Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
In the lap of nature lies the thrill of discovery.
Tula
There were indeed benefits to sharing a tent with her camp counselor, such as persuading him that it would be beneficial to share their body heat.
Of course, his agreement didn’t produce the actual result she’d visualized as he’d only gone as far as to drag her sleeping bag closer to his.
She’d still giggled as she’d been inside it at the time and when he draped his arm across her, she felt much warmer indeed.
However, when that counselor took his duties seriously, which meant waking up before the birds had even begun to chirp, she wasn’t quite as content.
“Go back to sleep, otter.”
“I can’t, I’ll be cold.”
He chuckled. “If you’re cold then why are you lying on top of your bag instead of in it?”
“Because a bumblebee has to crawl out of the honeycomb in order to fly, silly.” She yawned hugely then said, “Besides, you’re the one who made up the rules.
No tromping about without a buddy.” Granted, the only tromping she did after dressing was to the firepit where she promptly tripped over a log.
She would have fallen except for the fact he reached out and snagged her arm before she hit the ground.
“You need to look where you’re going or go where you’re looking.”
“Huh?”
He chuckled. “It means be careful.”
“Oh, right, thanks.” She plopped down and yawned again.
“I thought you were helping?”
“Coffee first, helping later.”
She’d already fallen in love with his chuckle and when he dropped a kiss on top of her head, she fell a little harder. As he relit the fire and set a huge pot in the embers, she learned she enjoyed simply watching him move as well as she waited for heaven’s true nectar to perk.
“Careful, it’s hot,” Master David said a few minutes later as he held out a mug of coffee.
“Thank you.” She moaned as she inhaled deeply. “Nature’s ambrosia,” she said as she blew across the liquid’s surface.
“Coffee-holic?” he asked as he joined her with his own mug.
“Pretty much, though hot chocolate is right up there with coffee.”
They sipped in quiet contentment as nature woke up around them. A pair of squirrels started a game of tag and birds began to call to one another.
“Don’t you just love mornings? Everything looks so fresh and new as the sun comes up,” she said.
“I think I’m more of a fan of the night. When everything looks so beautiful beneath the moon and the stars.”
She smiled and leaned into him. “You really are quite poetic, Master David.”
“I told you elephants like peanuts.”
Tula gasped and straightened so quickly, her coffee sloshed over the rim of her cup. Thankfully, it missed her lap or else she’d know what it felt to burn in a far different context.
“Sadie!” she hissed but it was far too late to be putting the top on that kettle.
The tea was already spilled. She could feel Master David’s eyes switching between her and Sadie, the question she could see reflected in their depths only remaining unasked as Wren dropped to sit on the log beside her.
“Thanks for the ride, Daddy,” Wren said as she looked up at her Daddy.
“You’re welcome, little one,” Master Travis said before turning to Master David. “What’s with the peanuts?”
“Don’t ask me. I’m still trying to figure out the elephant in the equation. It’s like they’re speaking in some sort of code,” Master David said.
Master Travis took a moment to simply give each of the girls a long look before glancing back at his co-counselor. “Well, take it from a man of experience. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.” He slapped Master David on the back. “Who’s on breakfast duty?”
“Since the Bees are so eager to buzz, how about we put them to work? Let the Bears hibernate a little longer.”
“Works for me,” Master Travis said. “You heard the man, up and at ‘em. That bacon isn’t going to cook itself.”
Tula was willing to hunt down the boar, kill it, skin it, and butcher it herself if that meant keeping the men oblivious. She jumped up and was in the process of lifting her hand to salute when suddenly she found her mug being taken from her just before she’d have spilled yet more coffee.
“Oh, I forgot, thanks.”
“You’re welcome, otter. Come on, I’ll show you where the griddles are.”
“First, the bathroom,” Sadie said as she pulled Wren to her feet. “We need to wash our hands before cooking.”
“Yep, proper hygiene and all that, right, Master David?” Wren said.
“Don’t dawdle,” Master Travis said. “This bear isn’t hibernating and he’s starving!”
The girls made their exit with Tula being unable to even consider escape as she was flanked by her friends. Thankfully, they waited until they were out of earshot before Sadie said, “I don’t want to hear about your drink preferences, so spill. Friends do not keep friends in the dark.”
“Especially when those friends gave Oscar-worthy performances to give that elephant a nudge,” Wren added.
Tula smiled and dropped into a low bow. “I applaud your skills and thank you for them. And while there were no peanuts being licked, there might have been a teensy bit of nibbling happening.”
Their squeals were far too loud but Tula just shook her head and as the three performed their morning toilet before washing their hands, she gave them a quick rundown of her midnight stroll and the kiss shared beneath a canopy of stars.
“That’s so romantic,” Wren said.
“That’s awesome is what that is!” Sadie threw her arms around Tula. “And don’t think we missed that ‘otter’ reference. Was there some swimming involved?”
Knowing her friends would understand the sanctity of a pinky promise, Tula didn’t feel guilty about leaving that part out. “Well, my last name is Rivers and otters love water, so getting wet wasn’t required.”
Sadie’s head cocked to the side, but Wren just nodded.
“I hope we see one today. They are just too cute.”
“Don’t forget, we’re switching positions in the canoe.” Tula hoped that was enough to have Sadie stop looking as if she were trying to solve a puzzle. As a bit of insurance, Tula added, “Sadie, you can be queen bee and Wren can either lead or steer. I’m good with either.”
“Whew, then you can steer. I’d probably run us right into a spider cluster.”
“Clutter!” Sadie and Tula chorused which set them into giggles as they reminded Wren she’d messed up her line the night before.
