Chapter 1

Because the driveway met the road at something just less than 180 degrees, the jeep took the turn slow and wide. The driveway itself was narrow and it took a little back and forth to get things lined up right. Once that was done, the vehicle crawled its way up the steep hill.

"Almost there," Edith announced to the other three women, who simply groaned. The drive had been almost three and a half hours, and they'd done it with only one quick stop for gas.

The jeep finally stopped in front of a tiny red cabin set on the far edge of a clearing. A think forest of pine and birch surrounded them, with only the space for the drive way and a path down the hill to the water. There was no one else for miles. The four stumbled out of the jeep and stretched their shaky legs.

"Where's that indian reservation you were talking about?" Anne asked as she came around the back of the jeep.

"Across the bay and over the ridge. Maybe later tonight we'll head over and find a couple good lookin' braves to party with," Edith leered. "You can set that up, right Lily?"

Actually no, Lily thought to herself. First of all, she was only half Lakota. She didn't even speak the language. Second, she'd been adopted when she was three months old and had lived her entire life in the city. This was her first camping trip, but she shrugged and grinned like she knew something the pale face didn't.

"God Edith, you're awful," Sharon scolded as she pulled her light brown hair back with an elastic. Edith only laughed.

Lily knew what Edith had said was probably racist, just as she knew there wasn't a racist bone in Edith's body. It was just the way her circle of friends worked. Lily caught it for being Native American even though she was only half so. Anne caught it for being a dumb blond though she had a Masters Degree from Northwestern. Edith caught it for being a bitchy redhead, though she was more a "take no shit" kind of bitch than a "make everyone miserable" kind. Sharon caught it more than the other three put together, though she gave better than she got. Anne bolted for the bathroom and Sharon wandered around aimlessly, taking everything in, so Lily stayed behind to help unpack. Gear, suitcases and coolers piled up quickly.

"Where'd you get your stuff?" Edith asked.

"Loaners from Hazel," Lily answered as she tugged on and especially heavy cooler. She was pretty sure that was the one with the booze in it.

"Did you guys hear about Hazel?" Sharon chose this moment to wander back. "She dumped Ron!"

"Why?" Edith sounded truly shocked.

Sharon's voice dropped, "She went lesbo. Can you believe it?"

Lily could. She'd gone to Hazel's the day before to pick up the gear, Hazel gave it over and invited her in. Then she'd made a pass at Lily, a good one. Lily had been surprised how tempted she'd been, which wasn't the same as saying she'd wanted to. It was just shocking how much thought she gave it before saying "No" and getting out of there. She wasn't looking forward to getting the stuff back to Hazel.

"Gross," Edit spat and with a final pull the last of the stuff was removed from the jeep.

The four went inside to change. The cabin had a bedroom and bathroom and a small kitchen space. There was only one bed, and it wasn't big enough for four, so everyone would crash that night outside in their sleeping bags. But there was room enough to store clothes and change. Swimsuits went under t-shirts and shorts. Fleece went over everything because Edith warned even though the air was warm it would get cool on the water, especially if the wind was up. They wrestled a chest of wine coolers down to the dock and got it on the boat with a little difficulty. After a nervous few minutes where it seemed the boat's motor might not turn over, they were on their way.

Edit navigated the boat out of the bay with casual ease; she'd been coming to the cabin since she was a kid. Once clear of the bay, she made for the middle of the big lake. There'd be fewer fishermen out there, which meant there'd be fewer guys hassling them. They'd be able to relax.

The relaxation was assisted greatly by the rocking of the boat on the waves and the wine coolers. There wasn't room to properly lie out, so everyone stripped to their suits, took a seat and spread out as much as space would allow. They chatted, they gossiped and they requested drinks from whoever happened to be closest to the cooler at the moment. Mostly, they soaked up the sun and enjoyed the contrast between the hot air and the cool lake breezes.

