“Bill you’re just too nineteenth century. I can’t take this any more. We need to just step back and reassess our relationship. I’m moving in with Julie for a while until you can see the error of your ways.”

“What? Sharon, what the hell are you talking about? I thought you were happy here.”

“Look, you have a nice place and make good money but your outlook on life is just too ancient. All you want to do is work, hang at home or with other couples. I need to PARTAY! You used to be fun before we moved in together. Now you’re just booooorrrrrring. You don’t want me to go out drinking and dancing with the girls and you get positively NASTY if some cute young guy puts the moves on me. Come on, admit it. You’re just an old fuddy duddy.”

“Well, excuuuuse me if I expect my girlfriend to hang with me and turn other men away. I thought that was what exclusive and living together meant, a step before marriage ya know.”

“It is Bill, or it was supposed to be but now, I’m not sure we’re right for each other. You need to get your head screwed on straight.”

“Well, if by that you mean letting you run around drinking and dancing and letting every Tom, Dick and Harry feel you up or more, I’m guilty. There’s no way I’ll let my woman do something like that. Next thing you know you’ll be telling me it’s ok to have sex with someone else.”

“Well DUH, it would just be sex. You know I love you and would come back to you. Like I said, you’re just too nineteenth century. Get over it.”

Bill looked at Sharon in shock then walked up to her rapidly. He grabbed her left hand and pulled the engagement ring from her finger before he said, “I suppose you’re right. I AM old fashioned enough to expect my woman to stay true to me and me only. Get what you need for tonight and tomorrow and go party with the slut sisters. I’ll pack the rest of your things and put them on the porch for you.”

“That’s it huh? You’re going to give up all we had because I like to hang with my sisters? You know you don’t own me.”

“Yeah, that’s it and thank God I don’t own you. There’s no way I’d want to be associated with someone like you. Good bye Sharon.”

The next morning, a Saturday, Bill went to his parent’s house. When he walked into the kitchen he walked straight to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup before he walked onto the back porch. His mother looked up and said, Good morning son. You look tired. Is everything OK?

“Morning Mom, Dad. I don’t know about everything being OK. I kicked Sharon out last night, or rather, she said she was going to move in with Julie until I got my shit together. Basically, she told me she intended to continue living the single life and I should get used to it. I finally had enough and took my ring back. I came over to pick up some boxes so I can pack her things.”

Bill’s Dad said, “You sure it’s come to that son? I thought you loved that girl.”

“Yeah, it’s come to that. The few times I’ve gone out with her and her friends I’ve seen her let men take liberties with her on the dance floor and several times I haven’t been able to find her for long periods of time and she’s shown up looking really mussed if you know what I mean. If she isn’t already cheating on me, it’s just a matter of time so yeah, I’m sure it’s over.”

His mom said, “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. Are you going to be all right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. After the semester’s over I think I’ll pass on summer school and go up to Grand Dad’s mine for the summer if you don’t mind. I’ll take my solar charger and laptop so I can work on my Master’s thesis. I want to look over the old mine, too. I think I’ll take a bunch of seeds and supplies and plant a garden. I’ll pass on summer school and spend the whole summer instead of just the two weeks we usually spend around July 4th. We’ll have fresh garden produce when the family comes up.”

The parents looked at each other before his father said, “Well, we don’t have any problem with that and maybe the fresh air’ll do you some good, let you get over the hurt. When you come down out of the mountains for supplies you be sure to call us though so we know you’re ok.”

“Thanks Dad. I will. Well, let me get the boxes and I’ll go. I have some studying to do and I want to get her things packed. I’ve only got two weeks left in class and I have a lot of work to get done before finals. It’s hard to believe I only have one more semester before I have my Master’s Degree in Mining Engineering.”

Bill was sitting in a quiet corner of the Student Union studying the Tuesday after he and Sharon broke up when Sam (Samantha), one of his classmates, walked up. She said, “Morning Bill. Where’s Sharon?”

“Hi Sam. How ya doin’? Don’t know where Sharon is.”

“I’m ok I guess. Trying to decide what to do this summer. I kind of need to find a job but I really want to just unwind some instead.” She looked sort of uncomfortable then continued, “Uh, it’s probably none of my business but, uh, I thought I saw Sharon at Joe’s Saturday and she wasn’t wearing her ring. Uh, she was getting really friendly with Mac too.”

Bill sighed and said, “Yeah, not surprised. She told me Friday she was going to move in with Julie for a while, until I got my head out of my ass and started living out of the nineteenth century. I took the ring back and told her to go for it. OK?”

“Oh, Bill, I’m sorry. I guess I can’t say I’m too surprised but I’m still sorry for you. She’s always been sort of a party animal.”

