That Summer
Mischief
The second day was much like the first, in that things progressed more easily with each passing meal. Jackson had come down for dinner and brought his new coworker, Dylan. Apparently they ran out of food in their bunk-house and their boss's wife was going grocery shopping in the morning.
Dylan was loud and sarcastic, and there was a perpetual dip of Copenhagen in his bottom lip which he periodically spat into a green Mountain Dew bottle. He cracked jokes at his own expense and was excessively flirty with Lauren, but all-in -all everyone liked him.
It had been an uneventful day. The boys and I were getting along great. Chris was smart and loved to read, and they both also loved being outdoors. I literally got paid to live the life of a child. We spent the day riding horses, and then we hiked a nearby mountain. The thin air got to me, and we had to stop often, but all-in-all it was a well spent day. I kept thinking about how I was getting paid to basically have a vacation. Whatever I could talk the boys into doing, we could do it. If we wanted to lie inside and read, then swim all day, we could and I got paid for it. It was fantastic.
After dinner, Jackson and I spent the evening with the crew. Hugh was hilarious and told lots of funny stories about his red-head (ginger, in his words) brothers. Soon enough, we were all piping in with funny stories of home and our families, and once it got dark outside, Michael insisted on a bonfire. We lit the bonfire, sat around and roasted Marsh Mellows. Someone- I think it was Kira- had the bright idea of sneaking into the kitchen to swipe chocolate and Gram Crackers to add to our Marsh Mellow roast. As soon as the idea was pitched to the rest of us, several brave souls leaped to their feet and grabbed flashlights. Getting caught taking food from the kitchen could get us in trouble, but apparently here no one was afraid. I grabbed a flashlight and joined the group.
Our thieving group consisted of Michael, Kira, Hugh, Esther, Lizzy, and obviously me. We reached the back door of the Lodge that led directly into the kitchen, and keeping our voices down, we ransacked the pantry. I nabbed a bag of chocolate chips and Esther found a box of Gram Crackers without difficulty. Before 5 minutes had passed we were sprinting back towards the crew cabins. Lizzy laughed too loud, and Michael shushed her.
Suddenly, I saw the porch light flick on at Bill and Krista’s house. That was odd -- Krista had told me earlier that they went to bed early. I stopped dead in my tracks and checked my watch, pressing the backlight button so I could read the time; 12:03 am. Yes. It was definitely too late, especially since all the other lights had been out for a while. Had someone seen our flashlights through the windows? I didn’t think that was possible. We had kept the beams low to the ground for that very reason. Everyone in our group stopped seconds after I did, pausing to follow my gaze. They looked towards Bill and Krista’s house, and then seeing the lights, just as I had, Michael screeched in a high pitched whisper.
“Guys! Someone’s coming from the house. Get down. Hide the evidence!” His tone was mottled between genuine concern and slight excitement. We were near the line of cars parked by the crew cabins, so we dove behind the nearest one. It was Kira’s mini-van. Michael, Lizzy and Esther scrambled around it, and laid in the tall grass by the fence, the rest of squeezed under Stephanie’s large black pick-up truck which was parked solemnly next to the mini-van.
“Crap. Are we gonna be in big trouble?” Hugh asked fearfully.
Michael's voice rose from the grass just a few feet away, “If Bill or Krista saw us and caught us with the evidence, yes, we would get in big trouble. But I just think there’s no way they could’ve seen.”
I added quietly, “Yeah guys, there’s no way. We were already out of the building on our way back by the time the light came on. They would’ve come over sooner if they’d seen. They would have wanted to catch us in the act, right?” I looked toward the grass for reassurance.
Michael's voice came again, “Right. There’s no way. But we still need to sneak back to the cabins. Good thing we had the bonfire behind them. They probably don’t even know we’re awake. If we can get back there before someone comes over here, we can look like we were just sitting around talking. They’ll never guess.”
“Good plan,” whispered Kira noisily, “I’m going now.”
Just then we heard the door to the house open and shut; I briefly panicked.
“NOW.” Said Michael.
We all scrambled to a hunkered running position, staying under cover of the cars, and then dodging the brief gap between the fence and the nearest cabin.
Jackson started at our appearance, and then concern flashed across his face when he saw our expressions. Everyone else followed his gaze and similar sentiments crossed their features as we dove into the circle. Michael snatched Lauren’s blanket to hide the chocolate and crackers, but she didn’t ask questions. Everyone craned their necks back towards the Lodge like they expected someone hot on our tail.
Just then, and engine roared to life from across the small field. We all looked at each other in confusion.
Ryan got up and walked to the edge of the cabin nearest to our bonfire and peered around the edge, “What the hell? Why would they be leaving at this time of night?”
Michael got up and snuck to the edge of the cabin as well, I followed him.
Krista's blue Honda Pilot backed out of the parking space at the house and crept slowly down the windy Ranch driveway. Once it reached the road, the engine gunned just slightly and it took off in the direction of town.
“Well, we didn’t get caught after all. Must’ve been an emergency or something..” Michael said.
We all relaxed visibly, and Kira retrieved the chocolate and Gram Crackers from under the blanket, cracking the packages open and asking, “Well, that’s a relief. Who wants chocolate?”
Only Spencer made any further speculations on the car hurtling down the road towards Laramie. “Well, maybe whoever it was just wanted chocolate and Marsh Mellows too.”
