Chapter 2

Everyone went about their business while waiting for Jack Twist to arrive. Rob and April were taking in the view from the patio, and Alma and Liz were in the bookstore with Helen. Each time the front door opened, Ennis and Lureen looked up from the computers, and Don and Clark also glanced expectantly in the direction of the door. Instead of their new co-worker, it seemed that the tourists were all trying to make it in before closing time.

Lureen had just finished four senior passes for a group from England while giving suggestions on what the area had to offer that might interest them. Ennis was carefully filling out a wilderness permit for a middle aged man and answering his questions. Between that, and Lureen's conversation with the four British people who all seemed to talk at once, it was no wonder he didn't hear the front door swing open, however, the familiar clik clik of boots strolling across the tile floor did manage to reach his ears. He'd know those boots anywhere. He felt his jaw tighten and his body tense. He tried to concentrate on his task and didn't look up.

"How's everybody?" came the voice that set Ennis' nerves on edge.

Today of all days Gavin Hunter just had to stop in. Ennis finished up the permit and answered the last of his visitor's questions while trying not to let his coworkers, who seemed so happy to have Gavin there, further irritate him.

Ennis tried to look busy for as long as he could, but when that became impossible he tried to slip from behind the desk without being noticed, but Gavin saw him and made a big point of saying hello.

"Ennis!" Gavin said, much louder than necessary. "What's shakin'?"

"Not much," Ennis said, barely loud enough to be heard.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Gavin said smugly. He stepped into Ennis' personal space and leaned in. "I thought I'd stop by and meet the new kids on the block...you don't mind, do ya?"

"Why should I mind?" Ennis said curtly.

"You tell me," Gavin answered in a condescending tone.

To Ennis' relief, Gavin's attention was diverted to Rob and April who had joined the others. Don called Gavin over. "Rob, April, this is Gavin Hunter. Gavin, Rob and April Mott from Oregon." They shook hands. Don continued. "Gavin works out of the Ranger Station which is up the road from where you'll be living. He comes down here to give us a hand whenever he can. Hopefully you'll be seeing a lot of him."

Gavin looked in Ennis' direction with a self-satisfied smirk. He turned to Rob. "Yeah, I try ta come bail them out, especially when those tour buses are due in. Wait till ya see a hundred yacking tourists barging through those doors." He laughed.

A pained look crossed Rob's face, and April's smile quickly faded. Clark said in a calming voice, "Don't worry; we have lots of time to prepare for that. You'll be pros before the buses start."

Helen joined them, her enthusiasm at seeing Gavin wasn't held in at all. She gave him a big kiss and pinched his cheeks. He greeted her with, "How's my favorite book worm?"

"Gavin, let me get Alma and Liz down here to meet you," Lureen said.

In the commotion, Ennis was able to slip out the front door to seek refuge while waiting for any sign of Jack Twist. He was relieved when the door closed and he was alone. Gavin's appearance far outweighed any annoyance he felt at being kept waiting by the guy from L.A. He sighed and tried to relax against the building. Before he could completely gain his composure, to his chagrin, the door opened and Alma joined him. Shit, can this day get any worse?

"Hi, Ennis. Mind if I join you?" Alma asked shyly, leaning on the wall across from him.

Ennis cleared his throat. "Guess not."

Alma's face took on a sad look, as if her feelings were hurt. Ennis instantly felt to blame, so he tried to make her feel more welcome. He dug down deep to think of something to talk with her about. "Uh, so you had a good trip, huh?"

She smiled sweetly. "Yes, it was very nice...no problems." After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she said, "It's just beautiful here, uh what I've seen so far."

"Yeah, I'll get you and the others out of here soon as I can. Just have to wait for Jack Twist and then I'll help close up."

"I'm anxious to see the place I'll be staying."

"Oh yeah...it's in a real pretty spot. The building...well, it's old. Hope you don't mind roughing it."

Alma seemed uneasy at that so Ennis continued. "Well, it's way better than actual camping anyway." He smiled and wished she would go back inside.

"Lureen seems real nice." Alma said.

