Difficult Lessons (18 page)

“Michelle,” she said with a smile as she turned.

“Michelle, since this is an unofficial visit let me ask you an unofficial question.”

“Sure.”

“How about you and a date join Cynthia and me for dinner one night?”

“That would be nice. Do you have a pen?” 

Sara picked up a pen and notepad from the table beside the door and handed it to her.

“This is my home number and cell number. Call me and we’ll set something up.”

“We will.”

***

It was a three-hour drive through back roads to the campground. That was one of the reasons that Sara liked the place. It was nowhere near the main roads. It was quiet and very primitive. 

“Honey, if you look closely in the woods as we drive through here, you can see all kinds of wildlife. I have seen deer, raccoons, owls, a fox or two, and even a coyote once.”

“Wow,” Cynthia said as she grabbed for the binoculars. “This place is really remote. This is going to be a great weekend.”

“You might as well turn your cell phone off. They don’t work out here at all. There’s not a tower for miles. It’s great. I did leave the number to the office with Mom and Dad so that they can get in touch with us in an emergency, but other than that, we will have no contact with civilization for two whole days. You think you can handle it?”

“I’m from Alabama. I can handle anything young lady.” Cynthia laughed.  “Oooh!  There is a huge deer grazing over there.”

Sara stopped the car and they both took turns looking at her through the binoculars. While they were watching her graze another one wandered up to her. It was a young deer, probably her baby. They heard a crackle of leaves and the two deer scampered off through the woods. 

Sara drove on for another mile. The office was a two-room log cabin sitting among the trees. It was almost hidden from view in the summer when everything was green. 

The woman behind the desk looked up from her computer as Sara opened the door. “Sara Carson! What a surprise! Do you have a reservation?”

“Hey Celia. Yes I do. I should have a riverside site for two nights. At least I called about it on Tuesday.”

“I don’t know how this got by me,” Celia said as she looked through the papers on her desk. “Yep.  Here it is. Today is my first day back. Mandi has been running the place for the last week while I’ve been sick.”

“Nothing serious I hope.” Sara had some concern in her voice.

“J
ust some kind of stomach bug. I’
m good now. Who is this young lady with you?”

“I’m sorry. Celia, this beautiful woman is my partner, Cynthia Wesley. Cynthia, this is Celia Farmer, my second or third cousin. We aren’t sure exactly what we are, but we are somewhat related. Mandi is her partner of twenty years.” Sara turned back to Celia. “Where is Mandi anyway?”

“She is around somewhere. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me that you were coming.”

“She might not have made the connection when I called. If you have been sick, I am sure that she has been a little frazzled.”

“Yeah, she has been working twice as hard with me not being here. I tried to get her to take the day off, but she refused. Cynthia it is nice to meet you. I’m glad Sara has found someone that can put up with her.”

“Oh she isn’t too hard to put up with.” Cynthia had to smile at Sara.

“Okay Sara, you guys are on site 45. It is right on the bend of the river where the shoals are. It is one of the biggest sites back there and the nicest with the sound of the water flowing over the shoals at night. I know that you know all the precautions to take back there since you have been here before, but let me warn you about the raccoons anyway. They have been exceptionally bad this summer. I guess the weather has them really scavenging for food. Make sure that you keep your coolers in your car when you are not watching them. We had a couple here earlier in the week that had to go into town for more supplies. They forgot and left their coolers sitting out after dinner. They went for a walk along the river. When they came back there was an entire family chowing down on their grub.”

“I guess they won’t make that mistake again.” Cynthia could not help but laugh at the thought of the raccoons eating out of coolers.

“Your site is about 50 yards from the restrooms and showers. There is a picnic table and grill at the front of the site. There is a fire pit at the back, right on the riverbank. You can sit there and watch the water by firelight. It is my absolute favorite site in the campground.”

“It sounds wonderful. I think I know which one it is.”

“Just follow the path back to the river. When you get to where it dead-ends, take a left. You will pass the restrooms and then you will come up on the site on the right.  “Y’all enjoy yourselves. We still have the social down at the river around seven each night. You two try to make it tonight.”

“We will, Celia.”

Sara and Cynthia returned to the car and headed for the campsite. They had the windows down in the car to smell the scents of the woods and hear the sounds as they drove down the path. They passed a few campers on the way, but not as many as Sara had expected. The campground was usually full this time of year. There would probably be others come in later today. 

Within twenty minutes, the tent was set up. Sara was very adept at putting one up and Cynthia was rather experienced herself. They placed the sleeping bags in the tent side by side. 

Cynthia stepped back. “I have an idea.  Let’s zip them together so we won’t be separated by them.”

“That’s a good idea.” Sara kissed Cynthia and held her tightly. “You want to go for a walk along the river?”

“That sounds wonderful. This whole place is wonderful.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet, Cynthia. Let’s go.”

The path followed the river’s edge for several hundred yards before it veered off into the woods. Mandi and Celia kept the paths cleared for the safety of the campers.  The plants were thick on the edges though. There were palmetto plants growing every few feet along the path, along with various wild flowers and indigenous plants. They had preserved as much of the natural flora as possible when they made the walking trails through the area. 

Cynthia had brought the binoculars so that she could see the birds. “Look!  There is an owl sitting up there in the tree.”