“Yeah, she was fun for a while but when she refused to quit after we supposedly became exclusive I worried. I worried more after we moved in together and we had a lot of arguments because she was always running around as if she was still single. Now, can we talk about something else? Please?”

“Yeah, sorry. So what’re you doing this summer? Taking more classes or working?”

“Neither actually. My grandfather had a small mine up in the mountains several years ago and since I need a break I decided to spend the summer up there just chillin’ and working on my thesis. The family always goes up for two weeks over the 4th and I’m going to put in a nice garden, fish and just tootle around. I’m going to play in the mine and see what I come up with too.”

“Wow. That sounds cool. Wish I could do something like that.”

“Yeah, I’m actually looking forward to it and, at least I won’t have to listen to Sharon bitch about the two weeks we were going to spend up there in July. She was already trying to talk me out of going. Huh, sorry. I said we weren’t going to talk about her any more.”

“Yeah, well...”

Bill looked at his phone for the time and said, “Well, time for me to get moving. I have another class so I’ll see ya.”

“Later.”

Thursday Bill was once more in his quiet corner studying, having coffee and a snack when Sam wandered up again. “Hi Bill. You any better today,” she asked.

“I guess. Don’t miss her as much as I thought I would and I’m getting caught up on my work so yeah, I’m better. How’re you?”

“Good,” Sam said as she sat down and started drinking her coffee. She looked at Bill for a moment over the lip of her cup and noticeably came to a decision. She said, “Bill, I’ve been thinking. I decided to take a couple of summer classes this year to finish my degree by December. Would it be ok if I sortta came to your mine with you for the first part of the summer? I think it’d be really cool to see how they did it back in the day and I could unwind while you were working on your thesis...”

Bill sat back in surprise while he looked at Sam. Finally, after she was becoming worried and getting ready to leave, he said, “I guess it would be ok. You know there’s no electricity or cell service back there in the mountains? We usually walk or ride horses to even get there. There’s an old wagon trail that a jeep can traverse but sometimes we have to stop and work on the road before we can continue. I doubt if I even get to town more than every two or three weeks. We have an old cabin or two we can sleep in but most of us just pitch tents.”

“Wow. Cool. If you really don’t mind, I’d really like to come. It’s ok though if you don’t want me to.”

“Naw, it’s ok. Some company from time to time might be good. It’d be safer to have someone else there in case one of us gets hurt anyway. Yeah, you can come. Be sure to pack warm clothes and good boots and any, uh, feminine items you might need too. It’s over fifty miles to even a small store. We have a list of things we always bring. You know, food items, utensils, medications and so forth. I’ll give you a copy in a day or two so you can pack.”

The morning they were going to leave Sam arrived at Bill’s parent’s house before breakfast. They loaded her belongings in the bed of Bill’s truck along with his then went into the house for a meal with his parents before hitting the road. He’d already loaded the two horses and mules into the horse trailer hooked to the truck so after the meal all they had to do was get in the truck and drive off.

Just after Bill pulled onto the road Sam turned to him and smiled before she said, “I’m SO looking forward to this. Thank you so much for letting me come with you. How long will it take us to get there?”

“It’s about a three hour drive then we’ll probably have another three or four hours riding before we get there. I park my truck at a family friend’s house near the end of the smooth part of the road into the claim. He watches them for us and sometimes comes up to the place to check on us if he’s out riding his range nearby. We let him run his cattle on the place in exchange for keeping an eye on it although there’s not much anyone could damage if they did trespass.”

The last major town they drove through on the way Bill stopped. They went into a Sam’s Store and bought a lot of jerky and other dried foods, some fresh food and a few snacks, used the restroom and drove on. After they were back on the road he said, “Well, just a little over an hour and we’ll be at Jack’s. We’ll have a sandwich there then hit the trail. We should be at the claim by 4 p.m. or so. That’ll give us plenty of time to set up camp and cook supper then we’ll do some exploring tomorrow before I hook the mules up and plow the garden spot.”

“That sounds good.”

After leaving Jack’s small ranch Bill and Sam almost immediately rode into rough, untamed country. She was enthralled with the beautiful scenery and occasional wildlife she saw. Unfortunately, being a novice rider, she soon became more than a little sore and exceedingly tired from sitting on the saddle so long.

By the time they reached the claim in a small secluded valley Sam wondered if she could even walk. Truthfully Bill was feeling the saddle too. He rode occasionally during the year but not as long at a time as he’d ridden that day. When they crested the last ridge and could see the valley with the stream running through it Sam was ready to stop. She could see the small cluster of buildings near the head of the valley and said, “I see buildings up ahead. Is that where we’re going?”

“Yeah, and I’m ready to stop. I can imagine how you feel.”

“Oh no you can’t. I don’t know if I could go much farther. I’m sorry. I never knew riding would feel like this.”

