting the lawyer had pictured for her first declaration of love, but watching Rhi's eyes soften and glow, she knew it didn't matter. She would be saying those words thousands of times from now on, and there would be many more appropriate times and locations, but she'd spoken from the heart and that was all that mattered.

  Rhi dropped both bags in the cart and stepped closer until Marika could feel the heat of her small body. It was all the lawyer could do not to take her in her arms right there.

  "I love you too. And I can hardly wait to show you how much."

  They were frozen--staring at each other--until a matron with three children rounded the corner into their aisle, and her kids started squabbling over what treats they could have.

  Quite sure that she'd been seconds away from throwing propriety to the wind, Marika stepped back and drew a deep breath. In a voice she barely recognized as hers, she suggested raggedly, "Why don't we finish up here and get going?"

  Rhi only nodded, then turned back to the shelves. Marika grinned when she saw a bag of pretzels join the marshmallows. She knew that her friend didn't even like pretzels, but she doubted that the young woman's mind was exactly on her shopping selections.

  Somehow they managed to make it to the front tills with a few healthy items in their cart. Marika paid cash, as Lee had instructed when she'd insisted they take the money she offered them. Characteristically shrugging off their objections, she'd insisted that they could pay her back when they returned, but that she didn't want any kind of electronic trail of breadcrumbs identifying their sanctuary.

  Once the bags were loaded in the Buick's trunk, Marika studied David's map one more time before returning to the road leading out of town. Within half an hour they'd turned off the main highway and were bumping over a narrow, rutted, gravel road, looking for the well-hidden turnoff to their cabin as they caught glimpses of shimmering water through the thick trees.

  "There it is!" Rhi exclaimed, pointing to a faded red plastic tie tacked to a hand-lettered sign that read "O'Reilly" nailed on a slender willow tree. Just past the tree, they saw a break in the woods where a trail wound it's way down to a well-concealed A-frame log cabin.

  Marika turned off, wincing as she heard the brush of branches and foliage along the sides of the car. The trail was barely wide enough for the Buick, but within moments they emerged
into a clearing behind the cabin. Getting out, the first thing the lawyer noticed was how much cooler it was here under the shade of the thick forest. The second thing was that even though the cabin wasn't as impressive as some of the cedar and glass chalets they'd passed on their way there, it exuded a homey, comfortable feel, and nestled into its environment as naturally as the pine and spruce trees that surrounded it.

  The women looked at each other and smiled.

  "I think I'm going to like it here," Rhi commented, as she began to pick her way down the steep path that led around the side of the cabin.

  Marika followed, close on her heels. They rounded the corner of the house and saw the lake stretching out in front of them, shining in the late afternoon sun.

  The area between the front of the cabin and the lake was also steep, as the cabin had been built into the side of a hill. Though the beach was private, with no nearby neighbours, it was also small. Littered with large rocks, it was edged by a thick, old dead tree that had fallen from the side of the hill and now lay half in and half out of the lake, the wood washed white by years of pounding wind, waves and rain. A short wharf jutted about eight feet out into the water, and a hut that Marika assumed was the wood hut David had referred to was on the edge of the property. Her eyes drifted to a brick lined fire pit on the edge of the small beach, and she grinned as she pictured them roasting marshmallows there.

  It was not a refined, elegant locale, but Marika already liked it for its raw beauty. Turning back to look at the cabin, she saw that the top floor of the A-frame had a walk out balcony, and the lower floor had large picture windows on either side of the front door. A stone chimney on one side of the cabin suggested the presence of a fireplace.

  "Shall we take a look inside?"

  Marika smiled down at Rhi. "Why don't we grab our bags and get them stowed away. That ice cream you insisted on isn't going to last forever in the trunk."

  "Oh, like I had to twist your arm," Rhi scoffed amiably as she retraced their steps back up the path.

  The lawyer chuckled. She knew full well that the younger woman would never have to try very hard to get her way, and she was quite content being completely, utterly wrapped around Rhi's little finger.

  When they retrieved their suitcases out of the Buick, Marika noticed a small rear door to the cabin and was glad they wouldn't have to carry everything back down the steep trail to the front door.

  She went first, unlocking the door and pushing it open onto a short hall that led to a spacious great room at the front of the cabin. A quick inspection revealed a washroom on the left side of the hall, complete with a claw-footed tub, and a large bedroom with four sets of bunks on the right side.

  They walked into the great room and stopped short in admiration of the view through the big picture windows. The thick forest framed the calm waters of the lake, and Marika was struck by how postcard perfect it looked.

  "That's going to be an awesome view at sunset," Rhi breathed beside her.

  "Mmm hmm," Marika murmured. "Be beautiful first thing in the morning too."

  The young woman grinned. "But Lee said we didn't have to get up early."

  The mood broken, the lawyer laughed and set her suitcase on the floor. "Why don't you stow our bags while I go grab some of the groceries? I don't want that ice cream to melt."

  Casually she turned away, knowing full well from David's description that the master bedroom was the only room upstairs under the peaked roof, but leaving their sleeping arrangements for Rhi to decide. She was almost completely certain that her friend would take both bags to the upper floor, but she was determined that she wouldn't react with dismay if that weren't the case.

  By the time she returned with several bags in hand, Rhi met her in the hall as she headed out to the car for the rest of the groceries. With admirable off-handedness, the younger woman remarked, "I put our bags upstairs. I figured we could unpack later."

