Felicity Ch 10

Ch.10: Travels with Lucy

I was on a trail in Big Bend National Park on my way back to my Chisos Mountain campsite when I had to stop for traffic. A rattlesnake was parked in the middle of the trail.

"Anytime you are ready, sir or madam," I said to the snake.

Of course since snakes cannot hear airborne sounds that urging was ignored. I was close enough to merit its attention but far enough away to keep it from panicking. Its rattle was silent. It was warming itself up in the morning sun so I was just going to have to wait. I busied myself taking pictures of it.

A couple of hikers were suddenly about to continue past me down the trail, they had not seen the snake. I put my arm out and stopped what turned out to be a woman and her young daughter.

Their concern for my action was quickly forgotten when the snake made its presence known to them, its rattles were no longer silent. The woman and her kid had scared it. The snake in turn had scared the woman and her kid.

"What should we do?" asked the woman.

"I was going to wait until it remembered where it was going."

"Oh, we can't wait too long. We were hurrying to the bathroom."

"OK, step back a little. I will insult it, call it names."

The two looked at me as I expected, they though they were dealing with a lunatic.

"You are fat and your rattle is off key," I said loudly to the snake.

The snake almost immediately hurried down the mountain slope and off the trail. The woman said that might have been the weirdest thing she had ever seen. Her daughter seemed to think it was the coolest thing she had ever seen.

We resumed our trek down to the campgrounds and even though I liked their admiration for my feat I soon confessed that my insults had nothing to do with the snakes withdrawal. What triggered it were our three steps back, which gave the snake the opportunity to make a dignified retreat.

"We had to convince it we were not going to eat it," I said.

The kid thought that may have been the funniest thing she ever heard. Her mother, however, nodded after apparently deciding that what I had said made sense. I was impressed by that.

The purpose of my ruse was to keep the snake from become and evil creature in their minds. I thought the snake owed me a thank you note.

As we neared the campgrounds I mentioned to the mother that there were restrooms at the lodge just past the gift shop that would save them a few hundred feet. They were grateful for the information and peeled away towards the lodge. I continued to the campgrounds and my tent.

I had been roaming for six days and this was the second day of my third trip to Big Bend. My campsite was among the first as you got to the grounds, close enough to the restroom in case of emergencies but far enough away not to be bothered by traffic to and from it. I had erected my tent near some shrubs and pointed it down the right side drive so headlights never hit my site at night. I was an experienced camper.

I camp with the largest dome tent one person can put up. Mine was roomy enough to set up an inflatable full size bed and some furnishings. I had a two-burner gas stove and enough utensils and gadgets to cook-up anything my stomach desired. Normally if I pitched a tent anywhere it was going to be for at least three nights, any one or two night stops were in motels or lodges.

I had just finished downloading the morning's pictures to my laptop when the mom and kid walked over to my campsite.

"Thanks for saving us twice today", she said, "once from the rattler and once from wet pants. We got you a present," she added as she handed me a package of Oreo cookies.

I love Oreo's and told the woman she had made an inspired guess with her selection. I had started a pot of coffee and it was now ready so I invited them to stay and share the cookies.

She seemed to hesitate but before she could answer the daughter became very enthused over the photo of "her rattler" on my laptop. I allowed the kid to sit in my spot on the picnic table and started a slide show of my pictures from that morning. While she and her mom admired them I prepared coffee for two and soft drink for one.

I had wanted my stepson to accompany me on that trip but his love for the outdoors had been supplanted by a love for girls. He was thirteen. We had been on several trips over the years but his enthusiasm for camping had waned. When my ex-wife's parents offered to take him on a cruise he acted properly torn by indecision but eventually opted for the cruise as I had expected.

Even though this was to be the second consecutive year I would be wandering alone I had nevertheless packed for the two of us hoping for a miracle. I had plenty of everything. I had even packed my stepsons inflatable bed.

It felt nice to have company so I invited the lady and the kid to join me for dinner. The woman again hesitated but the kid immediately asked what was for supper.

I replied, "Well, it's Tuesday so the park rules say we have to eat hot dogs. Lots of them."

