“It really hurt me when you walked away.”
“I’m sorry. I was angry.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. “Can you forgive me?”
She nodded and offered a smile. “Yes. And I’m sorry I acted like you were out-of-touch. I missed the whole point of what you were saying.”
“I forgive you.”
She reached her arms out and they hugged, both feeling relieved to be reconciled.
“I love you, Amanda Pierce.”
“And I love you, Viktor I still can’t pronounce your last name.”
He laughed. “You might want to start practicing.”
She giggled and looked up at him. “Why is that?”
He shrugged. “Just saying.”
“I think I’ll need your help,” she said.
“I’ll help you.” He grinned and then kissed her. “So tell me about this trip. We’re going to Bangor. I know that much.”
“I booked a hotel for us tonight. Nothing fancy. I figured you could slum it one night,” she teased.
“Hey now,” he chided.
“Sorry,” she apologized with a mischievous smile. “Tomorrow morning we will join up with our tour group that includes two guides and 6 other guests. We will have a tent and canoe for ourselves. The tent, cots, sleeping bags, pillows, food and drinks are all included. We have to set up and take down our own tent but the guides will cook our meals,” she explained. “We start out on Long Lake. It’s a 4 hour drive from Bangor where I reserved us a car. We will canoe through a couple more small lakes connected through tributaries, camping as we go until we reach our final destination where we will be bused back to our cars.”
“I love that you did this.”
“I’ve been wanting to get you something for a while, I just didn’t know what.”
“The fact that you got me something that isn’t really a thing … is so you. I love that.”
Beaming with pride, she responded, “I’m really glad you're happy." She then leaned in and kissed him.
Chapter 28
They arrived at the launching site for their three day expedition a few minutes before 9:00 A.M. the following morning. They were the first ones to arrive. After checking in, they were shown to their guides who were organizing the gear for their guests by the river.
“Hi, I’m Austin,” one of the guides introduced himself. He looked mid-to-late forties with short brown hair under a boonie hat and tan skin from working outdoors all summer. He gestured to his partner, a young black man, who was crouching down and inspecting the canoes. “This is James.”
When James heard his name he turned around and smiled. He then stood to join them, allowing Viktor and Amanda to appreciate how extraordinarily tall he was.
“Very nice to have you with us,” he greeted them with a very heavy Jamaican accent.
“You’re from Jamaica?” Amanda asked as she shook his hand.
“Yes ma’am,” he said proudly.
“You stay here through the winter?” she then asked, wondering how he coped with the cold.
“I do,” he answered with a huge smile. “Is that strange?”
“I don’t even want to stay here through the winter and I’m not from a tropical island!” she laughed. “You’re tougher than me, that’s for sure.”
He chuckled. “Well it took a few years to get used to but I like it here. It’s quiet and peaceful.”
“Yes. It is,” she agreed. “Very nice to meet you, James.”
“Likewise.” He returned to fulfilling his guide duties before they set off.
Amanda looked at Viktor and grinned. “This is going to be so much fun!”
“I’m super excited,” he agreed. “I’ve never been camping before.”
Feeling a little shocked by that revelation, she gave him a look. “You’ve never been camping?”
“Always wanted to.”
Amanda suddenly felt unsure of the wisdom of what they were about to do.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, noting she suddenly looked troubled.
“I’m going camping with a millionaire who’s never been camping before, what could possibly go wrong?” she quietly replied.
“Oh stop. It’s going to be fine.”
Two more guests arrived. They were twin sisters from South Carolina named Emily and Julia. They were in their early twenties with blonde hair and blue eyes. Viktor and Amanda both concluded they would never be able to distinguish who was who.
The next guests to arrive were a couple from New York, Peter and Tiffany. Everything they wore and carried looked like it had just come off the rack and not a single hair appeared to be out of place. The wife was done up with manicured nails, perfect hair and makeup. She was quiet and almost seemed disinterested to be there but the husband was quite excited and boisterous.
“Isn’t it great to be in nature!” he exclaimed as he stood overlooking the river.
“Oh boy,” Amanda muttered to Viktor.
“I’ll bet you a million dollars all he’s going to do over the next few days is talk about his money,” Viktor predicted.
“Oh, you think?” Amanda replied somewhat sarcastically since she got the same feeling. “What do I get if you’re right?”
“A million dollars,” he half-joked.
She just looked at him. “Why do I think you mean that?”
He put his arm around her back and kissed her cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you too, trouble.”
They heard arguing behind them just then and turned to see what was happening. There was another couple that was walking towards them. They looked to be late forties or early fifties. The wife was short with dyed black hair, grey eyes and tan skin. The husband was a little taller but stocky. He was nearly completely bald with fair skin and brown eyes.
“Henry, why are you carrying it like that?” the wife asked. “If you just set it down, you could adjust it so it’s easier to carry.”
“It’s fine Evelyn,” the husband replied with frustration in his voice. “I’m just carrying it over there.” He gestured to where they were standing.
“I don’t understand why you won’t listen to me,” the wife responded.
“Because by the time I adjust it, we could be there already!”
“It would just take a second!”
“This doesn’t bode well,” Viktor chuckled.
“I hope they
