Chapter 16: Hiking Redux

The trio gathered in front of the sign at the trailhead. It was the same trail they had tried the summer before. Now they were back to try it again, only this time they were better prepared. They were properly equipped with well broken in hiking boots, a first aid kit, energy bars, lunch, and sufficient water for the trip. They were in much better physical shape having walked, ridden bikes, and exercised regularly for the past year. They were more experienced having hiked many easy trails over the past year.

Dexter asked, “Are we ready to go?”

Sarah answered, “You bet.”

“Let’s get to it.”

“All right!” Dexter said, taking the first step on the trail proper.

The two kids followed behind him. There was a slight concern that the trail would still be too much for them. Their memories of their previous time on it had slowly exaggerated the difficulty with each retelling. The steep path had become nearly a vertical wall. The eroded portions had turned into canyons.

Will said, “The first half is the easy part.”

Sarah said, “I remember.”

“It’s coming back that is the problem,” Will said.

“I’ve been using the stair-stepper at the gym. I’m pretty sure that it won’t be that bad this time,” Sarah said with a slight trace of doubt in her voice.

“We’ll manage this easily, kids,” Dexter said.

“I’m sure we will,” Sarah said.

Will said, “I know.”

They walked a little while until they reached the first washout. They had remembered it being a lot further from the trailhead than it actually was. They stopped and looked at it.

Dexter said, “There’s been another year of erosion, but it isn’t too bad.”

“I don’t think it has changed much at all,” Sarah said.

“Same here,” Will said.

“Do you want to turn around?” Dexter asked.

“No,” Will answered.

They continued onward.

Sarah said, “You and Mom have been together a lot.”

“I guess you could say that,” Dexter said.

“Two lunches a week, a date on Friday nights ... and, occasionally, biking with us on Sundays. I’d say that is a lot,” Sarah said.

“It sounds serious to me,” Will said.

“I guess you could say that,” Dexter said.

A lot of the negative anxious tension in their dates had disappeared only to be replaced by sexual tension. It had been a long slow process, though, and not always an easy one.

At first, Dexter had been reluctant to expose his emotions and had held back. That had slowly thawed. Janet had been patient and understanding, knowing that he had been hurt. Fortunately, he had opened up before her patience had run out.

There was then a period of time where their dates had been fun and relaxed with occasional moments of intense emotions. Issues that had been present in their marriage were danced around, until they had to be addressed. They had both matured since initially getting married, twenty years earlier. Gone was some of the idealism. The rose colored lenses in the glasses of youth, had been replaced by reading glasses.

They had grown apart in ways that surprised them. The sudden change in their financial positions had affected them differently. Janet had become much less concerned with her personal finances, and that had given her the confidence to try new things. She wanted and reveled in her responsibilities in the coffeemaker company. Dexter on the other hand, found that he didn’t want to put in that many hours working. He wanted to focus more on family duties, and a social life.

After a while, Janet had started pulling back emotionally. She had discovered that Dexter wasn’t the man she had remembered from the early days of their marriage. Nor was he the man she thought she had known during the last years of their marriage. Her primary concern, was that she didn’t know the real Dexter well enough to commit to him for the rest of her life. Dexter had been patient and understanding during that time.

Working together had forced them to exist in close proximity. That helped them get through some of the rougher periods of renewing their relationship. What emerged was as much a friendship, as a romance. They had twenty years of shared experiences and, at the same time, they’d had years of totally different experiences. The combination of the two meant there were surprises waiting to be discovered.

The nature of their dates changed over time. They had started going places as a couple with other people. It felt odd for the older couple to double date with much younger couples. Calvin and Samantha were seriously dating, and were talking about moving in together. Amber and Michael had become a couple. Still, they went with the younger couples to clubs, baseball games, football games, theater, and even the opera.

Sarah said, “Mom sure seems happier lately.”

“Well, she’s enjoying her work,” Dexter said.

“I think it’s more than that,” Sarah said.

The summer months had really established some major changes in their lifestyle. Rather than participating in early morning conference calls, and then rushing off to work, mornings had become more relaxed and intimate. They spent time around the breakfast table, talking. Sometimes breakfast lasted an hour.

