Threading the Needle

Thank you Terry, careythomas and snow for all your help in editing and improving this chapter. I couldn't have done it without you.

Like almost all of my series, this one will only be understood if you have read the chapters before it. Thank you to my readers for going along this journey with me.

Threading the Needle

Chapter 6

Looking down the river, Rikki realized just how big the float was. There were five boats with customers and three boats with guides, in addition to the trainee boats. Between it being nice weather with good water levels on the river, and being the guide initiation weekend, just about every guide with the company was there. A few were guiding trips on the Wenatchee and Skykomish, but even they would drive over as soon as they finished. This was the big party of the year and nobody wanted to miss it.

Part of the draw was the Methow. It was a big water river like the Wenatchee but with bigger rapids. It ran for fewer weeks and was farther from Seattle, which meant there were fewer chances to run it. Either as a guest of Liz or with a boat she put together, Rikki ran it almost every year.

Looking around, Rikki took in the scenery. The dry eastern Washington landscape was lovely. The river lay at the bottom of a canyon. It wasn't a narrow one, but rather had sloping walls that gradually made its way down to the river. At various spots, the slope flattened out and there were small farmsteads, some clearly dating back to pioneer days. The riverbed itself was made up of well-worn rocks that were round and smooth. With the crystal-clear water from the snowmelt, it was easy to see them as they glided down the river. The bright sun just made it easier.

Looking back at Lena, Rikki gave her a smile. It was nice to see her doing well. She didn't even need a pep talk anymore. Things clicked and now she was reading the river without difficulty. When Lena called out a command, Rikki obeyed in time with the rest of the raft. She glanced back downstream. It looked like the rafts at the head of the float were pulling off the river.

"Lunch time," Bear said. "Remember, it's a commercial float so try to behave yourselves." He looked at Rikki and wiggled his eyebrows. As always, rafting with Bear was fun. Unlike the trainees, he wasn't wearing a wetsuit. He had on his normal guide outfit, shorts and a button up white short sleeve shirt. He topped it off with a wide brimmed Australian hat with a feather on the side. His entertaining guide personality was on full display.

Rikki laughed as she dug into the water with her paddle, obeying Lena's command. The raft came close to the sandbar they were using for a lunch place. The tip of the raft touched a rock by the shore and caught for a second, causing it to start to spin around. Quickly looking back, Rikki realized that Lena did it on purpose. Rather than trying to correct it, she let the raft turn until the stern was facing shore. At that point, she stopped the spin on her own and let the boat drift downstream. Finally, as they approached the other rafts, she called out. "All back!"

Dropping her paddle in the raft, she jumped out just as the raft touched the sandbar. Grabbing the safety line around the rafts, she pulled hard. One of the other guides on shore ran over to help.

"I've got it," Lena told him as she yanked it hard and the raft slid several feet up on shore. She held it secure while everyone got out of the raft. After that, she let her crew pull it up and out of the water.

"Nice job," Bear told her as he gave her a little hug. She grinned. It was much nicer to get praise than be the one who screwed up. Lena saw that Rikki was opening up the drybag that held all of their lunches. Walking over, she grabbed hers when Rikki pulled it out and waved it around. Once Rikki had hers, the two women walked over to sit on a big log. The warm sun shone on them.

At first, both of them were quiet as they ate. It had been a long time since breakfast. Unlike some of the guides, they didn't come up last night. Lena carpooled with Rikki and Winnie. The three of them made the four hour drive that morning, leaving at 5 AM. After a few minutes, their hunger was a bit sated and they started to slow down. Rikki looked around and saw that Winnie was eating with her boat. She smiled. "It's nice to see she is making friends like that," Rikki said. "I like being with her, but part of the point for her was to get a set of friends in Seattle."

"She's a sweetie. It's easy to like Winnie," Lena said. "Except for Julie, who doesn't seem to like any of the women, I think everyone likes Winnie." She grinned as she watched Logan drift over to talk to Winnie's boat. "Especially Logan," she added.

Rikki nodded but didn't comment. She knew Logan from her past trips with Liz, though not very well. He always seemed like a bit of a player, but it wasn't her place to say something. Winnie was a grown woman. In any case, he wasn't in the same class as Liz. Rikki couldn't help glance at Lena. Sure enough, her attention was on Liz.

