The Star of All Valleys

by Vicki H. Cutler

  Chapter 18

  Bright and early Saturday morning, Willy had her family out of bed and fed and dressed for the day. There was an air of excitement at this new activity they were going to experience. Aggie was especially happy because Max had told her he would bring Kelly and her brother, Steve, along. There were too many of them for one canoe anyway, so they might as well fill up two of them. He had borrowed another one from a friend.

  Allison and Jeffy were watching out the window and shouted with glee when they saw Max's pickup come into the driveway. Two canoes were mounted on the back. It had been decided that they would have to drive both vehicles. One of them would have to be left at the ending point of their cruise so they would have a way to get back to the beginning.

  Aggie and Kelly rode with Max, and Steve was happy to ride in the back of the camper with Allison and Jeffy. He was a happy and helpful ten year old and entertained the younger ones all the way with his vast repertoire of jokes and silly songs. Willy found herself laughing at his antics.

  They reached the launch point of their journey and unloaded the canoes. All the children wanted to stay and explore the area while Max and Willy went to leave his pickup at the end of their expedition. Warning Aggie and Kelly to watch the kids and not let them near the water, Willy followed Max several miles down the road to a place where they could retrieve the canoes when they finished paddling. After Max had parked and climbed into the cab with Willy, she turned back onto the highway.

  "The kids are really excited about this adventure," she told him, her eyes happy. "You certainly have a lot of fun in this valley of yours."

  "It's peculiar how you can live right among wonders and beauties and get too busy to enjoy them. Do you know, my dad was born here but he had never been up to the Intermitting Spring in his life until Floyd and Jean were going to be married. She is from out of town and wanted to see it, so the whole family went up there the day before the wedding."

  "That's hard to believe," Willy commented. "I read that there are only three springs like it in the world and this is the biggest one. And yet I found that very few people I talked to had been up there more than once or twice."

  "They need to improve the road and make some facilities up there so it is easier to get to. I've been trying to convince the Forest Service to do that for years. They don't want to damage the watershed or spend the money."

  Willy laughed and told him about her encounter with the mayor. "He said the same thing. Nobody wants to spend the money. I wish I was rich so I could donate the funds to have it done privately."

  "You'd still have to get past the old die-hards who don't want it done at all, though," Max said, shaking his head. "I can see both sides of the argument. If you improve a natural formation so it can be enjoyed by a lot of people, you also leave it open to vandals that deface it and destroy any improvements you have put in. I wish people would just be more responsible. We have so much to cherish here."

  "That is my favorite word," Willy said, almost to herself.

  "What word?"

  "Cherish. It brings a feeling to my soul like the word 'murmur'," she said. "You can tell I'm a writer. I have strong feelings for words," Willy laughed at herself. "Well, here we are! There's our reception committee."

  They looked at the children. They had lined themselves up, tallest to shortest and were in the attitude of royalty saying, "Welcome to my palace!" with arms outstretched. Laughing, Max and Willy got out of the truck and led the way to the canoes. The paddles and snacks were loaded, life jackets fastened on everyone, and they all climbed in, leaving the adults to push off and then jump in when they were floating. Kelly, Allison and Aggie were in Willy’s canoe and Max, Steve and Jeffy were in the other. Jeffy was so proud to be one of the guys and sat in the middle with his cowboy hat on holding tightly to the sides of the boat.

  The scenery around the first few bends of the river was missed because of the erratic progression of the second canoe. Willy was not a sailor and had never paddled any kind of a boat before. She had Kelly in the front to help paddle but since a canoe has to be steered from the back, she didn’t have a clue how to guide it. Max gave her many instructions and tried to help her understand canoeing principles, but she was too much of a novice.

  The current of the water was strong in some places and Willy got turned completely around. After many unsuccessful attempts to get it turned the right way, Max paddled over to try to help her. The current caught his boat while he was reaching with his paddle to push her canoe around and the pointed end of his craft rammed into the middle of hers, tipping it over and immersing the occupants.

  The water was shallow but very cold and Willy found her feet as quickly as she could. She swished through the water and grabbed Allison by her life jacket. That little girl was howling from fear and cold but unhurt. Kelly and Aggie had gotten to their feet and gripped the canoe before it could wash downstream.

  Max was out of his canoe to help them. Jeffy, afraid that his canoe would tip also let out yelps of fear and stood up to reach the safety of Steve's arms. His small legs weren’t steady on the uneven bottom of the canoe and he very nearly did upset them when he tried to climb over the cooler which had been set between him and Steve. The two bawling kids, the squeals of the cold and wet victims and the laughter over being caught in this predicament intruded upon the peace and serenity of the river.

