by Nance Sparks
Chapter Nineteen
The ringer on the room phone pulled Riley out of a deep sleep. She stumbled over to the desk and picked up the receiver.
“Hello.” She rubbed at her eyes.
“Yes, hello, Ms. Canon, this is Monica at the front desk. You asked to receive a call if the lights were active. You certainly timed this trip perfectly. It’s a new moon and the lights are on full display right now.”
“Thank you so much for calling. I really appreciate the heads up.” Riley’s heart skipped a beat. The moment she’d been waiting for. The need for sleep evaporated instantly. The northern lights were active. “Andi, wake up.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Andrea rolled over and sat up.
“Nothing’s wrong. Would you get up and get dressed? Bathing suit first and then warm clothes.”
“Seriously, Riley? It’s the middle of the night. Come back to bed.” Andrea flopped backward on the bed.
Riley turned off the small lamp and opened the blackout curtains covering the window. The room filled with a green glow.
“Andi, look.” Riley stood there mesmerized.
“Oh my, it’s so beautiful. I wondered if I’d get to see that.” Andrea got up and stood next to Riley looking out the window.
“I know it was a long day, but by chance are you up for an adventure?” Riley had looked forward to this moment for as long as she could remember. It had always been a dream and now she was going to get to share it with Andrea.
“Suits first? Well, alrighty, let’s do this.” Andrea kissed Riley’s cheek and moved into action.
Riley too dressed quickly, mentally making a note of everything she needed to have with her. She couldn’t get outside quickly enough.
The parking lot was already full of people eager to witness the aurora borealis in all its brilliant glory. Bright green and blue with hints of pink and purple floated above, shifting and weaving in a fluid rhythm. It was as if a fluorescent box of crayons had been tossed up into the sky and then exploded into thousands of glistening and glowing pieces swirling high above her head. The Cree people, indigenous to Canada, call the northern lights the Dance of the Spirits. It certainly looked like an ancestral spiritual dance to her. She’d read everything she could get her hands on about this magical phenomenon and how to enjoy the experience from this specific location. From her research, Riley knew the path she sought was off to the left at the end of the parking lot. She kept a tight grip on the rolling tote with one hand and reached for Andrea’s hand with the other.
“Come on, let’s go this way. I have the perfect setting. I’m so excited.”
The path was a couple hundred feet long and opened up into a clearing surrounded by tall pines. A hint of steam rose into the cool night air at the end of the path.
“What is this place?” Andrea wrapped her arm around Riley’s waist.
“It’s a hot spring. I was going to show you tomorrow, but now works even better. May I take a photo of you in the water beneath the northern lights before others start to get the same idea?” Riley asked.
Without a word, Andrea began to strip down to her swimsuit. Riley opened the tote and set up three tripods. She mounted a camera body on each and then fit two with wide-angle lenses and one with a portrait lens. Finally, she connected a wireless shutter remote to the camera with the portrait lens and took a few test shots. Her heart was hammering in her chest. The images on the display screen were flawless. The steam was calm enough not to interfere with the shot. Absolute perfection.
“Riley, strip down and get in here. The water is unbelievable. It’s like getting to take a steaming hot bath beneath a nighttime rainbow.” Andrea leaned back in the water.
“Just one second. Can you go over by that rock and look at me?” Riley stood behind the camera. Andrea came into the viewfinder. “Okay, right there is perfect. I can see you, the trees, and the lights. Now, hold very still. Any movement will blur in the photo.” She took the shot. “Beautiful! Wait right there for me? I’m coming in.”
Riley stripped down to her bathing suit and set one of the other two cameras to high resolution video and the last on a timer scheduled to take a photo of the landscape and sky every minute until it ran out of disk space. She checked each display screen and was giddy with what was being captured. She dipped into the hot water holding the remote for the portrait lens camera which was still fixed on Andrea. The sky continued to swirl brilliant shades of green, pink, purple, and blue. It was everything Riley had dreamed of. She made her way to Andrea and kissed her beneath the northern lights. She took a few more posed shots and then tucked the remote into the top of her suit just above her left breast. She reached between her breasts and pulled out a small flask of whiskey.
“Care for a nip?” Riley unscrewed the cap and offered Andrea the bottle.
“You sneaky little devil, don’t mind if I do.” She tipped up the flask and then passed it back to Riley. “Is this what your life is like? You go on a job for a few days in some remote place and then go on countless adventures in search of incredible natural wonders?”
“Typically, I schedule a day or two for sightseeing after a job, but this trip is an exception to the rule. Alaska is a bucket list trip. I was hoping for two weeks out here, but I just couldn’t free up that much time on my calendar. I’m ecstatic that the timing lined up perfectly with the phase of the new moon so I could have a chance to see this light show with my own eyes. I’ve dreamt of this trip for years. I’ve always been completely fascinated by the northern lights. I’m just so happy that you’re here too.”
Riley squatted down in the steaming water and pulled Andrea onto her lap. She was enjoying watching Andrea experience the light show. Her eyes were darting all over the place trying to take it all in. The sky above was incredible. She pulled out the remote and took a few more shots of the two of them watching the lights together. She hoped they turned out as well as that first one of Andrea alone had. No matter what, she had an amazing memory to look back on.