Bill laughed and said, “Yeah, I ride some all year around and I’m still feeling it. I can’t understand how those old timers could spend all day in the saddle and then walk as if nothing was wrong.”

After they set up camp and moved into the best of the buildings (which, while primitive, was in good repair) the two friends prepared a simple meal and sat enjoying the evening as the sky darkened. Soon after dark Bill said, “Well, that’s it for me Sam. I’m calling it a night. You can stay up as long as you want though.”

“No, that’s fine. I’m bushed and was getting ready to ask if you would mind if I called it a night. See ya in the morning.”

The next morning, true to his word, Bill took Sam on a several hour tour of the immediate surroundings and even led her into the first part of the mine shaft. He promised her they’d look deeper into it at a later date but told her he really needed to get the garden in quickly. After it was planted, he needed to clean out a small irrigation ditch so they could water the garden also.

After he plowed, which Sam found fascinating, watching the mules pull a horse drawn plow back and forth, she helped plant green beans, corn, squash and set out several tomato plants. It was just turning dusk when they finished.

Bill said, “Well, I’m off to check the fishing lines we put out earlier and take a nice cold bath in the stream. If you want, you can either use my favorite hole first or find another one out of sight.”

“Thanks, I saw one a little farther upstream. I’ll go there. It’s just around the other side of that large rock above your swimming hole.”

“Yeah, I remember it. Be careful. The water’s swift there and the rocks’ll be slick.”

The two took off for their bath and to see if they caught some fish for supper. Bill was finishing his bath when he heard a scream and a splash. He looked upstream jn time to see Sam tumbling down the rapids from the higher pool. He saw a flash of white then a sleek body plunged into the pool a few feet upstream from him.

Bill began moving toward Sam when she stood and hobbled toward the bank, naked as a jay bird as the saying goes. He said, “Sam are you ok?”

Sam blushed tried to hide her charms and said, “Yeah, I’m fine, just shook up and a little embarrassed. I’ll probably have a bruise or two tomorrow but I’m fine. You were right, those rocks are slick and unstable.” By then, she was walking back upstream out of sight. Several minutes later she returned fully dressed. When she saw Bill watching, she blushed again and said, “What?”

“Oh, nothing really. I was just thinking about Sharon. She absolutely refused to even consider bathing in this cold water and insisted we heat her water over the fire the one time she came up here with us. I never got to see her wandering around naked up here.”

“Well, you weren’t supposed to see me either but we see how that worked out.”

“Hey, you show it off, I’ll look at it.” Bill grinned and continued, “And it looked pretty good from where I was standing too.”

Sam blushed again and swatted at him as she said, “Oh, you!”

The two friends settled into a routine over the next several days. They worked in the garden together after the young seedlings came up in order to keep the weeds out of them. They fished and worked in the mine from time to time also. Bill spent two or three hours a day working on his thesis as well.

They didn’t find much “color” in the mine, of course, because it was played out but they had fun trying. Some of the dust and tailings did have a few flecks of gold in them and they even panned a little from the stream but they weren’t going to get rich doing it.

One evening while they were sitting back resting after supper and watching the sunset Sam said, “Bill, this is the most fun I’ve had in years. I love it up here. I think I could almost live up here. Do you ever wonder what it would be like to have been the first people into this country? To have found a mine and worked it?”

“Yeah, I have. This mine was never much but it supported two generations of our family before it played out. From the way the vein of gold just ended, I’m sure the seam slipped and there is more here somewhere. That’s partly why I decided to go into mining engineering. That and mining is in our blood. I know this mine will never reopen but it’s fun to come up here for vacation and dig around. Sometimes we find an ounce or two of gold during a summer and that comes close to paying for the trip. Besides, it’s fun too. I get a kick out of finding gold.

“Yeah, I get a kick out of finding a fleck of gold too but we sure work for it!”

Bill laughed and agreed. He looked around and said, “I’m thinking about running into town tomorrow. We’re short on jerky and snacks and I’m about to die for a beer and some soda pop. You feel like the ride or want to stick around here? We can stay in town tomorrow night and eat someone else’s cooking if you want or we can make a long day of it and make the round trip tomorrow.”

“I can’t say I’m looking forward to riding a horse that long but I’m game.”

The next morning they were up and moving before the sun was up. As soon as it was light enough to ride safely they headed down the mountain toward Jack’s house and Bill’s truck.

They were near the highest point of the trail when the earth shook and rattled. Several rocks were dislodged and rolled down the mountain. It was all they could do to calm the horses and mules and not get bucked off. Finally things settled down and they dismounted. Sam said, “What was that?”

“Not sure. Almost felt like an earthquake. They have light ones around here occasionally but that’s the first one I’ve felt like this. You ready to go on?”

“Yeah. I’m really looking forward to a restaurant cooked meal, a hot shower and soft bed. Can we really stay in town tonight?”