17. Clarry

CLARRY

I sat in the bow of the canoe as River pushed us away from shore and hopped effortlessly into the back of the boat. He picked up a paddle and steered us gently into the middle of the river.

My clothes had dried, and I was dressed again. River was still just wearing his shorts, his skin drinking in the warm night air, his nipples like flower buds in the evening breeze.

In my hands was a pole, at the end of which was a lantern made from waxed parchment with a candle burning inside. The glow of it made gentle yellow and orange brushstrokes on the water that swayed and swiveled with the flow of the river.

Insects droned excitedly and came to investigate the light.

The water glugged and plopped against the wood-carved hull of our canoe.

As the night bugs squiggled pretty patterns in the glow of the lantern, I saw the first shadow pass close to the surface of the water.

It was a big fish, its tail creating ripples that vanished in the current.

I gasped and whispered, "Look. Fish."

I turned behind me to see that River was already standing in the middle of the canoe, not rocking the boat at all, a spear in his hand. "I know. I see it."

Horror gripped me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm fishing. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"But… but…" I looked back at the happy swirls the fish made in the water. "But that's Ethel."

I looked back at River to see his muscles lock, the spear frozen in his hand. "What are you doing? Oh God, are you naming fish again?"

"Maybe?" I saw a second swish in the water. "Look, there's Ernie, Ethel's boyfriend. They've just been out for a nice night swim and now they're looking for a bite to eat."

"So am I."

Ernie jumped out of the water and snapped up a bug.

River gripped his spear, but he was too slow. "Now you've distracted me."

I smiled. "It wasn't me. It was Ernie. You just got sidetracked by his good looks."

I saw a smirk on River's face, his grip loosened on the spear. "What good looks? He's a fish."

"Oh, come on. Who could say no to that scaly skin…"

River chuckled.

"And those googly eyes…"

River snorted out loud.

"And those big fishy lips that make you wanna just pucker up and kiss him."

"Okay, enough. You win." River dropped the spear into the bottom of the canoe. He sank onto his knees and shuffled his way toward me in the bow. "I guess it's no dinner for us tonight," he said, leaning in for a kiss before glancing out to the water. "Unlike Frank there. Look at him. If Ethel and Ernie aren't careful there'll be no bugs left."

Sure enough, a third, even bigger trout had joined the fishy dinner party, splashing through the water and snagging several insects with one chomp.

River sighed. "Well, we might be going hungry, but the fish sure ain't."

The splashing grew even louder as more fish arrived.

I grimaced. "Oh dear, they're getting kinda greedy. Perhaps we should put the lantern out."

"Why? Don't tell me. You're about to start naming the bugs, aren't you?"

He knew me too well. "Let's just put the lantern out… before poor Dusty the dragonfly over there meets her maker."

Back on shore, River tied the canoe to a boulder, blew out the lantern and led me by the hand back to our campfire.

"Well, I'm not sure Mamaceqtaw will be overly impressed with our efforts to keep their traditions alive, but at least the fish are happy." At that moment, his belly grumbled. "My stomach, on the other hand…"

I smiled. "It's okay. Your stomach is in good hands."

I reached for my backpack and pulled out my survival essentials, in particular the graham crackers, marshmallows and a bar of Hershey's milk chocolate.

River's face lit up and his starving belly rumbled even louder. "Oh my God, you brought s'mores? Please tell me we're gonna make s'mores." He pulled my face to his and puckered up his lips like a hungry trout, pressing them to mine before saying, "I think I love you even more… if that's even possible."

I giggled like a kid in a candy store… wondering if I could be any happier.

The flames leapt and snatched at the marshmallows, trying to yank them off our sticks, but just as they softened—a second before they hit that delicate melting moment—we pulled them away from the fire.

We each had our first graham cracker ready with a generous slab of Hershey's on top of it.

Delicately, and in perfect time with each other—just like when we were kids—we slid the gooey but not burnt marshmallow off our sticks and onto the base of our s'mores. We each picked up our crowning graham cracker, but instead of placing them on our own s'more, River placed his cracker on mine, and I topped mine on his.

We both licked our lips, then squeezing our s'mores down just enough—but not too much—we each took a bite out of our campfire dinner, closing our eyes and mmm-mmmmm -ing at our heavenly delights.

As the fire snapped and popped, I watched his tongue catch a splodge of marshmallow before it escaped the corner of his mouth. "Slippery little sucker," he murmured, and my heart just about took flight. Did he just quote Pretty Woman ? Had he even seen that movie? It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was here…

With me.

"Is this a dream?" I whispered, my voice quiet, as though if I spoke too loudly, I might break this beautiful spell.

River grinned and shook his head, his face more handsome than ever in the glow and sparks of the campfire. "You're not dreaming. This is real, all right. Does this taste real to you?" He leaned over and kissed me, his lips covered in graham cracker crumbs and melted chocolate.

"Oh yeah. That tastes real. You taste just… pe rfect."

That night, as the fire died down and the river babbled and the stars blinked bright above us, River spread the blanket out on the ground and curled me up in his arms.

We slept in our clothes for the warmth, but I could still feel him through the fabric… every inch of him.

Beneath the moon-splashed forest he held me tight.

He warmed the back of my neck with the steady, possessive huff of his slumbering breath.

He spooned me like I was a scoop of ice cream that would not last long in his arms before I happily melted into a contented pool of love.

Before I fell asleep, I sighed.

If this was a dream, may it never ever end.