by Laer Carroll
Soon they were all in swim wear covered with shorts and tee shirts and wearing running shoes. The other two women applied sun block as did two of the men. Jane did not. No matter how much sun she never burned. She just turned browner.
They walked down to a dock where they could rent boats and fishing equipment. There was also a restaurant with covered outdoor seating which sold fish dishes and hamburgers and fries and beer and wine as well as fruit drinks and soft drinks.
They rented two motor boats. Two of the men and Nicole, an athletic woman who claimed to be a New Orleans swamp rat, claimed to be experts at handling power boats. The boat handlers personally picked out two boats which they assured everyone they could pilot.
Well stocked with drinks and snacks they set out to explore the reservoir.
Soon it was clear there was so much to explore it would take years to do it well. From the air the reservoir would look like a 30-mile long dragon with a long raised tail facing east. In that direction 150 miles away was San Antonio. The water's edges were very irregular and there were numerous small islands.
Five minutes from dock Jane spoke loudly to Klaus, a blond body builder type who was her boat captain: "Slow to a stop!"
Then she turned to her right and back to signal Nicole in the other boat to follow suit. When the two boats were a few feet away and rocking gently in the swells raised by the southeasterly wind she spoke.
"We're going too slowly. Let's just go straight ahead, at a moderate speed, and no jinking about, and only slow or stop when we see really interesting stuff."
Nicole said, "Aye, aye, Captain!" Klaus said, "Arrrhhh!"
"Very funny." Jane waved a hand dramatically westward. "Ahead three quarters! At 'em me hearties!"
Nicole pushed her throttles quickly forward and her boat rocketed forward, its prow tilted high. Klaus followed her as abruptly. Quickly however Nicole slowed to let Klaus take his lead as before. Thereafter they proceeded at an average speed of 10 miles per hour, enough to raise a moderate but not unpleasant breeze which was welcome as the temperature soon rose to hover at 100 degrees.
A half hour or so later they saw ahead of them a bridge linking the two south and north edges of the reservoir.
The stared at it as it came closer. Kate/The Princess spoke. She had her tablet unfolded in her lap and had been squinting at it under the brim of her big floppy hat. She'd taken off her aviator sunglasses to better see its screen.
"That's Hwy 90 where it comes north from Del Rio. Hello again, 90, alas we knew ye well."
It rose above them on tall concrete columns. They were in momentary shade, then in sunlight again, making them blink at the sudden contrast despite their sunglasses. Then ahead of them they saw rusty brown iron structures which supported a railroad. Again there was the sudden bright-dim and dim-bright visual contrasts.
They wiped tears from their eyes again. Klaus turned the boat gently southward to come around a finger of northern land intruding into the reservoir. Then he turned westward again to go deeper into the reservoir.
Kate said, "We're right over the border between Mexico and the US. Imagine that: two alien civilizations so close together, so far apart."
"Watch it, everybody," said Ricky/Tokyo Boy. "The Princess has been reading philosophy again."
Kate pointed left, directly south. "See that little white stretch of concrete? That's the dam on the Rio Grande which holds all this water back."
They all stared at the mile-distant structure. It seemed strange to Jane that such a small item, small at this distance, could make such a huge difference.
Ricky said dreamily, "I am in a shiny black flight suit with evil red accents and a helmet that makes me a snouted monster. I dive, maybe in a T-6, fire a single small missile, and zoom up into the sky. Leaving behind me clouds of smoke billowing skyward."
Kate said, "Rick has been binging James Bond movies again."
Klaus, steadfastly watching ahead, said, "Then comes Jane Bond, bearing a suspicious resemblance to the Captain, maybe in another T-6. She wears a silky white flight suit with a white helmet. She fires a single small missile at the first plane--"
Ricky said, "--which twists and turns in agile acrobatics, trying to evade the missile and machine gun fire."
