Ms. Got Rocks (27 page)

She also knew that she would never have a relationship with Justin Dixon and it seemed likely she would never see Callaghan again. Verging on thankfully, something in the back of her head warned her. She was ready to move on.

The next day Callaghan did not show up to sign the dredging contact or begin operation. Was it disappointment she felt.

C
hapter 27

“
W
ith the new mailbox, and a new floor, I guess we are staying, girls, Rocky told her fur persons when she put the last touches on the new kitchen floor.

She had bought a half sheet of sub flooring plywood to repair the soft spots. After looking at, possibly a thousand samples of flooring she chose the little brick pattern that was popular in the era the cabin was built. The brick red color would hide the dog paw tracks well.

When Rocky finished shoring up the sub floor from underneath with pier blocks like the guy at the lumberyard told her, she patched some parts of the sub floor that were spongy with the plywood. Rocky thanked her lucky leprechaun that she was left handed. Laying out the new flooring was a job trying to do with one hand, rolling it down was the easy part.

“Where did I get this idea to do this now?” Rocky yelped as she bumped her finger stump again.

When she finished that day, Rocky had to pack her right hand in ice and sit on the porch in phantom pain from the missing tip of her finger. Nothing she could do would stop the pain, but the ice made the swelling go down.

Next morning, she felt better. She admired the new kitchen floor. She could wait to put the base coving on for another day or two when the swelling in her hand was reduced.

That was the good part of that trip to the city. The surgeon was not pleased with her finger. He ordered X-rays as he suspected that Rocky had chipped more bone from the fingertip. He advised her that she would have surgery to remove more of her finger if she did not allow it to heal properly. The surgeon scared her, but she still went ahead with her flooring plan.

It was the next Wednesday morning, a morning so desperately hot there was no getting any relief from the heat. Rocky put the pets under the sun shower and even though they could walk down to the river any time during the day, the three animals seem to enjoy the cool water and the cool bathtub. Rocky thought the only hot food she was going to eat that day was a mug of coffee. Thumper and the dogs dripped out on the porch for a bit after their shower.

Thumper liked to start her day by keeping the front lawn grass trimmed and calling it breakfast. It was so hot that Phoebe did not want to hunt; she seemed content to rest on the porch and casually watch Thumper hop across the lawn.

Even though it was hotter than the hinges of Hades, Rocky told herself she needed to pack up the dredging gear for the year. The dredging season finished in a few days. The imperative to earn a living in the coming winter was striking home. Things were rolling down the year into winter.

The concerning thoughts on winter without a job were beginning, there had not been a job offer from any airline, and she doubted that she would accept it, if they did offer. The thought of leaving Whiskey Gap was beginning to hurt in the area close to her heart.

Making a sincere effort not to move while she drank the hot coffee to not risk getting hotter, Rocky listened to the soft sounds coming from the back yard.

When you live in the country you get used to sounds in your back yard, like a muskrat hiking over to the river dragging his scaly tail behind him, or an owl catching breakfast on the hoof.

Rocky did not even look up, she was thinking of the prospects for the winter season, writing on her ever present list.

A sound had at last captured Rocky’s attention; a more insistent whoosh wet breath pounding with gravel rattling on pavement sound. Rocky gathered her energy to peep out the window over the sink.

“Holy Hotcakes,” Rocky said out loud and she hastily turned toward the living room and tip toed to get the camera and return.

The back yard was full of a herd of buffalo. The biggest baddest looking one was pawing gravel out of the barbeque fire circle while he snorted with a lowered head and folded back ears at the new black barbeque.

Rocky checked the film counter, there were twenty-four frames left and one whole roll in the little holder on the camera strap. Sixty shots should get her one to use for a calendar and one to arrange with the old pennies she found underwater.

Creeping to the back door, she opened it a crack and pointed the barrel of the lens out and froze long enough for the buffalo to check it out. Waiting an agony of moments she opened the door wider to see what was happening.

The bull was still challenging the barbeque to a fight. Rocky got two good shots of that, even cuter were the mothers and baby buffalo calves. They were standing in a semi-circle watching the Big Daddy roughing up the barbeque.

