Hope & a Canoe

by Michele M. Reynolds

  “Why did you say that?” Gracie asked.

  Tember mumbled, “Because I think I’m going to pass out.”

  Next thing Tember remembered was being shaken by someone and hearing, “Gracie, Gracie.”

  “Tember,” Jeremy’s voice said. “That’s my daughter’s nickname. Tember, wake up.”

  Tember woke blinded by bright lights and surrounded by women in scrubs. She looked down at her hand, thinking she’d see the stitches, but all she saw was a gaping gash in her hand and a puddle of blood on the floor. She passed out again.

  16

  Gracie and Jeremy insisted that Tember stay with them until the pain in her hand lessened. The pain medication the hospital prescribed for Tember made her irritable and unable to sleep, but Gracie was kind and patient with her. It was an unspoken rule that they would not talk about Tember’s freak out or where their relationship was heading.

  Jeremy and Gracie waited hand and foot on Tember. They made her meals and brought her anything she wanted. Tember felt as though she had entered an alternate universe. She not only had people waiting on her, but also people who cared about her and she about them.

  Her grandmother texted her only once to tell her she would be gone a few more days. Her grandmother’s text was a rude awakening that this life with Gracie and Jeremy would not last forever.

  At night, Gracie and Tember held each other, caressing, kissing, and talking. Gracie and Tember were too bashful to take their physical relationship further with Jeremy in the next room.

  Three days after the hospital visit, Gracie, Jeremy, and Tember sat around the RV counter eating breakfast.

  “I was thinking today we could go clean up your grandparents’ RV,” Jeremy said.

  “Oh yeah,” Gracie said. “I totally forgot that we left it a mess.”

  “Me too,” Tember said.

  Jeremy teased, “That’s what happens when you’re in love.”

  “Dad,” Gracie warned.

  Tember chuckled. “I was seeing red when I did all that. I don’t think I’ve never lost it like I did that day. Was the place a mess?”

  “Yes,” Gracie said. “There were DVDs, scratch-off tickets, and blood everywhere.”

  “Oh no. I’m dead. Dead,” Tember said as she buried her head in her arms on the kitchen island.

  “We can clean it up, kiddo,” Jeremy said.

  “Yeah,” Gracie said. “When’s your grandmother coming back?”

  “She texted me yesterday and said three or four days,” Tember mumbled with her head still in her arms.

  “We can go right now,” Jeremy offered.

  “Umm, I have things to do,” Gracie said. “And then Tember and I have plans tonight.”

  “We do?” Tember asked with a smile on her face.

  “A surprise,” Gracie answered without looking at Tember. She feared that looking at her would reveal the surprise.

  Jeremy answered, “Then tomorrow. That’ll give me time to stop by a hardware store and pick up that cool blood clean-up stuff. You know you put powder on it and then you scrape it up?”

  “Dad, I think that only works if the blood is still wet,” Gracie said.

  “Oh damn,” Jeremy said. “Well, we can still go clean up tomorrow. What do you think, Tem?”

  “Tomorrow sounds good,” Tember answered. The thought of stepping foot into the RV again made her skin crawl.

  Gracie took Jeremy’s truck into town on a mission to surprise Tember. In the meantime, Tember and Jeremy decided to spend the day going on a short hike on a trail that traveled up a mountain by the campground.

  “Phew,” Jeremy said. “I thought the camp guide said that this was supposed to be non-strenuous.”

  “I know, right?” Tember said.

  Jeremy glanced over at her. “How are you doing? It looks like you haven’t even broken a sweat.

  “A little out of breath, but my hand is throbbing badly.”

  Silence stretched between them as they breathed heavily through the switchbacks. The trail leveled off, and the two sat on a flat rock at the overlook.

  “So, Tember,” Jeremy started.

  “Yes, Jeremy?” Tember sarcastically answered.

  He shifted on the rock beside her. “I drove up to your campsite and peeked in today. That place is a mess.”

  “Yeah, is it really?” Tember looked down at the rock. “Why did you go up there?”

