Southern Stars

by Melissa Good

  “Hm.” Kerry glanced at her bottle of water as the steadily cooling breeze brushed over her skin. “You feel like some tea? They had a jug of hot green tea down by the kitchen.” She stood up. “Be right back.”

  “Sure.” Dar slid her sandal on and leaned back in her chair. She watched Kerry disappear, then tipped her head back to regard the canopy of stars, and the dark outline of the canyon walls against it.

  “YOU KNOW WHAT, Dar?”

  Dar sealed the zipper on her duffel bag and straightened up. “You like your bathrooms to be bathrooms,” she said.

  “Mm.”

  “I’m not crazy for the whole water in a canvas basin either,” Dar said with a grin. “When we used to camp back in the day we’d just dive into the nearest water and consider it done.” She lifted their duffels and moved outside the tent, setting them on the dry, cool ground.

  Kerry followed her, and regarded the beautiful pink and gray dawn around them, with the ever-present sound of the river, and the clatter and clamor of the group getting ready to go down to the kitchen for breakfast. “Does that make me a sissy? I feel like it.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know why. Everyone else seems so naturfied.”

  “Ker.” Dar draped an arm over her shoulders. “We’re not from the country. No sense in pretending we are. Even if I did some camping rough in the past, I’ve been a well-off city gal long enough to want my comforts and conveniences.”

  Something about that made Kerry smile. Maybe because though she knew it was true, and she knew Dar believed it was true, it wasn’t the whole truth. There was a rough surface under Dar’s techie façades that she herself did not possess

  Dar put her hands in her hoodie pockets. “C’mon let’s go get some granola.” She had traded her boots for the thick-soled sandals she’d worn the previous night and she flexed her toes in them. “Better than wearing wet leather all day.”

  “For sure,” Kerry said, and they walked down the slope together.

  They joined the rest of the party at the tables neatly set for breakfast, and the small group clustered around PJ. She had her foot up on a second chair, and it was wrapped very well, and had a plastic protection around it.

  “How are you feeling?” Kerry asked.

  “Bummed!” PJ’s face shifted into a pout. “I can’t believe I was so stupid, not to wear shoes into the loo.”

  Todd and Amy were at a nearby table, and he turned to look at her. “Their fault.” He indicated the crew. “They’re supposed to make sure no shit is dangerous like that. Lots of people walk barefoot in camp.” He indicated his own feet, which were bare. “Lucky as crap it wasn’t me.”

  Dar had detoured to the buffet and now she took two plates and moved methodically along, plunking bits of fruit and a half bagel each onto the plate. She paused at the offering of yogurt and granola and sighed, then took a cup of each and added it to the platters.

  One of the crew had been watching her, alert to assist if needed. “What’s your usual morning fare, Ms. Roberts?” he asked, in a quiet voice. “I kind of get the feeling it’s not this.”

  Ah, their tent assembler, Pete, from the previous night. “Coffee and pastalitos,” Dar responded readily. “Cuban pastries that have cheese, or meat, or coconut in them.”

  He considered that. “I think that sounds yummy. Where I live there’s a doughnut shop and I sometimes start with a maple bacon one.” He edged closer, and was randomly sorting the yogurt cups. “Or sometimes sushi.”

  “I like sushi.” Dar finished her selection and glanced casually around. “All work out last night?”

  Pete sighed. “We got yelled at,” he said. “Someone must have missed that piece of bottle. Big no-no.” He went to the end of the table. “Want some chilled OJ?”

  “Sure.” Dar had both plates gripped in one hand. “Be right back.” She turned and went to one of the high-top tables, setting the plates down and regarding the back of Kerry’s head as her partner stood talking to PJ. After a moment of that, Kerry looked around and made eye contact, then smiled when Dar pointed to the plates.

  Dar made a little satisfied grunting sound, and went back for the juice. Marcia was standing chatting with Pete, and she moved aside a little to make way for her. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” Marcia responded at once. “We saw a coyote just before dawn.” She picked up a cup of the yogurt. “We got a picture. It was wonderful. We were walking up near the bushes there.” She pointed with a spoon.

