Chapter 33

I woke up when the alarm went off at five thirty the next morning. Kelly stirred when I reached over her to turn off the annoying buzzing. She wrapped me in her arms, pulling me down to her. I found her mouth in the dark and kissed Kelly tenderly.

“Good morning birthday boy,” Kelly said. “Do you still love me?”

“Yes, I love you more and more each day, sweetie. Go back to sleep. I’m going to get up so Rob and I can go fishing,” I said.

“I’m getting up too. I want to make you guys breakfast,” Kelly said.

Kelly and I climbed out of bed. We showered and dressed. I put on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Kelly wore panties and a tee shirt. We went downstairs to make coffee and breakfast.

“Happy birthday, Justin,” Jenny said as Kelly and I walked into the kitchen. “The coffee is ready.” Jenny came over and gave me a hug. When I hugged her back, she kissed me.

Rob shook my hand as he wished me happy birthday. We looked into each other’s eyes and broke into laughter.

“I saw your birthday present last night. I got a shirt for my birthday,” Rob said as he continued to laugh.

“I think I have all the shirts I need. The video was way better,” I said as I glanced at Kelly and Jenny. “It would be better live though.”

Laughing, Kelly and Jenny came together. They kissed each other as they moved their hands to the other’s breasts. Jenny pulled the back of Kelly’s tee shirt up and put her hand in Kelly’s panties. Rob and I chuckled while watching our girls goof around with each other.

“We better behave or the boys won’t go fishing,” Jenny said.

“Are you two anxious for us to leave?” I said.

“No, you can stay home and watch us clean house if you want to. In fact, you can help,” Kelly said.

“I think we’ll go fishing,” Rob said.

After eating, Rob and I loaded our fishing tackle into my truck. We headed to the stream we planned to fish. On the way, Rob and I talked about the video. We both agreed watching it was exciting. We also agreed we were very lucky to have girlfriends willing to do the things they did. It wasn’t the video. It was their willingness to be adventurous. Kelly and Jenny never balked about hiking in the woods or trying new things.

“I’ll head upstream and you head downstream,” I said to Rob while we put on our waders.

“Sounds good. Anything you need?” Rob replied.

I shook my head and told him I would be fine. My casting and fishing skills improved to the point I felt confident fishing alone. We finished getting ready and walked to the stream. I walked along the shoreline, scoping likely places I’d find holding fish. My first cast into a small pool produced a nice rainbow trout.

For the next two hours, I waded slowly in the swift flowing stream. The sun was up, warming the morning air. As I made cast after cast, catching a trout once in a while, I took in the wonderful scenery surrounding me. Moving stealthily, I rounded a bend in the stream. A doe and her fawn stood on the shore, drinking the cool clear water. I paused so I could just stand there watching.

When the two deer walked off, I continued upstream. I thought about each cast as I fished the logs, riffs, and pools I came to. With three fish, one rainbow and two brown trout, in my creel, I stepped out of the stream to rest. I found a fallen log and sat down.

Watching the water flow by memorized me. I stared, watching the swirling and bubbles. A fish came up and sipped a bug from the surface. My thoughts drifted to the previous Christmas and the small hunting cabin Kelly and I found while stranded in the Adirondack Mountains. I felt fate, or divine intervention, led us to the cabin at the time and I still believed it now. Many things could have gone wrong, but nothing did.

Finding the cabin may have saved Kelly’s and my lives. More importantly, it provided a conduit for us to discover our deep rooted feelings for each other. We managed to laugh and love under the most trying times. Kelly could have pissed and moaned about being stuck in the cabin, but she didn’t, not once. She didn’t blame me for the car sliding into the ditch or for getting lost. No matter what obstacle we encountered, Kelly remained upbeat and a trouper.

Ever since the trip, since the first time we made love, Kelly’s and my relationship grew. We seemed as compatible as two people could be. Kelly’s lack of inhibition and her desire to expand her horizons wore off on me. I found myself looking forward to things I would have never considered in the past.

My mom and Kelly’s dad provide guidance when I need it. They willingly addressed my questions and give me direct answers, even if it isn’t what I necessarily want to hear. One of the most important lessons I’d learned was the difference between sex and love. It allowed me to enjoy the video Kelly and Jenny made without feeling threatened.

