Good morning and happy Monday to you. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. Ours was nice and quiet, but I got a lot done in the house. So it was quiet and productive. Honestly, I kind of enjoy those weekends the most. So is everyone ready to start the week strong? Fabulous. Let’s go.
Hmm. I kind of want to think about this story. It isn’t one that sucks me in and grabs me, but I think it is one I will think about and possibly come back to.
Monday, January 31st: He slogged through the mud, each step a misery.
He slogged through the mud, each step a misery. Would this trip never end? He agreed to go on the camping trip because he promised he would try bonding with Stephen. They were family now, like it or not and they had to find a way to get along. His mother had been so proud that he made the effort and despite his misgivings he felt relatively good about going on the camping trip.
He pictured them bonding over s’mores or maybe telling stories to terrify each other in the dark while the bonfire blazed. That hadn’t happened. First of all, it wasn’t just them. Jeremy wasn’t aware there were others going on the camping trip. They were all Stephen’s friends and none of them had any interest in talking to him. He wasn’t one of the group. Stephen was and so he remained, ignoring Jeremy when he could and apologizing for him to the group when he made mistakes.
It turned out that refined sugar wasn’t something any of the group considered acceptable to put into their bodies so the thought of s’mores was out of the question. In addition, there was a fire ban since it had been so dry. As Jeremy squelched through another section of muddy pathways, he found himself thinking almost fondly of the parched dry earth and the mini dust clouds his feet kicked up at the beginning of the trip.
As for scary stories, that too was a bust. ‘Unless you count endless tales about how much they can each bench and who makes the best protein powder.’
While Jeremy considered himself to be in relatively good shape, he wasn’t as fitness obsessed as Stephen and his friends. It simply didn’t interest him. He pulled his foot from the mud and stepped onto the stonier path in front of him. It looked like it ran for a while, giving him a break from the mud. It felt almost good to walk on the actual stone for a bit. He managed to look up and see the others ahead of him.
They were moving faster and not bothering to wait for him to catch up. Jeremy thought of increasing his speed, but felt that as long as he kept them in sight he would be fine. With the steady rain falling conversation was kept to a minimum and truthfully it was actually better than when they were talking.
The night before had been their last night on the trail. It was miserable. The mineral-ly scent of mud filled his nostrils and he felt cold the entire night through. But now they were on the home stretch. The pathway turned and he could see the parking lot where they started five days earlier. The loop through the mountains was almost complete.
‘Thank God,’ Jeremy thought. He moved forwards and realized that the stone he was walking on was actually the concrete at the end of the trail. The other’s reached their vehicles and climbed in. They said goodbye to each other and drove off. He and Stephen came in different vehicles and Jeremy wondered if Stephen would wait to see it he made it off the trail before leaving.
He didn’t.
As Jeremy moved to his own car and pulled his keys from his pocket, he watched the tail lights of Stephen’s car drive away.
“So much for bonding,” he told himself. He shrugged, tossed his gear in the back seat and slid behind the steering wheel. “At least I did my part.” Jeremy told himself. “I’m not volunteering for any more bonding from here on out.”
Ten til Midnight 