Edit plotted the boat to the only town of note on the lake, which was about as far from the cabin as it possibly could be. They took a late lunch, picked up some groceries and did a little souvenir shopping. The wind had picked up by the time they returned to the boat, and they were motoring into the teeth of it. Between that and the chop on the lake it was almost an hour before they got back to the cabin. Edith sent the other three up the hill to get dinner ready while she tied up the boat for the night. Lily was shocked to see it was almost 6:30p already. She did the prep work while Anne did the grilling. Sharon walked the grounds gathering wood for the campfire. By 8p, everything was just about ready. Between the height of the trees that surrounded them and the lateness of the summer, Lily needed a flashlight to find her way back down the hill to the dock. The water was flat and perfectly mirrored the full moon rising over the ridge on the other side of the bay. Edith sat at the end of the dock, casting out a line and slowly reeling it back in.

"It's beautiful up here," Lily marveled.

"Isn't it, though?"

"You catch anything?"

Edith reeled in one last time, "I have never, ever, caught anything at the end of this dock."

"Then why do you fish from there?"

Edith smiled, "Because it's about fishing, not necessarily about catching fish."

Edith lay the rod down. The walk back to the cabin seemed darker than the walk down. The two held hands as Lily led the way with the flashlight.

"I can't believe that about Hazel," Edith grumbled.

"Well, if that's how she wants to live her life, then that's her business," Lily replied. "Better Ron find out about it now than later."

"Whatever," Edith sounded like someone betrayed.

"So, I take it you never... you know..."

It took Edith only a moment to figure out what "you know" meant. "God no! Of course not. You?"

"No," Lily said firmly, "never."

Everyone knew Anne's main contribution to the trip would be her skill with the grill and on this night she didn't disappoint. Everyone went back for seconds of the chicken and the salad bowl had been picked clean. The only problem with the dinner had been the camp fire Sharon had tried her best to build; it gave off tremendous amounts of smoke which blew in everyone's face but produced little in the way of flame or heat.

"The wood's wet," Edith explained after dropping the dishes off in the cabin. "Must have rained up here in the past few days."

"What can we do?" Anne asked.

"Not much, really. Either wait for the wood to dry, which won't happen tonight, or find some dry wood, which might be kind of tough."

"I know," Lily said. She ran to the cabin and returned with a large paper bag.

"What's that?" Sharon asked.

"Hazel gave them to me. She said to throw a handful on the fire to get it really going."

She reached into the bag and pulled out an irregularly shaped wood chip, about the size of a quarter. Edith held out her hand and Lily tossed her the chip. It was smooth, shiny and red/brown, like polished mahogany, though Edith know no one would be foolish enough to turn mahogany into wood chips. It was surprisingly heavy. She held it up and gave it an experimental sniff. Nothing.

"What did she say these were called?"

"She didn't."

Edith shrugged, "Throw some on, what can it hurt? If we can't get the fire going a little more, it's going to be a cold night."

She tossed the chip into the center of the flames. Lily followed with a handful more and sat down on her sleeping bag next to Edith. On the other side of the fire she saw Anne and Sharon who watched to see if anything would happen.

It did. The flames began to spark and pop as if dry pine needles had been tossed on, then a jet of flame leapt six feet into the air.

"Woah!" the four women chorused.

"Now that's a fire!" Anne said in her best Eddie Murphy impersonation.

The flames settled down to a healthy three feet above the pit. Lily stared into the flames as she let its warmth envelope her. She'd always found staring into a fire so relaxing. This one had not only the usual read and yellow and orange licks, but also jets of blue and even green. It was so pretty, pretty, pretty. She lifted her suddenly heavy head... the wine coolers were hitting her hard. Anne, Edith and Sharon were staring intently into the fire. She let her eyes fall back there as well.

"Do you smell that?" Sharon asked. She sounded very far away. Lily managed to tear her eyes from the flame. She had no idea how long she'd been looking at the fire, but it had turned much darker. The stars looked like drops of white paint flecked against an immutably black wall. Lily breathed in deeply through her nose, as did the others. Soon their chests rose and fell in unison.

"Smells like pine," Sharon said dreamily.

"Leather."

"Fresh laundry."

"Oranges," Lily sighed. She thought it was strange they'd all registered such different smells, but it seemed like such a small thing. Then Edith snuggled up against her, and she forgot all about it.