I still grappled with my wealth. It was hard for me to comprehend the position Kelly and I were in because of the amount of money we had. I did my best not to let it go to my head. I felt a need to share with my friends, to offer the opportunity for them to enjoy the things Kelly and I could. Doing it without seeming condescending was the real challenge. I could understand how Rob felt, but I didn’t know how to change it.

Standing up, I stretched. I headed to the stream and began working my way back toward the truck. Remembering the things Rob taught me, I made casts. Before I reached the truck, I landed two more trout. After removing my waders, I leaned against the truck while waiting for Rob to return.

“Hey, how’d you do?” Rob said as he walked toward the truck.

“Good, I kept five, two rainbows and three brown trout. How did you make out?” I replied.

“Five rainbows, I didn’t keep any of the browns. This is a good steam. We’ll have to come back here,” Rob said as he opened his creel to show me his catch.

Rob removed his waders. We put our gear away and headed toward the house. On the way, Rob asked me to stop at the store. We went into the market and I followed him up and down the aisles. Rob placed items in his cart. We talked about our morning while he shopped.

Rob finished his grocery shopping and we left for home. I helped Rob carry his bags up to the apartment before we put our fishing equipment away. We found Kelly and Jenny in the kitchen when we went into the house. The girls sat at the table drinking coffee. Rob and I told Kelly and Jenny about our morning. Rob poured cups of coffee for him and me and then we went out to clean the fish.

“What do you want for dinner?” Kelly said as she and Jenny came over to watch Rob and I clean our catch.

“We could cook these fish instead of having the steaks we talked about,” I said.

“If it’s what you want. It’s your birthday and you can have anything you want,” Kelly said.

“How about ribs?” I heard someone say. Turning around, I saw Mom, Dad, Vince, and Donna walking toward us.

“Hi, what are you guys doing here?” I said in surprise.

“You didn’t think we’d miss your birthday, did you?” Mom said as she kissed me on the cheek. “Happy birthday, Justin.”

I wiped my hands so I could shake with Dad and Vince. Donna and Mom gave me a hug while they all expressed their birthday wishes. Once the greetings were over, I turned to Kelly. When Kelly grinned, I knew she planned it.

“I think ribs would be great,” I said. “Have you seen our pool yet? We’re planning to take a dip later.”

“We haven’t taken a good look yet. We just pulled in,” Dad said.

I gave Mom and Dad a look. It dawned on me they must have come up the day before. I didn’t think they would have left early enough to be at the house by ten in the morning. “When did you come up?” I asked.

“We drove up yesterday and stayed in town with Greg and Mindy,” Vince said.

While I talked with my parents, Rob finished cleaning the fish. We all headed for the house to get coffee and show everyone the new pool.

“Where are Greg and Mindy?” I asked Dad.

“They’re at the motel. Greg didn’t know if you’d want him and Mindy here for your birthday,” Dad said.

“Nonsense, they’re welcome,” I said. “Give them a call and tell them to come out.”

We went into the house to get coffee. Donna used the phone to call her sister and Greg. Once everyone had coffee, we went out to inspect the pool. I checked the temperature and found it was eighty one degrees. Rob and I rolled the cover off the water so everyone could see the pool.

Mom, Dad, Vince, and Donna made comments about how nice the installation looked. Kelly reached down, testing the water with her hand. She grinned and came over to me.

“It’s warm enough to swim in. I think I’ll take a dip this afternoon,” Kelly said.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to fire up the grill. I want to get the ribs started,” Vince said.

“When are you going to send the parts you want us to photograph, Vince?” Jenny said. “Kelly and I are ready.”

“I have them in the truck. I’ll get them for you in a few minutes,” Vince replied.

Dad chuckled and said, “Why don’t we get them now? Justin and the others can give you a hand.”

The next thing I knew, everyone headed for the front of the house. Mom and Dad walked in front of Kelly and me. Vince, Donna, Rob, and Jenny followed us. When we rounded the house, I spotted a large covered trailer attached to Vince’s Suburban.

“How many parts did you bring?” I said as I turned around to look at Vince.

