Chapter Sixteen #2
“When you are with someone for a long time, especially when you start that relationship young, you think you know everything there is to know about them. But as time moves forward and comfortability sets in, those things you thought you knew are nothing more than well-practiced assumptions. Your brain does its best to hold on to basic facts. Like their favorite food, color, flower, song. What they do at work, how they like their coffee, what they do in their free time. But some benign question from some well-meaning coworker or acquaintance will stump you. And either you will shrug it off, at peace with not knowing the answer, or it will refocus your attention back to your partner. On the essential details that make your partner who they are.” Mo spoke slowly, leading them down the creek as she waxed philosophical.
“Reminding you that constantly learning, or even relearning, about your partner isn’t a bad thing.
No, it shows an extra kind of care. One where you take the time to make sure you aren’t taking them for granted. ”
“Mmm,” Aspen agreed absentmindedly, barely listening.
“And if you’re lucky, they are doing the same for you,” Mo finished, stopping in front of an overhang of trees where the creek had widened significantly. “You know?”
“Huh?” Aspen asked, her focus returning to the conversation at hand just as she walked into the back of Mo, grasping her pack to keep her footing. “Whoops.”
Mo chuckled before looking over her shoulder and inquiring, “Do we wade along the bank, or cross?”
Aspen did a triple take between the bank and the wide expanse of the creek.
The bank in front of them was jutted right up against the water, an overhang of thick trees and brush making it impossible to walk along the ground.
In order to move forward, they would have to wade through the water next to the low overhang, which would bring them to a rocky outcropping that Aspen could make out ahead.
The second option was crossing the creek itself, as the other side was just a sand- and rock-laden creek bed.
But the creek was too wide here for Aspen’s liking.
It would be too hard to tell the depth, which made it way more risky.
The third option, which Aspen barely gave credence to, was to hike backward to a shallower crossing.
She definitely wasn’t in the mood for a backtrack, so she turned to Mo and shrugged half-heartedly.
“We wade.”
“Cool.” Mo nodded, shrugging off her pack with more practiced ease. “I assume Crocs and making my pants into shorts?”
“That’s what I’m gonna do,” Aspen responded, removing her own pack and cursing as her finger was crushed between the plastic on the strap buckle and her collarbone. “Fuck!”
“Careful! We aren’t in a hurry.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Aspen grumbled, pinching the hurt finger with her opposite hand as she focused on the pain. “Stupid pack.”
“You sound like me from a few days ago,” Mo joked while she leaned over, unzipping the bottoms of her pants to create shorts. “Is it deep here?”
“Should be fine along the bank,” Aspen explained, even as her focus was still on her finger.
Aspen sulked, walking herself and her hurt finger to the closest oversized rock to sit and ponder while she slowly kicked off her hiking boots. She took her sweet time removing her socks, still deep in her own feelings. Mo, however, was already pulling her pack back on.
“I’m gonna go on ahead. I think I see a perfect place to look for a good tree.” Mo tightened her shoulder straps before snapping closed her chest strap. “See you in a few!”
Aspen only nodded in return, standing to remove the hiking pants she kept on over her workout shorts.
Mo grabbed a long stick from next to Aspen, walking out of her view and toward the water’s edge.
Once her pants were off, Aspen slid on her Crocs and slowly tied the pants to the top of her pack.
As she did so, she considered just being friendly with Mo.
Ending the trip once her goal was complete and giving her a sweet goodbye, wishing her well with her life back in the Bay.
It would create minimal anxiety, and she could return to her own way of life, sticking to what she knew.
“That could definitely work,” Aspen whispered out loud to herself, bobbing her head back and forth in consideration.
She internally decided that was her best course of action.
If she couldn’t resolve these issues easily, why push herself now?
So Aspen took in a deep breath, centered herself, and brought her focus back to the task at hand.
“Wade across the creek and find a suitable tree.”
Aspen looked up. Mo was wading forward in the almost knee-deep water, checking the depth with her stick before advancing.
She was pleased the woman had taken some of her advice to heart, so she turned her attention to her pack.
But just as her fingers grasped the top handhold, a large gust blew in from the direction they had come.
The trees loudly groaned under the pressure, and a loud crack caused Aspen to jump.
She watched helplessly as a limb from one of the trees above Mo came hurtling down toward her.
“Mo!” Aspen screamed, but it was too late. The limb hit Mo squarely in the shoulders, launching her sideways into the deeper water away from the bank.
Aspen raced forward, slamming hard into the water in an attempt to get to Mo as quickly as she could.
She could see Mo’s arms and legs flailing in and out of the creek, splashing haphazardly as she struggled under the weight of her pack.
Fear and worry exploded in Aspen’s chest, pushing her to swim to get to Mo faster.
She pumped her arms, the shocking cold of the water stark in contrast to her panic.
“Mo!” Aspen screamed again, watching as both of Mo’s Crocs floated to the top. “I’m coming!”
In mere seconds but what felt like minutes, Aspen reached where she had last seen Mo on the surface.
She dove under while extending her hands out, luckily finding one of Mo’s arms. Aspen grabbed her bicep firmly and pulled, feeling around for the handle at the top of her pack.
Once she had a firm grip, Aspen pushed her feet off the bottom of the creek, propelling them both back toward the bank.
Aspen used all her strength to pull Mo’s head above water, causing Mo to choke and wretch, spitting up whatever she had pulled into her lungs when she had been knocked in.
“Mo?” Aspen was desperate, looking between Mo’s sputtering face and the bank she was pulling her toward. “Talk to me.”
All Mo returned was a raspy coughing fit, so Aspen focused on getting her safely to shore, cursing herself for not paying more attention.
Mo’s butt dragged along the bottom of the creek as they reached the edge, pushing Aspen to pull harder.
Once Mo was completely out of the water, Aspen moved to hover over her, quickly unsnapping the pack from her body.
“Oh God, I am so fucking sorry. I was in my own little world, and I forgot to tell you to unsnap your straps. The weight of the pack…” Aspen sucked in a breath, fretting audibly as she closed her eyes. “That was so scary.”
Mo let out another deep cough, spitting up more water before smiling crookedly and replying, “Honey, you’ve never looked better.”
“Really?” Aspen pushed her shoulder lightly, causing Mo to laugh and cough before sitting back and making an exasperated noise. “This might be the only time I ever get angry at someone quoting The Parent Trap.”
“I thought it would be better received than a—Ah!” Mo grimaced loudly, sucking breath through her teeth as her left hand flung up to her right shoulder. “I’m fine.”
“You are not fine!” Aspen yelled at her, returning to kneel over her. “A branch fell on you. Did it hit you in the head?”