The Eclipse of Moonbeam Dawson (16 page)

“Just to come on weekends when you felt like it. You'd have a plane to go back and forth to Vancouver, naturally.” Michelle looked up at him. “Where do you live, anyway?”

“I went to school near Heather Mountain.”

“I mean when you're not at school. Where does your family live?”

Reid steered the boat farther out, away from some rocks that jutted out from the bank. “It's just me and my mum. She lives in Tofino.”

“My dad said that's where all the granolas and the tree huggers live.” Michelle laughed. “But he says that it's changing and that there are some beautiful big homes on some of the beaches. Retired executives and people like that, not just hippies anymore.”

“There sure doesn't seem to be anything here.” Reid changed the subject as he rounded the rocky point and turned back in closer to shore.

“If you were a bear I bet this would be a great place to live.”

“I suppose so.” He looked up into the trees, hoping not to see anything except trees.

“Sure, especially if there was a honey tree like Pooh had,” she giggled and snuggled next to him. “Ashley, my little half sister that I was telling you about, she loves bears. She has a whole collection of teddy bears. Over a hundred of them, from all over the world.”

“I had a nice Pooh when I was little.” He held her close to him, steering easily with his right hand, enjoying the slow rocking of the boat as they inched along.

“Me, too. And I had a book about Paddington. I got it when we were in London, a first edition.”

Reid smiled. “I liked Smokey the Bear a lot.”

“I thought Yogi Bear was great.” She put her head on his shoulder.

Slowly, Reid steered the boat around the east side of the island. The rocks jutted out into the water and he hoped he wasn't getting in too close. The last thing he needed was to shear a pin.

“Oh!” Michelle shrieked and sat straight up, clutching the dashboard.

Reid thought he was going to pass out when he saw it. A huge black bear ambled through the brush, crashing everything in its path with its huge bulk. It sounded like an enormous tank was coming toward them. At the water's edge the bear stopped, turned, and stared at them.

They were only a few meters from the gigantic black furry mass, and they could hear it breathing with breath that sounded like great gusts of wind as it rustled the leaves on the undergrowth at the water's edge. The bear froze, staring at them, and they stared back at the bear. Then after a minute, as if coming out of a trance, Michelle looked under the bow at the .303 and grabbed Reid's arm. “Reid! Don't get the gun. Don't! I can't let you. Think of Pooh … and Paddington … and Smokey.” She held his arm and looked up at him, pleading with her beautiful cat's eyes. “Don't do it, Reid. Please!”

“Okay,” he gasped, “I won't shoot him.” Reid pulled her close to him and hit the throttle. As the boat lunged forward, they both turned and watched the bear amble back into the brush and disappear.

They sped along the east side of the island, heading farther away from its shore and he held her next to him all the way back. The morning sun sparkled on the water, and the thick trees on the island were a deep green against the bright sky, and he couldn't remember ever being happier.

Heading down Maurus Channel of the west side of Meares Island, they could see smoke curling up from a row of houses nestled along the shore to the south of Lone Cone, the small mountain which rose up in a perfect arc of the darkest green.

“That's not Tofino, is it?” Michelle pointed to the houses.

“Tofino's straight across the channel from there. That's the Opitsat Native village.”

“I've never actually met an Indian, have you?”

Reid felt her warmth as she nestled next to him. She seemed so sweet, worrying about the bear and talking about Pooh and all those other bears she liked so much, he should probably just tell her. Reid swallowed and drew in his breath. “Well, actually—”

“Oh, Reid, look! Isn't that cute!”

A seal poked his head out of the water just a few feet from the boat. Like the periscope of a submarine, he swiveled his head around to survey the surface, his big brown eyes standing out like lumps of coal against his slick tan hide.

“There he goes, down under.” Reid watched him pop under the ocean.

“What a cutie. I just love seals, don't you?”

“They're pretty neat.”

Michelle put her head on his shoulder. “I'm really sleepy. Getting up so early and then all this excitement.” She closed her eyes and curled up closer to him.

