Following My Toes (23 page)

“What’s a mount?”

“You know. When they mount their animal?”

“And is it in some sort of freaky pose?”

“It depends. If it’s a mount of a deer, then no, it’s usually just the head. If it’s something like a chipmunk, then yes. But anyway, they like to get feedback on the artistry of their mounts...”

“Artistry? You’re not serious.”

“Yeah, I am. These people take it very seriously. They have work-shops on things like painting and sculpting to improve their skills. And they spend a lot of time critiquing each other’s mounts. Because once they’re down in
Duluth
, there are all sorts of cash prizes for the best mounts.”

“So we’re going to be surrounded by dead mounts all week-end.”

“Exactly.”

“How representative of both of our love lives.”

“Well, anyway. I think we should relax and have a good time. My parents will be expecting us to help and all, but there should still be time to go out and to walk around the lake. It will be great.”

Even as I said those words, I had trouble believing them. In the weeks since I had moved down to
Minneapolis
, a lot had gone wrong for both Carolyn and myself. I suppose I had looked at the stuffi ng convention as some sort of salvation, a quick fix for all of our prob-lems. But now that the weekend was here, I realized how ridiculous my thinking had been.

We were supposed to be at my parents’ place before noon, so as to arrive before any of the guests did. But that would have meant leaving by around 8:00am, and Carolyn is not good at mornings. So by the time we got up there, it was after one. As we pulled in, my mother came out to greet us.

“Well it’s about time, Faith! We’ve already had two people check in, and several people who are staying elsewhere have stopped by. I can tell already that this year is going to be busier than ever.”

“Sorry Mom, we got off to a late start.” I reached to hug her.

“Well I’m glad you’re here.” I had pulled away from our hug, but her arms tightened around me once again. “I’m so happy to see you. I miss having you girls close by.”

It was good to see her too. I had forgotten how comforting it was to be around my mother. “Well, it’s good to be home.”

“And Carolyn is here!” My mother let go of me, and reached to hug Carolyn. “It’s lovely to see you, and it’s been way too long! It is wonderful of you to come up and help us out like this.”

“It’s good to see you too, Kay. And I’m happy to be here, it will be fun.” Carolyn used to come home with me for weekend trips during college, and she got to know my parents well.

My mom smiled at both of us, her beaming red face matching the color of her hair. “You’re right, it will be fun. Faith, why don’t you two go on up to the orange room, and unpack. Then I need you to come down and help me in the kitchen. Unless, of course, you’re hungry. Have you two eaten lunch?”

“We’re fine, Mom. We’ll put our things away, and be down in a minute or two.” I led Carolyn up to the orange room, which was appropriately named for it’s burnt orange painted walls, and matching bedspread and curtains. It was also the smallest room in the house, and was furnished with only one full size bed.

“We’re both sleeping in here?” Carolyn asked.

“All the other rooms are being used. We’re lucky that Dad didn’t make us crash on the couch. This is one more room he could have rented out.”

“Yeah, but the bed is so small, and I toss and turn.”

“Then you can have it. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Faith, don’t be ridiculous. You’re not going to sleep on the floor.”

As soon as she said that, my toes started to itch, but I pushed the sensation away. “We’ll figure it out later. Come on, let’s go help my mom.”

On the way downstairs we ran into my dad, who was helping some guy display his mount in the living room.

“Faith! Come over here and check these out! Tell me these squirrels don’t look real!”

Carolyn and I strolled over to where the squirrels were being displayed. One was holding an acorn, with his head tilted in a quizzical, Walt Disney type way. The other was in an attack stance, up on his hind legs, with his front legs drawn and his teeth bared.

“Aren’t these great? This has got to be just about the best I’ve seen.”

“Sure Dad. I think you’re right.” My Dad was always saying this, and that was my standard reply. He wasn’t being insincere; he loves looking at the mounts so much he just gets carried away. He even tries to do taxidermy himself. That’s how my parents got started having the stuffing convention in the first place. But he’s terrible at it. His mounts usually end up with limbs of unequal length or lopsided faces, like taxidermy done by Picasso. Lucky for him though, that doesn’t spoil his fun.

“Dad, you remember Carolyn.”

“Of course! How are you Carolyn?”

“Fine, thanks.”

“You two should meet Harry. He’s down from Grand Marais, and he’s the guy who did these fantastic squirrels.”

“Nice to meet you. Good work too, by the way.” I held out my hand to shake his, but my gesture was ignored as soon as Carolyn spoke.

“Nice to meet you, Harry.” Carolyn spoke almost at the same time I did, and it was like they were the only two people in the room. Their eyes locked, and I could feel the sparks flying from a few feet away.

Harry took her hand, and shook it firmly. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch your name.”

“No, I’m sorry. It’s Carolyn.”

“Carolyn. Now that is a lovely name.”

Carolyn giggled as her face turned bright red. I couldn’t blame her; Harry was cute. He looked like a lumberjack, the type you hoped would offer you his flannel jacket just so you could get a better view of his biceps. Tall with broad shoulders and tanned skin, (which offset his brown hair with golden streaks perfectly), his eyes were his most noticeable feature: Crystal clear blue and piercing, as if he was looking right through you. He was like a bigger, more rugged looking Brad Pitt.

“Um,” said Carolyn, “I don’t know much about taxidermy, but these squirrels are amazing! I can’t believe you did these yourself.”

“Well thanks. I take a lot of pride in stuffing the animals I kill.”

“Oh, so you killed these squirrels too?” Carolyn is sort of a pacifist.

“You betcha! I love to hunt; I’ll hunt just about anything. You ever been?”

“Hunting? Um, no.”

“You’re kidding! You live around here?”