“Not to sound dumb, but what does the phase of the moon have to do with anything?” Andrea asked.
“The lights are best seen when the skies are cloudless and there’s no moonlight. The moon would dilute the colors in the aurora. Right now, the moon won’t rise for a few more hours so the sky is at its darkest, allowing the northern lights to be as brilliant and colorful as they are.” Riley’s cheeks hurt from smiling.
“This is the most magical thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I’m so happy you’re here. I’m so thrilled to have you back in my life.”
The lights were beginning to fade, slowly returning them to the moonless starlit night. It was still quite beautiful. Riley took one last photo before the glow was completely gone.
“Would you like to stay out here a little longer or go back inside?” Riley leaned forward and kissed Andrea’s neck.
“Can we sit here together for just a bit longer?” Andrea asked, still looking up into the night sky. Hits of color still popped here and there in the sky.
Their short time together had been one amazing experience after another. Riley watched Andrea watch the sky and wondered how a simple friendship could work after a week like this. It had to, there was no other option. Andrea had two children and lived a life consumed with work and her children’s events. Riley lived and worked all over the country. She rarely spent any time in her loft. It was a place to land and swap out gear and clothing before she flew off again. There wasn’t time for kids or even a partner who wanted, and deserved, more than a fleeting night here and there. She squeezed her eyes shut and counted to three before she allowed them to open again. She needed to stop thinking and enjoy this time while she had it.
Chapter Twenty
The water lapped gently on the side of the canoe in the slow-moving current. Andrea dipped the paddle opposite Riley’s stroke in an attempt to keep the c
anoe from zigzagging upstream. Yellows and golds glistened from the treetops. The fall colors were stunning, out in full force on this beautiful sunny day.
“This was a great idea. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been canoeing. It’s so peaceful out here, way better than running up and down the road in the car looking for wildlife.” Riley still had her camera with her, of course, but it hadn’t taken any begging to get her on this trip.
“Thanks for going along with it. I saw it in the brochure and was thrilled that they were still renting them out.” Andrea twisted in her seat and watched Riley paddle for a moment. She looked like the perfect outdoors gal with her Henley shirt and heavyweight flannel. Andrea snuggled a little deeper into the flannel she was wearing. She’d snagged it from Riley’s suitcase. It matched her blouse perfectly and might have to go home with her as a souvenir of their time together. The thought made her ache, and she pushed it away.
“Do you remember paddling our asses off trying to go upstream from the lake your family used to vacation at? Your folks would find something that they forgot to pick up at the store and send us on our way. It would take us a good hour or so to get to that little corner store and all of ten minutes to get back to the lake.” Riley was smiling and shaking her head.
“I hadn’t thought about that in years! It was so much work getting upstream, especially after a good rain when the current was running hard. We’d paddle like crazy and get a few feet forward and then stop for a break and end up losing all of our progress and more.” Andrea laughed.
“Good thing this current is fairly calm. We can get upstream before our arms catch on to what we’re doing. The slow float back will be an easy cruise.”
“Riley, look up there, on that tree branch. Is that a bald eagle?” Andrea whispered. “Oh, wait, there’s two.”
“Would you look at that,” Riley said from behind her. Andrea heard the crinkle of the waterproof bag.
“My word, they are magnificent birds.”
A half-eaten fish slipped off the branch and splashed into the water. Andrea could hear the shutter from Riley’s camera. She was so busy enjoying the experience that she hadn’t even thought to reach for her own camera. Good thing she had a personal photographer to get her vacation shots for her.
The closer eagle spread its wings and took flight, soaring directly over their heads. The second eagle followed suit. She could hardly believe her eyes. Eagles nested in Wisconsin, but they were always brown dots with white heads on the far side of the river. She’d never seen one this close. It was an unbelievable experience. They continued to paddle upriver in silence. Andrea noticed some movement up ahead. She drew in a sharp breath while trying not to squeal. A large bull moose was standing belly-deep in the water eating greenery from the edge. Shutter sounds could be heard from behind her again. Of course, Riley saw it. The moose looked up, chewing on the green snacks and made no effort to move. Andrea kept paddling, giving the moose lots of space, so Riley could keep taking pictures. Another amazing experience.
“This is so much better than what I had scheduled. Right now, I would have been crammed into a tour bus trying to see out of a tiny side window sitting next to some stranger.” Andrea looked back into Riley’s smiling eyes.
“I, for one, am very grateful for the upgrade. An intelligent, beautiful woman in a canoe on the river with abundant wildlife. Who could ask for anything more?” Riley dipped the paddle into the water.
Andrea was grateful for the upgrade too, though she had to keep herself in check. She’d missed Riley so much over the years, and while this was amazing, it was a bubble, a moment in time that would end. Still, in spite of that harsh reality, she couldn’t recall when she felt more comfortable or more relaxed with anyone else, ever.
“You mentioned that this was a bucket list trip. What else is on your bucket list?” Andrea tucked her paddle next to her seat. She carefully turned around to face Riley.