Klaus had cut the engine to idle and they moved steadily westward. He continued with the story of the Avenging Angel, who was relentless in pursuit.
Ricky had the minion of an evil industrialist seeking world domination counter attack. For long minutes an elaborate and unrealistic dog fight twisted and turned over the border between Mexico and the US.
"Stop! Stop!" said Jane. "I can't take the torture any more!"
Ricky threw his hands far apart, say "Poooshh!" Klaus had The Avenging Angel likewise go "Poooshh!"
"Head back. I want hot dogs!"
"Aye, aye, Captain!" "Arrrhhh!"
<>
The day-rental boats surrendered, the party of nine returned to their cabins to pee and otherwise get ready for a fast-food feast. They re-adjourned in the canvas-covered courtyard shared by their trailers and five others. Three families had arrived since they'd left, filling all the five trailers. They quickly mingled with the cadets.
The women cooked up a shared barbecue cooking experience with the almost instinctual house-holding skill that had always baffled Jane. The several stone tables acquired white table cloths with corners held down by various cans and jars. Soon the three barbecue grills had various meat cooking, all tended by men who apparently were outdoor chefs par excellence.
One of those was Ricky. "Hey, my family has a food franchise of over a dozen restaurants back in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I could cook gourmet when I was in the first grade."
That might be an exaggeration but he was flipping meat with easy skill, chatting with the other cooks about mysterious culinary matters.
The three families were related or friends and had a dozen kids from eight or so up to thirteen. They were chasing and tagging each other in shrieking abandon in the green sports field beside the camping area. A girl of sixteen listening to in-ear phones watched over them with a Put Upon but Resignedly Responsible air.
Jane ambled over to stand a few feet away to watch the kids too. After a few minutes the girl pulled her ear earphones out of her ears and said, "What!"
"Nothing." It was pretty hard to rebel against that if the girl wanted to rebel.
She put her earphones back in her ears and listened for a few more minutes till she removed them again and stowed them in a pouch on belt.
"You like music?"
"I love music."
"You know how to play?"
"I'm pretty good."
"I'm going to be a composer some day."
"Takes a lot of study."
"I know. I'm taking music in high school, theory and band practice. I play the piano keyboard."
"The electronic ones have gotten so sophisticated you could practically play an entire symphony on them."
"Yeah. I brought both of mine and speakers just in case."
"In case you wanted to play for people?"
"But they don't want to listen."
"They said that?"
"No. I just know it."
"We'll ask them. AFTER we eat."
"Of course! I've got to take care of the kids. I'm not a child to just walk away from them."
"Of course not. I knew right away that you were more grown up than anyone might think."
They talked music for a while until everyone was called to eat. The kids rushed from the field, several of them drive-by-hugging "Zo-ee" as they passed her. She and Jane followed at the pace of mature adults.
Controlled pandemonium segued into everyone eating on lawn furniture and easily portable furniture taken from the trailers. The cadets had all been adopted singly and in pairs by various family members. Ricky, for instance, was clustered with the various communal chefs trading recipes or whatever.
Jane had earlier told her crew to can the C
aptain label and their military background, suggesting that instead they say they were college kids traveling together for the summer. It was after all the truth.
They were asked where they were from. Texas A&M? University of Houston? University of Texas at Austin? UT El Paso?
Each cadet nodded and said solemnly that THAT was a good institution. Soon everyone who cared believed they knew just which institution the cadets belonged to.
As the meal came closer to a close several of the children were taken inside for naps and the older ones sequestered at one edge of the picnic area to play computer games. Zoey brought out her two keyboards and she and Jane powered them on in a different part of the covered area to admire and explore the devices.
Zoey began to play a pop tune and Jane joined in. The built-in speakers of the keyboards were moderately powerful but turned low so the playing would not bother anyone. Nevertheless Klaus ambled over with the electric guitar he'd brought and began to play along with them.