Rocky started the portraits of the family groups at the left and moved to the sweetest pair on the right side. She reloaded the film and stopped to watch the beasts. The male buffalo was pawing the ground and kicking the pea gravel from hell to breakfast. His harem was standing admiring his heroism at protecting them from this hideous creature of a barbeque. It was hard not to laugh at them.

As fast as he started the fracas, he stopped. The bull turned away from the cabin and went to the old garden spot with the loose soft composted soil. The huge animal lay down as Rocky started shooting frames. The bull rolled over and wriggled his massive hind quarters into the soft soil, and Rocky shot more frames. The bull stopped moving and lay quietly in the soil with his feet stuck into the air. Rocky shot two more frames. The frame counter advised there are only three more shots on the roll. Rocky knew that when she developed that film there was at least one more frame that could be usable. That gave her four more shots, before she had to move.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rocky saw movement, a little brown gray smudge moving toward the cute young cow and her calf. Rocky slowly and carefully turned her head away from the bull and saw Thumper hopping toward the cow.

If the cow were showing any aggression, Rocky would have scared the bejeebers out of the whole herd to protect Thumper. The cow had the calf behind her and she was showing only signs of curiosity, as the bunny slowly hopped toward her. When Thumper was a foot from the cow, the calf saw the bunny and did a calf runny, hoppy stiff legged dance with delight to the rabbit. Thumper stood on her hind feet and looked like a milk chocolate Easter Bunny touching noses with the buffalo calf. The camera clicked onto the stop. Out of film, Rocky watched the herd, storing the images into the best camera, her memory.

Thumper either became bored with the buffalo or had hot feet, she turned and hopped back to the front of the cabin.

Rocky raced to the darkroom area and grabbed three rolls of whatever speed film was closest and ran back to the kitchen.

The buffalo were gone. That fast, poof.

Hearing splashing noise, she ran to the front porch, and saw the herd in the river. She ran off the three rolls only stopping long enough to change to a longer lens and add new film.

The dogs were still lying on the porch and neither of them let out a growl, bark or a peep.

After an hour of rolling in the river, the buffalo herd moved off to the west across the river. Rocky was in hope that those sharp buffalo hooves digging into the hard pan had stirred up some gold off the riverbed. The gold would still be there tomorrow.

Setting up the floor fan into the closet she called a darkroom, she went to work in the stifling heat. For the next hour Rocky dripped with sweat locked into the little darkroom developing the buffalo portraits.

When they were dry, she reduced two really cute calf portraits into the three by five inch format that the Sacramento Zoo preferred, and enlarged one of the bull with his feet in the air, and one of him challenging the barbeque. She trimmed out the barbeque and printed the two bull shots on heavyweight artistic paper the gallery would like.

She was melted into a human butter puddle when she finished but she did not even notice.

The photos were so good, that she could not believe that she took them. The unplanned background of the shots was the huge monolith rock at the edge of the meadow. The buffalo look as though they were in the fourth century posing for a cave painting entitled “The Clan of the Cave Buffalo”.

Rocky stepped into the shower, and thought about photo frames to buy next time she went into Auburn.

“Jazz would have loved seeing the buffalo,” Rocky told the dogs as they dabbled in the twilight lit river that evening.

“I know it isn’t right, but I miss her,” Rocky lamented.

By Friday that week, Rocky had sold the skis for the airplane for enough money to provide groceries through the New Year.

Living in Dad’s cabin, the pack rat habit was coming to the surface. She put the cash in a coffee can in the pantry. Some women see themselves becoming their mothers, Rocky saw herself becoming a celibate pack rat hermit.

The remaining lettuces on the porch are trying to go to seed with the heat. Some of it was bitter and Rocky put that out for the deer, Thumper ate it. Lovie was not happy that Thumper went that far from the front lawn, and carried Thumper back to the cabin. Rattlesnakes eat jackrabbits.

When the weather cooled down at night in September, Rocky could plant another crop of lettuce in the pots and have fresh lettuce probably into November. Thumper and she would feast.