“There aren’t many places left, but I’d like to do a few trips over again as a real vacation.” Riley kept paddling.
“What do you mean? Didn’t you say you plan mini vacations on every trip?” Andrea wanted to move to the center of the canoe, closer to Riley, but she didn’t want to capsize the tiny vessel into the frigid river water, so she stopped shifting and stayed in her seat.
“I do and I guess you could call them mini vacations. I thoroughly enjoyed shooting in Hawaii and Maine, oh, and Vermont in the fall was breathtaking, but I would love to go back and share the experience with someone special instead of it being just me and my camera.” Riley looked at Andrea, and there seemed to be unasked questions there. She shifted the paddle to the other side of the canoe. “What’s on your bucket list?”
“I don’t know that I even have a bucket list yet. I have to get the girls through school and college and then off living their own lives before I think about anything like that,” Andrea said. And there it was. The acknowledgement of how different their lives were, what expectations were waiting back home. She focused on the colors around them.
“Ah, come on, there must be something on your list, some sort of dream vacation. Where have you always wanted to take the girls? Or is the dream vacation an adult only experience? Overseas? Anything?” Riley shifted the paddle to the other side of the canoe and kept paddling.
Andrea replayed the question in her mind and realized that she hadn’t even considered a vacation with the kids other than a weekend at a water park up in the Dells. Where would she like to go on a real vacation? There was always too much going on for a vacation.
“Honestly, I’ve never thought about it. Let me get back to you on that one. Let’s go the opposite direction. What’s a day off look like for you? Do you stay in your sweats all day and binge watch something on Netflix?” She couldn’t even picture it.
“I’d pretty much have to be deathly sick to do that.” Riley laughed. “A typical day off for me includes catching up on laundry, a little house cleaning, bills to pay, always a trip to the dry cleaners, and maybe some grocery shopping.”
“Holy shit, you just became a little bit human,” Andrea said.
Riley tapped the paddle into the water splashing a spray of water toward the front of the canoe.
“Hey, watch it! You’re going to get me wet.” Andrea laughed.
“What do you mean a little bit human? I’m human.”
“For some reason, I figured you had a housekeeper or something since you’re on the road all the time. I never pictured you doing laundry or cleaning house. Your life sounds way too glamourous for that. Though, I should know better, given how clean your room always was. Everything in its place. Come to think of it, you’re the only person I know who unpacks in a hotel room. I mean really? Who uses the dresser at a hotel? It’s called ‘living out of your suitcase’ for a reason.” Andrea winked and smiled.
“Ouch! Don’t make me splash you with water again!” Riley had that half grin on her face. “I’m still me, Andi. It’s easier to find stuff if it’s put away properly. Besides, I can’t show up to appointments in wrinkled clothes.”
“Fair enough, so, what do you wear when you clean house?” She wanted an idea of what Riley looked like when she was relaxing at home to take with her when this trip ended.
“Jeans and a T-shirt, or if it’s summer I wear shorts and a T-shirt. What do you wear when you clean house?”
“Yoga pants and a comfy shirt. What’s your least favorite house cleaning task?”
“Dusting. It’s pointless because it just comes back the next day. Yours?”
“Laundry. It never ends in my world. Sometimes, I think the girls change their clothes several times a day just so I don’t get bored. It’s maddening.” Andrea laughed.
“Do they help you with stuff? Do they have chores?” Riley asked.
“Yeah, they help and have chores, but their version of a folded towel is much differen
t from mine. Oh, here’s a question. What’s in your grocery cart when you go shopping?”
“I’m not home much so maybe a few cans of soup. Once in a blue moon I’ll get hungry for eggs and buy a half dozen, but I’ve had them go bad, so I don’t buy them often. Sometimes I buy stuff for a nice salad, and then I’ll have to fly out the next day. By the time I come home a week later my fridge is a slimy science project, so I tend to order salads out. I do have a tiny gas grill on the balcony and will pick up a single chicken breast or a small steak to cook for a home meal. What’s in your grocery cart?”
What a contrast, and it made Andrea a little sad to think of the meals for one and empty fridge Riley always came home to. “I think you mean carts. There’s no single grocery cart in my world. I have two teenagers and all of their friends to feed at any given time so, I shop with at least two grocery carts.”
“Andi, do your girls still believe in Santa? Slowly turn around.” Riley rested the paddle in her lap and reached into the waterproof bag. She aimed the camera beyond Andrea and took several pictures.
“Santa, no, not for years,” Andrea whispered while carefully pivoting in her seat. “Holy shit, is that a reindeer?”
Riley adjusted the lens. “Yep, I think the tag says Comet.”
Andrea looked over her shoulder. Riley took a couple of shots before lowering the camera. That half grin appeared with the brightest smiling eyes. God, she’s adorable.
They floated slowly, silently, down the river, with Riley occasionally taking shots. Andrea couldn’t help but think of the differences in their lives. “Riley, would you tell me about your last relationship? What worked, what didn’t, what you might have liked to have been different?”
“Really? Why? Tell me about yours?” Riley said, looking at the shore.