  “I wanted to see what I had to clean up tomorrow, and I wanted to see what your anger was capable of doing. Gracie is pretty head over heels about you. I don’t want her around someone who might ever hurt her,” Jeremy said.

  “I would never–”

  Jeremy put up his hand. “I saw how you pushed her away. It wasn’t hard, but I’m afraid that one day you would hit her. Should I be concerned about that?”

  “No.”

  “You got me worried when you said that you saw red. When I was talking to Gracie while you were getting stitched up, she told me that you seemed to not know what you had done in the RV.”

  “I’ve never hit anyone in my life,” Tember admitted.

  “Okay, so what happened?” he said.

  Tember stood. “Can we hike back?”

  “Are you talking to Gracie about this?” Jeremy asked.

  “No.”

  “You have to talk to someone. Sit down and let’s talk. I’m not leaving here until you do,” he said. “You’ll have to carry my fat butt down the mountain, or I’ll end up freezing up here and getting eaten by a mountain lion or a moose.”

  Tember stared out into the Maine woods. She picked up her pack, put it on her back, and looked at Jeremy. He lay back on the rock and put his arms under his head.

  “Not moving.”

  “Fine!” Tember threw down her pack and sat back down. “What do you want to know?”

  “To start, what happened in the RV for you to flip out like that?” Jeremy asked as he sat up.

  “It was all a matter of realization of my life, ya know?”

  “No, more info.”

  “My life sucks. I live with my grandparents who aren’t the worst people in the world but close to it. They’re selfish and just use me for my money. I’ve been homeschooled for the past eight years, which means I teach myself and my grandparents are free to travel wherever and whenever,” Tember said. Her voice caught and she choked up.

  “Do they hurt you?”

  “No, well, sometimes. My grandfather took a swing at me once this week and locked me in the bedroom. Gracie rescued me. Just emotional abuse, I guess. They make me wait on them. Make them dinner and give them any and all money I make.” The floodgates opened. “I had saved a few thousand dollars secretly to get away from them. My grandfather needed it to gamble or settle a bet and found it. So, then I was practically at square one. I can’t live with them anymore.”

  “Is that where the scratch-off tickets come in?” Jeremy asked. “I saw tons on the floor in the RV.”

  “Yeah, for some reason my grandmother buys a ton of them and then scratches them all at once. I think she thinks she has more of a chance of winning if she does them all at once,” Tember said.

  “But you scratched some and found some winners.”

  Tember’s eyes went to Jeremy’s. “You found them?”

  “It’s not like I’m a detective. The compartment you put them in had blood fingerprints on them. “What is it, over $2000 in wins?”

  “I’m going to return them.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they’re not mine,” Tember said.

  “I think they are,” Jeremy said. “I’m sure some of them were bought with money that should have been used for you.”

  “Yeah, still but–”

  “You’re going to do what you’re going to do,” he said. “I guess I get why you scratched the tickets, but why the major meltdown.”

  “I was back in Gracie’s room. I was happy. For once in a very long time, I was happy and it was not due to a character
in a book. Gracie’s amazing,” Tember said.

  “You don’t have to tell me how great she is,” he said. “And please don’t tell me any mushy details.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t.” Tember laughed. “So there I was in her room and I saw her college sweatshirt, and it hit me. I realized that Gracie was pulling me in and was making me so happy. Then she was going to go across the country and would forget about me. I couldn’t take it. I can’t handle that heartache.”

  “So rather than get your heart broken, you pushed Gracie away and trashed your grandparents’ RV?”

  “That’s pretty much right,” Tember said. “I got back to that stale, horrible RV, and I was just so angry. I hate that life and the reason I’m there. I figured I would get my money back in tickets and leave. Then I noticed the pool of blood, and Gracie showed up.”

  Jeremy and Tember continued to look out over the Maine woods. A hawk soared below them. The sun shone through a large cloud and warmed the rock where they sat.

  “This is probably the most silent you’ve been since I met you.” Tember laughed.

  Jeremy said, “That sucks. You deserve better.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No, you do,” Jeremy said. “You should come home with Gracie and me. We should just grab your things and move you in. You can stay with me while Gracie’s at college. I can give you an entry-level job.”