Lounging on the porch watching the night sky, Rocky thought she needed to be around more people, she rejected the idea of being a hermit.

Again, Callaghan is a no show to dredge.

Justin Dixon was a no show, period.

Dev and Margie were in Paris for a OPEC conference.

“I’ll have to try harder on this hermit stuff.”

One night in those weeks, sitting alone and feeling somewhat sorry for herself, Rocky made a huge decision. Not to sell the plane until after she got the final word from the flight surgeon regarding her flying status.

Callaghan had not shown hide nor hair for the three whole weeks.

“He was only hanging around here for Jazz anyway,” Rocky reminded herself.

"That may be it for that money making deal. I can’t miss what I never had.”

Chapter 28

Rocky was really doing all right. She could always collect another truckload of scrap metal to sell. There was plenty more in the back and side yards.

She started her never ending lists. Adding meadow flower seeds and grass seed to go on the newly uncovered meadow to have ready to plant in October.

She decided that despite the doctor report she was more than ready to get back to work.

When Monday morning rolled around Rocky’s self imposed sick leave was officially over. She packed all of her pets in the truck. That was a squeeze including Thumper. Rocky couldn’t leave her home, either. It was too hot for the dogs to be in the back of the truck. They play sardines for the whole trip. Rocky was driving the seventy miles further into the Sierras to Donner Lake where it may be cooler.

Rocky packed the cameras, both tripods and film stashed with blue freezer packs in those fluffy sided beer carriers. If nothing else, she could spot good shooting sites for pictures after the snow fell. They found a nice spot well off the road on parkland, Rocky set the tripods and one camera.

Rocky began the Donner Lake shoot with what looked to be the logical spot that a shelter would be built. She was surprised at how small the area was. The altitude combined with the heat and she was huffing and puffing almost immediately.

Visualizing the Donner Party snowed in was hard with the constant traffic noises from the six-lane highway to Lake Tahoe and Reno to her left. She got what she felt were some good shots of the landscape and was on the lookout for some unique shots for the growing portfolio of her work. Rocky gave a first workout of the telephoto lens on Lovie and Thumper playing chase in the weeds. Soon the little jackrabbit will be able to outrun the dogs and Rocky with speed left over. Rocky hoped that she was catching the flying, running, hopping action on film.

Sitting on the picnic bench watching the dogs so that they do not annoy any park visitors and watching Thumper that a visitor did not think she was a wild rabbit, Rocky also watched trees and got some frames of the squirrels and Blue Jays.

The light was getting too flat as the morning wore on, and that did not make nice photos. Rocky was excited for that night after it cooled down and she could develop the shots. She could do a run to the developer then try out her new photo software.

The hour it took to drive home, Rocky had to keep nudging a sleepy Boxer back onto the passenger seat and off her sore right hand.

The next working trip would be to Truckee to do the gallery calendar shots, the pets would have to go to the kennel for that day.

Coming down from the relative coolness of 7000 foot altitude to her cabin at 3500 feet, was an incredible change in temperature. The furry ones headed for the river and then in the shade of the porch for a nap. Rocky took a quick shower, then wearing old disreputable jean cutoffs and tank top sans bra she wandered out onto the porch for a nap with them. The last thing that passed through her head as she nodded off was the word workaholic.

It was highly likely that she would be back in the water pulling out serious gold for the last few days of the season, before Callaghan even started. Nowhere in the proposed lease did it say that she can not dredge at the same time he was in the water.

After dinner, the phone rang, it was Deputy Dixon.

“Hello,” Rocky was not sure what to say.

“Hello, Rocky, I got on shift and notice that you have given the go ahead for Callaghan to come around. I was wondering what happened to change your mind?”

“Money.” After saying that she chuckled.“I leased Callaghan my claim while I’m laid up. Does that make me sound like an airhead?”

“Oh, well, if you are comfortable with that, I’ll pass the word to the other guys,” Justin said.

“Thanks, I’d appreciate it. Believe me, if he gives me the least problem, you guys will be the first to know. He hasn’t shown up since, so I don’t think he will create a problem.”

