He sketched a salute and I started the motor and set course for the campsite. We tied off the boat and I cleaned the 4 fish, then put them in a nylon mesh bag. Mac tied the boat off and we walked up the small grade. They had set up the sling-style camp chairs around the pit. We had a small table setup and they had an open bottle of wine set on it. They were speaking in an animated fashion and as we approached, they both broke out in laughter!
“What?” Mac answered in mock frustration.
“I was telling Paige, in the lunchroom the other day and a group of women were talking. One of the questions that was going around was ‘where have all the men gone?’. Paige said: ‘here they are!’.” Elaine said with a smile and a sip of wine. We looked at each other and shrugged. He vocalized a ‘caveman’ grunt. I replied in kind.
“Oh Jesus!” They answered together.
*****
First Night at Trinity
The bed of coals was hot, and cooked the steaks. Roasted corn on the cob with these nice sweet Italian dinner rolls. Elaine broke out a mellow, smooth burgundy It was a quiet, and calm evening. I could see bats flying after insects over the top of the water. The small cumulus clouds of the afternoon had disappeared and left a mirror reflection on the lake. An occasional breeze would send a ‘cat’s paw’ across the water. We did up the dishes and settled in for the evening. Mac had broken out his guitar. With it, he had a military rucksack of some kind. Out came a bottle of scotch. He handed it to me.
“From the island of Skye?” I said unconsciously.
“Yep. Good whiskey in Skye!” He said removing the glasses from the bag.
“Is there any bad whiskey in Scotland?” I asked sarcastically.
“Not much. Just the stuff for export!” He responded with a laugh. Elaine thought that was funny! Our glasses filled, Mac picked up his guitar, tuned for a second, and began to pick chords. Mac started the intro to Loch Lomond. Paige started singing in Gaelic. It was melodic and ethereal. To hear Gaelic spoken, it’s lyrical. Me trying to sound out words in Gaelic, is similar to hearing a cat with a hairball! Paige has an unbelievable voice! Mac played another with Paige. It was some sad song about lovers trying to find their way across a loch.
We talked and drank, then I saw the idea of a ‘light bulb’ go on! He reached into his ruck and withdrew a cedar box and opened it.
“I have here 4 A.J. Fuentes cigars, Cuban Fuentes! For you David, a double corona. Miss Elaine, a Maduro Lonsdale, a corona for my bonnie lass, and a Belicoso for me!”.
“Wow!” Elaine said as she smelled it. I smelled mine. There was a difference, what, I wasn’t sure. He had cut a long, dry pine splint and lit it. I sat back for the Cuban cigar experience. We smoked for a few minutes.
“This is really good! I’m not saying that just because I’m supposed to say that, this is a much more flavorful and richer cigar. These could get addicting! ” I said to Mac. He smiled.
“I didn’t think it would go to waste with you!”.
“What do you think?” I said to Elaine, who had been kind of quiet this evening.
“This is quite a treat! Thanks, Mac! I’m not going to ask where you got them!”
He let out a belly laugh! “Just call it manna from heaven!”
The conversation wandered, as it generally does, and we ended up on the topic of high school. I asked Mac if he had been in any fights in school. He smiled.
“Well, a couple. She was suspended twice for fighting!” He nodded toward Paige. I gave her the ‘well’ look.
“I was a sophomore in high school. Robbie was a junior. We were in the showers after gym class and this cunt, Linda Kressler looked at me and said ‘Your brother is a fag!. My sister has asked him out twice and refused!’.”
‘Well, your sister is a whore who’ll open her legs for an Arby’s!’ I said as I punched her in the mouth. Knocked a tooth loose and got suspended for 3 days.” She said with her impish grin. “Hurt my family? There are consequences!” She she said with conviction. I tipped my glass.
“How about you? Any troubles?” Mac asked. Elaine rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.
“Now, I’m really curious!” He said drawing on his cigar.
“This was right after we moved from Napa to San Rafael. My first couple weeks in high school. A brand new school and I didn’t really know a soul. There was a group of 3 or 4 kids who thought they ruled the school. They took money, pushed everyone around…..you know the routine. Well, they got my money about 3 times and I had my fill. I talked to my Uncle Ed about it. He said he had a solution, but it would be costly. So, he told me what to do, and I waited until Monday morning for me to take care of business! Steve Purgin and his 2 ‘homey’s’, walked straight down the hall with their sights on me. He squared off in front of me and before he said a word, I swung my fist down on top of his nose….HARD! I t sounded like a chicken leg breaking! He went to his knees with blood running like a faucet. His two ‘wingmen’ were in shock, one had blood and snot splattered on his face, and the other ran. Steve managed to get up and ran.”