The woman knew that she was defeated before the daughter made her argument and simply asked, "What time do you want us back?"

"Right after sundown. I am going to see if I can get a decent picture of the sunset at The Window tonight. I will be back here right after that."

"What is The Window?"

"A space between two peaks that form a nice frame for sunsets. It is a twenty-minute hike from here to the spot where I want to go to take my pictures. It is forty minutes to the gallery but there are usually many people there so I take a short detour on the trail to a spot which although it has a much smaller viewing area has just as impressive a view."

"Can we come with you? Will you show us?" asked the kid. Her mother nodded echoing her daughter's request.

"Sure. Come back here as soon as you see the sun about to duck behind that mountain. "

They thanked me and started to go towards their tent but the mother suddenly stopped and came back to me.

"Hi. I am Lucy," she said extending her hand. "This is Jamie".

I shook each hand as I introduced myself as James. They then resumed their trip towards their tent.

I had been up since five AM so I took a short nap before I got the prep for the hot dogs ready and prepared three small salads. I set up the necessary items for hot chocolate but I only had two coffee mugs so I took a quick trip to the gift shop and purchased a souvenir cup.

By the time I had my big camera and tripod ready they were back, at least thirty minutes before they needed to be. I think they were eager for what was apparently going to be an unexpected treat for them. I grabbed my stuff and a flashlight and off we went. The hike to the viewing area is mostly downhill so it was not a difficult trek for them. We lucked out and found ourselves alone in the small viewing spot.

While we waited for the sun to slide between the peaks I took pictures of the girls. I took a few of Jamie and was reminded that all five-year-old girls are adorable. Of course my redhead niece Samantha was the only other five year old I knew and she was adorable so my conclusion was probably a result of small sample size.

Jamie was bright with an extensive vocabulary; she was also a bit of a tomboy.

When I turned the camera on Lucy she playfully posed for me as I snapped away and I urged her to "Work with me, work with me." I could see where Jamie got her adorableness.

What a revelation. In my viewfinder Lucy was funny, cute, beautiful, and sexy. I lowered the camera and took my first really good look at her. She was tallish, with short blonde hair, big blue eyes, and an athletic body. She had beautiful smiles and a nice big grin. She was also braless.

Jamie announced that the sun was between the mountains and I was distracted away from whatever and got back to my original purpose. I attached the SLR camera to the tripod and snapped away every thirty seconds or so. I wished for a deep red sun.

The sunset was as good as I hoped and I knew at least a few of my pictures would show that. Lucy and Jamie were fascinated by the changes in the color and size of the sun as it sank over the "edge of the world".

The problem with a downhill hike is that the return is uphill. Jamie was having no problem scrambling up so I gave her my flashlight and told her to make sure her mother could see where she was going. My real purpose in giving her that job was to slow her down. I did not want Jamie to rush ahead and run into a creature with no sense of humor, like a javelina, or a skunk.

Back at my camp the hot chocolate, the hot dogs, even the salads, were quickly consumed. The last of the Oreo's disappeared.

Lucy and I divulged some information about ourselves and were duly surprised and delighted to learn we lived ten miles apart in small towns to the southwest of Houston. We were both teachers, she third grade, me high school Biology/Ecology.

This was their first real camping trip and the previous afternoon they had pitched the first tent in their lives that was not in their back yard. Their first stop had been Sea World in San Antonio. The second stop was to be Big Bend but she had severely underestimated the driving distance and barely made it to a Marathon motel for her second stop. They had no timetable but expected to start towards Lake Amistad, Mustang Island, and back home after a week.

I had no hard timetable either but did not expect to go back home for at least a month. I fully expected to make camp in Yellowstone National Park for a week before heading back.

I was quizzed about my summer camping adventures and they seemed to be considering extending their own trip. Like me they had until August before they had to be somewhere. It was just the start of the third week in June.

While I was uploading and editing that nights pictures Jamie squeezed herself onto my lap and proceeded to watch the process with interest. Lucy asked me if she was in my way and I said, "Huh?"

That was apparently a good answer as she then stood behind me and joined in the process.

