“Welcome to Karib Island! Some things to note: this building is the Historic Boathouse and Museum. Behind that is our picnic area, where you’ll find our drinking fountain and restrooms. The lighthouse is about a mile and a quarter that way,” at which point the captain of the ferry pointed north. “On the other side of the picnic area,” she said, pointing south, “Is the campground. The next ferry leaves for the mainland at 2:15, the last ferry leaves at 4:15. If you not on board at 4:15 you will be staying the night here on Karib Island. The first ferry tomorrow leaves at 10:15 AM. Have fun and stay safe.”
Carrie hopped to her feet and jumped in line to get off the ferry. It took her a moment to realize she was missing a fiancé. She turned back to Tommy and said, “Coming?”
“I’m coming, I’m just pacing myself.”
“Oh, come on, it’s only five miles.”
“Only five miles. I don’t think anyone has ever said that before.”
“Lots of people have said it. I’m sure at least a few marathon runners have said it.”
“Have you ever run a marathon?”
“No.”
“So what makes you think you’re prepared for this hike?”
“I walk everywhere.”
“Great. You can carry me when my legs give out.”
“It’ll be fine. We can take lots of breaks if we need to.”
“You heard her, the last ferry leaves in four hours.”
“Yeah. That’s a little less than an hour per mile. You really think we’re going to need an hour to walk each mile on this island?”
Tom stepped off the boat and looked in the direction the captain had indicated for the trail to the lighthouse. While the lighthouse might only be a mile and a quarter away, they had looked at maps of the island ahead of time and found there was a hiking trail that circumnavigated the whole island. Tommy could see the beginning of the trail now as it climbed steeply uphill before disappearing into thick woods. “We might.”
“Oh, stop being such a baby. Come on.” Carrie started up the trail without waiting for a response. Tommy trudged after her, wondering how he had ended up with a fiancée resorted to schoolyard taunts to get him to do something he didn’t want to do.
Having walked about half a mile, Tommy was already out of breath from hiking a trail that was mostly uphill. To make matters worse, there were rocks and roots poking out of the ground no matter where he stepped, so he couldn’t let his feet drag. He had to lift his knees high to make sure he didn’t trip and end up splayed, face down, over the path.
Carrie jumped over roots and onto large, flat rocks like she was playing a championship round of Floor Is Lava and killing it. She was certainly beating Tommy, which did nothing to improve his mood.
When he found a bench next to the path he gratefully sank onto it. Carrie was a few feet ahead of him, but had stopped to take a picture of the woods surrounding them, so he called out to her that he was taking a break.
“Already?”
He looked at his watch. “We’ve walked half a mile in 12 minutes. If we say we have 45 minutes to complete each mile, that means I can rest here for 21 minutes.”
“You’re not actually going to sit there for 20 minutes, are you?”
“No. I’ll save 10 minutes for the end of the mile.”
Carrie sighed, but Tommy just took out his water bottle and gulped down some water.
After a minute, Carrie said, “I’m sorry. You never wanted to do this hike, but you agreed to come along anyway because I wanted to, and I haven’t been very appreciative, have I?”
“No, you haven’t,” Tommy said, instantly softening towards her.
She turned to look at him and didn’t say anything for a moment as they just held each other’s gaze. Then she said, “Thank you. This is amazing, and I really do appreciate it.”
Just like that Tommy was reminded why he loved her so much. When she thanked him or apologized, it never felt obligatory or half hearted. She only said something when she meant it, and she always let him know she meant it. “You’re welcome,” he said.
She nodded in acknowledgment, then said, “You have the right idea, anyway. If we hurry through this hike, we won’t get a chance to enjoy all the gorgeous nature surrounding us.”
Tommy looked around him and realized she was right. Most of the leaves on the trees were still green, but several trees had leaves that were starting to turn yellow and orange, turning the forest floor into a kaleidoscope of color as the sun filtered through the changing leaves.
Carrie gasped and pointed, “Look! A fawn.”
Tommy had seen plenty of deer in his life, but he had to admit there was something magical about seeing one in its natural environment instead of darting across the road trying not to let any of the oncoming cars plow it down. He looked where Carrie was pointing realized, for the first time, why deer were brown and white. The fawn was barely visible through the trees, and it was hard to differentiate the white spots on its back and sides from the spots of sunlight filtering through the leaves.
“Where’s its mom?”
They both looked around, holding perfectly still so as to avoid scaring off either Bambi or Mom. “There she is,” Carrie said after a moment, pointing a few degrees north of where Bambi was grazing. A doe was grazing, and right next to her was another fawn. “A whole family,” she said.
They sat there for a few more minutes before Tommy shook himself out of his reverie and checked his watch. “Shit, it’s been five minutes already. We should get going.”
“You said you wanted to sit here for 10 minutes.”
“I didn’t mean it. I just said that to annoy you.”
To be continued…