We all laughed and it wasn’t mentioned again for the remainder of the night. Instead, we had s’mores and laughed until it was way too late to even think about the next early morning awaiting us all.
Dylan was loud and sarcastic, and there was a perpetual dip of Copenhagen in his bottom lip which he periodically spat into a green Mountain Dew bottle. He cracked jokes at his own expense and was excessively flirty with Lauren, but all-in -all everyone liked him.
It had been an uneventful day. The boys and I were getting along great. Chris was smart and loved to read, and they both also loved being outdoors. I literally got paid to live the life of a child. We spent the day riding horses, and then we hiked a nearby mountain. The thin air got to me, and we had to stop often, but all-in-all it was a well spent day. I kept thinking about how I was getting paid to basically have a vacation. Whatever I could talk the boys into doing, we could do it. If we wanted to lie inside and read, then swim all day, we could and I got paid for it. It was fantastic.
After dinner, Jackson and I spent the evening with the crew. Hugh was hilarious and told lots of funny stories about his red-head (ginger, in his words) brothers. Soon enough, we were all piping in with funny stories of home and our families, and once it got dark outside, Michael insisted on a bonfire. We lit the bonfire, sat around and roasted Marsh Mellows. Someone- I think it was Kira- had the bright idea of sneaking into the kitchen to swipe chocolate and Gram Crackers to add to our Marsh Mellow roast. As soon as the idea was pitched to the rest of us, several brave souls leaped to their feet and grabbed flashlights. Getting caught taking food from the kitchen could get us in trouble, but apparently here no one was afraid. I grabbed a flashlight and joined the group.
Our thieving group consisted of Michael, Kira, Hugh, Esther, Lizzy, and obviously me. We reached the back door of the Lodge that led directly into the kitchen, and keeping our voices down, we ransacked the pantry. I nabbed a bag of chocolate chips and Esther found a box of Gram Crackers without difficulty. Before 5 minutes had passed we were sprinting back towards the crew cabins. Lizzy laughed too loud, and Michael shushed her.
Suddenly, I saw the porch light flick on at Bill and Krista’s house. That was odd -- Krista had told me earlier that they went to bed early. I stopped dead in my tracks and checked my watch, pressing the backlight button so I could read the time; 12:03 am. Yes. It was definitely too late, especially since all the other lights had been out for a while. Had someone seen our flashlights through the windows? I didn’t think that was possible. We had kept the beams low to the ground for that very reason. Everyone in our group stopped seconds after I did, pausing to follow my gaze. They looked towards Bill and Krista’s house, and then seeing the lights, just as I had, Michael screeched in a high pitched whisper.
“Guys! Someone’s coming from the house. Get down. Hide the evidence!” His tone was mottled between genuine concern and slight excitement. We were near the line of cars parked by the crew cabins, so we dove behind the nearest one. It was Kira’s mini-van. Michael, Lizzy and Esther scrambled around it, and laid in the tall grass by the fence, the rest of squeezed under Stephanie’s large black pick-up truck which was parked solemnly next to the mini-van.
“Crap. Are we gonna be in big trouble?” Hugh asked fearfully.
Michael's voice rose from the grass just a few feet away, “If Bill or Krista saw us and caught us with the evidence, yes, we would get in big trouble. But I just think there’s no way they could’ve seen.”
I added quietly, “Yeah guys, there’s no way. We were already out of the building on our way back by the time the light came on. They would’ve come over sooner if they’d seen. They would have wanted to catch us in the act, right?” I looked toward the grass for reassurance.
Michael's voice came again, “Right. There’s no way. But we still need to sneak back to the cabins. Good thing we had the bonfire behind them. They probably don’t even know we’re awake. If we can get back there before someone comes over here, we can look like we were just sitting around talking. They’ll never guess.”
“Good plan,” whispered Kira noisily, “I’m going now.”
Just then we heard the door to the house open and shut; I briefly panicked.
“NOW.” Said Michael.
We all scrambled to a hunkered running position, staying under cover of the cars, and then dodging the brief gap between the fence and the nearest cabin.
Jackson started at our appearance, and then concern flashed across his face when he saw our expressions. Everyone else followed his gaze and similar sentiments crossed their features as we dove into the circle. Michael snatched Lauren’s blanket to hide the chocolate and crackers, but she didn’t ask questions. Everyone craned their necks back towards the Lodge like they expected someone hot on our tail.
Just then, and engine roared to life from across the small field. We all looked at each other in confusion.
Ryan got up and walked to the edge of the cabin nearest to our bonfire and peered around the edge, “What the hell? Why would they be leaving at this time of night?”
Michael got up and snuck to the edge of the cabin as well, I followed him.
Krista's blue Honda Pilot backed out of the parking space at the house and crept slowly down the windy Ranch driveway. Once it reached the road, the engine gunned just slightly and it took off in the direction of town.
“Well, we didn’t get caught after all. Must’ve been an emergency or something..” Michael said.
We all relaxed visibly, and Kira retrieved the chocolate and Gram Crackers from under the blanket, cracking the packages open and asking, “Well, that’s a relief. Who wants chocolate?”
Only Spencer made any further speculations on the car hurtling down the road towards Laramie. “Well, maybe whoever it was just wanted chocolate and Marsh Mellows too.”
We all laughed and it wasn’t mentioned again for the remainder of the night. Instead, we had s’mores and laughed until it was way too late to even think about the next early morning awaiting us all.