Page 17 of Only One Tent
Lee and Danny came around the corner as I was getting my hiking boots on. “Hey, Crow,” Danny called out. “Don’t forget swim gear. There’s a swimming area off the springs for after the hike.”
“Trust me, you’re going to want to get in the cold water,” Lee added.
“Oh, right.”
“Tell Skyler. Okay?” Danny pulled Lee away. “We have to remind everyone. See you at the buses.”
“Sure.”
I went back inside the tent and changed again. I wore swim trunks under my shorts. Then I tucked my wallet in my pocket and went to search for Skyler. I was guessing he would be hiding in the bathroom and probably not sure how to get back to the tent in only his boxers when the whole camp was stirring.
It felt like my fault, at least in part, that he would be in that situation, so I went through his bag and grabbed shorts, a tee, and swim trunks. After tucking them under my arm, I grabbed flip-flops and marched to the bathroom. Inside, I called out, “Skyler?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, we have the hike today and a swim. I brought you something to change into.”
He opened the stall, peeking out. My heart did a pirouette at how adorable my boy was. Wait. Scratch that. Notmyboy. Not yet.
I handed him the clothes and dropped the flops inside the stall. “You okay?”
“Y-Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?” And that was how he was going to play it. It never happened. Right.
“Well, I’m here for you if you need anything.”
“I don’t need you.” He slammed the stall door. Why did I keep trying?
We loaded on the buses and headed to the main Rainbow Springs Park. They had a large facility with hiking trails, a place to put kayaks in, and a swimming hole. All of it was bigger than the campground, but it was also completely open to the public, so it wouldn’t be primarily our group. There were a lot of people there for the day.
We all hung around the entrance while Danny showed our camping credentials, so they would let us in. It only took a minute or two.
We all split up into groups and headed out. Some went straight to the springs to swim, but I planned on tagging along with Warner and Cody. I looked around for Skyler but didn’t see him. But after his little hissy fit, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be around him anyway.
I walked up a small hill and headed along the paved path. The scenery was incredible, and I wished I had someone to share it with. Hell, I didn’t even know where Warner and Cody had run off to—plan ruined. I sighed, taking in the plants and flowersand little lizards darting everywhere. One particular flower was shaped like a honeycomb and had rusty orange-red blooms that circled around. Bees hovered over them and the lush foliage surrounding them.
When I turned the next corner, I heard the rush of water, and a little farther along the path, I found the source. A huge waterfall. Well, huge might not be the right word. It wasn’t Niagara Falls, for sure. More like a mini-me for the more famous falls. But for Florida, it was big. Perspective was everything. It turned out there were several falls along the winding path. There was even one that continued to flow under a bridge and into another pool with water so clear you could see the burping springs shooting up fresh water into the pond. I’d never seen anything like it. I wondered what Skyler would think.
But why should I worry about him? I was coming around to the decision to leave him alone. Every time I pushed him, he ran. And this morning’s push had probably been too far. I wasn’t going to keep throwing myself at him. I wasn’t going to beg. I didn’t think he really hated me, but he certainly didn’t like me much. And maybe I needed to give up.
I moved on, and in a few minutes, I found Warner and Cody. Or rather, they found me. Warner put his arm on my shoulder and Cody bounced up and down.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Warner smiled. “We found something, and you have to see this.”
“It’s a zoo.” Cody bounced and walked at the same time. I could see why Warner liked him. He was cute and feisty.
“Zoo? I don’t remember hearing about a zoo.”
“Well…” Warner rocked back and forth. “Kind of a zoo.”
We went up a short hill into the area of an actualabandonedzoo. There were no animals. A big fountain in the center of a wide pavilion had been taken over by plants and weeds. To theside, cages with rusty fencing were falling apart. “Hey, watch this, Daddy Crow.”Daddy Crow?What was Warner telling him? I glared at my friend as his boy ran down the path, but he was back in a flash, only he was inside the cage. He waved and jumped around.
“We should swap places and have Cody get a picture of us in the cage!” Warner was clearly excited about that idea, though I wasn’t. I would do it for him anyway.
“Whatever.” I went around to the opening with Warner. The cage wasn’t more than fencing, much like anyone would have around their yard, but it went up high and made a roof of sorts, though half of it hung down inside the cage, and it had been set in stones that made a low wall. According to a sign, the largest animals they kept were deer or bobcats. I didn’t know what they’d kept in this thing, but it was strewn with leaves, Spanish moss hung over parts of the dilapidated ceiling. And near the front, a big log lay across the ground. Warner and I posed while Cody took pictures with his phone. Some of our shots were normal, with us standing there smiling, but then Warner started acting like a monkey and cutting up. With a little encouragement, I joined him. So, who knew what kind of pictures Cody got of us. Or worse—video.
After a bit, I tired of it. “It’s freaking hot out here. Let’s go find this swimming hole.”