“Well, I’ll let you go now; you are probably sitting down to dinner,” he said.

“Wait, Justin, do you know who sells seasoned firewood, that won’t try to short me,” Rocky asked off the top of her head, trying desperately to think of anything to keep him on the line.

“Not anyone I can think of right off hand, if I think of anyone I’ll let you know,” he seemed in a hurry to go.

“Okay, thanks,” she managed to mumble.

Was that lame or what? Rocky was disgusted at herself.

“Not a problem, Callaghan is an all right guy, you’ll see someday,” Justin said. “Bye Rocky, see ya.”

“Crap,” Rocky said several more dirty words as she pounded on the kitchen counter with her good hand. The dogs looked at her, as if she went crazy.

She felt better in the morning and decided to go for a walk. On the backside of the property, there was an area with a little spring, with sweet water. One year, Rocky’s family dug out a small puddle of a pond for it and lined it with handpicked rocks.

It was a puddle big enough for wild animals to get a drink and the birds to bathe in. Over the years, Dad decided that he wanted blackberries. They planted a couple of plants and the plants had gone wild around the area of the little spring.

Going around to the back side of the plants to pick was easier and they could watch for snakes from there.

Rocky looked in the pantry that morning before her walk .There was one lonely jar of jam there. One lonely jar of Blackberry jam with Margie’s hand written label on it.

Rocky could manage to pick and eat berries with one hand and she knew how to make jam. She would not be bored making jam for all of the family. She used to store the jelly jars up in the attic. Before it got too hot up there, she brought them down to the kitchen and started the wash water to boil. It was too hot to work in the kitchen; she could wash the jelly jars as well outside on the porch.

By lunchtime, Rocky had all the jelly jars and rings scrubbed and draining on dishtowels on the porch railing. Making iced tea and a sandwich, she waited again for Callaghan to show at the gate with his dredge.

By dinnertime, Rocky had a berry-picking partner for tomorrow. The kitchen was clean, equipment and supplies found. She was set. Margie, her favorite berry-picking partner was bringing the rest of the gear with her.

Callaghan had not appeared to dredge as the evening cooled slightly.

“What a loser,” Rocky commented to the dogs.

The remainder of August was an action sequence around the little cabin and claim. Every day the temperature was busting one hundred. Rocky had returned to a half day dredging schedule. The fuzzy faces lived in the warming river. In the afternoons Rocky joined her pets in the river to complete her self-imposed quota of dredging.

The cottonwood and willow trees lining the river look wilted. The moss and lichens on the big rock have turned from sap greens to mustard golds. The wild animals living on the meadow are quiet or gone.

One day,along about the twentieth of the month ,all of the pets went to the boarding kennel, including Thumper. Rocky rented a professional light system, packed the photo shoot equipment and in the cool of the morning drove to Truckee. Larilee was as ready as Rocky for the gallery calendar shoot.

Truckee was an adorable historic railroad town that was almost into Nevada. At the seven thousand-foot elevation it was incredibly cooler than at the cabin.

There were several nice galleries, restaurants, and shops now gracing the small restored town Main Street. Rocky could treat herself to a great dinner, as her credit card was almost empty, on the better side than her checking account.

The photo shoot went very well, Rocky was glad Larilee was there. Larilee did all the setup work, Rocky did the lighting and it went like they had done this together a bazillion times.

Larilee agreed to model for a series of fashion shots for Rocky’s portfolio. She modeled her latest fiber arts creations and the handmade jewelry from the gallery. The jewelry she had was fabulous and that was the most fun for Rocky to photograph. The job was done by four in the afternoon, and Rocky had time to explore Truckee. Taking time for a lovely dinner she could still get home in time to retrieve the pets at the kennel.

Larilee connected Rocky with a reservation at the best place to have dinner. The little restaurant was on the steep street away from the main street. It was such an interesting looking re-do in a historic railroad building that Rocky took shots of it for the expanding portfolio.