  Max told them to get to the bank so they could turn the canoe over easier. He grabbed both canoes and hauled them up the bank while the girls made their way splashing to the edge on their own. When everyone was on the shore, they sat down and took stock of themselves. The only dry ones were Steve and Jeffy. All the rest except Max were wet from head to foot and covered with mud from the silty river bottom. He was only wet to the waist but was dripping mud also. It was a warm day so they didn't mind being damp once they got out of the cold water. They washed the mud off as well as they could and waited to warm up and start to dry off.

  Allison discovered that her shoes had come off in the excitement and must have floated away. Her hat had been securely tied on as was Jeffy’s but she was barefoot and crying. Willy promised her they would stop at the store when they got back to town and buy her some more shoes. After a short rest from their exertions they climbed back into their respective canoes.

  Before they proceeded any further, Max gave Willy a lesson in canoe steering, including much advice and teasing about her woeful lack of skill. She tormented him right back, accusing him of knocking them over on purpose and pointing out his own deficiencies in the art of steering a canoe. He argued hotly but with much good humor that the river current had been the culprit and not his lack of ability.

  Soon both boats were paddling efficiently down the river. They stayed far enough apart to avoid any more accidents, but close enough to be able to shout back and forth. They scared up some water birds and enjoyed the quacking ducks and screeching cranes. Several deer were spotted up on the hillsides as they slid quietly past. Their course went under two or three bridges and they waved at the people in cars going past above them.

  At noon, they stopped to eat lunch in a grassy area surrounded by trees. Willy welcomed the break. Her shoulders and neck were getting very tired and stiff from the workout. They decided to spend an hour or so resting. After the food was packed back into the cooler, Max stretched out on the ground cloth where they had sat to eat their lunch. "It's nap-time for me," he said, putting his hat over his face in characteristic fashion.

  Willy finished her soda pop. She, too, needed to lie down and rest. Observing that Max appeared to be asleep, she saw no reason not to lie down on the cloth and make herself comfortable also. As she rubbed her aching shoulders and settled back, she was startled to feel something pillowing her head. Turning quickly, Willy saw that it was Max's arm. His eyes were shut and he didn't appear to be aware that his arm had moved to provide a comfortable neck rest for her.

  It felt too good to argue about so Willy
just relaxed and enjoyed it. After all, with all the company they had, nothing was going to happen. The kids were looking for shells or snails or whatever kids can find to look for. They were following game trails or cow paths around the area and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

  Willy dozed for a few minutes. She hadn't felt him move, but when she opened her eyes, Max had turned on his side and was watching her. She tried to sit up, but he reached out a hand to stop her. "There's no hurry. The kids are running around and you need all the rest you can get," he told her. "Paddling a canoe for five miles is no easy job for puny arms like yours."

  Needing to change the subject and break away from his hypnotic gaze, she looked up at the sky above them and watched the clouds. "I have never seen the sky as dark blue as it is here. I wonder why that is."

  "Maybe it's because we're so high in altitude that the air is thin and the black of outer space is closer," he answered, following her gaze. He turned his head back to look at her face. "I'd rather look at the view from this angle, though."

  Willy blushed and sat up quickly. She was going to insist on avoiding anything remotely resembling flirting. She stiffly rose to her feet. "Well, let's get on with it. We're only halfway, aren't we?"

  "Oh no," he said, encouragingly. "We only have about an hour until we get to the truck. The worst of your work is over. We're through the winding part of the river and the rest is straighter. The current will carry us along without doing anything but steering from now on."

  "Hooray for that!" she sighed. "I won't be able to move my arms tomorrow. I guess I'd better get into an exercise class when I get home and whip this old body into shape."

  "I think your shape is fine," Max said, ogling her as he walked slowly around.

  "Come on, everybody!" Willy called, turning sharply and marching away from his gaze. It was disturbing at any time to be leered at but especially with such keen interest in the eyes of the beholder.

  The kids came running from all directions. They were tired of exploring and wanted to get back to their trip. By the time the canoes were again loaded and they pushed off, everyone was dry and comfortable. The last of their journey was made without incident. They were all ready to get off the water and go back home.

  Max and Willy loaded the canoes and tied them down. All the kids wanted to ride in back of the pickup on the way to the camper so Willy sat back there with them. She told Max she needed to be sure that no one fell out, but she knew she just didn't want to be alone with him even for a minute. The look in his eyes when she had woke up from her nap still filled her memory. The love she had seen there pouring out at her was almost tangible. She definitely needed to get away from him. Far, far away. He would be hard to forget, but she was determined to make her best effort.

  Back at the campground, Max, Kelly and Steve climbed in the cab of his pickup and prepared to leave. Aggie stood on the passenger side talking to Kelly and Willy walked around to thank Max for the enjoyable day.

  "I have to work tomorrow," he told her. "I'll be home about six, though, and I would like to come over and tell all of you goodbye."

  "We'll be here," she said. "The kids are really going to miss you."

  "Just the kids?" he asked quietly.

  Avoiding the question, she backed away. "Thanks again!" she called and turning, walked to her door.