“I can’t sleep in hotels. They’re noisy,” she said. “With a broken limb, sleep is crucial. I sleep best in the wilderness.” Mom looked partially convinced.
“We came to backpack. If we wanted to stay in a hotel, we could have stayed seven miles from home.” At that, Dad halfway nodded his head.
“But you and Sawyer need to regularly ice your injuries, as the doctors explained, and hotels have free ice,” Dad stated.
“Gas stations affordably sell bags of ice. Don’t let my injury ruin the trip for the Miles family, or for me,” Lydie said with a mock pout-lip. Dad and Mom exchanged a glance.
Caleb laughed and Julia said, “I don’t think it would be bad parenting to spend one more night in the tents. Unloading at a hotel would be about the same amount of work as setting up camp. And she has a good point about sleep.”
“And with my leg in a cast, I can’t swim anyway, and everybody knows that a swimming pool is the only reason to stay in a hotel,” Lydie proclaimed.
We shook our heads and laughed at her candid reasoning. I was secretly very glad that we would be able to camp once more. Being immersed in nature is such a rich experience. Because it was now close to dusk, and hiking was obviously out, we chose to find a mountain meadow very nearby to set up our final camp.
As we drove onto the gravel trail where we could easily access the site, the sun was glowing orange-pink in the west. The air smelled pure, and I could hear songbirds. I sighed happily. Mom helped Lydie situate an ice bag on her leg, and Sawyer casually placed an ice bag on his lower leg, too. Seeing Mom with Lydie made my heart bubble with joy.
As all nine of us sat in a circle for our traditional end-of-day talk, I felt a genuine contentment wash over me. I loved our adventure, but it sure was good to be with the familiar routine again!
“I have to ask,” Dad looked at us kids, “how was the view?” We knew without explanation that he was referring to the view from the peak during the full-moon summit.
All five of us nodded, trying to remember back two nights ago. In a way it seemed much longer ago than two nights. “It was going to be perfect,” Sawyer wistfully said.
“What we saw was perfect,” Ellie reminded him.
“We were at the last false summit, and it’s a good thing we stopped to enjoy the view there,” Sawyer recalled. “We figured we had one hour to go before we stood on top.”
“And then we heard a roar,” Marshall added.
“And Marshall yelled to try to swim,” I said. “And a wild minute later, all I saw was black.”
Dad and Caleb looked serious, and Mom looked like she might get sick. Julia didn’t look much better.
“We’ll come back to this story,” Sawyer said, realizing that the memory was too fresh, the fear too strong, to discuss now. “Next question is for Mr. Stanley,” Sawyer looked squarely at Dad. I gulped. Ellie looked curious and shy.
“Forrest,” Dad said, “You can call me Mr. Forrest.”
Sawyer nodded, “That’s what I don’t get. If I had daughters who snuck off with some guy on a crazy adventure that was potentially deadly, I would resent and despise the guy. How are you not furious with me?” He plainly, and I thought quite bravely, asked.
Dad sucked in a breath, and for a second his jaw tightened, which happens when he is upset. He looked thoughtful, and Sawyer looked nervous for his response. Finally Dad let out a breath, looked right at Sawyer, and slowly answered, “First of all, you’re not some guy. You are Sawyer Miles, you are my best friend’s son whom I have known and liked all your life. You are trustworthy, experienced, and your sense of adventure reminds me of your dad and me. At first I was upset. Furious, even. When I saw my girls’ tent empty, in that moment, I could have reamed you out. Taking my girls, in the dark, not so much as leaving a note with your plan – that all made me mad. But I knew that my girls would not have gone with you unless they wanted to go, so the anger wasn’t exclusively targeted at you. When you didn’t return when we assumed you’d be back, the anger gave way to fear. Horrible, immense fear. After that, we were all in shock as we began to initiate the search.” Dad paused, deep in thought.
Still looking at Sawyer, he continued, “I’ll tell you this, Sawyer: as the Search and Rescue formed and you five kids were lost, all I could think about was finding you. All of you. And praying desperately that you were all safe. I learned from this that anger needs to be low on my priority list. I could’ve spent the last two days thinking up my lecture for you, feeding my anger. Or I could put my energy into finding you. It didn’t take me long to determine which was more important. At the end of the day, what would my anger at you accomplish?” Dad waited a moment for us to think about what he’d said. I was impressed with this long monologue. We remained quiet.
“Sawyer, I’m not mad at you. Nor am I angry with any of you kids. Honestly, I can’t even say that I’m disappointed with what you did. Now,” his voice suddenly was stern, “next time, you’ll leave us a written plan of your itinerary.” We all nodded solemnly. Dad’s voice softened, and he continued, “I can see why you didn’t tell us what you planned to do. You were right to assume that we probably would not have allowed you to go alone. But, had you asked us, we would have gone along, so you would have been allowed to go.”