Both he and Zoey were competent and it was not long before they were joined by Kate. Though her first and last love was opera she knew most other genres of music as well. After a half dozen pieces Jane said, "Enough! Let's save it for this evening. For now let's go play with the fishes."
She borrowed Zoey and one of her aunts came along. All the cadets (Anthony dragged away from throwing around a football) removed their outer clothing, visited bathrooms to empty out, and trooped down to the docks with towels and other aquatic supplies. More than a half dozen of the younger contingent of the three related (or friendly) families came along.
Several other groups had bypassed the trailer park to rent kayaks, sail and powered boats, and jet skis. Already they had dispersed widely, several out of sight but the others grouped into distant areas on the several miles of the expanse of the lake.
The cadets all wanted to try jet skis. Swamp Rat/Nicole took command, claiming to be an expert, and gave a brief lesson in safety and operation of the aquatic motor cycles. Shortly they began to ease out from the dock, one of the family women behind Klaus on his cycle, Zoey behind Jane on hers, and so on. In all an even dozen of the cycles headed out.
Jane had never been on one but her near-mystical connection with machines had her expert within a quarter of an hour. She distanced herself and her passenger from the others and began to do figure eights and Ss at higher and higher speeds. Finally she realized she was scaring Zoey. She pretended she was getting tired and would like a rest.
The girl said, "OK. If you really want to. I could take a break too."
<>
Shortly Nicole asked if anyone would like to play water polo.
Several people did. A few decided to rest a bit before trying it. This included Zoey. Jane pretended she needed a rest too and anyway wanted to watch the water polo.
The players resolved into two teams of three drivers with a backseat passenger wielding a broom-like "polo stick." It had a rounded soft-plastic "brush" which could still smart if it hit someone just right. The governors on the cycles were set to limit speeds to five miles an hour. At this rate a "gallop" was more like an amble. The sedate maneuvers caused much hilarity among the onlookers, some of whom were recent arrivals.
After about a half hour referee Nicole declared everyone expert enough to double the governors' limit to ten miles an hour. The games grew more brisk and exciting, to onlookers as well as players.
There were calls to speed up the sport more. Nicole firmly ruled No and Jane backed her up. Newcomers who wanted to play the game left or rented jet skis to go elsewhere.
The cadets were tired of jet skis. They surrendered theirs and they and their friends retired to a pavilion a little above the pier where they could have drinks and snacks and enjoy the sights shielded by a canvas roof.
As they settled into their seats a shadow passed over the water and they heard the faint sounds of a helicopter high up. Klaus went to the edge of the pavilion to shield his eyes and look up. He came back to sit down again with the group.
"Blackhawk," said. "Probably out of Laughlin." He took a sip of his beer.
"How do you know that?" Zoey wanted to know.
Kate said, "He's studying aeronautical engineering." Which was true. He'd be in the last year at the Academy when they returned and planned to graduate with that degree.
"Oh." Zoey looked at him with more respect.
After a time everyone was rested and decided they wanted to try water skis and ski jumps. This time Nicole gave up being an expert overseer and became a ski-jumping enthusiast. Klaus was drafted as the driver who pulled her skis. Most of the group took to the water as either boat drivers or skiers. Jane mostly sat this out, though she did try one long circle and a modest jump off the water-raft ski ramp.
The sun had begun to wester when everyone retired to their trailers to get ready for dinner. The women had decided to make it a chili-dog and chili-burger dinner but someone had also brought the makings for mashed potatoes and a salad.
As the meal was winding down Jane called out, "Hey, anyone mind if Zoey and I put on a little concert? And Klaus, Kate, you want in on the action?"
Everyone was enthusiastic or pretended to be, so the four of them set up a little quartet at one end of the picnic area. A couple of men moved the one moveable table out of the way to provide a little dance floor if anyone wanted to dance.
