Lena's River (2 page)

Lena fished a hair tie out of her bag and attempted to
subdue her wind-swept tangles into some kind of compliance.

“It’s supposed to be pretty decent weather for the next
few days. We’ll get lots of time on the river.” Sala was the most enthusiastic
among them about the fishing aspect of their vacation, even though she was
still a novice with the fly pole. “I checked the status report at the
outfitter’s shop before I left and the runs are supposed to be good right now,
but the Sol Duc river is running pretty high from last week’s rain. No worries,
though… we’ll catch us some nice babies.”

Gina grinned at her. “That’s a funny term to give catch
and release, Sala.”

Lena breathed in the salt air blowing off the bow.
“Fresh and cool, just the way I like it.”

Mary put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a
squeeze. “How are you doing, Lena?”

“I’m doing great now. I’ve been dying to get out on the
river. It’s awesome to be able to go on this trip with all of you. Thanks for
organizing everything, Mary.”

“You’re welcome. I thought we could all use a break.
You in particular; just let me know if you want to talk.”

Mary was the caregiver, the heart and soul of their
little circle of friends and the glue that held them strong during tough times.
She and Sala had been together as long as Lena had known her and she admired
them both. Mary had been a huge support during her Mom’s illness – they all had
been great but Mary had a special ability to soothe broken hearts.

As soon as the ferry docked and the three rigs had
disembarked, they went for dinner at the local chowder dive. Over bowls of
steaming soup and fish & chips, there was a lot of laughter and catching
up. But Lena was quiet and kept thinking about the guy at the Junction. And how
she pretty much failed at romance, and how the universe was somehow conspiring
against her finding anyone.

She sighed and spooned up the last of her clam chowder.
Okay, she was more than a little down but things were going to get better for
the next two weeks. She was going to have an amazing vacation. Or else.

Chapter Two

“Come on you big rascal, follow the lead…”

Sala was up to her thighs in the middle of the river. Her
waders were about as tall as she.

“Sala, if you keep talking to the fish with your loud
voice they’re never going to take the cast over here! Knock it off.”

“Oh, bite me.” Sala shot back.

“Woman, that’s my point.” Gina hollered from her spot
downstream.

“Will you two shut the heck up?” Lena laughed. It was
always like this with them but she loved it. And besides, she didn’t care so
much about the fish catching as she did about the art of fishing. Standing in
the current, feeling the water rush around your calves; being able to drop the fly
right where you wanted it – this was it. This is what she loved.

She and her Mom had discussed building a pond on the
property back home one time but then her Mom fell ill and nothing happened. Lena
thought about it now. She could stock the pond for the RV visitors. It would be
something fun and relaxing for the customers. Maybe she would even fish the
pond and try to imagine herself doing this, right here in this spot. The circle
of the slow eddies on the far bank, the twirl in mid air of tiny leaves as they
fell into the river. She watched them as they floated past her. Soon those
little leaves would enter the mouth of the river and then get pushed out to
sea.

The ripples and patterns in the river were mesmerizing
and she shook her thoughts loose. It was kind of silly to be imagining yourself
to be sitting somewhere else, fantasizing about being here – where she was
right now. So much for being in the moment…

“Hey, dang it; got my line again.” Gina’s line snarled
on a small dogwood branch behind her. It wasn’t moving.

“I’ll get it for you. I’m closer than you are.” Lena
gathered her own line in and waded onto the bank. She worked the fly loose and
untangled the line.

“Hey, Lena would you toss me a beer from the cooler?
I’m getting mighty thirsty out here.” Sala had a big grin on her face as she
hauled in yet another seventeen inch Coho.

Mary whooped: “Wow! Nice one, honey!”

“Okay Sala you can go sit on the bank for awhile and
give the rest of us a chance.” Gina gave her thumbs up.

“No way, I’m in the zone out here. These are only the
little guys. Lena, just toss it!”

“Okay, if you say so Sal.” Lena waded part way out into
the water and threw the can of beer softball-style in Sala’s general direction.
She was careful to aim it a bit upstream just in case. Sure enough, the can
fell short about five feet but Sala watched until the can bobbed along in the
current near her, then waded over and grabbed it.

She pulled the tab and took a big gulp. “Ah, that’s
what I’m talkin’ about. Lena, thanks - but you throw like a girl.”

Lena laughed. “Yeah, I know. Isn’t that weird?”

****

Back at camp Lena cranked open the windows in her
camper, made a veggie sandwich and sat down outside at the picnic table with a
book. There was a light breeze off the river but the sun was warm despite the
high canopy of cedar and fir trees around her campsite. It was peaceful here.
Just the way she liked it.

No sooner had she begun eating but someone attempted to
pull a brand new Airstream into the campsite next to where Mary and Sala had
parked their vintage Boler 17. There was a lot of revving of the engine, reverse
stopping and braking before they gave up and moved further up the loop to find
a larger spot. Lena sighed with relief and returned to her book.

After a few minutes she had this unsettled feeling she
was being watched. She took a sip of her tea in a can and glanced around. There
was no one there. She shrugged and went back to reading when something caught
her eye on the ground near her left foot. A small black dog, of mixed breed,
looked up at her with huge brown eyes. It gave her one, sharp bark which shook
its whole body. A “
Hey, do I have your attention?”
kind of bark –to the
point and efficient. Then he sat back on its haunches staring at Lena.

“Hi there! Who do you belong to, little cutie?” Lena
let the dog smell of her hand. Bad idea, since whatever was on her hand it
started licking with abandon.

Lena looked around for the dog’s owner while patting
its head. There was no one in sight. The dog was well-cared for and not a
stray, she could tell that. Maybe those people in the Airstream forgot to read
the campground rules about
dogs on a leash at all times
.