  “What?” Tember asked. “That’s crazy. Why would you do that?”

  “Hey, I’ll have an empty nest. You’ll be doing an old man a favor,” he said.

  “Let me think about it,” Tember said. “But thanks. I appreciate it.”

  “Either move in with us or cash those tickets and go somewhere far away from your grandparents.”

  “I know I’m not staying with them,” she said.

  Jeremy peeked at his phone. “We should head down. We don’t want to be late for my daughter. Any clue what the surprise is?”

  “Not a clue. I hope chocolate’s involved. I have a hankering.”

  “Just like Gracie. She’s addicted to the stuff. Thanks for talking,” Jeremy said.

  “Thanks for forcing me,” she said. “Nobody has cared enough to do stuff like that.”

  “Anything you need.”

  Somehow Tember believed Jeremy would do anything for her. The two reached the bottom of the trail and were covered in sweat. When they reached the campsite, Gracie was still not back.

  Tember hopped in the shower. Then she entered Gracie’s room in a towel and found Gracie shoving clothes into a waterproof bag.

  “Hey,” Tember greeted.

  Gracie looked up, and her gaze ran the length of Tember’s body. Tember was only wearing a towel long enough to cover her behind. She was so happy to see Gracie that she forgot she was wearing only a towel.

  “Hi,” Gracie said as she devilishly smiled.

  Her gaze made Tember feel uneasy.

  Gracie strutted past Tember and shut and locked the door.

  “Umm, I...” Tember began, but she stopped as Gracie slowly walked toward her bed and pushed Tember onto it. Gracie quickly found her way on top of Tember.

  “Nice outfit,” Gracie teased as she kissed Tember’s neck and collarbone.

  “I...I didn’t think you were here or I wouldn’t have...” Tember stumbled over her words.

  Gracie pulled away and propped herself above Tember. “Oh, I’m so glad you did come in here, in this small, flimsy, barely covering you towel. It’s what a lesbian’s dreams are made of.”

  Tember looked up into Gracie’s eyes and desire surged through her. She pulled Gracie down to her and engulfed her lips. Her tongue quickly found Gracie’s, and her kiss took on a life of its own. Her lips moved back and forth with Gracie’s. Tember felt her towel fall open and felt Gracie’s shirt against her bare breasts. Gracie’s thigh fell in between Tember’s legs, and low moans escaped both of their mouths.

  “Shhh!” Gracie said as she covered Tember’s mouth and smiled down at her.

  “Shh, yourself too.” Tember laughed. “You started this.”

  “My Dad’s outside.”

  “Outside and the windows are closed, and you locked the door,” Tember said as she took Gracie’s bottom lip in her own and bit it.

  “You,” Gracie said as she pushed herself off Tember and averted her eyes from Tember’s nakedness.

  To Tember’s surprise, she did not hurry to cover herself once Gracie pulled away from her. She welcomed Gracie looking over her naked body. She yearned for it. Nobody had seen her naked since she was a child. She wanted Gracie to see her and touch her, just like she wanted to explore all of Gracie.

  “You’re the one who pushed me onto the bed,” Tember said.

  “I wasn’t expecting...you...you go get dressed,” Gracie said as she stood with her back to Tember.

  Tember stood and held her towel in her hand. From behind Gracie, she nibbled on Gracie’s neck and tossed her towel on the floor in front of them.

  “Tell me you’re not standing naked behind me and kissing my neck,” Gracie whispered.

  Tember said, “I sure am.”

  “Okay, I’m leaving this room. In ten minutes, you need to be dressed and we’re going to go do something,” Gracie said.

  “Don’t you want to turn around first and...” Tember said as she ran her tongue over Gracie’s neck.

  “Ten minutes.” Gracie opened the door and exited the bedroom.

  Tember screeched as Gracie left the door wide open. Tember quickly shut the door.

  “That’s what you get!” Gracie called back. “And don’t look in my bag.”

  Tember got dressed and met Gracie outside. Gracie was playing cards with her dad at the picnic table. Tember smiled at Gracie, and Gracie shook her head.

  “What’re you two doing today?” Jeremy asked.

