Chapter Seven #2
“Imight be too tired to go to the bonfire tonight.” Exhaustion dragged on Eric’s shoulders as they headed from the common room toward their tent after supper. “I had no idea an afternoon of intentionally tipping a canoe would be so tiring. Everything aches.”
“Yeah. I’d forgotten how much effort it takes.”
“Forgotten?” He paused mid-step to look at her.
She kept walking and said, “I used to kayak. Flipping a canoe is different, but similar. Rolling over and coming back up takes skill.”
“How much kayaking did you do? You seemed to outshine everyone on the lake today.” He suspected it was a lot. Her ability to steer their canoe, even when he was messing up the directions, plus her skill at righting the canoe, would indicate that she’d spent plenty of time on the water.
“A lot. I kayaked a lot.”
He got the feeling she was still hiding her full experience, but he let it slide.
This wasn’t about a relationship between two people.
Even if it were, she was entitled to her secrets.
He certainly wasn’t going to blurt out his entire life story immediately upon meeting someone. That would be crazy.
This trip was about building strength and unity between employees, turning them into friends, and teaching them how to work together under new and potentially trying circumstances.
So why did her keeping things to herself hurt? He pushed the uncomfortable question aside and said, “I am definitely ready for a hot drink and a long rest.”
She gave him a side-eyed look. “Is that a shot at me not letting you sleep?”
He paused on the red shale pathway. “Actually, no. Do I seem like the type to hold a grudge?” Irritation walked up his spine.
“I can’t decide.”
Her blunt honesty shocked him. What kind of person didn’t cushion their words? Her opinion was a little off-putting.
“That was blunt.”
She shrugged. “Did you want me to lie?” She walked backward down the path, still facing him where he’d stopped.
“No. I guess not.”
She waited for him to catch up and fell into step beside him. “Sorry. I’m exhausted, too. Like you said, not enough sleep last night. Add that to two days of fun on the water; that waterpark took more out of me than I realized, and you’ve got one tired Wanda. Tired Wanda is grumpy Wanda.”
He didn’t respond; he just let her confession hang in the air between them. After a while, she added, “Sorry, Eric. I’m not used to this much physical activity, but that doesn’t give me the right to throw my grump at you.”
Unable to help himself, he laughed at the unusual expression and the vision it generated in his mind.
“Apology accepted. I wasn’t exactly pleasant when we got on the bus.”
“I’ll take that as an apology, which I accept very graciously.”
Her tone rang between sarcasm and laughter, and left him puzzled.
Wanda was an enigma, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to untangle all the confusing strands.
For now, for this team building event, he was just going to go along to get along.
For the most part, when she wasn’t hungry or tired, she was enjoyable company.
“Well then,” he said, “Look at us, being all adult and building a truce. This ridiculous trip is doing its job and building a relationship between us.”
“I’m going to grab a warmer sweater and head to the bonfire. Are you coming? It’s trivia night.”
He groaned.
“You don’t like trivia?” She unzipped the tent and was in and out with her sweater before he could respond. “You grabbing a hoodie or something?” She paused with her hand on the zipper, questions in her eyes.
“I suppose I should.” He waited for her to step aside and ducked inside, just as his phone rang.
“You have that turned on?” She called through the thin nylon wall.
He didn’t bother to answer; instead, he said, “Varner.” Fifteen minutes later, minor crisis solved, he slipped the phone back into his sleeping bag and exited the tent.
Wanda was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t dark; the sun wouldn’t set until around ten, but evening was falling.
Distant laughter reached him, and he walked toward it, his mind more on the office than on tonight’s trivia games.
The only empty seat was a spot on a log bench on the opposite side of the fire from Wanda. He debated asking everyone to shuffle over, but decided against it.
“Ah, there you are,” Brent called out. “And just in time, too.”
“For what?”
“Trivia, of course.” He grinned maliciously.
“Grab yourself a drink and a snack if you want one.” He waved to a table laden with snacks and steaming beverage carafes.
He stuck the mic under his arm and clapped briskly.
“Okay, everyone, make sure you’re sitting beside your partner.
This is a team game.” He waited while everyone shuffled.
Eric noted, for the first time, that the group had been divided. Men on one side of the fire and women on the other. Once everyone was seated again, the games began.
He and Wanda did great in the first few rounds.
“What is a Monstera?” Brent asked and reminded them to write their answers on their mini whiteboards.
Eric jotted down a movie genre.
“No, it isn’t,” Wanda hissed. “It’s a type of plant. A relative of the Philodendron.” She reached for the board to change their answer.
“Boards up,” Brent called.
Wanda’s glare would have cut stone.
He got the next question wrong as well, and her glare doubled.
“Don’t be so competitive,” he whispered. “It’s a game.”
“There’s two hundred dollars riding on this. That’s the prize. Two hundred dollars to spend at Southcentre Mall. I could have used that.” She crossed her arms. “We’re way behind now.”
The next few questions were science-based, and neither of them had any clue. Before he realized what was happening, the competition was down to two pairings, and they were sitting and watching. At least he was paying attention. Wanda was glaring into her hot chocolate cup.
She was on her third serving, every one topped with marshmallows. He shook his head. “How can you drink that much sugar?”
She shrugged and shifted to look away from him.
When the game was over, people slowly dispersed. Wanda set her cup on the table and grabbed a paper plate. She loaded it with chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers and returned to the fire.
He sat beside her.
“You can go to the tent,” she said. “I’ll be along in a bit.”
“I can wait. It’s nice out tonight. Not many bugs.”
She shrugged, clearly still angry with him.
“It was just a game.”
She ignored him.
Funny, she hadn’t struck him as the petulant type. She was so upbeat and cheerful. All day, she’d been sunshine and kind words. Not so much now.
“I can give you a gift certificate if that would help.”
She glared. “It isn’t about the gift card.”