Unlike the trainees and the guides who weren't working, Liz mingled with the customers. Some of the customers had rafted with her in the past and called her over to talk. Weston didn't care. Liz had a way with people that helped make them more likely to come back. As much as her organizational skill, he appreciated that.

Still, it was almost inevitable that Liz ended up talking with a few good-looking women. Even from a distance, Rikki could see the familiar flirting behavior. She glanced again at Lena. "Don't look so sad," she said.

Lena broke her concentration on Liz and gave Rikki a little smile. "It's not sad," she said. She saw the look Rikki gave her. "No, really. It is disappointment," Lena explained. "We talked last week and.... Well, I thought, maybe she wouldn't ignore me so much this week."

"Guide training is still going on, Lena," Rikki said. "And Liz doesn't like to be alone. Alex is here with Indigo, so she isn't available." They both looked over at where Indigo and Alex were laying together against a big bleached tree trunk on the shore. They too were enjoying the sun. Other rivers were more fun for a kayaker. Alex was just there to be with Indigo. "I told you, Lena. This is what she's like."

Lena didn't say anything. She watched Liz and then let out a big sigh as she saw her reach out and put a hand on the thigh of the best-looking woman of the three. "Why does she still attract me so much?" she asked.

"I think every woman she comes on to wonders that," Rikki said. "She must have something."

Trying to ignore the flirting that was going on, Lena turned to Rikki. She could hear what seemed like genuine puzzlement. "So, you and Liz, you really never hooked up?" she asked.

"God no," Rikki blurted out. Lena smiled and gave a little laugh. "She is my oldest friend. We've been through a lot. I can tell her anything, and do." She paused a moment lost in thought before going on. "She helped me through my worst moment. And no matter what happens, I know she will do it again. It just isn't that way with us. She is my sister, you know? That is closer than lovers, better than lovers."

Without warning, Rikki felt her eyes get moist. "When I need her, she'll be there."

Ever since Rikki picked her up this morning, Lena had a sense of sadness from her. It wasn't like the Rikki she got to know over the last few weeks. Not wanting to intrude, Lena had held back from asking about it. She remembered the rapport from their walk two weeks ago, and how Rikki helped her.

"Are you okay, Rikki?" Lena said. She reached out and put her hand on Rikki's arm.

"Sure, I'm fine," Rikki quickly replied. She felt Lena's finger tighten slightly and looked Lena in the face. She could see the concern there. Her breath caught in her throat.

"You don't look fine, Rikki," Lena told her.

For a moment, Rikki still held back. She wasn't one to share with just anyone. Mostly Liz and Yamile were her confidants. Then, just like Lena, she thought back to the other weekend. "It's nothing really," she finally said. "It just feels like I can't connect with my husband. Even when we're together, it still seems like he isn't there. This week was hard because I barely even saw him, and then when he was home, he just wanted to watch TV."

Rikki looked up at the top of the canyon. The sun was shining from behind it and there were spots that were brightly lit and others that were in shade. She watched as a bird flew in and out of them, chasing insects. It was so peaceful, especially with the sound of the river. The bird flew up and she lost it in the sun. She sighed.

"Sometimes it feels like he doesn't want to be with me anymore," Rikki said. She was quiet enough that Lena could barely hear her. As she looked at Lena, a couple of tears escaped and ran down Rikki's cheeks.

Lena gave Rikki a long hug and then wiped the tears away. "I'm sorry, Rikki," she said. "What are you going to do?" she asked, a little hesitantly. They slowly disengaged but remained close.

"Just keep reaching out and trying, I guess," Rikki said. She sniffed a couple of times and ran her thumbs over her eyes to get the still unshed tears. "Once training ends, I'll be every other week guiding and try to get Samuel to bring Kieran along on some of the weekends when I am on the river." She didn't dare mention her worst fears.

An increase in activities down by the rafts caught their attention. "Looks like lunch is over," Rikki said. She looked over at Lena. "Thanks for caring," she told her.

"Anytime!" Lena told her. "You listened to me about Liz." She watched her friend as they made their way back to the main group. With each step, she seemed to shed the concerns of Marika and once again reemerge as Rikki. Her smile seemed genuine and Lena could detect no trace of her troubles in her demeanor.

