Chapter 16

Charlie looked through the postcards in the small store adjacent to the tiny restaurant at the marina. Now that it wasn't a secret where he was, he could send his Dad a picture of why he was staying. Sam was right, though, the views of Crater Lake didn't really do it justice. There was a nice one of the river, though. It looked like it could have been taken back down at the campground they had left yesterday. He settled on that one, and a bottle of water. "Do you have a stamp I could buy?" he asked the man working the register, and he indicated a machine near the door. Charlie thanked him, stopped to buy a stamp — how much to mail a postcard, now? better just overpay and go for first class — and walked out into the sun. The lake was quite a ways in the distance, he could barely see it. He decided to go back to the campsite. He needed his pen.

Jenna was there when he arrived, and he looked expectantly at her. She and Sam had left early to catch the marina manager before things got hectic. She smiled at him. "Couldn't be better," she said. "Start training next week. Once the season starts, I'll be the afternoon cook." Charlie grabbed her, spun her around. "That's great! That's great!" She laughed when he let go of her. "We can stay here, too, in the campground. And guess what?" Charlie just shook his head. "Main cook's pregnant, might leave at the end of the season. When they reduce the hours in the fall, if I've done a good job, I might be able to stay out the year!" Sam trudged up behind his wife, then, slipped his arms around her waist and squeezed. He looked up at Charlie. "I think we got us a lucky charm here, girl. Keep feeding him."

She twisted in his arms. "Sam?"

He grinned. "Gonna expand my horizons. Turns out I know just enough about boat mechanics and bullshit to talk myself into a tryout at the marina."

Jenna squealed, jumped and wrapped her legs around Sam's waist. Charlie took that as his cue, and headed for the shore of the lake. He would get his pen later.

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The three of them sat in the larger tent and watched the RV through the rainfly. Back up an inch. Jerk forward two. Kill the engine. Restart it. Back up seven feet. Knock over the trash can. Charlie sneezed, and when it appeared the RV was headed for the electrical hook-up, Sam had all he could stand and burst out of the tent into the rain, jogged up to the RV. Soon, an older man climbed down and moved to the back of the space while Sam climbed in the driver's seat. Sam straightend out the RV and the old man waved him back. Once he had parked, Sam climbed down, talked a little to the man.

While they watched Sam, Charlie sneezed again. "You should have woken us up," Jenna said again. "You could have come in here. Rain put the fire out anyway, so an extra body might have warmed it up in here a little."

Charlie looked sadly at his tent. Turned out his yard sale bonanza had a few leaks. At least he had stowed his pack in a corner that stayed relatively clear of rain, and he was able to change into dry clothes after a night of shivering in a rainy tent. "It'll dry," he finally said. "The rain will stop sometime. Won't it?" She shrugged. "Southern Oregon. How do you think all this stuff got so green in the first place?"

Sam burst back into the tent, then, shaking rain water off like a dog after a bath. Jenna "Hey!"-ed him and threw him a towel. "Poor old guy," Sam said, rubbing the towel over his head. "Wife used to help him park, but she can't travel anymore. He wanted to try and take a trip without her. I don't think it's working out too well." He sat down again, and they all looked toward the RV. "Poor old guy."

"Well, we can't cook dinner tonight," Jenna said, routing through the supplies they had moved into the tent. "Looks like chips without the fish." Charlie sneezed again. "You," she said, still searching through the food to see what she could find, "are staying here tonight."

Charlie looked miserable. "My sleeping bag is in the tent," he muttered. "It's all wet."

"Use one of ours," Sam offered, but Charlie just looked at him. "Look, math prof, even I know three people and two bags equals sharing. I'm offering you a sleeping bag, not my wife. I'll take her with me. Mine's oversized, anyway."

"The bag," Jenna hastened to add, and kept talking over Sam's laugh. "The bag is an oversized one that we sometimes share, anyway. And we probably would tonight. Going to be cold again, with no fire."

Charlie couldn't help it, he started giggling, and that turned into a laugh, ended abruptly with a spasm of coughing. Sam was smiling at him, but Jenna was looking outside, again. "Rain's letting up," she said, "but it will be back with a vengeance. You should go out now, go over and take a hot shower. Do you want me to run to the store at the marina and see if they have anything for a cold?"

Charlie grabbed his pack, sneezed, giggled again. "Sorry." He touched Jenna's hair as he passed. "I'm okay, just a cold, don't worry so much." He straightened his back and stretched his spine outside the tent. He could just see the lake through the trees. Empty of boats and people today, receiving offerings from above today. He looked back at his friends. "I love it here," he smiled, and headed for the showers.