“OK, then what?”
“Well, I got suspended and the police appeared. She had to come down and pick me up. There was talk about pressing charges, but that never happened. I had to go to an anger management class and do some community service. I served lunch to the homeless. Would I do it again, in a heartbeat! No one ever bothered me in high school again!” Mac cracked a smile and Paige laughed.
“Did you tell her what you had planned?” Paige inquired.
“Are you kidding! She was my mother then! She would have had a fit!” I said laughing.
“What was funny, by the time lunch came around, school social media had me killing this kid by driving his nose into his brain!” I laughed tearfully.
There was a slight pause. “How ’bout you? Any stories of daring do?”
“I fought a duel.” He said, sipping his whiskey.
I gave him the ah bullshit look.
“It wasn’t with flintlocks! It was a matter of honor though. This ass wipe accused me of stealing his wallet! I told him I did not, but he was going to press the issue. He believed that I was the only one who could have taken it. Being accused of theft as a Marine officer is serious shit! Even being absolved of wrongdoing, just being ‘accused’ can be a serious judgment or a rip on your record. So, I told Lieutenant Asswipe, he had two choices: one is fighting this out in a court martial. That would come with his ass getting kicked every time I saw him off base. Or B, you can square off with me at the fencing club and will settle this in front of our peers.” He paused for a sip of beer.
“He realized that he didn’t have much choice, since I challenged him in the ‘O’ club. My blade is the saber, and I’m competent! I smacked him around right and proper! To win the match, 3 ‘torso cuts’ are required. Well, one can be beaten up severely with a saber! Getting hit in the arms, wrists, legs, and hands by a one-pound blade, even a dull one, hurts! I worked him over until he lost his cool and threw down his sword and came at me. I flipped off his mask and put the blade point in his throat. He recanted and eventually came clean! This prick accused me of stealing! I should have cut his fuckin’ ear off!” He said recalling his anger.
“Was that the end of that?” I asked.
“Yeah, pretty much. He was eventually went to court marshal. False accusation, conduct unbecoming and defamation of a fellow officer.”
“A duel! At least you didn’t chop him in half, like in Rob Roy!” I chuckled.
“It does sound like the sword fight scene in Die Another Day!” Elaine said with a giggle.
“Honor is serious business with me! I know it might sound medieval and passe, tough shit! That’s how we roll in my family. At the end of the day, all you really have is your honor and family.” I looked at him. I’m not sure if I’m in total alignment with his philosophies and ideas, but I admire who he is.
We talked for about an hour longer. The stars were out in full force and with the darkness, the Milky Way was bright and visible. Paige asked me about a couple of stars and planets. It still amazes me how looking at the sky hasn’t changed since I was 4 years old! The fire died down some and we were all spent from the drive up, so it was off to bed. The tent platforms sat beside each other, about 5 yards apart. We set up the openings to face the lake. Elaine and I were trying out a new sleeping item. The rancher Ed gets all the buffalo from sells hides and we bought one. Beautifully tanned and the thick buffalo fur, we thought we could put it over the high-density foam and use the sleeping bags zipped together as a comforter. We changed and slipped under the sleeping bags. I snuggled up to spoon Elle.
“You put on lingerie!” I whispered in her ear.
“Uhhhh….baby, this is a flannel nightshirt!”
“Well, now it’s incredibly sexy!” I answered.
She turned a bit. “What’s up with you lately? Something going on?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Lately, I feel like ‘less is more’. Does that make any sense?” I said in thought.
“Interesting.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Just watching you grow and develop. I never knew that I was going to have a seat so close to the epicenter!”
“Am I doing OK?” Regretting the question. She smiled and rolled on top of me. I could see the outline of her nipple and ring, pressing through the flannel. Faint and silhouetted, sexy all the same. She pulled my head down and we kissed. The nightshirt or my tee didn’t last long. There are facets of my personality that are changing. Maybe I’m outgrowing parts of my life too. Who the fuck knows?
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