7 MEAL COUNSELING
“Okay, everyone.” Leah bangs a wooden spoon around the inside of a cast-iron skillet, even though we’re already near the table. “Let’s eat!”
We’d sat around the picnic table while Amy and Leah prepared dinner on the other end. I knew it wouldn’t be anything gourmet, but that was fine. I was hungry. I’d only eaten the small Mexican lunch from Taco Time since eating burgers and fries at the lodge before my hike with Bea yesterday.
I grin at the memory of showering off the filth from our romp in the woods.
We’d all snacked while exploring each other, comfortably tucked into Amy’s loft.
I’d only had coffee for breakfast before we quickly headed down the mountain, where I fell asleep and dreamed of Stacy.
My musing about the last two places we’d eaten brings back her memory.
I close my eyes and try to clear the invasive thought.
I have little to complain about with my life taking a sudden twist, filled with five beautiful women, and loving every part of it.
But the lack of routine is starting to wear on me.
Amy and Leah must’ve sensed this because they’ve planned for a regular meal before we begin the next adventure.
Along the center of the picnic table rests a large cooler packed with huge, steaming hot baked potatoes wrapped in foil, then a line of the fixings, including a choice between smoked pulled pork, shredded chicken, or taco-seasoned beef as toppings.
“Wow!” I say, looking down at my baked potato, the size of a dinner plate. I load the inside of the skin with a healthy scoop of taco meat, then add a generous handful of cheese and a heaping spoonful of sour cream. “When did you have time to make this?”
“We baked them in the oven at the lodge. I freeze many things I get from restaurants in Sisters or down in the valley like the taco meat is from Taco Time.”
Amy grins and winks as she sits beside me with her plate of hot, steamy food.
“Guests enjoy breakfasts and nightly small meals provided as part of their reservations. Baked potatoes are easy to cook and keep warm, wrapped in foil.”
“We’d just finished packing the food in the coolers to keep everything hot when you returned,” Leah continues. “We’ve been lax on a consistent eating schedule, so Amy and I put our heads together to devise a plan for feeding us all.”
“Thank you for thinking ahead.” I nod and fork in a mouthful of fluffy potato, taco meat, cheese, and sour cream mouthful. My eyes roll back as I chew. “This is awesome. I just realized that my diet today has been Taco Time and coffee.”
“Yeah. We need to do better with meal planning,” Amy says, leaning on my shoulder. “Once settled, we can develop a routine and schedule. We can’t have you passed out from a calorie deficit from lack of meals.”
“You keep making dishes like this, and I don’t think it will be a problem. I might have to start marathon training to keep from getting pudgy.”
“I’m sure we can think of various vigorous activities to keep you fit and happy,” Paige chimes in from her spot. “You need to train for alpine climbing too!”
The girls are in good spirits, full of smiles as they chat and laugh.
I grin, watching Paige joke around with Ginny and Bea.
Her sense of humor always seems to calm me when I feel stressed.
Bea is getting along with the rest of the girls, and I’m sure riding back up the mountain with Ginny helped their bonding.
Ginny is lively and a lot of fun. I didn’t get to spend much one-on-one time with her yesterday.
I look forward to giving her my full attention at the mystical native altar near the spring.
The sun sinks toward the horizon, approaching the sunset that’s probably due in an hour or so. Since it’s near midsummer, the days are pretty long this far north, so I reckon we’ll have a couple of hours of twilight before the dark and the last park ranger patrol around 10 p.m.
I glance up, noticing Leah smiling at me. “What?” I grin at her while poking at the remains of my baked potato.
“You’re thinking about timing, aren’t you?”
“How did you know?” I narrow my eyes because sometimes she’s eerily tuned in to what’s happening.
“I’m very attentive to your mannerisms,” Leah explains. “You’ve gone all day without any sex, so you’re starting to feel antsy.”
“I’m not that bad,” I try to argue, laughing. She raises a hand.
“It’s a good thing, babe. You’ve needed a break and did great using your downtime today to rest. You’ve got to be anticipating Operation Midnight Fuck. I just noticed you checking the sun, looking around at the campground, noticing the shadows.
You don’t wear a watch because you’ve got a natural sense of time, and when you need to know, it’s on your phone.”
