My Sister Goes Hunting
"Let's go Chelsea," I yelled up the stairs.
"Just a sec, I'm coming."
"Hurry up or we'll be pitching the tent in the dark."
"I'm right here, relax Bobber."
"Grab the rest of your gear and let's go."
"God you sound like a drill sergeant in a bad war movie," his little sister complained as she picked up her huge equipment bag. "You have my rifle and sleeping bag?"
"Yup already in the back. Ya got ammo?"
"Yeah two boxes, even I can't miss that many times."
Her brother Robert laughed. He remembered their first time at the range three years ago. She was sixteen and seemed to be only a little taller than the Remington 870 12 gauge he had given her to use. The gun was too big for her both physically and in bore. In ten shots firing slugs she had not hit the target once. Next morning her shoulder was a massive bruise.
The next time they went shooting he had traded the shotgun for a Savage youth model bolt action in .243 caliber. She loved the gun and had become a pretty good shot. He didn't think she had grown at all since then.
"How about sun screen. Remember the sunburn from falling asleep on the tree stand last year?"
"It wasn't that bad," Chelsea protested.
"Hey I'm not the one with the fish belly white skin tone."
"I will have you know my skin tone is known as Peaches and Cream or perhaps, alabaster."
"I don't suppose Irish ancestors account for the freckles either, or what are we calling them, beauty spots?" he teased.
"No when you have this many you just have to admit they are freckles. They do go with the naturally curly auburn tresses."
"You're talking about the orange mop on top of your head I'm assuming?"
"Argh, why did I get all the Irish stuff and you got the German blond hair blue eyed stuff."
"And I'm a genius also, don't forget that."
"God you never let anyone forget that."
It was true though, at 22 he was almost finished with his PhD. in chemical engineering.
"Hey you're not exactly a dummy yourself. You get mostly A's on everything."
"Yeah but I have to really work at it, you just breeze through school. Speaking of that where are you going to get a job after school?" It was asked casually but she held her breath waiting for a reply. She really hoped he would stay in the area so she could be close to him.
"I'm not sure. I'd like to stay in town but I don't know if Calypso Energy Products can afford me or not. I have three interviews set up for semester break. One of them is Calypso. So how's it going at LRU?"
She reached across the truck and smacked his arm. "How many times have I told not to call my school Lesbians R Us you butt wipe?"
"I don't know, 250 or so. It is an all girls college named Leslie Richards isn't it? And what is the percentage of students who are lesbian? I think you told me 75% one time."
Robert was not sure of his sisters sexual orientation. She had never dated much in high school but seemed to like boys well enough. She never seemed close to any of her female friends in a sexual manner. Even though they were close it was not something he felt comfortable discussing with her. Why she was going there instead of a coed college was none of his business.
"I think it's something like that yeah. But it's a great school academically and it's in town, I can live at home and help mom with stuff."
"I know that. Me being three hours away is something I can't help right now. I'm just glad I'm close enough to get home on weekends," he said.
"It can't be fun for you being in college and driving home almost every weekend. Mom and I needed you after dad died but it's been over three years now. You need to get a life Bobber."
"I know dad left mom fixed financially but she needed emotional support, hell we all did. I never saw dropping dead of a heart attack at 39 as the way a fit outdoorsy guy like him would go.
"Yeah me neither, maybe we should have expected it, grandpa died at 52 you know." she replied. "Besides two of the reasons you came back every weekend for two of those years were Beth Hogan and Tracy Goodall. You know, the brunette bimbos."
"Oh yes, I remember them," he laughed. They were both his type; brunette, big boobs, tall, cheerleader type girls.
"Mom and I were glad you got rid of them. I told her you liked girls with cup sizes like the grades they got in school, mostly D's."
He laughed and said, "That's not fair, Beth got a B one time."
"So how's your love life going these days?"
"Huh," he grunted "what's a love life? I have classes, work in the lab 40 hours a week and come home on weekends. Doesn't leave much time for finding well endowed shall we say less intellectually gifted dark haired playmates."
"Good, I'm hoping you will see the light one of these days and choose someone more of my stature with a naturally smoking hot body. Not one with artificial fun bags and a vacant expression."
"Well that waitress at Big Boy last weekend looked interesting, at least chest wise," he teased.
"Oh please," she laughed, "an original thought and a cold drink of water taken together would have killed her."
"That is a distinct possibility," he agreed. "Hey, why did you want to start hunting with me? Was it because it was my and dad's thing and he's gone or to try to hang on to some memories or what? I never really asked you why. I am grateful to you for wanting to. I couldn't have borne it to come here alone, or even with a male friend."
"All of the above I guess. I started shooting with you because that always seemed like fun. A way to focus, learn discipline. The hunting was just a natural progression I suppose."
"Well whatever the reason thanks. I love the time alone with you."
"Same here Bobber," she said with a smile. If you only knew, she thought to herself.
She had not been able to say Robert when she started talking, it came out Bobber and the name had stuck. His folks used it too, thankfully only at home.
They stopped at the general store right before the turn to their hunting land and got last minute camping stuff including two gallons of fuel for the camp stove and Coleman lanterns. Their dad had hated the sound of a generator disturbing the peace and they carried on the tradition.
They bumped over the old logging road for four miles until they got to the camp site. Their grandfather had bought the 160 acre plot from the county at a tax forfeit land auction 40 years ago. The rear of the land backed onto US Forest Service land so they had a huge area in which to hunt.
They pulled the heavy canvas tent out of the truck and dragged it over to where they always pitched it. It was an old military surplus wall tent. It measured 16' X 16'. The cooking and living area covered the front half and the back was two bedrooms with zippered doors that were 8' x 8'. Robert had been setting up the camp for years and with Chelsea's help it went quickly. They were soon setting up the folding table, getting the heating stove set up and the chimney out the special hole in the roof of the tent.
Chelsea brought all their gear in while Robert got their food locker filled and hoisted into a tree to keep it safe from bears and other critters. He stacked the firewood they had brought from home both for the heating stove and the outdoor firepit. He brought in the five gallon water jugs and put one on the table near the stove.
He checked on the outhouse. Their dad and grandpa had dug the pit and built it years ago. Robert checked that the coffee can used to store the toilet paper had a fresh roll and to clean the spider webs out. Nothing worse than a face full of spider web in the middle of the night.
Chelsea had the heater stove going and it was already shirt sleeve warm. He filled the camp stove and three lanterns and got one lantern and the stove going. He hung the other two in the bedrooms for later. He tied the doors back so the heat could get in those rooms. Normally the doors were left like that. It got cold pretty quickly if they were closed.
They always had their mom's three alarm chili for supper the first night. Chelsea asked Robert where he had put it and after thinking about it he said he had left it in the food locker. She went out to get it and then yelled for help.
He went outside and found her with her hands on her hips glaring at him. "I know you have to put the food high but do you have to put the knot that high?" she demanded.
He laughed and said, "It's only high for 5' 1" elvish people."