The musical setup was simple. At the back separated by a dozen feet were the two electronic keyboards. With Zoey's consent Jane got the larger with more range and effects, saying it was an instrument Zoey wanted to grow into but was still working on. Kate and Klaus would stand in the center a bit forward, he with his guitar and she with the microphone Klaus had thought to bring. He readily gave it to Kate, however, knowing her abilities.
He had brought a modest speaker system which was powerful enough for the small venue. He plugged in his guitar and microphone and the two keyboards, and placed the speakers far to the left and right of the little pavilion. Then he tested it out, fixing a few problems.
Kate had been conferring with Jane, knowing her musical background. Zoey did not but recognized that Jane was an experienced musician.
Soon everything was set up and the audience was suitably comfortable. Kate, dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt, as was the rest of the little band, spoke over the mike.
"Hello, everybody. Tonight we bring you the Kate-and-Klaus quartet. With us are Zoey and Jane on keyboards. We'll present a short program, then take requests. Is everybody ready?!"
There was enthusiastic response.
In the middle of it Jane set the bass side of her keyboard to sound like a drum and began to play the beginning to a piece of music everyone knew because a popular rock group had used it to begin one of their recent hits
Brrrummp brrrummp BUMP. Brrrummp brrrummp BUMP. Brrrummp brrrummp BUMP.
Then Klaus cut in with a wild guitar piece which screamed up and down the scale and back again. He played for one minute then abruptly stopped.
Zoey waited for a few instants then began to play a simple piano version of a boogie woogie musical piece, bouncy and happy. After a minute she pointed dramatically at Jane. She took over and played the same passage pitched more toward the bass. Then she pointed dramatically at Zoey who played the passage pitched exactly as before.
They repeated this swapping back and forth, Jane trying to rattle Zoey by changing pitches and Zoey firmly returning to the pitch she liked. Finally Jane gave up with an annoyed look.
The third piece was "I Love Rock-and-Roll" with Klaus on the guitar, Jane backing him with her keyboard set to sound like a guitar, and Zoey doing drum duty on her keyboard. Kate sang the words: "I LOOVE - rockandroll" etc.
They next essayed an oldie disco piece which had become newly popular when New Disco made a partial comeback well over a decade ago.
The next was a very danceable country-and-western tune.
They ended with Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" sung by Kate. Surprising everyone, i
ncluding Jane, Klaus slung his guitar onto his back and did a respectable moonwalk which would excited shouts of laughter and clapping.
Then they took a break.
Returning for their second gig they took requests from an audience that had doubled because other people in the area had joined the trailer-park group.
Zoey didn't know some of the tunes. However Jane quickly found the score of each online and downloaded it to Zoey's SuperSmart for viewing on her vear. Given a minute to quickly review the score she was able to join in.
A half hour of playing tired the players enough that they begged off more performances. Visitors grumbled but thanked them and left.
Klaus with Kate as his gofer tore down the simple setup he'd created and thanked Zoey for bringing out her keyboards and adding them to the setup. Then he with Kate "helping" him disappeared to stow away his equipment.
Jane noted they did not quickly return.
Zoey noticed too. "Are they an item?"
"Don't know. As long as they use protection I don't care. They're friends. I want them to be happy."
"He is awfully cute. I thought he was a dummy at first, but he's not."
"No. A very smart dude. What are your plans? You're what, 16? That's...sophomore in high school?"
"Junior. I skipped a grade in middle school. I'm going to be a composer and musician like Jane Kuznetsov."
Jane debated revealing who she was, decided not too.
"Why?"
"At first it was just hero worship, like a lot of kids, especially girls. But I took a few lessons and it just seemed natural to me. The more I studied the more it seemed right."
"Art of any kind is a tough, tough business."
"I know. People have pointed that out to me. But I read some biographies of successful artists and learned that lesson maybe before anyone said anything to me the first time."
"The key seems to be to stay true to your unique self. Don't get pushed too far from what you want to do, but be flexible. And find trustworthy, REALLY trustworthy friends."
"Like you and the other college kids, right?"