I don't know if Mom and Sarah discussed what happened on our hiking trip, with Jim and Sarah making love in their tent while Mom and I had our first time in our tent. Based on Sarah's veiled comment the next morning about the noisy animals in the woods, I had no doubt they had heard Mom and me. There are some things that may never be acknowledged, I guess, and it really made no difference to me. I had what I wanted, I think Mom had what she wanted, and I have to admit that it was all because of Jim and Sarah. My guardian angels.
We had all decided on Saturday morning that a truncated hike would be more fun so, instead of the regular 12-mile hike, we went on a six-miler. We hiked mostly single file because of the narrowness of the trail, with Sarah leading, followed by Jim, and then Mom and me.
With Mom behind him, Jim had to behave himself. I noticed a couple of times that he would brush his hand against Sarah's butt. Whether Mom noticed, I don't know. I do know that my eyes and hands were on Mom's butt a lot - to the point that she started swatting my hand away. When we took a break and Sarah and Jim went into the woods for a potty break, I asked if Mom was upset with me.
"Oh, good Lord no, Bill. It's just that men have one switch - on or off - but women are different. For us, there is a time and a place and in front of my friend is neither. For men, the time is 'anytime,' and the place is 'anywhere.' Just wait until we get back to camp, okay?"
We returned to our camp by 2:00 PM. I don't know about Jim and Sarah, but Mom and I were looking forward to an early evening and maybe even an afternoon nap. That was not to be, however, because upon our return we found another, larger tent set up on the edge of the clearing and a large SUV parked next to Sarah's car.
We gathered firewood for the evening fire, and then Jim and I practiced our bushcraft skills by fashioning a couple of log chairs to use in front of the fire. They may not have looked like much, but with some fallen logs we found and the judicious use of parachute cord, the chairs were comfortable enough for two people to sit in each one.
By the time we finished, it was time to begin supper. We used aluminum foil to make packets with stew beef, potatoes, and onions, and set them in the coals to cook. We had just sat down in our chairs with wine when we heard voices approaching from the trail. The voices did not sound overly happy - clearly there was an argument of some sort going on.
The first to come into the camp was a guy, somewhat younger than Jim and I, and he clearly was not having fun. He had a scowl on his face and went to the third tent without even acknowledging our presence. He was followed by a cute blonde who followed him into the tent, then a middle-aged couple emerged and walked over to introduce themselves.
"Hi. I'm Sam and this is my wife, Bonnie. I hope you don't mind our intruding on your camp, but this is the first hike of the season and we wanted to get on the trail as quickly as possible this morning."
Mom took care of our introductions. "Oh, no problem. It's big enough for everyone, don't you think? I'm Victoria, this is Sarah, and those two lugs are our sons, Bill and Jim. Why don't you share our campfire tonight?"
Bonnie looked at their tent. "Thanks, if you're sure you don't mind. Those are our kids, Sammy and Natalie, but who knows if they'll join society or not. They're not really into the whole family hiking adventure. This is probably the first fresh air they've had in months, so they're trying to recover, I guess." Bonnie laughed, but her laugh was tinged with some tension.
Jim and I looked at each other. We recognized the problem, at least in the son. Jim shrugged, and then I laughed. We gave each other looks that said, "We could fix this right now," but some problems you either have to live with or fix on your own.
That evening around the fire, we all got better acquainted. Sam was an attorney, like both Jim's dad and mine, and knew of them but had never met them. Sammy and Natalie, who preferred "Nat," were two years apart and both attended the state university. Sammy was set to graduate next year, and didn't know what he'd do after graduation. When he said that, Bonnie sighed. "You just have to have a goal, Sammy. That's all. We don't care what your goal is, but have a goal."
She said it as if that had been a frequent theme of their conversations, and Sammy rolled his eyes. Jim and I looked at each other. We both knew what he could have as a goal. Bonny was a plump blonde with a beautiful face. Surely Sammy wanted her. What guy wouldn't?
