It’s still early by the time I return, and she’s still asleep. I don’t want to wake her by continuing my restless hovering, so I busy myself outside by bandaging my knuckles. I then set to work making a campfire and preparing bacon and eggs to make over the open flame. It isn’t long after getting everything on the griddle when a bloodcurdling scream from the inside of the camper pierces the morning silence.
I move as quickly as I can, bursting through the front door and down the small hallway to the bedroom. The screams continue, and I prepare for the worst as I turn the door handle to enter the bedroom. The scene before me is not what I expect and I barely contain my laughter.
“Get it off me!” Jen shouts. “I’m covered in slobber!” she continues as she struggles to find her way out of the blankets. Somehow, Hendrix has made his way under the covers with her, to snuggle no doubt…he never got the memo he’s too big to be a lap dog. Together they are rolling around, tangled in sheets, Jen frantically trying to get away, and Hendrix trying to lick her. When Jen finally falls out of the bed onto the floor and out of the grips of the flannel sheets, Hendrix halts his slobber attack and barks at her.
“Henri, enough, boy. Outside,” I warn. He immediately jumps off the bed and trots past me to go outside by the fire. “Sorry, about that. He’s a snuggler; he was trying to tell you he likes you,” I explain.
“Likes me? Are you stoned? That giant horse dog was trying to attack me. My hair is matted with dog drool. If I had exposed my neck, he probably would have punctured my jugular.” She’s being a tad overdramatic. I absolutely want to continue to laugh at her, but considering the events of the previous evening, I would prefer to not upset her.
“He really is harmless. I left clothes on the bed for you. Go ahead and get dressed and come outside, I have breakfast cooking for us,” I say before leaving the room, closing the door behind me. Her morning wake-up call was a little unorthodox, and more than likely a little inappropriate considering the circumstances, but at least it broke up any awkwardness I thought there might be between us this morning.
I’m taking everything off the fire and pouring her a cup of coffee when she finally emerges from the camper. My clothes completely swallow her; she has to hold up the sweats with one of her hands to prevent them from falling off. I’ve never seen Jen so tattered. She’s a person who prides herself on her appearance, and right now she is a matted mess. Besides the ridiculously large clothes, her makeup is smeared across her face from crying and sleeping, a bruised cheek matches the smudged makeup, and her hair looks similar to a nest we may find on a hike later today. She would find her appearance unacceptable, but to be honest, I rather like it. It makes her human…imperfectly perfect.
Hendrix immediately perks up when he hears her, but she shoots him a crusty look. “I’m not speaking to you, Goliath,” she hisses. Henri whines and settles back down next to my chair.
“I’m glad you’ve been introduced to Hendrix, he goes by Henri for short.” That earns me the crusty look she had reserved for Henri. “Here, I made you a cup,” I say, handing her a mug filled with enough caffeine to kill a small horse. “Take a seat and I’ll make you some breakfast.”
She accepts the mug with her empty hand and slides into the nearest chair. “Thank you,” she says meekly with her eyes downcast, refusing to meet mine. The awkwardness I was worried about has invaded our campsite. She closes her eyes and takes a deep inhale of the coffee, letting the warmth of the steam filter around her cheeks. Bringing her knees up under her in the chair, she settles in and begins to stare into the hypnotizing flames of the campfire. I know her mind is everywhere except here, so I hastily fix her plate to provide a distraction from the thoughts overshadowing her.
“Eat up,” I tell her as I hand her a plate filled with fried eggs and bacon. “You’re going to need energy for what we are doing today,” I add, taking a seat in the chair across the fire from her.
She gives me a confused, suspicious look and then laughs, sitting up straight in her chair. “Look, I appreciate what you did for me and giving me the night to regroup, but I’m not going to spend the day doing some counseling session with you filled with outdoorsy activities. If I need a little cardio, I have a gym for that. If I need a group pity party, I have friends for that. All I need right now from you is a ride back to the Springs to get my car so I can drive home.”
I pretend to ignore her, taking a large bite of food, and throwing a piece of bacon to Henri. “No can do, Jen,” I tell her, focusing my attention on my dog and not her. “I have some things I need to do up here this weekend which you could help with. Besides, your phone has been blowing up since we left last night. I wouldn’t think you would be in any hurry to get back to be hit with a million questions.” I finally look at her as I shove another mouthful in and talk around the massive amount of food. “I figure, by you staying, you’re helping us both out.”
Jen sits quietly, contemplating my proposition and what is waiting for her back home. “Fine,” she relents. “But I need to call the girls and let them know where I am and that I’m okay. Fuck, I would never hear the end of it, or worse, they’ll show up here.”
“I took care of it,” I say, throwing another piece of bacon to Henri.
“What do you mean, you took care of it?” she asks. “Jesus, quit feeding that dog bacon, he’s already the size of a fucking elephant. I thought you weren’t supposed to feed animals human food anyways.”
“I called Campbell this morning while you were sleeping and filled her in on how you were okay and with me. Told her we would be back Sunday and everyone needed to give you a little space until then. And no, you aren’t supposed to feed animals human food. But Hendrix isn’t like other dogs; he’s a part-human part-elephant, gorilla dog with super strength. He can have something special every now and then.”
“Yeah, well, you’re going to give him a heart attack,” she adds, taking another bite of her food. “So, Campbell was okay with your little plan?”
“She seemed to be. The other women in the background, not so much. There was a lot of shouting and demands to see you, but Campbell smoothed it out.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me about Vivian and Carly. They were probably already packed and in the car. I’ll be sure to call or text them.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re camped out at your apartment when you get back to Denver on Sunday night,” I laugh. I can only imagine what Campbell had to do or say to calm those women down, but I knew it was a bag full of drama Jen didn’t need right now. The air needed to settle before the mother hens were allowed to hover.
“Well, they care about me, even if it can be a little smothering. We’re each other’s family. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Besides, did I hear you say Sunday night? What in the hell do you need help with that we can’t take care of this morning and be back by tonight?” Jen places her mug and plate on the ground and settles in for an argument. I stuff the remainder of my breakfast in my mouth and stand to gather the dishes, ignoring her confrontational posture. “I have things I need to get back to, and I have no clothes. I can’t exactly wear your nasty sweats for the next day and a half,” she huffs.
She watches as I pick up her dishes and move toward the camper. “It’s taken care of, Jen. I went to Walmart this morning and picked you up some things,” I say over my shoulder and then whistle for Henri to follow me.
“What?” she shouts.
I hear her stumbling out of her chair in an attempt to chase after me, and Henri immediately begins to bark at her. I struggle to maintain a straight face, picturing the scene unfolding behind my back. When I look back, she’s picking herself off the ground and attempting to hold onto the sweats which are falling off her while at the same time ward off Henri who is trying to lick her.