Flirting with Fifty

Chapter 12

Jack woke, checked his phone. A few minutes after four. He scrolled through the news and the weather, specifically news and weather coming from Costa Rica.

Another hurricane was on the way.

The country was being battered. There would be no field trip to Costa Rica next month. He’d had a feeling it was going to get cancelled, and with the unrelenting rain, even Monteverde would be flooding.

He hated disappointing people, and he knew his students were really looking forward to the trip coming up at the end of the semester. The easy thing would be to just cancel the field trip entirely, but Jack had never done the easy thing. There was no point in taking the easy way out, unless it was truly the smartest solution, and to his mind, that wasn’t a solution for his Orange students.

He needed to get to work and find an alternative trip the Orange students could do. Almost immediately, Arusha came to mind. He was already heading there for the conference the second weekend of December, and then his show was slated to begin filming in Tanzania just before Christmas, wrapping mid-to-late January so he could return to Southern California for Orange’s Spring semester. Months ago, he’d booked everything back to back, making choices that cut down on flights and expenses. A field trip to Arusha would be better for him, but what about his students?

It would be a much longer flight, and the time difference was substantial, but his students could easily be accommodated at one of Arusha’s campus dorms, or even a hotel. But it was a huge change, and not everyone would be on board with it.

Paige, for example. He suspected she wouldn’t be thrilled. She liked things safe and predictable. How interesting that his world was always about change, and hers was a fight for stability. But maybe that was the attraction, and the pull.

He opened his laptop, sent a few emails, before dressing and going in search of coffee. He had a cup of coffee before checking the time. It was almost five. Time to wake up Sleeping Beauty.

Jack left the pair of coffee thermoses on the hood of the car he’d borrowed from Zach, and then went to Paige’s cabin and knocked on her door, wondering how loud he’d need to knock to get her attention. But she opened the door moments later, fully dressed, blond hair in a loose side braid, a baseball cap on her head.

“I thought I’d have to drag you from bed,” he said.

She made a face. “I know how to set an alarm.”

“Good girl. Coffee’s waiting at the car.”

“That’s all you needed to say.” She stepped out, locked her door, and slid the old-fashioned key ring into her purse before following him to the car.

*   *   *

Paige had grumbled when her alarm went off at four in the morning, which was three at home. But as she got into the passenger seat of Zach’s car, she was glad they were going for a morning drive, and appreciative that Jack was finding time to be with her.

Jack handed her a thermos of coffee. “I added a little milk and sugar, but it’s hot, and caffeinated.”

“Perfect.”

He quietly backed out of the parking area, going slow over the gravel to not wake anyone in the nearby cabins. Once they were on the main road, he turned on the car’s headlights. “The early morning is the best time to see the wildlife,” he said. “We’re going to drive east through Lamar Valley, forty-five minutes each way. With any luck we’ll see some of the wolves we heard last night. A couple years ago, I did this drive and saw wolves, bison, black bears, and grizzly bears.”

“I’d be happy to see them all from a distance.”

“This probably isn’t the best time to take a hike in an unpopulated area.”

The sun slowly rose as they drove, the golden light illuminating the top of the mountains and then gradually lifting the lavender shadows in the valley. It had been hard to wake up, but it was a gorgeous morning, the meadow a burnished copper, while green still covered the higher elevation. “I’m glad you made me do this,” she said, glancing at Jack.

“I didn’t make you. You wanted to do it.” Creases fanned from the corners of his eyes. “I just don’t think you were as excited about an early morning drive as I was.”

She smiled a lopsided smile. “Your enthusiasm was a ten, and mine was a three.”

He grinned. “I love how good you are with numbers.”

When he smiled at her, she had to smile back. “Is there anything you’re hoping we’ll see?”

“There’s no checklist. I just love the park before it’s filled with cars and people, but I’m hoping later we can sneak away for another drive, or maybe a hike to Tower Fall.”

She pictured being chased by one of the grizzlies he’d mentioned. It wasn’t very appealing. She was fairly fit but not a fast runner. Were you even supposed to run if confronted by a grizzly? “Do you have bear spray if we go on a hike?”

“I don’t think we’ll need it.”

“So says the foolhardy man before he became dinner.”

He laughed. “Fine, I’ll get bear spray.”

“Thank you.” Paige adjusted her cap. “Is it going to be a long day for you today?”

“I’m speaking at eleven, and then on a panel this afternoon. Tomorrow is my keynote, just after breakfast, and then early Monday we’ll drive back to Bozeman and make our flights home in time for the afternoon class.”

She put her hand on Jack’s leg. He reached down to cover her hand with his. The sun continued to rise, the sky lightening until it was a lovely, fragile blue. Paige saw an enormous herd of bison, and then a few miles east, another great herd, with a couple stragglers walking alongside the road. Jack slowed to a crawl, not wanting to scare the animals as they passed close by. Paige was delighted when one of the massive males turned his head and looked right at her, his large brown eyes soulful. “Look at the size of him,” she whispered. “He’s huge.”

“Beautiful, aren’t they?”

“It’s amazing to see so many together. Can you imagine prairies once filled with them?”

“There were forty million across the US at one point, and then nearly all were gone. Yellowstone had lost most of theirs, too. In the early 1900s only fifty remained. The park has worked hard to bring their population back.”

“We never appreciate what we have until it’s gone,” she said, glancing at his profile. She would miss him when he was gone. She’d miss him a lot.

They’d turned around at the edge of Lamar Valley and were heading back when Jack pointed out a moose on the distant hillside, with a leggy calf trailing behind. He pulled to the side of the road and they watched until the moose and its calf disappeared into a thicket of trees, and then Jack shifted into drive and they continued in companionable silence until they reached the education center.

Breakfast, like dinner last night, was served in the main cabin with the vaulted ceiling and thick exposed beams. A river-rock fireplace anchored one side of the main cabin, and round tables and a podium filled the other. Park staff were just starting to break down breakfast when Paige and Jack arrived. Starving, Paige quickly grabbed a plate, and Jack followed. They piled the ceramic plates with what remained of the scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. Jack poured himself a juice. She snagged a container of Greek yogurt, intending to save it for later, before adding a couple spears of cantaloupe to her plate.

They took seats at a nearly empty round table in the back. Jack nodded and smiled at the two already seated at the table and Paige focused on her breakfast, not wanting to be eating when the first speaker took the podium. Fortunately, there was a welcome from one of the organizers of the symposium and then some general announcements, including a mention that a park shuttle bus had been made available to take the spouses to see Old Faithful as well as several other scenic spots. Paige hadn’t intended to go but Jack leaned over and encouraged her to get out and see more of the park.

“You’re not missing anything,” he whispered.

“I wanted to hear you,” she protested, matching his whisper.

“You hear me every day. I’m not that interesting.”