“Is your last name Holmes?” I grin.
“Like I said, I pay attention to things. Especially you.”
“Why me?” I ask, furrowing my brow. Amy twists, hearing our conversation, while the other three continue to laugh and enjoy whatever they’re talking about.
“Because you are under the most pressure right now,” Leah says, then holds up her hand before I complain.
“Maintaining relationships is different than work, Kurt. You feel responsible for five new people in your life. You’re recently unemployed and moving halfway across the country. You’re feeling a lot of stress. Don’t tell me you’re not.”
Glancing at Amy, I nod. “Yeah, I hadn’t been dwelling on it,” I admit to Leah as Amy leans into my side and hugs me. “I’ve been wonderfully distracted. But, yeah, I can feel the tension building inside me. I never really thought of the stressors you just listed.”
“I deal with people in relationship crisis,” Leah explains. “Most of the time, the emotional closeness isn’t the problem. It’s unexamined stress, miscommunication, and misaligned priorities. That pressure starts spats and builds resentment, and that stresses the relationship.”
Amy nods. “Many things were misaligned between my ex-husband and me. But I agree. The problems worsened when we stopped communicating, made assumptions, and held grudges for things that never happened.”
“We’ve talked about that, Amy. I know you understand the importance of talking things through dispassionately.”
She focuses back on me. “It’s Kurt I’m worried about because I feel like he’s spent the last thirty years avoiding relationship issues by focusing on work. That’s a different kind of stress, and it doesn’t grow because it is the nature of business to solve conflicts.
Which is a whole different topic.”
“What are you saying?” I ask, feeling a bit defensive but not disagreeing with her perspective. “Tell it to me straight.”
“Babe,” Leah says, reaching for my hand.
“I’m worried about you, but I also see that you’ve made significant shifts in your routine the past week. You’re looking to us for input and listening before jumping to a new project. I encourage you to continue that as your life goes through this massive shift.”
“Okay.” I squint at her and work through my emotional response to her concern. Amy leans and kisses my cheek but stays silent. Leah squeezes my hand, letting me process, and I squeeze back when it clicks.
“You want me to be more open to talking about what’s on my mind rather than just stewing on it silently and then making a decision without getting more input.”
Leah raises both eyebrows and winks. “Got it in one,” she says, nodding. “You’re not alone anymore. We’re here, and we support you. I’m holding you to what you said at breakfast. You need to lead, but you also need to discuss. What’s worrying you right now?”
“I was thinking about when we should leave. How long will the hike take? Do we need to set anything up? What do we do between now and the final ranger check?”
Leah nods at Amy, who squeezes my forearm. “We’re going to start a campfire, then roast some s’mores for dessert.”
“Paige and I are going to head out a little before ten,” Leah says. “Because we want to set up quilts and things to make it comfortable. The four of you can join us after the park rangers leave.”
“It should take about thirty to forty minutes for us to make the hike,” Paige says, and I notice she’s slid close at some point as the conversation shifts to the night’s plans. “If you leave after ten-thirty, you’ll have plenty of time.”
As we discuss the plans, Bea and Ginny lean toward us, and the girls’ natural focus at the shift in our discussion strikes me. Everyone is aligned, and it helps to calm the tight coil in my gut that I’ve ignored.
“We have packs packed for each of us,” Amy tells the group. “Leah and I divided the supplies between the backpacks. You each have an LED lantern in your pack; with the full moon, you shouldn’t need it on the hike. But we might need to use them in the old-growth forest near the altar.”
“In the packs are some water bottles and snacks. We don’t know how long we’ll be at the altar, but we may be peckish at the end.” Leah’s mouth turns up in a wicked grin.
“You guys have this wired,” I say with a nod. “Thank you. It helps to know everyone is included. I feel like I’ve been too absent with my naps today.”
“You need your rest, babe. The stress you’ve been ignoring takes its toll,” Paige says with a smirk. “You’re not exhausted solely from fucking your sexy harem girls.”
“We can handle the details,” Leah reminds me. “We’re all one big team.”
Ginny raises her hand, and I nod at her.
“Okay, that’s all great.” She grins and winks at me before wrinkling her nose. “But what is a… s’more? I want some dessert!”