Later that night, as Laura lay awake with her head on Jack's chest, listening to his heartbeat, she tried hard to memorize everything about that moment, willing it to remain in her memory forever. Jack, sensing the level of sheer concentration exuding from the form hugging his body, awoke from his light sleep and began to stroke Laura's hair that was cascading over her back.
"Laura, can I ask you a question?"
"Yes. Anything."
Laura realized her own intense thoughts had almost willed Jack awake, and she expected him to seek the answer to some deep revelation, which given her present state of mind she almost certainly would divine to him.
Instead, he said, "this whole Wilderness Girls weekend got me thinking - have you ever wondered if you're part Native American? I know your parents passed away and you don't have any relatives you can ask, but you're from the Midwest, and there were a lot of Plains Tribes.... and you know, you have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, and you get so tan in the summertime. Another Guide told some stories to the girls about the adventures of an Indian princess, and Sydney loved it. I just thought it would be even better for her next time if she went to the Wilderness Girls weekend thinking that she was actually part Native American.... because she had such a great time this weekend, and I want her to continue to like doing these father-daughter events with me. I really enjoyed the time we spent together..."
While Jack was talking, Laura's eyes began brimming with tears of happiness and sadness. She was elated that Jack and Sydney had had such a wonderful weekend together. But she was distressed that her husband would never know her true past, and that she could never share her heritage with Sydney. Laura desperately wanted to tell Jack the stories her own mother had told her as a child. That Laura descended from a great Russian family - not like the tsars - Laura's ancestors did not believe they had any divine rights - but they did work hard and had managed to make a good name for themselves in Russian society. And when the revolution occurred, Laura's family had willingly participated to bring what they believed would be great reforms to their country.
Laura hesitated a second before answering, making sure Jack would not know she was upset.
"I don't think I'm Native American... I think my ancestors came from somewhere in Eastern Europe, although I'm not sure exactly where."
She tilted her head to smile up at Jack, and then continued, "I really am so glad you and Sydney had a great weekend together - I can already tell Wilderness Girls will be all she talks about for weeks to come."
Jack replied, "It was a lot better than I had imagined - the other dads were okay, and we actually had a few laughs... I know that as Sydney's father I'm always supposed to act like a grown-up around her, but sometimes I just want to be her friend... you know, connect with her on her level. And this weekend let me do that."
Jack's mischievous smile returned as he continued to look down at Laura's face. "So I just wanted to say thanks for needing some time to yourself - or whatever reason you kicked us out this weekend - because we both really enjoyed ourselves."
Laura, still looking up at Jack, widened her own smile, and Jack recognized that evil grin reappearing which he knew always meant trouble - the kind of trouble at which he and Laura had become experts.
"Well, next time maybe you could take me away for the weekend, and I could be your Wilderness Girl. I'm sure we could come up with some activities almost as much fun as archery and canoeing..."
Jack bent his own head down and kissed the hair on top of Laura's head. Then he answered her, "the more I hear about all these different activities I can participate in, the more I think I could really start liking these weekend excursions with my two favorite Wilderness Girls."
Jack soon fell back to sleep, and Laura followed him, happy that she had succeeded in her quest to strengthen the bond between Jack and Sydney that she wanted to secure before... but Laura stopped herself from thinking about that, instead drifting off to sleep imagining what activities she and Jack would participate in during their excursion. As she slipped into that gray region between wake and sleep, Laura made a mental note to herself to make sure their own Wilderness weekend included some quality time in a lake.
"Laura, can I ask you a question?"
"Yes. Anything."
Laura realized her own intense thoughts had almost willed Jack awake, and she expected him to seek the answer to some deep revelation, which given her present state of mind she almost certainly would divine to him.
Instead, he said, "this whole Wilderness Girls weekend got me thinking - have you ever wondered if you're part Native American? I know your parents passed away and you don't have any relatives you can ask, but you're from the Midwest, and there were a lot of Plains Tribes.... and you know, you have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, and you get so tan in the summertime. Another Guide told some stories to the girls about the adventures of an Indian princess, and Sydney loved it. I just thought it would be even better for her next time if she went to the Wilderness Girls weekend thinking that she was actually part Native American.... because she had such a great time this weekend, and I want her to continue to like doing these father-daughter events with me. I really enjoyed the time we spent together..."
While Jack was talking, Laura's eyes began brimming with tears of happiness and sadness. She was elated that Jack and Sydney had had such a wonderful weekend together. But she was distressed that her husband would never know her true past, and that she could never share her heritage with Sydney. Laura desperately wanted to tell Jack the stories her own mother had told her as a child. That Laura descended from a great Russian family - not like the tsars - Laura's ancestors did not believe they had any divine rights - but they did work hard and had managed to make a good name for themselves in Russian society. And when the revolution occurred, Laura's family had willingly participated to bring what they believed would be great reforms to their country.
Laura hesitated a second before answering, making sure Jack would not know she was upset.
"I don't think I'm Native American... I think my ancestors came from somewhere in Eastern Europe, although I'm not sure exactly where."
She tilted her head to smile up at Jack, and then continued, "I really am so glad you and Sydney had a great weekend together - I can already tell Wilderness Girls will be all she talks about for weeks to come."
Jack replied, "It was a lot better than I had imagined - the other dads were okay, and we actually had a few laughs... I know that as Sydney's father I'm always supposed to act like a grown-up around her, but sometimes I just want to be her friend... you know, connect with her on her level. And this weekend let me do that."
Jack's mischievous smile returned as he continued to look down at Laura's face. "So I just wanted to say thanks for needing some time to yourself - or whatever reason you kicked us out this weekend - because we both really enjoyed ourselves."
Laura, still looking up at Jack, widened her own smile, and Jack recognized that evil grin reappearing which he knew always meant trouble - the kind of trouble at which he and Laura had become experts.
"Well, next time maybe you could take me away for the weekend, and I could be your Wilderness Girl. I'm sure we could come up with some activities almost as much fun as archery and canoeing..."
Jack bent his own head down and kissed the hair on top of Laura's head. Then he answered her, "the more I hear about all these different activities I can participate in, the more I think I could really start liking these weekend excursions with my two favorite Wilderness Girls."
Jack soon fell back to sleep, and Laura followed him, happy that she had succeeded in her quest to strengthen the bond between Jack and Sydney that she wanted to secure before... but Laura stopped herself from thinking about that, instead drifting off to sleep imagining what activities she and Jack would participate in during their excursion. As she slipped into that gray region between wake and sleep, Laura made a mental note to herself to make sure their own Wilderness weekend included some quality time in a lake.