Sam and Nat were the first to call surrender to the night and retired to their large tent, leaving Sammy and Bonnie with us at the campfire. Jim and I had gotten Sammy interested in a conversation about sports, and we debated the relative merits of all the local teams. Once he engaged, Sammy was pretty bright and animated, which seemed to please Bonnie.
The four of us had been sitting side by side in the log chairs, but they were about four inches too narrow for side by side comfort. After fidgeting a bit, I finally said, "Mom, this is killing me. Why don't you just sit on my lap?"
Mom and Sarah both stood up, and then sat on our laps, kind of sideways so they could talk to Sammy and Bonnie. That was much more comfortable, and after awhile I casually rested my hand on Mom's thigh, softly rubbing her leg. I looked at Sammy, and his eyes were glued on my hand. He shifted his gaze to Bonnie, then back to my hand on Mom's leg. I knew what he was thinking, and I knew he had no idea. Just as Sarah had said, a lot of Mothers and Sons have special relationships, but if you never hear about it you assume it never happens.
She turned to Sarah, gestured toward Jim and me, and said, "How did you tame these two? Mine is still mostly wild and sullen." When she said that, Sammy looked at us and rolled his eyes. We smiled back, indicating support and understanding, but both Jim and I knew exactly how Sarah and Mom had tamed us.
Mom and Sarah looked at each other, and then laughed simultaneously. "Oh, you just have to give them a goal," Sarah laughed.
"Yeah," Mom agreed, still laughing. "It's a work in progress, but once you get them focused it gets better."
Jim piped up. "Hey. We're right here, you know," and he pinched Sarah's leg. She squealed and hit him playfully on the chest. I looked at Bonnie, and she had a wistful look on her face. What Mother wouldn't want a son who was so clearly in love with her?
Bonnie was sitting in a folding lawn chair, with Sammy sitting on the ground by her side. He said, "If you want to tame me, how about giving me the chair so I'm not sitting on the cold ground?" Bonnie called his bluff, stood up, and with a theatrical gesture said, "Take it. I'll sit on your lap, too."
Sammy groaned, but he sat in the chair and Bonnie plopped right in his lap, turned to the left so she could talk to Mom and Sarah. Sammy had his hands on the arms of the chair, and then he looked at my hand, still on Mom's thigh. I saw him looking, and slowly rubbed my hand higher on her leg. I kept looking at him until he met my eyes, then I slowly nodded, continuing to rub her leg.
I was trying to send him a message, and I don't know if he understood. After a pause, he seemed to get it and tentatively put his hand on Bonnie's leg. She had been sitting rather stiffly on his lap, and when he did that she hugged into his chest. "See? It's not so bad. Your Mom won't bite, after all," and she laughed.
We all laughed with her, and Jim said, "I don't know, Sam. Mine still bites, but I'm taming her with liver treats." That got a bigger laugh, and we passed about an hour in general lighthearted conversation. We shared our wine with Bonnie and Sammy, and both seemed to loosen up considerably.
As the night drew on and the fire died down, an awkwardness developed. Sarah and Mom were clearly ready to call it a night, but they seemed reluctant to let Bonnie see our sleeping arrangements. With two tents, I'm sure Bonnie assumed it was Jim and I sleeping in one, and the Moms in the other. That was exactly what none of us wanted.
When it became clear we were not going to be able to wait out Bonnie and Sammy, Mom stood up and took my hand. "Come on, Bill. Your old Mom is exhausted. All this fresh air wears a woman out, you know."
Sarah and Jim also stood up, and we moved toward our tents. Mom went in before me and before I crawled in I looked back at Bonnie and Sammy, both still sitting at the campfire. Sammy still had his hand on Bonnie's leg, and they were looking at each other with looks of shock on their faces.
We tried our best to be quiet that night, and I guess Jim and Sarah did, too, because we couldn't hear them like we had the night before.