Vince chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. Mom stopped me before I reached the back of the trailer. She told me to wait until Dad and Vince opened the back. I watched Dad and Vince lower the back of the trailer and walk up the ramp the tailgate formed when it was down. Dad and Vince walked up the ramp, disappearing into the trailer.

A few moments later, I heard engines starting. Dad reappeared riding an ATV down the ramp. Vince came out next, also on a brand new ATV. They drove the vehicles around the trailer, stopping a few feet from me. Dad and Vince turned off the engines and got off the two ATVs.

“Happy birthday,” Dad said as he came over to where Mom, Kelly, and I stood.

I stood speechless as I looked at the two vehicles. Kelly slipped her arm around my waist, pulling me closer. Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say thank you, silly,” Kelly said.

“Um, yeah, thank you. This is way too much,” I said.

“We figured if you planned to hunt, you’d need a way to bring the deer out of the woods,” Mom said. “Dad and Kelly came up with the idea for the ATVs.”

I walked over to the two identical vehicles. I walked around one of them, and then sat behind the wheel. Dad sat next me and began telling me about the features.

“The man who sold these to me said they’re considered All Terrain Utility Vehicles. This model will seat four. Both of them have dump-boxes. I decided on the covered model so you can use it in the rain,” Dad told me.

“This is so cool! They’ll be helpful around here. Especially with the additional property,” I said.

“We want you to know your mom and I think you made a wise decision. Property is always a good investment. Have you thought about what you’re going to do with it yet?” Dad said.

Shaking my head, I said, “No, not yet. I know we’ll use it for hunting, but I don’t know what type of building I’m going to put up. I’ve been thinking about a log-style lodge we could use for guests.”

“Well, I’m sure you and Kelly will make the right choices.”

“Thanks, Dad, I think we will too. Let’s take these things for a ride.” I got off the ATV and went over to Kelly. “Do you want to go for a ride, sweetie?”

“Maybe later, you take Dad, Vince, and Rob,” Kelly said. She moved close so she could whisper in my ear. “We’ll go later and christen them properly.”

“Both of them?” I whispered back to Kelly. She winked as she nodded her head.

Dad and I got onto one of the vehicles and Rob and Vince got on the other. We headed out toward the back of the lot. I wanted to see how close we could get to where we planned to put up the new hunting blinds.

The woods were too thick and the paths too narrow for us to get the ATVs close to the blinds. We parked the units and walked into the woods.

“We should clear some of the trees so we can drive closer to the blinds,” Rob said. “We could use the wood for the fireplaces and the wood furnace. I should call my brothers and have them come up for a weekend. We could get a lot accomplished with some help.”

“Larry and I will help, won’t we Larry?” Vince said. “The exercise will do us good.”

“Sure, I’ll be glad to help you boys around here,” Dad said. “By the way, Mom and I will be retired at the end of the week. We decided it was time.”

“That’s cool, Dad. Now you two can come up more often,” I said.

“We don’t want to impose on you kids,” Dad said.

I laughed and said, “You won’t be imposing on us, not as long as you and Mom are willing to work for room and board.”

All of us laughed at what I said. Dad assured me he would help me as much as he could. We continued to talk as we hiked to the first location for a new blind.

“Rob and I planned to start setting the poles today. I have a power posthole digger and the lumber we need,” I said while we looked over the site.

“Let’s get started then. I’ll fire up the grill and have Donna keep an eye on it. I can run back to tend to the ribs after I put them on the grill,” Vince said. “Donna has helped before and knows how I like it done.”

We went back to the ATVs and headed for the house. While Vince started the fire in the grill, Rob, Dad, and I began loading the tools in the back of the ATVs. As we finished loading, Greg and Mindy showed up. We told Greg what we were doing and he offered to help.

Greg suggested we use the tractor to drag the long timbers out to the woods. Rob and I didn’t bother to tell Greg we planned to. Greg showed us how to lash the timbers to the back of the tractor. Once we lashed on four of the long six by six inch timbers, we left for the woods.

With five of us working it didn’t take long to set and secure the timbers. Greg showed us how to use diagonal two by sixes to shore up and square the upright timbers. To keep the timbers from rotting, we painted the part in the ground with a thick coating of creosote.