Sara took the binoculars and looked. “Wow. He is huge. I don’t think that I have ever seen one that big.” She handed the binoculars back to Cynthia and they continued on. 

Cynthia took Sara’s hand. “I know I have already said this, but this place is incredible. I cannot believe something like this exists.”

“It does. Celia found the land for sale by total accident. It was nothing but woods and the man who was selling it didn’t know what a jewel he had. Celia and Mandi snatched it up quickly and went to work on making it what it is today.”

Sara stopped and tugged at Cynthia’s arm to stop her. Off to the right was a family of raccoons scampering around the bushes. One looked up at them and it was as if he gave a warning to the others. They all looked up at Sara and Cynthia and ran off deep into the woods.  

About a mile into the woods, they came across something that Cynthia did not expect. There was a grassy clearing with wild flowers of almost every color.

“Oh my gosh!” Cynthia exclaimed. “This is beautiful!”

“I thought you would like it. You just don’t expect to get this deep into the woods and see something so beautiful.”

As Sara finished the sentence, a family of deer slowly emerged into the clearing.  Sara and Cynthia crouched down to watch, trying to go unnoticed by the animals.  Cynthia used the binoculars to get a close look at them. Without saying a word, she passed them off to Sara. Sara was amazed that the deer stayed in the clearing. She was sure that they could pick up on the human scent, but it did not seem to bother them at all.  They slowly walked around the clearing, nibbling on various plants. The smallest of the group walked up to a female and nuzzled her neck.

“That must be mama and baby,” Cynthia whispered.

“Probably. Aren’t they gorgeous?”

“They are. I can’t believe that they are hanging around with us here.”

“I guess they have not picked up on us yet. We need to be heading back, but I don’t want to move and scare them.”

“Let’s stay and watch until they leave.”

“You twisted my arm. We’ll stay.” Sara was not difficult to convince when Cynthia wanted something.

Chapter 30

Cynthia grilled steaks and corn on the cob. Sara had never eaten grilled corn, but was willing to try it. Cynthia had not disappointed her yet with her culinary skills. This meal was no exception. 

“That was wonderful,” Sara told Cynthia as they were putting everything away. “I feel quite inadequate around you when it comes to cooking.”

Cynthia laughed. “There is no need to feel that way. I just cook very simple things.”

“They might be simple, but they are great. Shall we head over to meet the others?”

“Sounds like fun. Just help me put this cooler in the trunk of the car. I don’t want to have to leave here unexpectedly. A trip to buy food would be a loss.”

Sara helped Cynthia get everything locked away and they walked up the river to the site where Celia and Mandi had always had their evening socials. It was something they started years ago. They wanted their campground to be a comfortable place for everyone. They had created a family atmosphere. Everyone got together in the evenings, had a few drinks, and shared things that had happened that day or things they had seen.  Celia might even tell a few fishing lies after a beer or two. The more she drank, the bigger the tales were.  It was a lot of fun for everyone. She made sure that everything was kept respectable because there were always children around. 

As Sara and Cynthia walked up, Celia was in the middle of a fish tale. “When I finally got that catfish on the bank, I saw why it almost pulled me in the water. He was at least five feet long. We weighed him as soon as we got him back to the cabin. He was one ounce shy of the state record.”

“I told you she would tell some tall ones,” Sara said leaning in to Cynthia. “They get worse as the evening goes on.”

“Sara! Get over here and let me introduce you to everyone.” Celia called from the bonfire. “Everyone, this is my distant cousin, Sara. That lovely young lady with her is her partner, Cynthia. It is Cynthia, isn’t it?”

“Yes it is,” Sara assured her.

“Whew! I would have been embarrassed if I had gotten that one wrong. You girls come on and join us. I was just telling everyone about that monster catfish that I caught several years ago.”

“We heard. That sounds like an incredible catch.” Cynthia said with a huge smile.

“Don’t encourage her,” Sara joked. “She gets bad enough as it is.”

Sara and Cynthia joined the group around the fire. Both of them had a few drinks. Sara shared some stories of previous trips and so did some of the other campers. While they were talking, Sara noticed a woman speak with Celia and then leave. 

Celia asked for everyone’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, there is a young lady camping with us this weekend that has asked a favor of us. It seems she is a musician and would like to bring out her guitar and play a little, if that’s okay with everyone else.”

The response from the group campers was affirmative. The young woman sat on the top of a picnic table and began to play. It did not take long before the other campers had joined her in singing. Celia and Mandi sat down with Sara and Cynthia to listen.

“Kind of reminds you of the hippie days doesn’t it?” Celia was looking at Sara.

“Whoa there! I am not as old as you are dear.” Sara held up her index finger and shook it from side to side in a negative gesture. “I don’t remember those hippie days.”

“You aren’t that far behind me,” Celia reminded Sara. 

***

Sara packed the sandwiches, along with a few other snacks and some drinks, in a small cooler. As soon as Cynthia got up and dressed they headed to the boat ramp where the canoes were stored. They picked out a canoe and set out on their adventure. 

About three miles up the river they came across a crystal clear spring. “You want to take a swim?” Sara asked Cynthia. 

“Sure. It looks inviting.”