Chapter 11: Pigs in Zen

Part II: Electric Counterpoint

Dance is the hidden language of the soul
- M.G.

I got up late, preferring to stay in bed and think rather than get up and be restless in front of everyone. Sleep had done me good. I was feeling positive and excited about Heather’s arrival. She was on the road to me at that moment! After cleaning up my room, showering, and helping my parents with lunch, I decided to take a short hike in the woods to let out the pent-up energy. Lara caught up with me as I entered the trees. I wasn’t sure I wanted any company, but her spirits were high.

“Feels like Christmas?” she asked me.

“For sure!” I grinned.

“I’m happy for you Matt.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you feeling all right? From last night? You disappeared.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was too tired to party. You?”

“I’m a little hazy today,” she admitted. “Maybe a lot hazy! But then again you got more sleep than I did. And I, well ... I got more of a workout!”

“Funny.”

“You were so out last night. I poked my head in to chat, but no luck.”

“Yeah, I passed out right away,” I agreed quickly. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Just whatever. I was still amped up from the party. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep for a while.”

I nodded, but didn’t press. When we reached the creek, Lara bent down to touch the water. “Not too cold yet,” she observed.

“We haven’t been swimming in a long time.”

“I know. Too damn busy since we got back from Montauk.” She looked up at me and grinned. “Probably not going to get any less busy, now that Pete and me are together.”

I shrugged, but didn’t answer.

“He was pretty nervous last night,” Lara said. “In the truck.”

New images formed in my head as she added this detail.

“Oh yeah?”

“He was sure Carl or Brian were going to come outside and do something mean.”

“Did they?”

“Nope. He was a bit distracted because of that, I think. And it being his first time and all. But damn, it sure felt good!”

“Did he ... like it?” I knew it was a dumb question, but the words escaped my lips before I could stop them.

“I’m going to guess yes, since he wanted more later.”

“Really? In the truck again?”

“No, when we got here. He actually asked if he could sneak into my room!”

“You are still talking about Pete, right?” I asked, not believing that he would have the nerve to even think of such a thing, let alone voice it.

“Yeah, I know, right?”

“So did he come in?”

“No way. Our moms were still up. I made sure he was okay, though.”

“You did it outside?”

Lara sniffed. “Thought about it, but I figured it was easier to, you know...”

The Lara in my mental movie suddenly knelt down.

“Yeah ... Well, I should go wait on the deck. They’ll probably be here soon.”

“All right.” Lara smiled as she took a deep breath, leaning close. “That was his first time for that, too.”

“Good for him.” Did he come in your mouth?

Lara patted my shoulder. “Aw, you won’t have to wait long for yours, Matt.”

“I know.”

“What a great day! I guess I’ll take a little walk in the woods. See you in a bit!”

I made my way back to the house, once again feeling strange. I shoved the sensation aside, not wanting to dwell on it right before Heather arrived. As I plopped down in a deck chair, I closed my eyes and pictured my girl.

How will she look, after so long?

She looked radiant. I knew it would be amazing to see her, but when the moment arrived, my legs got slightly weak. My heart was beating a mile a minute as the Martins’ engine announced their arrival through the trees. Then the car entered the clearing.

I locked eyes with my girl. The sparks flew. A second later, she was out of the vehicle, her foot landing on the dirt before her dad had even stopped the wheels. Then she was in my arms. The sweetness...

I was blown away by the feeling of her. The phone was no substitute. I’d forgotten how incredible it was to be near to her! With a big grin, we finally pulled apart from the hug, giving each other a quick but firm kiss as my parents spilled out of the house to greet our guests. I felt alive again as the initial greetings were exchanged and obligatory questions about how the trip went were asked. I was so caught up in Heather’s presence that I forgot to watch Frej and my mothers’ greeting. I’d been wondering how affectionate it would be, but in all the excitement it now seemed insignificant.

I helped carry bags around the main house and up to the guest cabin. Lara approached through the woods, increasing her step when she spotted us. I was grinning ear to ear when Lara and Heather hugged tightly.

Everything was right again.

“Wow, it’s so good to see you!” I blurted out as we set off from the main house toward the creek. It was the first destination on my tour.

“You too!” Heather agreed.

“I can’t believe you’re here. I knew it would be exciting, but my face is hurting from smiling.”

“I know! You feel so good,” she replied, squeezing the arm she’d wrapped around my waist a bit tighter.

We were content just to take each other in for a time. If possible, she was prettier than I remembered. Her hair was just right, lightly shifting in the breeze. Her eyes were even livelier than they were when I first met her, maybe.

“Kiss me, for real?” she pleaded, her face beaming at me as we strolled hand in hand.

“Another minute,” I said, gesturing toward the noise that we were approaching.

Heather took a deep breath of the mountain air as we arrived at the creek. She spent some time looking at the surroundings. “Wow, it’s so fresh here! You’re so lucky.”

I turned her toward me. “I am.”

Then I kissed her. For real.

Sometime later, I returned to reality. Heather’s eyes glistened with emotion. For my part, I felt like I was flying through the trees.