“Well, in
Minneapolis
.”

“You live in
Minnesota
, and you’ve never been hunting? But you’ve been fishing before, right?”

“Actually, no. I’ve never been fishing either.”

Harry ruefully shook his head. “That’s practically a crime! We’re going to have to fix that. How about we go tomorrow morning?”

“Um, well, I’m supposed to be helping...”

“We’ll go out early in the morning, like at 5. You’ll be back in plenty of time to help out.”

“Okay. Sounds great.”

I was bowled over that Carolyn would agree to do anything in the early morning, let alone fish. I could practically hear her heart beating as we walked into the kitchen to find my mom. On the way in Carolyn grabbed my arm with tremendous urgency.

“Faith! I can’t go fishing with him. You have to get me out of it. You’ll have to cover for me or something, say that I have some job that I need to do for your parents....”

“Why?”

“Why? Why? Isn’t it obvious as to why?”

“But...”

“Faith, if I want to get Charles back, the last thing I should do is go fishing with Harry!”

“Then why did you agree to go in the first place?”

“Oh good, there you two are!” My mom walked into the kitchen. “Faith, I need you to start breading the walleye for me. And Carolyn, if you wouldn’t mind chopping some vegetables and preparing the salads...”

She put us to work. It was only after several minutes of being on task that Carolyn was able to sneak over to me to continue our conversation.

“I mean it, Faith, you have to get me out of this.”

“If you don’t want to go then why did you say yes?”

“Because! My hormones took over for a second; I couldn’t say no. Which is exactly my problem. I need you to save me from myself.”

“Carolyn, this will be fine. You don’t even know where things are with you and Charles. Maybe spending time with someone else will be good for you.”

“Spending time with someone else is exactly what got me into trouble in the first place.”

“That’s different. You weren’t broken up then. And David was sleazy.”

“But it’s okay for me to spend time with a man who kills cute, innocent little squirrels for sport.”

“I’ve always thought squirrels were kind of gross. They’re like big rats with bushy tails.”

“I don’t care!”

“Carolyn, is there a problem?” My mom looked over and noticed she was not at work. “I hate to be a nag, but there’s so much to do, and the sooner we get those salads done the sooner we can move on to other stuff.”

My mom is usually laid back, except when it’s a major holiday or the weekend of the stuffing convention. I had warned Carolyn of this, and she had agreed to humor her. But Carolyn also is capable of losing her temper, especially when matters of the heart are at stake.

“Kay. Relax. I’m on the salad, all right? Give me one more second.” My mom’s face registered her surprise at the tone, but she said nothing in response. “Look. I need you to do this for me, Faith.” Carolyn was now whispering in my ear. “I am weak. But I’m telling you, under no circumstances are you to let me go fishing with Harry.”

I whispered back. “If you can’t control yourself, maybe you shouldn’t be getting back together with Charles.”

“Excuse Me!?” Carolyn growled, causing my mother to look up from her work. She resumed whispering. “I am completely capable of fidelity, Faith. But I’m not with Charles right now, thus I haven’t had sex in a very long time! My hormones are telling me one thing, and my heart is telling me another. It’s up to you to make sure that my heart wins!”

She poked me in the arm for emphasis, then returned to her vegetables with a ferocity that did much to convince me of her point. That carrot she was chopping with such vigor could have been my head, after all.

My father walked into the kitchen. “Kay, is room 4 ready yet? The Gradys are here early.”

“Oh my!” My mother proclaimed. “That’s never happened before. They usually show up late.”

“I know, which is why I’m asking you if their room is ready.”

“Well, of course it is. I always have the rooms ready by 10:00am; to do otherwise would be unprofessional.”

“Great. Can you go out and help them, then? I was right in the middle of showing Kyle Jordan the space for the skinning work-shop.”

“I’m right in the middle of something too! Can’t Kyle wait a few minutes? I’m trying to get dinner prepared.”

My dad shifted his weight from foot to foot, and took on his “I’m getting impatient” stance. “Kay, dinner isn’t for several hours. I think what I’m doing is a little more pressing. He needs time to set up the workshop...”

“I’ll do it!” I cried. The last thing I wanted was for my parents to come to blows right in front of Carolyn; she was obviously shook up enough at the moment. “But I have no idea who the Gradys are. Are they out front?”

My mom looked at me in horror. “You know who the Gradys are! The father and son, they’ve come every year for the last few years.”

“Yeah, but Mom, I haven’t been up for the stuffing convention in like forever.”

“Faith, they’re right out at the front desk,” said my father. “Just go out there and show them to room 4.”

That seemed easy enough. I left my mother and Carolyn behind in the kitchen, and walked out towards the front entrance. There I found a rather slim man who looked to be in his mid-fifties, wearing a fishing vest and carrying “Sport and Game” magazine. But he became a blur as soon as I realized whom he was with. For standing by his side, looking completely at ease, but (I suspect) as surprised as I was, was Ethan.

Chapter 18

What are you doing here?” “Faith? I... I’m with my Dad. What are you doing here?”

“My parents own this place.” I was so shocked to see him that I momentarily forgot that I didn’t want to see him. But once I remembered I was angry with him I found myself acting even more defensive than I felt.

“You’re kidding. My dad and I have been coming up here for years. I don’t remember seeing you here before.”

“What, you think I’m lying?”

“No, of course not...”

“Come on. I’ll show you to your room.” Trying to ignore my pounding heart and the heat that was coursing through my body, I grabbed the key to room 4 and led them upstairs.

“I can’t believe we didn’t figure this out before. I should have said something when you told me that you’re from here...”

“I can’t see what difference it makes!” I snapped. There was an uncomfortable silence as I unlocked their room and led them in. His father broke it.