  “A surprise, Dad!” Gracie said.

  Jeremy looked at Tember and then back at Gracie. “Any clue?”

  “None,” Tember answered.

  Gracie put down her cards and said, “We gotta go, Dad. Rain check?”

  “Sure, leave your old man for a girl,” Jeremy whined.

  “Man up,” Gracie said. “I’m sure you can find a steak and a beer to tell your worries to.”

  “Good idea. You two get out of here. You need my truck?” he asked.

  “No,” Gracie said. “But I do like that since I’ve been with you, Tember, he’s let me drive it.”

  “Tember, do you want my truck?” Jeremy asked.

  Tember answered, “Sure, but I don’t have my license.”

  “Licenses are overrated.” Jeremy laughed. “You two have fun, but not too much fun.” Jeremy pointed his finger at Tember. “I have a shotgun and–”

  “No, he doesn’t,” Gracie said as he kissed him on the cheek. “Bye, Dad. Have a good night.”

  “Bye, sweetie,” Jeremy said. “Beat you later at cards.”

  “You wish, old man,” Gracie retorted.

  “Ouch. Love has changed you,” Jeremy said.

  Gracie bit her bottom lip and looked at Tember, who just smiled. Gracie thought about the many times in the past when her dad had teased her about being in love. Gracie always denied it, but this time she didn’t. Tember wondered if Gracie was in love with her, and if she ever fell in love, would she even know what it was?

  “I gotta run inside and grab my bag,” Gracie said.

  “Do I need anything?” Tember asked.

  “Maybe a sweatshirt,” Gracie suggested.

  Tember followed her in and grabbed a sweatshirt. Gracie took the waterproof bag and put it over her shoulder.

  “You need such a big bag?” Tember asked.

  Gracie smiled and kissed Tember on the lips. “Don’t worry. I have it under control.”

  “I’m not worrying,” Tember said. “I’m interested in where we are going.”

  The two exited the RV, and Jeremy called out to them, “Have fun storming the castle!”

  Th
ey walked down the campsite path and onto the road. Gracie slid the bag’s other shoulder strap onto her shoulder and placed her hand into Tember’s. Tember intertwined her fingers with Gracie.

  “I...can’t...believe you did what you did in the bedroom,” Gracie said as she looked at Tember.

  Tember threw back her head and laughed. “What, getting dressed?”

  “You know what I mean,” Gracie said as she squeezed Tember’s hand.

  “Yeah, I surprised myself,” Tember said. “You just drive me crazy.”

  “Feeling’s very mutual,” Gracie said.

  Gracie pulled her onto a thin trail that led into the forest.

  “Hmm, very mysterious,” Tember said. “You’re not bringing me into the forest to have your way with me, are you?”

  Gracie laughed. “This coming from the recently naked girl in my room.”

  Tember laughed and brought Gracie’s hand to her lips, holding it there. They walked hand and hand through the woods. Baby grass green moss and pine needles blanketed the entire forest floor. They came to a stop at a steep drop-off toward the lake below.

  “I had no idea we were this close to the lake,” Tember said. “We having a dinner here or something?”

  Gracie was busy looking up and down the tree line and then looking over the edge into the water again.

  “What the heck are you doing?” Tember asked.

  “Setting up the beginning step of our date.” Gracie smiled. She threw down her pack and pulled out two thick coils of rope, two harnesses, and hardware.

  “We’re rappelling?” Tember asked.

  “Yes, cool, right? You ever done it?” Gracie asked.

  “No, but I’ve always wanted to. You know what you’re doing?” Tember asked.

  Gracie answered, “How hard can it be? Yes, of course I know what I’m doing. I’m actually an instructor at an indoor rock climbing gym.” Then Gracie instructed Tember how to adjust her harness so that it fit, and she explained the basic moves of how to repel.

  17

  Gracie and Tember stood on a pebble-strewn shore. A mile to their left was the north side of the lake where the main beach of the campground sat. From where Gracie and Tember stood they could only make out a few people who were sunning on the beach. To the west was where the land jutted out and where Tember had watched Gracie balance on the canoe.