Reid couldn't tell if she was actually going to sleep, but they didn't talk all the way back. He looked down at her beautiful face, trying to memorize it and wishing they could stay out on the water like that all day. Or forever.

The marina at the resort was quiet as he brought the boat in. The guests were all out fishing and he was glad to see that the
Regina II
was still out as he pulled the skiff into Harvey's slip.

“Michelle,” he whispered, “we're here.”

Sleepily, she opened her eyes. “I must have really gone to sleep.”

“Sure looked like it.” He held the side of the dock. “Can you hold us while I get the lines?”

“Okay.” She slid over and grabbed the edge of the dock. “Can't be afraid of a few splinters when you're the outdoor type. Me, the outdoor type—what a kick, my friends wouldn't believe it.”

Reid finished securing the lines. “Ready?” He held out his hand to help her out.

She took his hand, but then looked around the marina. “Sure is pretty dead down here.”

“They're all out fishing.”

“Mr. Roessler's boat is still out. He and Dad must not have caught their limit or they'd be back.”

“They're probably pretty far out there. I didn't see any of the yachts from the lodge between here and Hope.”

“Why don't we just stay here for a while; there's no one around.” Michelle slid over and motioned for him to get back in the boat.

“Okay.” Reid climbed in next to her and the next thing he knew she was practically in his lap.

She unfastened the tie that had held her hair back and shook out her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders. He thought it shone in the sun like some precious metal. Then she took off her windbreaker and threw it in the bow on top of the rifle. “Thank you for letting the bear live, Reid,” she said softly, lifting her face close to his.

“Think nothing of it.” He swallowed hard, then grinned. Michelle's face was there so close to his, it seemed like she wanted him to kiss her. So he did. Then some more. And some more after that.

They stayed in the boat eagerly kissing, tightly fastened in each other's arms, until they heard the engine of the first of the yachts coming into the marina.

“When can I be with you again?” he whispered as she pulled away from him. He felt like he was on fire, that if he even touched the weathered wood of the edge of the dock the whole thing would explode into flames.

Michelle sat up, fluffed up her hair, and grabbed her jacket from under the bow. “Yuk. It's wet.” She looked at him. “What did you say?”

“When can I see you again?”

“I'm supposed to have dinner on Mr. Roessler's boat. How 'bout after that. Dinner's usually over by seven.”

“Where?”

“Give me a hand, will you?”

“Sure.” Reid jumped on the dock and held out his hand for her, thinking that he really should have jumped in the water just to cool off.

She climbed onto the dock and then watched the
Regina II
come past the channel marker, heading for the moorage.

“Where should we meet?” He tried not to sound too demanding.

“Not here.”

“I have my own apartment in the employees building.”

“That's next to the basketball hoop?” She put on her wind-breaker.

“Yeah.”

“What number?”

“It's number three, on the ground floor.”

“I'll be there at ten.” Then she turned and walked quickly down the dock, not looking back.

*   *   *

If the last few hours had been the happiest of Reid's life, the next hours were the longest. He had never felt quite like this before. He could remember craving things in his life, but they were things like pizza, chocolate mocha delight ice cream, tacos, huge warm soft pretzels with lots of salt, Coke, Doritos, and almond brittle from the English Sweet Shop in Victoria. As far as people went, he could also remember wishing more than anything to see the Toronto Blue Jays, to go to a real game and not just see them on TV. He also had a strong wish to meet Wayne Gretzky. But what he felt now was more than a wish. It was a craving. He was craving Michelle Lamont.

How lucky could a guy get! He couldn't believe it. She was actually coming to his apartment! His own apartment all to himself with no one there but him. With his mother miles from there across Clayoquot Sound, safely tucked away in her nice little solar cabin on Palmer's Land.

Reid decided to clean the apartment. As if the Queen were coming, he smiled to himself. He got into high gear and flew through the place picking up dirty laundry, empty food cartons, Coke cans, and dust balls. He stripped the sheets from his bed and used them to bundle up his laundry, then ran down to the laundry room at the end of the complex and dumped the load in the washing machine.

