"Cheese balls and scotch go surprisingly well together," said Cassie. "I wonder if there's a recipe there. Cheeseball and scotch pie, maybe. My aunt makes a chocolate and Guinness cake that is yum yum yummy. Best cake I ever had. I should really get the recipe off of her."
"Sounds like it should be a hit. Chocolate and booze. Aren't they two of the three deadly sins you mentioned?"
She shook her head. "Chocolate and cigarettes. Although, I guess technically they're not sins. They're vices. The sin is lusting after chocolate and cigarettes. Lust is a sin. Chocolate is a vice. Mix them up and you end up with lice." She sang this last part softly to herself.
"You are one enigmatic cook," I said.
She sat up and gave me a firm, disapproving look. "I think you'll find it's pronounced 'kook'," she said.
I laughed.
Cassandra smiled and settled back down against the seat.
The windows were beginning to steam up. I started the truck so I could turn on the heater.
Cassandra reached out and touched my arm. "Don't do that," she said.
"Aren't you cold?"
"I don't want to get too comfortable. I might fall asleep." she said. "And I like the quiet."
I switched the truck off and used my sleeve to wipe the condensation off the windshield in front of me. Then I leaned over and did the same for Cassie. I'm not sure why I bothered, really. There was nothing to see.
We sat there for a while without saying anything. I was tempted to stretch out an arm and try to get a bit closer to Cassie for warmth. But the bottle of whiskey in my lap reminded me I might be drunk. And the truck itself reminded me I would be leaving camp the next day. Instead I just told Cassie I was tired and was I was going to bed.
We got out of the truck and she walked with me to the dining tent.
"Good night, Kent. Sleep well. Don't let the bedbugs bite."
"You too." I held the flap of the tent open for her to walk through and made a final check to see if Lucy was there. She wasn't.
The concert in the dry shack had broken up but it was still a much quieter crowd than the one in the dining tent. Tony was teaching Kathy how to play something on his bass. Everyone else was sitting around the wood stove talking in twos and threes. No Lucy.
Back in my tent I suddenly felt exhausted. I fell asleep almost immediately.
Tony showed up a couple of hours later. I woke up when he undid the zipper on the door of the tent.
"Kent!" he whispered. "You awake? What a fantastic night! I mean, I've been to some pretty amazing parties, but never one like that. Everyone was so friendly. I think they really dug my bass playing. I taught Kathy some riffs. She's a fantastic girl, that Kathy."
I rolled over and put my hand on his shoulder to stop him from coming into the tent with his boots on. He shined the flashlight in my face. I squinted.
"Boots," I said. "Mud." I was still somewhat bleary-brained and incapable of full sentences.
"Oh right." Halfway into the tent, he dropped onto his belly and kicked his boots off while lying on his front. His flashlight shone on some of Lucy's clothes. "Hey!" he said. "You've got women's underpants in your tent. Are those for the gown plant?"
"A friend's," I said. "Get in. You're letting the mosquitos in."
"Right," he said. "Don't want to let the bedbugs bite."
Tony crawled into the tent and zipped the door closed. I drifted off as he nattered to himself and killed mosquitos.
I woke up around 8 the next morning. I put my clothes in a heap by the door and climbed carefully over Tony. I dressed outside, standing on the sides of Tony's boots until I got my own on.
It had stopped raining. There was even a hint of a blue sky to the west. A half a dozen early risers were in the dining tent. April and Joe were sitting by the wood stove. I poured myself a coffee and a bowl of cereal and joined them.
"How'd you sleep?" asked April.
"Not bad," I said. "You?"
"Pretty good, thanks."
That was about it for conversation. After I finished my coffee, Joe and I went outside to unload the truck. We yanked on the tarp in a few places to drain the water that had pooled on top of it. Then we folded the tarp up like a bedsheet on top of the quad. There were some other bits and bobs that Gord and Virginia had sent up with Tony and me. We unloaded these and put them away.
The quad was strapped down with a number of ratchet straps. After we undid these, we pulled the ramps out and leaned them against the tailgate. Brendan showed up as Joe was riding the quad off the truck.
"Hey," Brendan said. "I didn't expect to see you here this morning. Brought the quad up, did you?"
"Yes," I said. "Got into camp late last night."
"That's great. Really great," he said. "Must have been after I went to bed." He helped me slide the ramps back into the truck.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Me," said Brendan. "Oh fine. Best hangover after a night off I've ever had."
"Maybe because you went to bed so early," I said.
"Yeah, that must be it," he said. He closed the tailgate of the truck. "So, what are you plans? Are you staying in camp for a few days?"
"No. We're leaving today. Gord wants the dead quad back as soon as possible. I'm sure I can stay and help out for a bit today if you need it."
"No, that's fine," said Brendan. "I'm sure we can round up some help if we need to. You're right. We should get the other quad back down to Gord. Who knows when some bonehead is going to wreck another one." He grinned awkwardly and stepped away from the truck.
I got in and backed the pumpkin up to the flatbed with the dead quad on it. Brendan guided me. Joe flipped down the tailgate when I was close. Then I nudged the two trucks together. I stayed in the truck while Brendan and Joe dragged the quad over into the pumpkin and strapped it down. When they were done, they jumped down and I drove forward to allow Joe to close the tailgate.
Tony was just putting his boots on when Lucy showed up at my tent. She gave a little shriek and stopped suddenly when she saw him.
"Hi there," said Tony.
"Hi," said Lucy. She was still wearing the dress from the night before.
"Looking for Kent?" he asked.
"No. I mean, yes. I mean, I just came to get some clothes."
"Ah, you must be Kent's friend. I'm Kent's friend, too," he said. "My name's Tony." He stood up and offered her his hand.
Lucy smiled and shook it. "Pleased to meet you." She stepped around him and swivelled into the tent. "Is Kent here?" she asked. "Do you know when he got into camp?" She pulled the jeans on under the dress while she talked.
"We got in last night. The party was in full swing. Were you at the party? That's a great dress, by the way. I can't believe I didn't notice you if you were wearing that dress."
"Well, it's the last anybody will see of this dress for a while," said Lucy. She wriggled around and began to pull it over her head. Tony was too surprised to turn away. "Where is he now?" she asked as she tossed the dress into the back of the tent.
"What? Who? Kent?" said Tony. "Don't know. He slept beside me but he wasn't here when I got up. That is, when I say he slept beside me -- I mean he slept beside me, if you know what I mean. I mean we didn't sleep together. We're not that kind of friends."
"I know what you mean." Lucy put on a tee shirt and a sweatshirt. "Kent and I are those kind of friends. Or at least we were. This is bad timing, that's what this is."
"What?"
"Nothing," she said. "Ready to go?" She asked. She held her hand out for Tony to help her up.
Hmmm - what a pickle!!
YFa