I knew it! We could have had our dads with us the whole time.
“Of course that’s not to say that in that instance all of us would have been in the avalanche, and who can say how that would have turned out. The outcome of this is a tremendous blessing. But getting back to the point, I can understand why you didn’t ask permission to go, but as a professional guide, you will be expected to always leave a detailed itinerary, and as a man with sense, you will do that from now on,” Dad instructed Sawyer.
“Yes, sir,” Sawyer respectfully replied.
“Besides,” Dad said in a lighter tone, “your dad and I know you don’t need a lecture. This incident taught you plenty. You flirted with fire and reaped consequences.” Sawyer nodded seriously.
“I echo what Forrest says,” Caleb spoke up. “I felt like my heart stopped when I realized you left. But when I found your thorough packing list in the corner of your tent and saw that you had taken the satellite messenger, I was glad that you were smart about it. And like Forrest said, the longer we waited and searched, the more the anger and disappointment faded.”
Our moms silently cried through the conversation. We all sensed it was time for the discussion to move on.
“Next question is from me, and it’s for Sawyer and Ellie,” Dad cautiously said, slowly glancing back and forth between the two of them.
Ellie blushed, and Sawyer gave her a nervous smile. They were sitting next to each other, which was an unusual happening.
“I can’t help but notice,” Dad gently started, “that you two don’t seem to be at each other’s throats lately. I just wonder if there has been a change you want to tell us about?” It was kind of awkward, Dad asking them that question, but I was glad he did. I mean, I guess I’d rather have parents who want to know who we like, even though it’s a little weird to talk about. Mom knew all about Bentley and me. And then Bentley and Sierra. And it helped so much that I could talk to her. So I figured it’s good that our parents know about Sawyer and Ellie. We need Dad and Mom to be involved in our lives. Everyone perked up and closely watched Sawyer and Ellie for their response. I still felt like I knew a secret since only I saw them by the fire.
Sawyer looked sort of guarded, as if he would rather not discuss the topic in front of all of us. Ellie looked more confident, and she cleared her throat before beginning.
“Actually, Dad and Mom,” she addressed our parents, “there has been a significant change, but I think you’ll be pleased with it.” Dad and Mom were intent on what she was about to say.
Ellie took a breath and went on, “Through all of this, I learned to respect Sawyer and to treat him well. And surprisingly,” she tilted her head playfully, “I learned that Sawyer is not so terribly annoying.” Dad teasingly gasped, which made Lydie and me giggle. “It turns out that Sawyer is a great friend,” Ellie concluded with a grin at Sawyer. Sawyer looked happier than a climber at the peak.
Mom and Dad, as well as Caleb and Julia, looked very pleased. Marshall and I exchanged a knowing glance.
Then Sawyer began, giving Ellie an admiring look, “I learned that Ellie’s strive for excellence is what makes her successful in all she does. She’s definitely not the know-it-all perfectionist that I used to peg her as,” he gently added, deepening Ellie’s blush. Sawyer turned his gaze to Dad and, as if he’d rehearsed it a few times, said, “Maybe someday I’ll work up the courage to ask your permission to ask Ellie out. On a date, I mean.”
Lydie’s jaw dropped, Marshall pumped his fist, and my eyes darted to see my parents’ reaction. Dad looked surprised, but after a split second, he seemed very happy with Sawyer’s respectful request. Mom looked startled, and almost appeared in disbelief, as if she thought it was a joke. Caleb and Julia looked proud of their son. Apparently they were not surprised at the change in attitude between Sawyer and Ellie.
Marshall spoke up now, “Marlee and Lydie and I were shocked at first with how well Sawyer and Ellie worked together on this trip. I mean there was the usual Sawyer-Ellie tension during the planning, but once we were hiking, and then especially after the avalanche, it was remarkable to see them cooperating like well-mannered citizens.” This made us all laugh, and Sawyer and Ellie looked almost radiant as they smiled at each other. “Well,” he added, “there was still a little squabbling, but there was also tons of what Marlee thinks is cute.” We laughed again when he used air quotes for cute.
Still chuckling, I leaned back onto my elbows and looked at the sky as it darkened, allowing the first twinkling stars to peek at us. I sighed happily, and then smiled at Mom, who returned a genuinely happy smile.
Caleb broke the silence, “We all need our sleep now. Especially those with injuries, those recovering from emotional trauma, and those who are overtired and underfed,” he said seriously.