Back in the apartment he swept the rug, getting rid of the twigs and dirt that he'd been tracking in over the last week, realizing that it was getting hard to tell the floor inside from the ground outside.

Next he started in on the dishes. Washing his own dishes was the last thing he had wanted to do when he finished work each night. All he wanted to do was eat the leftovers he brought back from the kitchen, which meant every single dish in the apartment was dirty. Dirty dishes filled the sink and covered the counters. Why wash them until he'd used up all the clean ones was what he figured.

While he waited for his clothes to dry he tried to do the next geometry assignment for school. Ridiculous. Fat chance. He stared at the book and all he could see was Michelle Lamont. And all he could think about was how it felt to be holding her and kissing her.

Reid took his basketball out to the court and shot some hoops while he waited for the dryer to get done. He stood in the center of the court, facing the basket, holding the ball at his side, then waved at the trees.

Sitting behind the Grizzlies bench tonight is gorgeous Michelle Lamont, famous Vancouver model who is the girlfriend of Reid Dawson. Michelle waves to the crowd and now she's on her feet, cheering wildly at the pregame display of the Dawson Dunk!

Reid messed around on the court shooting hoops until the clothes were done. In the laundry room, he bundled up the laundry from the dryer and took it back to his apartment. He dumped his clothes on the couch and then took his sheets into the bedroom and put them back on the bed.

How experienced was she anyway? He pulled the bottom sheet over the corners and pulled it tight across the mattress. Wasn't this what he had been hoping for and dreaming of, from the first minute he saw her … to have her alone in the apartment?

Reid fluffed out the top sheet and laid it carefully over the bed, smoothing it down and tucking in the corners. What if she wanted to and he didn't know what to do? He put the blanket over the sheet and folded about a foot of the top sheet over the blanket before tucking them in. What if he choked? He took the bedspread and covered the bed, then grabbed the pillowcases. The bed had come with two pillows. He put one case on, then the other. What if she laughed in his face and hit him over the head with a pillow.

Take that, you backwoods twerp! Swat! Thump! She whacks him with the pillow. Just who do you think you are? Inviting me to your apartment when you have all the experience of a grade one moron! It's over you jerk! Whack! Swat! Thump! The pillow breaks open on his head. Feathers fly everywhere. FEATHERS FIT YOU PERFECTLY! YOU CHICKEN-BRAINED CREEP! And she stomps out of his apartment, never to be seen again.

Reid looked at his watch. He still had at least an hour to kill before she was supposed to come to the apartment. Looking at his watch, he realized he'd been on the go since his alarm had gone off at 5:00 that morning. He was too nervous to eat and tired from his cleaning spree. I'll just lay down for a few minutes, he decided. Get my strength up for when she comes.

Reid stretched out on top of the spread and yawned. Within minutes he was asleep. Sound asleep and dreaming. Dreaming of Michelle Lamont.

Chapter Eleven

“Reid,” Michelle whispered. “Reid? Are you in there?”

Oh Reid, you are so wonderful. I've always wanted to find a guy like you. She lay back in his arms, loving every moment they had spent together.

“Reid.”
Knock. Knock.
“It's me.”
Knock. Knock.

I'm glad you don't have a lot of experience. Tour passion was so new, so fresh. I love your wild innocence.

Knock. Knock.
“Reid?”
Knock. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Reid sat up in bed. “Oh, man, I've been out cold. She's here!” He leaped off the bed and tore through the apartment to the front door and flung it open.

“I almost gave up on you.” Michelle looked worried.

“Sorry. I guess I fell asleep.” He tucked in his shirt. “Come on in.”

“I can't. That's what I came to tell you.” She turned toward the marina. “We're leaving any minute. My dad didn't catch anything so we're going to Barclay Sound.”

“You mean, right now?” He was so muddled from being asleep, he wasn't sure what he'd heard.

“Yeah.”

“You're leaving?”

“That's what I said.” She looked down at the marina again. “Listen, it's been fun.”