The top news flash from our trip today is that Tim got
himself into serious trouble with Nora.
I didn’t tell anyone else why Nora got so mad at him, and it won’t
matter by the time you read this some day in the future; but I did hear what he
said that earned her instant anger and kept her seething for the entire canoe
trip home again.
What did he do that was so bad? He didn’t hear a question Nora had asked him
the first three times because he was distracted; and then when she actually
needed to grab his arm and ask him a fourth time; he called her ‘Rowen’ while
answering – and didn’t even notice until she slapped him fairly hard on the
shoulder. That probably didn’t feel very
good with wet skin on wet skin; but he didn’t blush a brighter shade of red
than Rowen’s hair because he was hurt or angry; and that reaction definitely
didn’t help his case with Nora. She
barely talked to him much after that, and he probably preferred the silence to
the few quiet growls she did throw at him like invisible knives. When their canoe hit the dock she threw her
life jacket off; grabbed her bag; and had a few choice words for Tim that I
won’t repeat here before she stormed off.
When you do get to read this, Rowen, I’m sure that you won’t
believe that Tim’s faux pas with Nora had anything to do with that hot little
bikini you were wearing today; but I was there, and saw everything. What do you think that says about your
personal hot factor when you have that effect on a guy while his girlfriend is
right there with him – and looking pretty good in a swimsuit too?
I’ll add a bit more to that part of the story, but let’s
back up to this morning. We were able to
go outside for Tai Chi by the river; and Michael stayed for breakfast – and to
help out with the work to get ready for our canoe adventure. Rowen came over early enough to help with
packing our picnic and loading the bags and coolers into the canoes; and the
only thing we had left to do when everyone else arrived was to added their own
contributions and bags to the middle of their canoes before getting on our way
upriver.
As is obvious from the start of this update, Nora did come
with us, and she and Tim paddled next to Joel and Jenny most of the way to the
whirlpool while Rowen and Rebecca were alongside Michael and me. That worked out pretty well for all of us;
and we enjoyed the chat and play time as we took our time getting to the
whirlpool. We had time for a swim and
some play time once we were there before having our picnic lunch. Tossing a Frisbee around and playing with the
other water toys I’d packed kept the fun going; and we enjoyed having lunch
together before Michael, Rowen, Rebecca, and I went for a walk and explored as
we wandered along the bank of the river while Jenny, Joel, Tim, and Nora mostly
had a rest on the blankets we’d set out to have our picnic on.
While Tim’s girlfriend-identity amnesia put a chill in the
air for all of us even if nobody else knew why; he’d at least made that blunder
close to when we needed to head back anyway; so we had enjoyed the second-half
of our whirlpool play time until then.
There are lots of teens and tweens that think that playing at the
whirlpool is boring compared to video games or other entertainment options; but
I’d pick canoeing and swimming in the river – or at Quarry Lake – every time.
As already mentioned, the trip back to Witch Falls was a
little tense, and though there was some conversation and attempts to lighten
the mood; we were a fairly somber group by the time Nora made her dramatic
exit. I think Jenny wanted to get going
right away too, but Joel again took a hit to his rebel image by getting her to
stay so they could both help us with hauling all of the gear inside or into the
storage barn; and to help Michael and Tim put two of the canoes away too.
He and Jenny and Rebecca all left after that while Michael,
Rowen, and I had a little visit with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; mostly to trade
stories about what we’d all been doing while we’d been away. Michael had invited me for dinner, and though
I didn’t want to leave Rowen hanging with nothing to do tonight; she was okay
with having dinner with her parents; and turned down our offer to come over to
Michael’s house after dinner to hang out with us. We are going to need to work on that, Rowen,
or you’ll be backsliding and going back to being a shy bookworm whenever I’m
spending time with Michael.
Not getting to hang out with Rowen too was the only downside
of the rest of my day. Dinner with the
Stone family, including Stephanie, was another amazing culinary
experience. Jacob and Jake really have
fun playing in the kitchen together when they can create their little
experiments on willing family guinea pigs.
I get bonus points with them for being willing to try anything – something
that doesn’t happen with most of their friends; and even the majority of their
family.
Most of our friends would likely think that the clean-up
that follows those special meals isn’t fun either, but while my perspective on
that isn’t quite the same as Miranda’s; I can definitely see why she finds
working in the kitchen with Jacob so entertaining just from my limited
experience so far with Michael.
Our guitar lesson in his room was great too, and after
practicing for nearly an hour, we went for a swim in the river with Rebecca;
and wrapped up our evening by watching a movie in the living room with Jake,
Stephanie, Violet, and Dillon. Miranda
and Jacob stayed for part of that, but then decided not to stay up past their
usual bedtime. I don’t know if they’d
have stayed longer if the movie we’d picked had been better, but I stayed for
the cuddle time with Michael; and Rebecca stayed for the hot guys in the movie
who needed to lose their shirts
regularly while making their way through the action and fight sequences.
There was another post-movie clean-up, and then Michael and
I went for a walk before doing our goodnight hugs and kisses on my back
porch. Our practices are working out
nicely; and I’ve been smiling ever since watching him jog home through the back
yards to his house. Ethan and Ehlana
were asleep already, and though Mom and Dad weren’t; they had gone to bed,
their wards were up, and I did not try to stop in to say goodnight on my way up
to my room.
Spending some time in my Jacuzzi was the first order of
business, but I don’t want to be up half the night either, so I’ve been
multi-tasking my nightly computing and some family business work since sliding
into the hot, churning water. Even with
doing that, it’s heading toward midnight now.
The water is getting tepid, and since it’ll take a while to get my hair
dried; I should probably wrap this up and get out of the tub.
That thought has me suddenly wondering what Michael – and
the rest of the guys our age – would be thinking about my Jacuzzi comments if
they could read these journals now. I
can assure them that whatever they’d be thinking that I am absolutely, totally
and completely naked while drying my hair after my baths – clothes would just
get wet and uncomfortable.
Just kidding! ;^)
It’s a good thing that Aunt Leanne won’t be able to read
this journal for a long time either; and she’ll likely still tease me about
including a joke like that regardless of how old I am when she does find that
little gem. What’s really funny about
that is the fact that it’s also exactly the kind of joke she’d make about
something like that.
Wrapping up this report on that note feels weird, but I
really do want to get out of the tub; put my bathrobe on; and finish getting
ready for bed. Rowen and I are having
work mornings, and we don’t have anything else planned for the day except a
little babysitting during the Fix-it Uppers practice tomorrow evening. With Michael back to work too, the next
couple of days should be fairly quiet; and I won’t be surprised if we don’t see
Tim at all – unless he’s in so much trouble with Nora that he has nobody else
to hang around with. Then again, that’d
be a real catch-22 for him. After today,
I seriously doubt that Nora will look at him hanging out with Rowen, Michael,
and me as dismissively as she has up until now.
I sense a disturbance in the tweeird, and should probably
rest up so I can be alert and ready to help Rowen if she needs me, so...
...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor;
logging out!