Janet now made a real breakfast. Gone were the days of frozen bagels. Sometimes it was fresh fruit and juices. Other times, it was eggs and bacon. She would occasionally make a pot of hot tea and they’d sit around eating bread slathered with jam.

Will said, “I think she is just happier about everything.”

“Everything?” Dexter asked.

“You know, things like dating you, her job, and her leisure time activities,” Will answered.

“That’s good,” Dexter said. “How about you two?”

“I’m not looking forward to returning to school,” Sarah said.

“Why not?” Dexter asked.

Sarah said, “I’ve enjoyed biking, hiking, camping, cooking, and just relaxing.”

“You’ll still be able to do some of that when school starts up again,” Dexter said.

“I know,” Sarah said. “It just won’t be the same.”

“I suppose,” Dexter said. “How about you, Will?”

“I’ve decided not to go to college this year,” Will answered.

In the past, an announcement like that would have Dexter exploding. He hadn’t worked so hard so that Will wouldn’t go to college. Instead, he held off expressing his disappointment. It was easier than he expected, mainly because Will had dropped hints that he wasn’t sure that college was really something he wanted to do.

“So what are you going to do?” Dexter asked.

“I’ve found a job. I’ll go to work.”

“What kind of job?”

“I found a job in the produce section of a grocery store,” Will answered.

“Really?” Dexter asked.

Dexter was half tempted to ask Will what he knew about fresh vegetables and fruits, but bit his tongue. It didn’t really matter what he knew. He would learn on the job and maybe he would learn more than just about produce.

“Yes. The pay isn’t that bad,” Will said.

Dexter could only guess what the job paid.

“How much?”

“Over twenty-four thousand a year with benefits,” Will said.

“That’s not bad, I guess,” Dexter said.

He was fortunate that he was walking in front of Will so that he couldn’t see the frown. Twenty-four thousand wasn’t enough to support a family. Of course, Will wouldn’t have to worry about that after he reached twenty-five. Still, it would be a tough seven years until that time.

Will said, “I was talking to the produce manager at the local store. He makes close to fifty thousand a year. Anyway, he suggested that I go to a community college and take some courses in business, accounting, and management. He said that would enable me to get promoted to his position one of these days.”

“That’s not bad advice,” Dexter said thinking that a little encouragement now would motivate Will to continuing past a community college, and get a Bachelor’s Degree in Business.

“I know it’s not a glamorous job, but the work is steady and the hours are reasonable. Besides, I figure that people will always need food. There’s got to be some job security in that, right?”

“That’s true.”

Will asked, “What do you think?”

“I never really thought about it as a career. I never ever even considered it. I knew from an early age that I wanted to be an engineer,” Dexter said.

“You’re disappointed,” Will said.

“I didn’t say that. I’ve met people who do that kind of work and they seem to be nice people. It’s a service job and that means you’re dealing with people,” Dexter said.

“The way I figure it, if a year of doing that is horrible, then I can always go back to school. With a semester or two of community college courses under my belt, getting into a regular college wouldn’t be that difficult. I won’t actually lose that much by working for a year,” Will said.

“You’ve given this some thought,” Dexter said.

Will said, “I have.”

Dexter asked, “When does this job start?”

“Next week,” Will answered.

They reached the place where the Sarah had twisted her ankle. The three took their time crossing the washout. They supported the one who was crossing to help minimize the chance of injury. They continued along the way without concern. So far the hike was proving easy.

Dexter asked, “How did you find the job?”

Will answered, “That was pretty easy once I decided that I wasn’t going to go directly into college. I went around various businesses in the area and looked at the jobs people were doing. I visited gas stations, convenience stores, car repair places, restaurants, and all kinds of stores. You might not think about it, but there are a lot of different jobs within five miles of our house.

“When I found something that looked interesting, I talked to the person doing the job. I asked about job security, salary, and what kind of hours they worked. Some people actually liked their jobs. It was strange because they weren’t necessarily the kind of jobs you would think that people might like.