Not wanting to be the first one there for dinner, she took another walk around the two block area. As Rocky walked she remarked on the enormous potential photos in the little town. Notating locations in her organizer, she plotted the snowy exterior gallery shots and several lovely town scenes. The thought of a winter aerial scene was thrilling Rocky’s spirit if she got the go-ahead to fly again.

The two-block stroll killed all of ten minutes; she was early for her reservation. Being the only one there, she was seated anyway.

The menu was very unusual for Rocky, but she was always game to try new things. Even in food, Rocky was full speed ahead. The Cream of Fennel soup was wonderful. Beautifully presented, in an antique china bowl, Rocky wanted a photo.

She requested the Roasted Pheasant, though after ordering the pheasant, she wished for the lamb brochette. The pheasant was served with cranberry and raisin comfit. The polenta was excellent with a hint of rosemary. The very small young artichoke was precisely the right size. Rocky could not detect what was in the dipping sauce, but it was interesting and a lovely counterpoint to the rest of the meal.

Her dessert choices were nectarine tart, Apple Charlotte, or chocolate mousse. That was not a choice for Rocky, the nectarine tart was it. The tart crust was amazing. Over espresso, Rocky considered how gross it would be to loosen her belt in public. She contained.

The meal was wonderful and Rocky was semi comfortable in her jeans.

Ready to drive back down the mountains to home Rocky was determined to come back for the lamb brochette when the snow scene photo shoot was scheduled.

“Ma’am, your credit card has been declined. Have you another form of payment?” the server said handing Rocky her credit card.

“Huh?” she was stunned.

“I put it through three times to make sure, what form of payment would you prefer to use?” the young server asked again.

“That card isn’t any where near max, uh, I’ll pay by check, but I’m not local,” Rocky said.

“That is fine, if you have ID?” her cheerful server politely advised her.

What the heck could be wrong with the credit card? She was feeling confused as she made out the check.

After she got the checks from the recycling metal company, Rocky made a whopper payment to cover all the charges on the trip from Alaska. She had not used the credit card at all, since then. There should be several thousands of dollars of unused balance on it.

Escaping the restaurant, with some dignity she hoped, Rocky immediately dialed the bank from the truck. Her full stomach hurt.

The balance was now over twenty five hundred dollars from the charges in the previous two weeks.

That customer service person transferred Rocky to another customer service and Rocky found that Tony in Anchorage was charging on the card. It took a few minutes to get her name off the card, and she made an electronic check payment to cover the rest of what she owed. Rocky would not pay Tony’s balance.

She needed to call her attorney in the morning.

To top that off, Rocky was informed because she was not employed the credit card company would not issue a card in her name. She could not believe that, would not,could not, she had that card for years, even in college.

After driving halfway home, Rocky convinced herself that not having a credit card was better than having to support Tony.

The divorce was final in two weeks Rocky supposed Tony was not going to let her go away, without a final kick in the belly.

Rocky requested the credit card company to email the items that have been charged in the last month. She intended to fax that to her attorney, to somehow ensure that Tony can not make her pay his bills. Rocky was not sure the attorney could do anything about that issue but then why was she paying him, if he could not find a way to protect her?

The next morning, she called her attorney. He wanted the fax and he would take care of it from up in Anchorage. Rocky was hoping that she not going to have to go to Alaska to settle this divorce. That would definitely flatten her checkbook and make the winter tougher.

By noon, Rocky still had not received the copy of the billing from the credit card company. Contacting them again was successful. Within ten minutes the email was in her in-box, and she was hurrying to Kinko’s in Auburn to fax it to Anchorage.

The remainder of the day was a complete waste of time,back and forth to get the situation arranged. At the end of that day Rocky still did not have a credit card in her name.

She could use her debit card until she could find a job, then she could reapply. If she was going to fly charters a credit card was mandatory for fuel purchases.

The days continued on this way through the first week in September. The photos for the gallery calendar were chosen and approved. Larilee decided that she definitely would like a photo of the shop for the front cover. Rocky was thrilled to schedule another trip, with cash, to Truckee to do that. The scene with the gallery front decorated for the holidays would do for the December slot. The cover piece would be a beautiful sculpture. The snow shot would allow Rocky to get some skiing in at the same time.