“All I want to do is read my book and take a damn nap.”
Lena said aloud and annoyed.

She strolled out to the edge of the narrow lane which
wound through the campground. The dog followed her. They walked all around Loop
B. There were no campers who looked like they’d lost a dog though she asked a
couple people. Most of their loop was empty. She tracked down the shiny
aluminum Airstream in loop E. No, they were not missing a dog.

By this time the little dog was tired and plopped
itself down in the grass near a trail which led into the woods. “Great.” Lena
said considering the panting pooch. “I guess the search ends here.”

The dog considered her in return but had nothing to say
for itself. Lena chewed on her lip deciding what she should do. There was a
rustle of willow branches to their right and off the woodland trail stepped a
guy in a Mariner’s cap with a small backpack slung over his shoulder.

Lena recognized him right away. It was the cute man
who’d asked about her wheels the day before at
The Junction
. He stopped
in mid step and stared at her. Then he saw the dog. His face lit up.

“Hey Pascal!” The dog leapt up and the tail started
going wild. The man lifted the dog up in his arms and smiled at Lena in between
face licks by Pascal. He said: “Hey there, thanks for finding my dog! I’ve been
looking since this morning.”

Lena figured he hadn’t noticed that it was her. She
waited a few moments then blurted out: “You’re welcome. He just showed up at my
camp so we’ve been on a walk looking for you.” She extended her hand: “I’m the
girl with the hot hubs from yesterday.”

All at once she realized that didn’t come out right and
could feel her face turning fiery red again. She tensed and gave him her best
deer in the headlights kind of look. The guy broke out in a loud hoot which
made her blush more.

“Ah, that isn’t what I meant to say.” She tried to
laugh along but it got caught in her throat.

He continued to grin ear to ear and extended a hand
back. “Hi, my name’s Levi. I really appreciate you finding Pascal.”

“Well, he found me, to be truthful.” Lena took his hand
and shook it. It felt warm and strong. There was a place inside her that
reacted to his touch but she fought it back.

“Well, whatever. Thanks for caring enough to make the
effort.” He grinned at her. His teeth were very white.

Lena liked his smile. His smile made her tingle
.
“For god’s sake, Lena stop it. Whoever got off on teeth? You are so pathetic.”
Lena, the school-teacher, had to hold herself in check again. The practical,
analytical, critical Lena wanted to scold her impulsive self at every turn. But
free Lena
just wanted to stare at his smile. She felt it was open and
honest, and she really did like his teeth. They were straight and bright and
not too large. She noticed now that he had a slight accent but it was one she
couldn’t place. And Levi wasn’t a name you heard every day in the Northwest.

“So, you made it all the way out here with a
questionable bearing, huh?” He took off the baseball cap and rubbed the top of
his head as he let Pascal down. Lena noticed his hair was almost as wavy as
hers but dark and cropped close.

“Yes, it didn’t give me any trouble but I will
definitely pack some more grease in there before we go home.” She thought she
saw him react to the word
“we”
but her brain was spitting out serious
hyper-hormones
and so just stop it Lena; he’s not interested!

She continued: “It’s funny you were headed out here too.
Do you fish or are you here for the hot springs?” Lena bit her lower lip again
waiting to be dismissed.

Levi’s face lit up with interest. “Did you say
hot
springs
? Those would be fantastic to visit. I’ve been fishing a little but
I don’t know much about this area and I haven’t had any luck. What about you?”

As a second thought he asked: “Hey, can I offer you a
cold drink? My camp’s just right there.” He pointed to the other side of the
loop – a smaller site reserved for tents which was back from the road. There
was a mid-sized Marmot tent set up and a camp chair.

Lena hesitated. She didn’t expect him to continue the
conversation. But it seemed like a genuine invite.

“Um, okay. Sure.” She followed him over to the camp.
She noticed Pascal kept close to his heels.

“So name your pleasure: I’ve got a nice Lebanese beer,
a raspberry Izze or two, and diet Pepsi.”

“The raspberry seltzer sounds great.” His camp was spare
and tidy. “That’s a real nice tent.”

“Yeah, it was expensive but I’ve used the heck out of
it already.”

He offered her the one camp chair but she sat on the
picnic table with her beverage. She took a small sip and swung her legs back
and forth, nervous. They stared at each other, not saying anything for a minute.
She decided that all that leg-swinging might be annoying, so she stopped.

“I don’t think I caught your name?”

“Oh, my name’s Lena.” She took another small sip from
the can.

Levi asked: “Are you here with friends did you say?” He
looked right at her then sat down in the camp chair and began scratching in the
dirt near his feet with a stick.

“Yes, we’re kind of a funny crew – into fishing and
vintage campers.” Here Lena chuckled. “Some of us are a little more into the
vintage camping than others.” She used scare quotes in the air as she
emphasized “vintage”.

“Yeah? Well yours is a sweet classic. What, 1970’s
make?”

“It is 1967. I had to rebuild the wall around the sink
and stove, but other than that it was in great shape for its age. My friend
Mary has the charmer though. Hers is an old Boler 17 built up in Canada.”

He nodded his approval: “Those are tough to find. My
grandfather has a vintage caravan. I’m not sure what make it is. I’d love to
see yours sometime, if you don’t mind. I’m kind of interested in one.”

“Sure, it’s nothing fancy though.” She noted his use of
the word
caravan
and thought it odd. “You can see it right now if you
want.”

Way to go Lena, invite a total stranger
into your camper after five minutes…that’s really smart.

“That’d be great; I mean if I’m not interrupting any
fishing?”

“No, I fished all morning. I was taking a lunch break
when Pascal here showed up. No worries.”

Lena tried to get off the picnic table without scraping
her butt. “You aren’t from this area, are you?”