Julie Williams was floating on a cloud when the ringing started. She wished it would go away and let her drift on the warm air but it wouldn't stop. She opened her eyes and realized her phone was ringing. Sitting up in bed she picked up the phone and whispered a hoarse "hello."
"Julie, its Myra. Were you sleeping? You were supposed to pick me up at 10:00 AM."
"No, I wasn't sleeping. I had to get up to answer the phone. What time is it anyway?"
"Eleven o'clock, are we still going?"
"Oh shit Myra I'm so sorry. Yes we're still going. Give me an hour and I'll pick you up."
Julie stumbled to the bathroom and flopped on the toilet and peed. She slapped her head to shake the cobwebs. She had promised Myra she would take her camping. Myra was a city girl and had never been camping. Julie and Myra were partners on an urban police department. The other cops called them the "hick and the slick" referring to Julie's rural upbringing and Myra's city slicker background.
She turned the shower on hurrying as fast as she could to get ready. Fortunately she had packed the car the day before. Last night she had intended to stop for one or two beers at the local cop hangout. But things never seem to work out as planned when cops get together and she ended up having more than a few and getting home a lot later than planned. After toweling herself off she dressed quickly in a sweatshirt, hiking shorts, and boots.
Myra was waiting outside her house when Julie pulled up in her Toyota Land Cruiser. "Sorry I'm late honey, I ended up staying way too long at McGuire's last night. Some detective from midtown kept buying me drinks. I think he was trying to get in my pants. Come to think of it if I hadn't promised you this trip he would have succeeded."
Myra laughed her little girl laugh. "Oh sure blame me for you lack of a sex life. Besides we've had this trip planned for a month. Surely you wouldn't want to disappoint your partner for some hot, sweaty sex with some tall, dark, handsome detective."
"Yeah right, it's been so long since I got laid I'd fuck a rock pile if I thought there was a snake in it. At least you have a husband who does his husbandly duty once a week."
They continued their banter as they drove to the mountains. There were wives, husbands, and lovers but partners on a police force had a special bond that superseded most relationships. Your partner was the difference between life and death at crunch time.
They were headed for a place called Devil's Tombstone. It was a place well familiar to Julie having grown up in the Area. It was an area that most urban campers avoided as it had no facilities meaning no showers, running water, or toilets. You had to park your car in a dirt lot at the head of a trail and then hike in several miles to the camping area which was basically find a spot and pitch your tent.
They pulled into the lot at 3:00 PM and unloaded some of their gear. The plan was to carry the tent, sleeping bags, and clothes and then make a second trip for their food and cooking equipment. By the time they finished it was almost 6:00 PM and Myra dropped herself down on a rock and announced she was exhausted and starving.
"Not so fast" Julie replied "we still have to gather firewood and dig a latrine. Then we can eat."
"What in the world is a latrine" Myra asked.
Julie walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Slick, take a look around, do you see a rest room? A latrine for our purposes is a hole in the ground that we squat over and take a shit and then cover it with a few shovels full of dirt. Get the picture? Come on, I'll show you how to dig the hole."
"You expect me to shit in a hole? No way, I can't do that out in the open. That's gross."
"No one will see you. Let's find a private site away from our camp." Julie picked up her small army shovel and headed off to find a good spot. About a hundred feet away she found a spot partially secluded by a stand of tall pines. She tried the ground and it felt soft. "This looks as good a spot as any. It's mostly covered except to the north but I don't think anyone else is here. There were no other cars in the parking lot."
Myra still looked amazed as she watched Julie dig a hole about two feet wide and two feet deep. She piled the soft dirt off to one side. When she was satisfied it was deep enough, she stuck the shovel into the pile of dirt for later use. "There" Julie proclaimed "the Virgin Mary herself would be proud to take a dump in that latrine."
Myra shook her head. "You are one strange cookie partner, do you know that?"