  "Sounds good," Marika said, a huge smile on her face as she made her way to the spacious kitchen that took up one half of the great room. Guess that answers that question. She could barely contain her delight, her hand trembling slightly as she set items in the old fridge.

  When Rhi returned with the rest of the groceries, they worked silently to put them all away, stealing glances at each other as they did. Once they were done, they faced each other.

  Marika watched as Rhi jammed her hand into her pockets and fidgeted a bit. Understanding the reason for the young woman's patent nervousness, she asked, "Are you hungry yet? We could make a bonfire in the pit and roast wieners and marshmallows."

  "Um, I'd like that...but later. I'm not that hungry yet." Rhi smiled shyly. "Would you like to walk along the beach a bit, maybe stretch out our muscles after that car ride?"

  "I'd like that," Marika assured her gently and, placing one hand softly on Rhi's back, guided her to the front door.

  Once they were outside, Rhi regained her exuberance, bouncing over the rocky ground to the lakeshore as Marika followed at a more sedate pace. They headed away from the fallen tree, ambling along the shoreline, which varied from boulder strewn to fine grain sand to near marsh like conditions. It took twenty minutes before they passed their nearest neighbour, a squat, mostly stone structure that loomed over its patch of hillside.

  "Ours is prettier," Rhi said confidently, looking at the questionable architecture.

  Marika laughed. "I won't disagree there."

  The lawyer was enjoying herself immensely, walking at the side of her soon-to-be lover, taking in the beautiful scenery and the plethora of boats out on the expansive waters of the lakes, from graceful sailboats to raucous speedboats to the ungainly looking houseboats that were so popular on the Shuswap waterways. She felt herself relaxing, letting all cares drop away as her focus narrowed to the picturesque lakeshore and her enthusiastic companion.

  Rhi stopped every few metres, finding yet another item to examine, from the perfect skipping stone to an exotic looking chunk of driftwood to a tiny thumbnail sized frog that she gently carried back to Marika to display.

  The lawyer admired every new find, though she shied away from accepting the frog, telling Rhi that she'd pass on that privilege. The younger woman grinned and carefully returned the tiny creature to the water, bounding on ahead to see what lay around the next corner.

  Marika was entranced, but also slightly saddened, by her companion's childlike delight in the shoreline's treasures. As she watched Rhi stoop to examine something new, she wondered if her friend had ever even been to a lake. When Rhi returned with a particularly fine shell to show her, she asked that question.

  Cheerfully, Rhi shook her head. "Nope, Mom and Dad used to take me to the lakeside park in Toronto, but Lake Ontario is pretty dirty, and it's not nearly as pretty as this. They'd let me swim in the pool at the park, but Mom didn't like me going in the lake." She paused and looked out at the crystal waters lapping at the shore, every stone of the lakebed clearly visible through the gentle waves. "I've certainly never seen anything like this though."

  They'd been exploring for almost an hour, and Marika was about to suggest that they turn back, when they rounded a bend and saw a houseboat nosing slowly into shore. Several women were pulling on thick heavy ropes stretching out from each corner of the boat, and Rhi ran to help the woman on the rope closest to them.

  Marika followed quickly, but by the time she reached them, they'd already looped the rope around a thick tree and the tall stranger was tying it off with an impressive set of knots. Finished securing the line, she waved at the woman who'd been steering the boat from the upper deck, a captain's hat pushed rakishly back on short, straight, strawberry blonde hair. "Good job, Karen. You can shut it down now."

  The captain waved in acknowledgement and throttled down the engine. Marika stared in amazement at the apparently all-female crew swarming all over the ship. She estimated there were over a dozen of them, but it was hard to keep count.

  "Thanks for the help," the tall woman said wit
h a smile, her keen, intelligent eyes taking in both of them.

  "No problem," Rhi answered with an amiable shrug. "Glad to help."

  "Are you...some kind of club?" Marika asked curiously, still watching the women on the boat.

  The tall woman laughed. "No, just a group of old friends that gets together every two years for a reunion." Turning to look affectionately at the boat, where two women were dragging out a metal gangplank, she added, "We all grew up together and went to school together. Now we're scattered, but we always come back together again." Facing Rhi and Marika, she smiled. "For one weekend we leave husbands, kids, jobs and everything else behind, and act like a bunch of teenagers again."

  "Minus the making out." A teasing voice came from behind her as a stocky silver-haired woman climbed the shore to where the trio stood. "Hi, sorry to interrupt, but they need you to turn on the gas, Janene."

  "My assigned duty," the tall woman grinned. "Thanks again for the help."

  She walked away with her friend, and Marika heard the shorter one quip, "Well at least your assigned duty doesn't include getting the damned boat going every morning. I'll trade you any day!"

  Watching the two friends laughing together as they returned to the boat, she was struck by nostalgia for what she'd never had. "Must be nice," she murmured, and found Rhi watching her understandingly.

  "Yeah," her companion agreed. Glancing over at the boat, she added, "They all look in their forties, so they must've been friends for a lot of years."

  Marika turned back in the direction from which they had come, and Rhi matched her pace, not stopping to explore this time as they started quietly back towards their cabin.

  Lost in thought, the lawyer had no idea how long they'd walked before her companion asked softly, "Do you s'pose that we'd have had friends like that if we hadn't come from Broken Faith?"