"I'm glad she can enjoy this," Lena thought. She hoped it would be like that for Rikki during the rest of the weekend. Her troubles might be waiting for her at home, but she deserved some respite. She tried to shake off her own melancholy thoughts. There was nothing she could do about Liz. Being around her may be what originally motivated her to join guide training, but Lena found that she really loved it. Now she was going to get a chance to guide the toughest rapid on the Methow.

After the excellent job that Rikki did last Sunday on guiding Bolder Drop, Bear originally planned on Rikki guiding Black Canyon. Having run it multiple times as a customer, and feeling confident in her skills, she told Bear to let someone else run it. Rikki didn't want to be the one guide who got all the best rapids. Lena was the first guide to speak up so Bear told her that she could do it. Don and Linc complained a little, but the truth was that they enjoyed seeing Lena coming on strong after struggling. Like Winnie, she was extremely likeable.

The only thing Rikki asked for was a seat in the front. As the only person who had run this river before, she knew just how fun the waves were in the Canyon. Don joined her in the front as they pushed off the shore and started downstream. Both Rikki and Lena banished all thoughts about their lunchtime conversation and lost themselves in enjoying the trip. The distraction was welcome.

*****

That night, Lena could have used another distraction. Liz continued her flirting with the customer once they got to the take out. Jana was supposed to head back to Seattle with her friends once they got off the river. Instead, she accepted Liz's offer to come camp with the guides. She told her friends that she would catch a ride back with someone after rafting again on Sunday. Now as Weston and Bear built up the fire at their campsite, Liz was sitting on a rock with Jana in her lap.

Rikki walked past Lena and brushed shoulders with her. Feeling the gentle nudge, Lena looked away from Liz and Jana. "Hey, come over and hang out with Winnie and me," Rikki told her. Fighting the urge to look back, Lena nodded and turned to follow Rikki. When they got over to where Winnie and Rikki were set up, she saw that they were prepping dinner.

"No tent?" Lena asked Winnie. While Rikki so far always slept in her SUV, Winnie usually brought a tent.

"In my rush this morning, I forgot it. Rikki said I can sleep with her," Winnie said. She gave Rikki an apologetic smile.

"It's no big deal. There is enough room for two," Rikki told her. Winnie had already apologized a couple of times since discovering her tent was missing. It really wasn't a big deal.

Unlike Lena's cold fried chicken, they still needed to cook their meal. Winnie pulled out a Ziploc bag with marinating steak and put it beside a few ears of corn wrapped in tin foil. "God, that looks good. Where did you get corn this time of year?" she asked.

Rikki pulled a container of fresh salsa out of her cooler and put it down next to the bag of tortilla chips. "It's hot house, but I felt like splurging this weekend," she said as she put down another container next to the salsa. It looked like homemade guacamole. "Feel free to dig in," Rikki told her.

After tasting both the salsa and guacamole, Lena sighed. "God, that is so good. Did you make it?"

"One of Rikki's many hidden talents is being a gourmet cook," Winnie said. This wasn't the first night she shared a meal that Rikki made. "She made her own carne asada marinade for the skirt steak. I can't wait to taste it."

"Lena, there is more than enough if you want to eat with us," Rikki told her. When Lena started to decline, Rikki insisted. "Seriously, I wasn't thinking and I got enough for a meal at home. Between Samuel and Kieran, I get enough to feed an army. Have some!"

"Well, if you insist," Lena said. "Cold chicken will be just as good for breakfast." She got busy helping Rikki set up her little gas grill. Almost every one of the guides had one by now. They were an essential part of guide cooking. For the most part, Rikki's stratagem worked. Between talking and cooking, Lena barely paid attention to Liz. The three of them opened up their first bottles of beer that night. By the time they ate, they were all on their second.

The usual spot the guides used was a fairly obscure campground. Other than a solitary ancient outhouse, there was little to indicate it was even a campsite. The fire pit was much bigger than typical and the flames were jumping up five and six feet high when Weston and Bear were satisfied with the fire. For many of the trainees, this was the first time that they got to meet all the other guides. The final few pulled in a few hours after dark, having made the three-hour drive from the Skykomish.