"Oh yeah, she is...real nice." Ennis wished he didn't always feel so socially awkward. How he had ended up working with the public was beyond him. He was quite an expert on everything in the area, sure, but having to greet, answer, explain, and assist folks from all over the world was very hard on a guy like him. Luckily, after the summer hires started, he could get away from the front desk much of the time and do the things he greatly preferred like checking on the campgrounds, lakes and streams, and occasionally doing maintenance on the boardwalk, or other areas around the center.

"Lureen get you and Liz set up with your uniforms?" Ennis asked.

When Alma's face lit up, Ennis figured it was probably because she'd been hoping to fit in and make friends, and was pleased that he had made an effort to converse.

"Yes, we're set." She smiled. "Can't say that the uniform is very exciting...kind of bland in fact."

Ennis looked down at himself in his drab shirt and pants.

Alma appeared a bit flustered. "Oh, I didn't mean it wasn't attractive or anything...you look real good in yours," she said. Then she blushed.

Ennis smiled and decided that maybe she wasn't too bad after all. She seemed to be a bit socially inept as well. He was already feeling more relaxed around her. "At least we get a choice of long or short pants, and long and short sleeved shirts," he said.

She giggled nervously. "I hope it gets warmer than this later in the summer."

"Don't count on it till at least July fourth," Ennis said. "The sun usually beats down pretty good though for a few hours in the middle of the day. You'll wanna wear a lot of sunscreen."

"I'll remember that. Thanks," she said.

Ennis noticed that her eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement. He guessed she was happy about the new job. He felt a bit uncomfortable with the eye contact and was relieved when he heard the sound of a fast approaching vehicle.

The flame red Jeep Wrangler was moving along at a pretty good clip. Ennis could only assume that Jack Twist was behind the wheel. Probably knows he's late and needs to get his ass in here before five and everyone's gone home.

Right on cue, to put him in an even worse mood, the front door opened and out stepped Gavin. In a smart-aleck tone he asked, "Is this a private conversation or can anyone join in?"

Neither Ennis nor Alma had a chance to answer because the red jeep screeched to a halt in the parking lot demanding their attention. The door opened and a pair of black and red athletic shoes touched down on the asphalt. They were worn by a well built man wearing a black tee shirt and strange jeans. Ennis wasn't sure if they were worn out, or maybe they were that odd kind called distressed. Whatever they were, they looked weird to Ennis. They did fit him good though. His dark glasses matched his dark brown hair which was sort of flipping out around the edges of his L.A. Dodgers cap. Looked like he had a five o'clock shadow. The first thought Ennis had was that he liked to travel in comfort. Maybe that's where the city folks got the term California casual. The next thought that flashed through his mind was what this Jack fella would look like in his uniform.

"Hope I'm not late," Jack said, walking toward the little group standing at the building.

"You're right on time, we've been expecting you," Gavin said. He extended his hand and introduced himself, stepping right in and taking over, which further irritated Ennis.

"Hey, Gavin, nice to meet you," Jack said.

Gavin proceeded to introduce Alma. "This is Alma Beers. She's on the payroll this summer. Just got in from Idaho."

"Hi, Alma, pleasure to meet you," Jack said as they shook hands. "Did you fly in?"

"Yes, I flew into Reno and took the bus the rest of the way, along with Liz, another girl who'll be working with us."

"And a married couple rounds out the summer hires," Gavin said. "Shall we go in and meet them? And, you'll wanna meet your boss."

Ennis was fed up. Not only was Gavin acting like he owned the place, but he'd totally ignored him and wasn't even going to introduce him to Jack. He'd had enough. Just as he was about to speak up and introduce himself, Jack made eye contact, offered his hand, and said, "Jack Twist."

"Ennis Del Mar," Ennis said as they shook.

"Good to meet you, Ennis," Jack said.

"Same here." It was short and to the point. He couldn't begin to compete with Gavin so he left it at that. He was still a little annoyed at the late hour of Jack's arrival anyway.

"Well, Jack, let's head in and show ya around," Gavin said. "Are you coming, Alma?"

"I'll be in soon," she said.

Gavin held the door open, and before he followed Jack inside, he leaned in close to Ennis and uttered low near his ear, "Chick magnet," accompanied by a short, bitter laugh.