“I have so missed that!” she whispered, just audible over the bubbling water.

“I’ve been dreaming of it,” I agreed. “And now you’re here! There’s so much to do!”

“I can’t wait.”

“We’re going to fish tomorrow, at a trout stream.”

Heather clapped her hands. “Sweet! I’m feeling lucky!”

I laughed. “Are you?”

“If Lara can beat you, I figure I must have a chance.”

“Hey, who told you she beat me?”

Heather just shrugged impishly. “Well, you just did, for one!”

I shook my head and kissed her again, and then again.

“Is this where you and Lara swim?” Heather asked, gesturing to the deep pool nearby.

“Yeah. It’s been our swimming hole forever.”

She reached a hand into the water, looking up in surprise. “Warmer than I thought!”

“Yeah, it’s usually bearable until mid-fall. We think it’s fed by some warm springs upstream somewhere.”

“Nice. Can’t wait to try it.”

I laughed. “You sure? It’s not that warm.”

“I’m game.”

“Okay. Did you bring a bathing suit?”

Heather eyed me. “No.”

I grinned. “Maybe Lara has one you could borrow.”

“I heard she was all out,” Heather pressed.

I looked around. “Don’t tempt me.”

“Tempt you with what?”

“With swimming right now.”

“Why not?”

“We’re too close to the house.”

Heather just gave a little shrug as she smiled suggestively. “You said there was a lot to do. What’s first? Fishing lessons? Or did you have something else in mind?”

Her smoldering look made me realize that it was going to be a full weekend.

“Not now,” I said. “We have to eat soon. And we really are too close to the house. For that.”

Heather laughed. “You can kiss me, though, right?”

“Of course,” I replied.

The next fifteen minutes we spent reacquainting ourselves with each others’ lips.

She’s really here!

After an upbeat lunch, I took Heather out into the yard to teach her some basic fly-fishing techniques. Although I felt a little silly instructing someone on this topic, given my own minimal experience, Heather made it easy by pretending to need physical demonstrations of all aspects of the casting motion.

“Hands-on teaching,” she insisted.

After an hour, I was sitting on the steps of the deck watching her nail targets at will. I grinned as she shot the line under some overhanging tree limbs, landing the fly on the mushroom growing near the trunk I’d just wagered she couldn’t hit. She turned to me and giggled, clearly pleased with herself.

“This is fun! No wonder you like this. Sure beats pier fishing.”

“Well, you still have to catch fish, and that’s not so easy. But you sure do have the casting down. Way better than I was doing my first hour!”

“I have a good teacher. Besides, I can’t let you win a fishing competition!”

“I already have,” I dismissed.

“Um, no. I think you were ahead once for ten seconds, and that’s it.”

“Excuse me, but remember striped bass night? On Frej’s boat?”

“Pfft. Lara won that one. Just like she beat you when you went camping!”

I laughed. “You haven’t changed, have you?”

“Changed?” She smiled sweetly at me.

I stood and moved close to her. “You’re funny. We’ll see what you say tomorrow when I catch the most fish.”

She handed me the pole. “Let’s see you hit the mushroom.”

“Is that a challenge?”

She looked at me defiantly. I considered the target, glad I’d practiced casting for an hour that morning before her arrival. I shrugged, nonchalantly waving the rod while holding my gaze on hers. Then I let the line fly, turning just in time to watch the end hit the white fungus. It was a big gamble to cast that way, but I felt a rush of adrenaline as Heather grinned at me with new respect.

“Tie,” she said, her eyes on fire.

“Not really.” I handed her the rod.

“Why not?”

“I did it left-handed.”

She narrowed her eyes, replaying my recent cast in her head to verify my claim. She was too sharp, though. “No you didn’t! You’re such a liar.”

I chuckled along with her. “It was worth a try.”

Heather smirked. “I’m going to have to watch out with you.”

“Watch out? For what?”

“Cheating. Should’ve known, ever since you stole my fish that one time.”

I laughed as I recalled that incident. I counted that day as the start of my utter infatuation with her. It was the first time I’d ever touched her, grabbing her shoulder to look into her fishing bucket. The tingle was still something I could feel whenever I called up the memory of that day.

But I didn’t need that memory today, so I set it aside and took the real Heather in my arms. As I kissed her firmly, her body softened. We had to stagger a few paces to stay afoot.

“It’s so good to have you here,” I said, for perhaps the hundredth time. “Hey, I want to show you my photo project.”

“Sure, I’d love to check it out.”

Back in my room, I pulled Initials out of a large envelope. Heather took her time examining the shots. When she got to the swing picture, she threw her arms around me and squeezed me tight. She tried to speak, but was only able to look at me with big eyes.

“You like them?” I finally asked.

“They’re perfect.”

“So what else are we doing this weekend?” Heather asked me, after we’d gotten the fishing gear and associated snacks ready for the following day’s trip.

“Come, I’ll show you.”

I took her hand and led her out to the garage. Once I’d raised the door, I pointed to a few pieces of plywood.

“What’s that for?” she queried.