  “Really?” Pete asked. “Wow, we haven’t seen one along the river in a while.” He gave Dar two glasses of juice. “Wish I’d seen it.”

  “Me too,” Dar said. “I want to see a bobcat.”

  “Oh! So, do I!” Marcia responded. “I hope we do!”

  “I’ll do my best to find one for you, ladies.” Pete gave them both a little bow. “They’re nocturnal, so keep those flashes handy.”

  “Absolutely.” Marcia beamed at him. “Thank you so much.”

  Dar brought the juice to the table and they both perched on the foldable stools. Sally and Rich came over and plunked their plates down on the small table with them. “Morning,” Kerry greeted.

  “And a nice one it is,” Sally said. “Except for poor PJ. Bummer.”

  “Bummer.” Rich said. “She’s lucky it was glass and not rusty metal.” He vigorously stirred his granola into the yogurt. “I put a rusty spike through my hand a couple trips back and holy cow was that a mess.” He lifted one large, muscular hand and exposed the palm. “See?”

  Kerry grimaced at the knotted scar. “Ouch.”

  “Got infected, ugh. I was miserable.”

  “So, this sort of thing happens out here sometimes?” Dar asked.

  “Hey, they try their best,” Rich answered immediately. “But you know, it’s like the wilderness out here, and you can’t catch everything. Real fault belongs to whatever moron left broken glass around instead of packing it out.”

  Todd had been passing and now he pointed at Rich. “You go on believing that. Like I said, lucky it wasn’t me.” He went past to deposit his plate on the table, tossing the silverware onto it before heading up to where they’d made camp.

  They watched him retreat, then Kerry shook her head and went back to her bagel.

  “Hey.” Rich lowered his voice, and glanced around to where Amy was still seated. She had a small leather bound book with her and was scribbling into it. “So, the big company his dad works for? It’s a law firm.”

  Sally rolled her eyes. “Figures. Probably threatening the op with lawsuits every time the sun changes inclination.” She sectioned a piece of fruit neatly in her plate, eating it. “No wonder they’re running so scared.”

  Dar was sucking on her spoon, and from the corner of her eye she saw Kerry’s jaw tighten, and her eyes narrow. “Yeah that makes sense,” she said. “Who wants trouble with a big ass legal firm.”

  “Right. Not me,” Rich said. “Not that I don’t wish he didn’t fall on his ass so we could all laugh at him, but there’s no way I want that kind of complication in my life. I’m leaving them alone. Taking his advice and shutting the hell up from now on.”

  “Right on. But I told you that yesterday,” Sally said. “No one wants any trouble.”

  Kerry cleared her throat a little. “Did you like that?” She indicated the yogurt.

  “Not really,” Dar said. “But it’s the closest thing to milk they have.” She rested her chin on her fist and gave Kerry a mournful look.

  “Aw.” Kerry finished up her bagel and took both of their plates. “It’s just a week, hon.” She gently bumped Dar’s shoulder, then leaned over and put a kiss on the back of it. “I promise I had the dispenser filled before we left.”

  “Mmmmoooo,” Dar rumbled softly, as she got up and went to the river’s edge, hopping up and down and shadow boxing as the water burbled past.

  Kerry walked over to where the crew was washing up and sorted the silverware and crockery into t
he bins they were working from. “Thanks, guys.”

  The two workers glanced up at her in some surprise, and gave her smiles.

  Kerry smiled back and went over to pick up both her and Dar’s dry bags, slinging them over her shoulder as she joined the straggle of people starting to climb up onto the raft as the crew worked to stow all the camping gear and the staff onshore rushed to finish packing.

  Not an easy job. She fastened the bags to their chosen seats from the previous day, no one seeming to want to trade them, at least for the moment, though some of the other chairs were in the midst of being swapped.

  Dave and Rich, for example, with Dave now straddling the pontoon, his dry bag strapped across his chest, the dark orange safety vest under it.

  Rich took a seat next to Kerry, and Sally swapped with her sister.

  “Should we pick another spot?” Kerry asked, as Dar crossed over from the gangway and joined her.