Looking at the faces lit by firelight, Rikki noticed the differences more now than any of the times when she camped with Liz on past trips as a guest. Many of the guides were a lot like her, professionals who enjoyed the chance to get away from the stresses at work or home. There were a smaller number of guides more like Bear and Liz, professional river and ski bums who made enough of a living to get by while doing what they loved. The group ranged in age from 18 up. The oldest was Brian. No one was quite sure how old he was. It was the start of his third-year guiding. He was one of the most popular guides because of the raw enthusiasm he had for rafting. Everyone who went with him had the time of his or her life. If Rikki had to guess, she would have said Brian was in his late sixties.

Some of the guides brought their wives, girlfriends or boyfriends. Over the course of training, Rikki discovered she was the sole married woman in the rookie guide pool. It didn't bother her, but she wondered how successful she would be in getting Samuel to come along. As a group, the significant others were called "shuttle bunnies." The few boyfriends who were there didn't seem to mind. Most of them found some spot every week in one of the rafts, even if it wasn't with their girlfriend. Many of the girlfriends and wives preferred to raft only occasionally. They helped by running shuttles to get the cars down to the take out. Rikki had a hard time seeing Samuel being very happy with that.

"Unless it is to flirt," Rikki thought bitterly. Some of the women were good looking, just the types he liked. That would cause problems of their own. Even after only four weeks, she could see how quickly gossip spread through the group. Some of the guides would get pissed if they heard Samuel was flirting, even if it was innocent.

"Maybe Tereza could watch Kieran some weekends," Rikki thought. Her younger sister was back living at home with their parents. She lost her job and was trying to make ends meet with temporary positions until she found a permanent one. It wasn't quite enough, which forced her to accept the offer to live at home. The loss of independence rankled Tereza. "She might like the chance to stay at our place some weekends. Once Kieran is asleep, she can have some time by herself. Or even with someone."

Kieran loved his real aunt just as much as he loved "Auntie Ewizabeth." It would be easy to sell him on it. Hopefully Samuel would feel the same. Rikki stared into the blazing fire. "That's what I'm worried about. That Samuel still wouldn't want to come," she thought.

Lena noticed the sad distracted look on Rikki's face. She gave Rikki a little hug. Winnie was on the other side of Rikki and felt her sway a little as Lena squeezed. Looking at Rikki, she saw it too. Slipping her arm around Rikki's waist, she too hugged her friend. While she hadn't talked with Rikki about her problems today, Winnie knew her well enough to understand that her life wasn't perfect.

"Awww, thanks you guys," Rikki said. "I'll cheer up. I promise!" They clinked their beer bottles together and took long pulls on them. Rikki was on her fourth now and feeling somewhat drunk. Lena and Winnie were only on their third, but being not nearly as tall, they were also somewhat tipsy.

In fact, just about everyone was in a somewhat altered state. Bohdi wasn't the only one who was passing a bowl around. When he came by, Lena was the only one who indulged. Rikki said no and Winnie just followed her lead. She wasn't really sure what Rikki's attitude about pot was and didn't want to disappoint her. Still, even Lena only had one toke since she was hanging out with Rikki and Winnie.

Bear brought out a big cooler and put it down by Weston who got up onto it. He had a bottle of whiskey in his fist and from the way he was swaying, he had consumed a lot of it already.

"Listen up!" Weston yelled. A few people fell silent but most kept on talking. "Hey, assholes! Shut the fuck up!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. This time it worked. The group chuckled and quieted down and there was only the roar of the fire. Weston looked around the circle. Slowly his lips curled up into a wide smile.

"We made it through another guide training!" Weston told them as he raised up his bottle. Everyone cheered and took a drink of whatever they had in their hand. Winnie, Rikki and Lena all smiled at each other. Rikki swayed her hips from side to side, bumping into the other women who did the same thing.

After wiping his mouth, Weston continued. "No one hurt! No one wiped out! No one flipped!" While the first two got cheers, the last declaration got a little boo from the trainees. Nobody wanted to get hurt, but flipping in a rapid sounded exciting. They were all a little disappointed that there were no flips yet. Then again, it was too early in the season for big water.

"You are almost all guides now. One more day and you can guide commercial trips!" Weston told them. This time, everyone cheered loudly and then drank some more. "But that won't make you officially guides, will it?"

The veteran guides all screamed, "No!"

"Liz, get up here!" Weston told her.