The sunset pictures were indeed spectacular but for the three of us the best pictures were of the girls goofing off for the camera. I was a bit embarrassed when I realized that instead of the twelve to fifteen pictures I thought had taken in total of both of them I had over fifteen pictures of just Jamie and nearly forty of Lucy.

Once as Lucy demanded I delete a picture of her making a funny face that her daughter and I thought was terrific she leaned well over me to try and hit the "move to trash" link. There were blocking moves from Jaime and me and lots of laughter from the three of us. I felt her breasts on my neck and I thought I felt her nipples harden. After she gave up the struggle her body stayed in contact with mine and her hands stayed on my shoulders. I could not believe how good, how right that felt.

I finally managed to give the set a rough edit and started a slide show. I re-filled their chocolate, (adding a small surprise to Lucy's, a splash of Kahlua), as they watched the slide show twice. They stayed long enough to join me in one more cup of chocolate, (Lucy asked for hers to be just like the first but more so), as we talked about anything and everything and nothing in particular. We laughed a lot.

As we said our goodnights Jamie stood on the bench and hugged me. Lucy hugged me too. I grinned for a while after they vanished in the darkness noting that I had enjoyed the hugs to a much larger degree than expected. They had given me real hugs.

Later that night, after I decided I would not get to sleep unless I did so, I masturbated for the first time in over two weeks. Then with the memory of the warmth of Lucy's hug to lull me to sleep I slept well.

Sleeping comfortably in general allowed me to get up earlier. The best wildlife viewing comes in those hours before and after the sun breaks over the horizon. That next dawn I again set out for a gully located below where we encountered yesterday's rattler. It flattened out into a small valley were it met a gully that was a mirror image of itself on the opposite mountain across the valley. All that gave me a long field of view.

Tracks of Mexican wolves had been found in the area and the park rangers were hoping as much as I was that I would get photos of what may be a resident pack. For the second consecutive morning I sat and waited.

I gave up when the sun made sweatpants and sweatshirt too uncomfortable a wear. Again no wolves but some nice shots of the mountain as the sunlight ran down its flanks. I took some pictures of what may have been yesterday's rattler as it crossed ten feet in front of me. I said, "Good Morning," but the snake ignored me, probably still stung by my insults the day before. I decided that it would be best not to expect a thank you note.

I also got shots of what may or may not have been a bear in some low shrubs across the valley. iPhoto would tell me later. In the four hours of my stakeout I did not see a single coyote, which made me think that wolves in the area were a possibility.

During my vigil at the gully I became concerned by the fact that all my stray thoughts had led to Lucy. My divorce was now nearly five years into history and my ex had re-married her son's biological father almost immediately. I had been loyal to my ex-wife beyond all reason and I felt betrayed. I had in fact been betrayed. Any trust I had in women vanished as soon as she filed for divorce. I knew I was loosing my stepson; he no longer called me Dad. I still lived in our house, too lazy to sell it, too embarrassed to go back home. I didn't need to move closer to work, it was a short ten minute drive on the state highway.

Apparently I was not ready for a real relationship. I was a very confirmed bachelor and over those years none of my relationships had lasted over six weeks and those were basically "friends with privileges" relationships. Which made me wonder even more why my mind kept going back to Lucy.

I did not expect to see them often; in fact I would not have been surprised if I never saw them again before I left.

Yet that morning they were at my campsite waiting for me to return to ask me for suggestions on places they could explore.

They said they had just gotten up so without even thinking about it I prepared breakfast for three. We ate together as I related to them why I had been out on a trail so early. I suggested to them that the trail where the desert and the mountain forest met would be a good place to start. After coffee for Lucy and me and chocolate for Jamie I volunteered to be their guide that day and it soon became clear to me that was exactly what they had hoped I would do. I was very flattered.

While Jamie and I looked at my morning photos Lucy took five minutes to go get Jamie's car seat and their backpacks.

Over the next week we explored trails together every day. I taught them to slow down on their hikes and speak in low voices. I taught Jamie the perils of rushing ahead, mainly because it surprises creatures that don't like surprises, like the rattlesnake, but also because it ruins the chance of seeing the creatures as they do their thing, if we got to see them at all.

