CHAPTER 4
The rest of the trip was mildly interesting. Jack and Sue perked up after lunch and Sue began telling her story, her whole life story, to Jack. He seemed interested, and Sue found his level of interest and focus astounding. He was actually listening to her…nobody really listened to Sue, not her parents, none of her friends ever had. Lucy listened, but Sue never shared her stories with Lucy. Sue never shared her stories with anyone. Life as a deaf girl in a prejudiced school and community was not easy and it was not pain-free, emotionally or physically, and Sue had found herself swallowing painful memories countless times. For some reason, Jack made her want to tell her stories, tell stories that she hadn't told anyone in her entire life. The feeling of ultimate trust she had for him scared her, but it also made her hope and yearn for something more that friendship. There was no way she could feel so safe with him, so protected and comfortable, unless he felt something to the same extent. Right?
The sun was just beginning to duck behind the trees when Sue and Jack parked the car at the foot of a long and winding hill. Jack helped a sleepy Sue out of the car and guided her and Levi over to a large tree. He then proceeded in unloading the car. She watched in awe, utterly impressed by the amounts of stuff they had managed to cram in to such a tiny car. Sue shivered as the brisk wind swirled around her and pulled her coat closer, eyeing the massive quantities of luggage with a weary eye.
SUE: What do we need all this for?
JACK: This is the end of King of Prussia. Steven lives up the hill, and we can't take a car on that steep of a cliff. Garrett gave me some camping gear…it will help keep us alive and also add to our cover as "campers".
SUE: I don't hike…its almost dark…how are we going to get all the way to the top of the hill?
JACK: I have a tent…we are just going to have to camp out for the night. Hopefully there is a flat area somewhere up there.
Sue felt her cheeks redden and she felt a lump rise in her throat. She glanced around the bundles and came to an embarrassing conclusion.
SUE: Umm, Jack…There is only one sleeping bag here. There are two of us…
Sue knew what she wanted, what she would never even voice if her life depended on it. What she felt, what she wanted, had to be so far from his feelings towards her she would never dare to speak them. It was better playing it safe, not saying anything. Being friends is better than being nothing. Not quite what she wants, but better than nothing.
Jack looked at the ground, above him, at Levi and at the setting sun. Anywhere but at her. He knew that he could never say this right unless he didn't take his feelings in to play here.
JACK: Yeah. Garrett and I decided that most married couples don't go camping overnight with two sleeping bags…for the same reason that married couples don't sleep in separate bedrooms. I was afraid that Steven Malcolm would see our stuff, come to the conclusion that we are not married and not campers, and see that we are lying law enforcers. He will panic, resurface old memories, and we will never catch Slicker.
SUE: I don't like how backhanded we are acting with this case. I understand that he is hurting, but I don't like being so sneaky. It makes me feel like we are violating him somehow.
Sue shrugged, trying to get over the feeling that they were betraying Steven Malcolm somehow, and grabbed a backpack and the bag of food and leaned forward to take the tent.
JACK: Here, let me. You will need all your strength to keep alert on the trail tonight.
SUE: You are already carrying a backpack AND the sleeping bag! Not to mention your bag, too. And you have to watch out for me, making sure I don't tumble down the trail on my butt. At least let me take the tent…you won't be able to walk with that load.
JACK: And you have Levi. He will want to enjoy his time in the fresh air, after spending twelve hours in a car. He will be frisky, and I want you to be able to run after him.
Jack knew his explanation would not work with Sue. It was lame; he seriously just wanted to make sure she wouldn't get hurt. Carrying all this stuff would kill his back muscles, but it was better to have his back hurt than hers. That was his philosophy, anyways. He couldn't exactly TELL Sue that. She would never allow him to do that, and she would insist on helping out more. She was stubborn; she stuck to her ideas and didn't budge. It was one of the many things he loved about her, her ability to stay with something she believed in all the way.
JACK: Alright. I will carry the tent up the hill and when we leave, I will let you carry the tent down the hill.
SUE: Fine, then. Let's get started before it is totally dark. We want to be able to make as much headway as we can tonight, so we have less to do tomorrow.
Sue looked at Jack as he looked up and down the trails that we available for hiking.
SUE: Jack? Do you even know which trail leads to Steven Malcolm's house?
JACK: Not exactly. We are just going to have to pick one and hope for the best, there were no available maps for this area.
SUE: This is ironic. We might not even have to have covers tomorrow. When we find Steven, and we will, we will be lost campers.
JACK: We will find him. All of this wilderness has to end somewhere, right?
Jack spoke with as much confidence as he could muster up under the odds. He was hoping that after he convinced Sue, he could convince himself. The chances of coming out of a dark trek on a winding, foreign trail without any bodily harm was slim.
Not to mention how emotionally difficult it would be to figure out the sleeping arrangements. What he wanted to do, what he knew he shouldn't do, would be the exact thing that would case her pain. He didn't think she could like him, no, love him, as much as he loves her, but no one likes being told that they HAVE to stay away from someone else. And Jack knew that he had to sleep as far away from Sue as he could, which would be hard because there is one sleeping bag and one tent.
Jack shook his head and led the way up the left trail, trying to think happier thoughts and not concentrate about the negative aspects of this trip. The positive were that Jack and Sue would be spending days together, alone, and there was nothing better than that.
JACK thinking: I will deal with the sleeping arrangements when the problem presents itself. Hopefully, we will find a place to pitch the tent.
Hopefully.