  “Not unless you want to. I liked the front row seat.” Dar eyed the pontoons. “Might want to see if I can do that one time.”

  “Brr.” Kerry rubbed her arms through the hoodie sleeves. “Maybe in the afternoon.”

  Dar chuckled. “Polar bear. You can stay up here and only be mostly drenched.”

  “True.” Kerry twisted her body around in both directions to loosen up. “We’re going to see that waterfall today, Dar. I can’t wait.”

  They watched as Doug and Pete linked arms, and made a living chair to lift PJ up and carry her onto the raft, a situation not at all unpleasing to the college student, followed by her three friends, all laughing. She was settled into one of the second-row seats, and then was joined a moment later by the older couple.

  Don came over to where Dar was standing and offered her a sack of throat lozenges. “Gets dry here.”

  Dar took one. “It does. Thanks.” She watched from the corner of her eye as Todd made his way onboard, going over to where Amy was getting herself settled. He took a seat in the plush, comfortable space alongside.

  Don was doing the same. “Peculiar fella,” He commented.

  “Asshole,” Dar said. “Determined to get every bit of his dissatisfaction out on the team there.”

  “True, and funnily enough, seems I remember him being up around those WCs before that gal did.” Don rolled the lozenge around in his mouth. “Not that it means anything, necessarily.”

  Dar remained silent for a bit, thinking. “Suspicious old salts, aren’t we?” Her eyes twinkled a little. “Comes from being around a while.”

  “Comes from,” Don said. “Most of these kids haven’t seen much.” He amiably changed the subject as Doug and Janet walked up. “So, what did your dad do in the service?”

  Dar went along with it, noting the furrowed brows on the two in charge. “Special forces.”

  “Ah hah.” Don chortled. “Now that’s a different breed of fella, too. But in a good way.” He paused a moment. “Hold on. You said your name was Roberts?”

  Dar nodded.

  He stepped back and looked at Dar intently. “Your dad isn’t Andrew Roberts, is he?”

  Dar nodded again, with a smile this time.

  Don nodded back. “I thought you looked a little bit familiar. He did a tour on my ship in the Gulf, way back. Stand up guy.”

  “He is,” Dar said.

  “Okay, folks, we’re ready to go. Can you take your seats for the launch? It can get a little wobbly.” Doug waved them back. “Don’t want anyone to get an unexpected bath.”

  “Talk to you later.” Don obeyed the shooing and went over to where Marcia was getting her knitting out. He leaned over and said something to her, and she looked up in some mild surprise at Dar, but then the raft started to move and everyone settled in.

  “He knows Dad?” Kerry asked, looking up from getting her camera sorted.

  Dar shrugged. “Apparently. Guess we’ll find out more later.” She faced forward in her chair as the raft was released from its mooring and shoved off from the beach, the crew scrambling onboard as they moved into the current and were caught up in it.

  “Got your book?”

  Dar patted the dry bag, but she left it closed for the moment. The walls started to move past them with some speed and the breeze brushed over her. “There’s another sheep.” She pointed to it. “Up there on that ledge.”

  Kerry smiled. “Got it.”

  Overhead the sky was a deepening blue, with no clouds anywhere to be seen. The sun was just slanting in and painting the top of the canyon wall with sunrise, and as they passed a slightly narrower part of the river, with a bump of speed and slight roar it was setting up to be a beautiful day.

  Chapter Three

  IT WAS A fairly short drift until they came around a bend, and then everyone drew breath as the red canyon walls suddenly burst into vivid green as multiple waterfalls came gushing out of the stone and down a stepped series of ledges to the river below.

  “Oh, wow.” Kerry was already focusing her camera, as the sun splashed into the canyon and lit the wall up, exposing flashes of brilliance in the rock.

  Dar put her book away and sat up, regarding the wall they were now approaching.

  “Vesey’s Paradise,” Janet said, with some satisfaction in her tone. “That’s all fresh water, being drawn out of the rock. We’ll pull in to the left there so you all can get a good look.”

  Doug piloted the raft into a cleft in the rocks at the shore and everyone climbed down, splashing through some shallow water and carefully evading the tumbled rubble at the base of the falls.