The lesson was soon driven home when we had the chance to watch a coyote work for his lunch not a hundred feet from us. It knew we were watching and seemed to show off for us by taking showy leaps at whatever he was hunting until it got his lunch and strutted away. We never did see what he was after but it did get something. I assumed it was a small rodent.

We also saw roadrunners but Jamie was disappointed that she never saw a beep-beep chase. I explained that they really don't happen in real life since roadrunners can fly.

We saw lizards run on their hind legs like miniature dinosaurs. We saw snakes, tarantulas and javelinas and mule deer. We searched for lions and bears and I had to endure both girls "Oh my!" exclamations all day.

We did find bear tracks on the far side of the gully of my morning vigils. After I cropped and enhanced the picture of what I suspected was a bear walking through shrubbery I saw it had in fact been a bear, so on one hike I led us to the spot.

When I asked Jamie to put her hand in the middle of the paw track so I could take a picture Lucy shuddered at the size difference. They both gained a lot of respect for bears that day.

The next morning less than a mile from the campgrounds, near where we had seen the rattlesnake, we found cougar tracks.

Funny, they did not say "Oh my" after that. The realization that we were in the same area as wild bears and lions had apparently made an impression on them.

I noticed that in the nearly four hundred photos I had taken over those days at least one of the girls was in ninety percent of them. They posed next to flowering cacti and in the foreground of geologic features. I took pictures of Jamie holding snakes, lizards, and false scorpions.

I convinced Lucy that a few pictures of her holding such creatures would give her much credibility with third grade boys so she posed with some of the animals too. A Texas rat snake gave us a fine memory when as soon as Lucy draped it over her neck the snake darted down into her shirt. I was impressed that she did not panic but she was very concerned that the snake did not seem to be in a hurry to leave. A small section of the tail was still over Lucy's shoulder so I gave it a gentle squeeze prompting the snake to exit down her shirt. I grabbed it as it emerged and handed the snake to Jamie for her picture with it then placed it back where we found it and we said bye to it.

As we resumed our hike Lucy asked me why the snake would do such a thing to her, stay in her shirt. I said that very likely it was just enjoying the view inside her shirt so I could not blame it. I got swatted on the ass for that remark but took comfort in the fact that after Lucy's hand made sharp contact with my butt her hand caressed it before moving away.

The swat got Jamie's attention and I took the opportunity to whine that her mother had hit me. Lucy denied the claim and we carried on a "Did not-did too" war of words for a while which ended with each of us sticking their tongue out at the other. After getting her giggles under control Jamie said, "You two behave". Less than ten steps later Lucy and I found ourselves holding hands.

I took a short video with my small camera of Jamie talking to a mule deer. The mule deer seemed to be fascinated by what Jamie was telling it. I told Lucy that since the deer probably only spoke Spanish it was likely just enthralled by Jamie's voice. That line won me my first kiss and a giggle. There is no accounting for taste, thank God.

By the end of that third day Lucy and Jamie held my hand as a matter of course.

They joined me on my sunrise wolf vigil and thanks to Jamie's keen eyes, we saw a pack of five wolves in the valley below and I got some useful photos from the encounter.

As much as I had wanted those pictures the highlight of the morning for me was when, after I found a comfortable place to sit, Lucy sat immediately in front of me and leaned back onto my chest. She did not seem to mind when I forgot myself and put my arms around her waist. Jamie sat immediately in front of her mother and the three of us enjoyed the sunrise together in comfortable silence.

Over the first couple of days I had learned from Lucy that she had been divorced for three years and that Jamie's father did not have a relationship with either of them. When Lucy told me that I blurted out, "What an idiot!" before apologizing.

Lucy told me not to bother apologizing, that I was right. She told me that less than three months after her wedding her family referred to him only as Asshole, even in his presence. Lucy admitted that she was probably the only one that did not see him for what he was, a very selfish, self-centered, lazy, pretty boy. "Not that I'm bitter," she added with some bitterness.