“Darkroom.”

Heather spun toward me, her eyes glinting in the afternoon light. “Really?”

“Yeah, my parents said I could build some shelves and set something up in the room that you’re sleeping in. If you’re up for it. I can also wait until you’re gone though, if you—”

“No, let’s definitely do it!” Heather seemed very excited.

“We can start whenever. I already measured things out for two tables. I wanted to have it done before you got here, but it’s been a little busy.”

“Might as well get going,” she said, moving to the boards.

I laughed at her enthusiasm. “There’s no hurry!”

“Yeah, there is. What else are we going to do? You banned swimming for now. Besides, if we get it done soon, maybe we can use it.”

When she looked at me, I had no doubt as to what kind of photos she was planning to develop in the new darkroom.

“Hey, did you bring those other pictures?” I asked.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Why would you want them? You have the real thing here now.” She grinned at me and stuck a cute pose.

“I know. I’m just excited to see them. Besides, you just said we might be taking more.”

“Did I? I don’t remember saying anything about...” She looked outside and then continued quietly, “ ... nude pictures.”

“I’m not that dumb, Heather,” I whispered back. “Not anymore, anyway!”

She let out a little laugh. “You’re funny, Matt! Here, give me a hand.”

We spent a few hours building two small tables to hold the developing trays and the enlarger. My parents didn’t want to expose the existing furniture to any chemical spills, so they’d bought me some wood instead. The finished pieces were decidedly crude, but sturdy enough for the task. It was just before dinner when we placed them in Heather’s guest room, pushing her bed against the far wall to make space. We looked at each other, happy and proud at our accomplishment.

“It’s not the nicest furniture I’ve ever seen, but...” I observed.

“It’s great. We made it. Whenever you use it, you can remember us building it together!”

I squeezed her close to me. “Thanks for helping. That was fun.”

“How long until we eat?” she asked me.

“I don’t know, probably pretty soon.”

“Do I have time for a shower?”

I nodded. “Yeah, sure. I’ll go down and tell them you’re on the way.”

“Okay,” she said, smiling. She started removing her clothes, keeping her eyes on me.

I gaped at her as her shirt landed on my shoulder. “Hey, your folks could come in here at any time!” I protested, peeking out of her room. The cabin was empty, of course, and no one was approaching on the path from the house. Still.

I caught Heather’s bra as she finished disrobing. It was a searing image. With the relative chill in the air, the only flesh I’d seen that day was her hands and face. Now she was fully nude in front of me, an intoxicating sight. It was all I could do to not rip my own clothes off and throw her on the bed. Only fear kept me dressed.

She went about selecting an outfit from her suitcase as I stood there staring. With a little grin, she sauntered toward me, caressed my chest, and then paraded past. She slid into the bathroom, blowing me a smooch before disappearing.

I stared at the closed door for a moment, but she didn’t reappear. I ran to the window. No one was coming. I hurried back and turned the handle, unable to contain myself now.

Locked!

“Hey!” I called.

“Can’t be late for dinner,” she sang.

“Argh! You’re such a tease!”

I heard her silvery laugh as the shower started up.

“Hardly. I just gave you all the time in the world to make a move! You missed it.”

“Can I try again?”

“You’ll have to bust down the door! I’m already wet.”

I stood there for a minute, listening to the water splash off of her soft, smooth skin. God... I was sorely tempted to kick in the door commando-style, but eventually I wrenched myself away.

“All right. I’ll be down at the house,” I called out.

“Save me a seat ... Between my folks!”

I grunted and then left the cabin. It was not a moment too soon, because Heather’s mom passed me on the way up. I breathed a sigh of relief. Mairead probably wouldn’t have appreciated it if she’d caught me destroying the bathroom door. Or destroying her daughter, for that matter.

I explained that Heather was about to jump in the shower. “We worked up a sweat making those tables,” I continued, and then realized I was on the verge of saying too much.

Mairead smiled kindly, excusing herself to grab a sweater. I knew I had to make different plans for after dinner. Setting up developing trays would have to wait just a bit!

When the meal ended, I suddenly realized how little time I actually had with Heather on this trip. The minutes were flying by. Already the first day was turning dark. As soon as it seemed reasonable to excuse ourselves, I announced that we were going to continue to work on the darkroom setup. Our parents made no protest at our departure, engrossed by Frej’s hilarious description of a recent rude customer he’d had to endure on an overnight fishing trip.

I gave Lara an apologetic look at leaving her alone yet again. She’d graciously kept to herself all day, allowing Heather and me to reconnect. I didn’t think she was too upset at being left out, though, because she just grinned and licked her lips suggestively. After a panicked glance at the adults – no one had seen her – I gave her a grimace and then led Heather out the back door.

“So are we really going to work on the darkroom? Or is it time for that swim?”

“Swim? At this hour?”

“You were the one who was worried about being seen from the house. It’s getting dark now, so that problem is solved.”

I stopped on the path that led to the guest cottage. “You really want to go swimming?”

“Heck yeah!”

“And when your parents come back to the cabin and we’re not there?”