It wasn't a river. I guess stream would be the best word for it. Two inches to two feet deep, depending on where you were standing, and only about 30 feet wide. When my wife started wading down it, I had no intention of following. I was wearing sneakers and was happy to stand on the bank and watch as she made her way against the current. It was more than 15 minutes before she disappeared around a bend and by that time I had stopped watching her to talk to my friend Scott.
My wife and I and two other couples had been driving around the state park all morning. There was just enough room for all of us in Scott's SUV and by the time we had stopped at a campsite by this stream, the heat and cramped quarters were wearing on us all. When I looked back to the stream from my conversation, Susan was nowhere to be seen. I wasn't worried, she was probably just out of sight around the nearest bend.
Behind us, Scott's wife, Rachel, called for him in a whiny sort of voice. She had been the worst of the bunch all day. Complaining about the heat and the bugs, and she wasn't even crammed in the back seats like Susan and me. She had the front. She was a fine looking woman, but I don't know how Scott put up with her. I had dated Rachel for a week back in college, but even her spectacular tits weren't enough to keep me in
that
relationship.
Scott walked back up to the road, and I bent down to look at the rocks on the shoreline. Time passed as I picked over the water-smoothed rocks, admiring their colors and smooth shapes. I wasn't wearing a watch, but when I looked up and still didn't see Susan, I started to worry.
I figured she was probably fine, but decided to go after her, just in case. My shoes were waterproof, so I did my best to stay to the shallow edges of the stream. In some places I had to clamber back up on the bank and wade through grass up to my waist. After several minutes, I reached the bend in the stream. It turned out to be the joining of two other streams. I looked down both sides of the fork, but didn't see Susan.
I was left with no choice at this point but to cross the stream. I took off my shoes and socks and left them on a patch of sand at the water's edge. Then I hiked up my shorts and headed in. I could see a fair way down one branch, so I picked the stream that turned the bend, hoping that Susan would be just out of sight. It took a frustratingly long time to wade across the wide junction, but when I finally rounded the corner, I still couldn't see Susan.
My heart rate was up now, and despite the cool water, I was sweating profusely. In the middle of the stream, the rocks were piled high enough to come up out of the water. I climbed the small hill and looked around. Still no sign of Susan, but then a sound behind me startled me. I whipped around to see my wife coming out from behind a fallen tree on the stream's edge.