Ennis was infuriated and tried like hell to control himself as every part of his body tensed up. He hoped that Alma wouldn't notice.

Once they were alone, Alma asked softly, "Are you okay, Ennis?" and lightly touched his arm.

"I'm fine, don't worry," he said, staring out at the tufa towers reflecting off the lake. A lone seagull swooped down at the wind rippled water before gliding on. Ennis watched the solitary bird become smaller and smaller. He felt as lonely as the single seagull in the big, open sky, his anger replaced by numbing sadness.

...

Before long, Ennis and Alma joined the group inside. Ennis had put up the closed sign on the way in and was more than ready to clock out. It seemed like everyone was talking at the same time, or maybe that's just what it sounded like to him. He tried to get Lureen's attention, but she seemed quite captivated as she spoke with Jack and didn't notice. Clark did though, and must have realized what time it was. He walked past Ennis toward the door. "I'll get the flag down," he said.

Ennis couldn't help but wonder what Jack was saying. Whatever he was talking about, he was very animated. Jack had taken his sunglasses off and Ennis noticed that his eyes matched his Dodger blue baseball cap. It seemed that Lureen noticed too, or maybe it was his long eyelashes that held her attention. Whatever it was, they were in a long conversation. Ennis strained to hear.

"I even saw a big flock of sheep with a shepherd and Border Collie that I got some shots of," Jack said. "I pulled over more times than I should have I guess, but this area is just so amazing I couldn't help it."

"Did you get some shots of the craters?" Lureen asked.

"Yeah, I did, south of town, but I want to get some from here with the lake in the foreground."

Shit, He'll only be here for three months and he stopped to take pictures? What was he thinking? Seems pretty self-centered.

Ennis took his place behind the front desk to begin closing up for the day. Surely Lureen would become aware of what was going on around her and realize it was time to get a move on. He found that he couldn't stop looking over at Jack. He tried to hold onto his annoyance, but it was becoming harder as he watched Jack go on so excitedly. He looked like a kid without a care in the world.

Ennis began counting the money, trying to be precise and not be distracted, but he saw Gavin walk up to Jack and Lureen. He was a couple of inches taller than Jack, and had the same hair color, but Gavin's eyes were brown. Ennis couldn't hear what he said as he joined them, but they all laughed. It seemed like Jack was fitting in already. Finally Lureen looked up at the clock and excused herself.

"Sorry, Ennis. I lost track of time."

"That's okay," he said dryly.

"You all right?" Lureen asked.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that today?" Ennis grumbled, louder than he should have.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

Lureen began shutting down the computers. "Long day, huh?"

Ennis could tell she was trying to be pleasant to him even though he'd snapped at her, so he put forth the effort to treat her in the way she deserved.

"Yeah, it sure was. I'm glad everyone's finally here."

"Jack seems so nice," Lureen said. She glanced in Jack's direction again.

"He get introduced around all right?"

"Yeah, he met everyone I think."

"Where'd Alma go?"

"She and Liz decided to take a quick stroll down the boardwalk. I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Ennis wondered if the girls had taken sweaters. It was starting to get cool out. He was almost finished checking out when he spotted Gavin saying his goodbyes. He couldn't help but notice the friendly manner in which he and Jack seemed to be communicating.

"See you tomorrow," Clark and Helen said as they walked toward the door.

"Later, Lureen," Gavin said as he passed the desk. "Catch ya on the flip flop," he said in Ennis' direction.

His ass heading for the door and his trap finally shut went a long way to improve Ennis' state of mind.

Before Don left, he reminded the five new people to make sure they had all the information from their training booklets fresh in their mind for the next day. "We'll start training and assigning positions first thing in the morning. I think we have a good team; it was a pleasure to meet all of you. I'll leave you in Ennis' able hands. Anything you need let him know. Enjoy your night."

Less than five minutes later, Ennis climbed into his truck and waved goodbye to Lureen getting into her Subaru. She would head the opposite direction to reach her house. He shifted into gear and led the way out of the parking lot. Rob followed at the wheel of his Dodge Caravan, April beside him, and Liz and Alma in the back seat. Jack brought up the rear of their little convoy.

To Be Continued...