  “Be careful of your footing, folks, and stay clear of the foliage,” Janet said. “I’ll be glad to take pictures of anyone who wants the falls as a background.”

  Kerry availed herself of the offer, and handed off her camera as she moved to one side and put her arm around Dar. “Feel that mist?”

  “I do.” Dar amiably draped one long arm over Kerry’s shoulders as Janet knelt and got an angle that included both them and the falls. Dar waited for Janet to finish then turned around and faced the cliff wall.

  The rest of the group was scattering to explore, Sally and her sister climbing around the edge of some rocks to a small cave behind it, and Marcia and Don strolling down and around the bend where the whole river could be seen.

  “Stay clear of that foliage!” Janet called out, as Amy and Todd started climbing up the face of the falls. “Be careful!”

  Dar put her hands in her pockets.

  Amy half turned and waved at them, then they continued, picking their way up the stepped rocks, into the mist of the falls and through the heavy shrubbery.

  Janet came up to stand next to Dar. “Why can’t they all be like you, Ms. Roberts?” She sighed. “If they slip and fall it’s going to be a really long day.”

  “Going to be long anyway,” Dar said. “That’s poison ivy they’re climbing through.”

  “Holy crap, are you kidding?” Kerry shaded her eyes. “You sure?”

  “Oh shit.” Janet started running, moving after them.

  “Yup.” Dar rocked up and down on her heels. “C’mon, let’s go see those shiny rocks.” She turned her back on the climbers and pointed where Sally and her sister had gone. “Think we can drink the water?”

  Kerry tore her eyes from the climbers and rejoined Dar as they walked through the shallow water and into a crevice, where some of the others were examining a layer of intensely sparkling rock, as the sun plunged into the canyon and lit it up. “That’s not going to end well.”

  “Nope. But it’s not my problem.” Dar drew in a deep breath of the cool air. She put her hand on the rock wall and leaned close to inspect it, the striated layers drawing her interest. “A lot of history here.”

  They heard a yell behind them.

  Kerry slipped a macro lens on and focused, taking a shot of a piece of the wall that was half in shadow, half in sunlight, with all its layers in all their uneven patterning.

  Another yell.

  Kerry took another shot
, then glanced at Dar, who stood there, hands clasped behind her back, regarding a knot in the stone. After a moment, Dar looked back at her.

  They both sighed.

  Don made his way over to them. “Hey what’s going on back there? You hear that?” He had a backpack on his back, and a walking stick that had a neatly carved head.

  “Amy and Todd decided to climb the wall,” Kerry said. “Probably has something to do with that.”

  Don sighed. “What is wrong with those kids?” He headed around the rock that blocked the view of the wall and disappeared around it.

  “What’s wrong with them right about now is that they’re breaking out into big itchy lumps,” Dar said. Then she started climbing up a short slope to the small cavern, where Sally and Dave were already exploring. The path up had worn hand holds, and she pulled herself up readily.

  Kerry felt a certain level of sympathy despite the grumpiness of the pair, having once experienced the poison plant herself. But she ignored the yelling behind her and changed lenses again, this time to capture Dar’s progress up the rock, the tank top exposing her supple back and the inky black panther tattoo on her shoulder.

  She took another shot, then turned and moved around the edge of the rock to get a better angle. That let her get a view of the argument and she paused for a moment as she saw Amy sitting on a rock, rubbing her legs, tears in her eyes.

  She felt bad, at that. Don was standing nearby, thumbs hooked in the straps of his backpack and Doug was just coming back from the raft with a first aid box in his hand. Todd was arguing with Janet, who had both hands out in a pacifying gesture.

  Don stepped forward and said something. Todd turned around and shoved him, and the older man stumbled back and lost his balance, falling onto the rocks. Kerry surrendered to instinct, shoved her camera into her pack and started toward him, reaching him just as Todd returned to his argument.

  “Hey, easy.” Kerry extended a hand to Don. “You okay?”

  “Leave him the fuck where he is I’m not done with him!” Todd yelled at her.

  Kerry turned and pinned him with a stare. “Go to hell,” she said. “I’ll help anyone I want, you piece of pig shit.”