“Hey, it got your elephant into the hive, didn’t it?”
And with that, they had gone full circle.
Tula had never been more grateful to see a bear in her life as Blake appeared, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Hooking her arms through her friends’, she said, “Come on, we’ve got bacon to cook.”
Breakfast duty had been fun and declared a success by her fellow campers.
They didn’t even seem to mind that a few slices of bacon were rather charred or a bit ashy from falling into the fire when being flipped a bit too aggressively.
Tula thought the pancakes Masters David and Travis churned out like they were master chefs had a great deal to do with the groans of contentment.
After breaking down camp, they’d all loaded back into canoes for the day’s river trip where Wren proved to be a fairly good paddler despite the fact she kept overcorrecting before they went anywhere close to a tree.
“Man, it’s hot.” Sadie fanned her face with her hand. “I think I’m actually melting.”
“We can’t have our queen melting,” Wren said as she looked over her shoulder at Tula. Without need of speech, Tula nodded and she and Wren dipped their paddles into the water and were soon batting at it as if keeping leaping piranhas at bay.
Sadie shrieked and leaned over to scoop water into her hands to return the favor.
All three were laughing when suddenly they were no longer inside the canoe but were looking at each other through the sheen of the river.
Tula surfaced first and managed to snag the leader rope while shouting for them to grab the paddles when the other two heads popped up.
The shrill of a whistle had Tula looking to see Master David’s canoe approaching at a rapid rate. She smiled as she watched his muscles flex with every pull of the paddle.
“We could be drowning for all our otter cares,” Wren said as she swam up to the canoe.
Tula rolled her eyes. “You’re wearing a life jacket, silly. Besides, you can thank Sadie for the swim as I’m not the one who dumped us into the river.”
“At least we’re not hot,” Sadie said brightly.
“You girls okay?” Master David asked as he pulled up and began to backpaddle to keep his canoe from continuing downstream.
“Yes, Tula is going to teach us how to get back into the canoe,” Sadie said as if the entire episode had been planned.
“Good idea.” Master David lifted his whistle to his lips again before using his paddle to point to the bank. “This is a good spot for a lesson. Can you hang on until the others beach?”
“Sure,” Sadie said. “We can be otters!”
Tula could feel her face heating as Master David looked from Sadie to her.
And she couldn’t explain why his crooked grin had her suddenly feeling a great deal warmer despite the fact she was treading water rather than baking beneath the sun.
When the whistle blew again, she almost dropped the rope she was holding.
This time the shrill had come from Master Travis’ canoe. “You guys okay?”
“Yes, we’re going to take advantage of the Bees’ rather unique method of debarkation to demonstrate what to do if you happen to capsize.” He looked back at them. “I yield the floor.”
“You do know we are in a river, right?” Wren used her hand to splash water as if a visual clue was required.
Tula had no clue why Bigs were always fussing about Littles rolling their eyes. It was really quite comical to see her dream man’s roll before he said, “I yield the river.”
It was harder than Tula remembered it being but figured that was partly due to the fact that the three broke out into giggles at every opportunity.
Eventually, they were all beneath the canoe instead of floating beside it.
“Okay, on the count of three, lift and flip.” She counted down and then did so another two times before they managed to sync their lift and flip.
Enthusiastic applause had Sadie waving her paddle like she was sitting on some float in a parade.
“You’re not done,” Tula said. “Wren, you hold the bow on this side and I’ll steady the stern on the other side.
” Swimming around the canoe, Tula took up her position.
“Oh, you can put the paddles inside so you don’t have to hold them.
” Once the two paddles were on board, she nodded her head.
“Okay, queen bee, pull your royal self into your carriage.”
It took a few attempts and wasn’t exactly elegant, but Sadie finally managed and then helped pull Wren with a great deal of groaning and giggling, leaving only Tula outside.
“What now?”
“Now you both lean—carefully—to that side which will be a counterweight when I start to climb in,” Tula directed. “Do not flip the canoe or we’ll have to start all over.”
Levity was set aside as all three were a bit tired. “We’re ready,” Wren said while Sadie moved the paddles out of the way.
Planting her hands on the hull, Tula pushed up and as the canoe began to tilt toward her and her friends squealed, she flipped in. As the canoe rocked, she pulled a paddle to her and used it as a rudder while cheers and applause rang out over the water.
“Wow, you really are a river rat,” Wren said, a trace of awe in her voice.
“Nope, she’s a sleek, beautiful otter,” Sadie corrected with a smile as she passed Wren the other paddle. “Her Daddy said so.”
“Shhh, he’s not my Daddy,” Tula whispered, shooting a glance toward the canoe that had remained close in case they failed in their demonstration. When its occupant’s grin widened and he winked, she felt her body heating all over again.
“Oh yes he is,” Sadie said as if that settled the matter. “It’s obvious. The rest of it is just fluff.”
“Good job, girls,” Master David praised, before lifting his whistle to his lips. After it shrilled, he called, “Load up. Lunch is just around the bend.” The announcement garnered yet more cheering as the other campers began to pile back into canoes and the flotilla spread across the water again.
Flipping the leader rope into their canoe, Master David said, “Don’t want it to get snagged on some hidden stump. Thank you, ladies, for your demonstration. Remind me to give you each a prize when we get to camp.” He gave their canoe a little shove before he began to drop back to bring up the rear.
“Oh, I love prizes,” Wren said.
“I wonder what it is,” Sadie said.
“I just hope it’s fluffy,” Tula said which set all three into an entirely new fit of giggles.