know those bears were going to be here?”
“Didn’t really, just hoped they might. I’ve been watching them for months.
They don’t turn up here every afternoon, but often enough.”
“Is that what you do then, sit in the woods and watch animals?”
“Could say.” He took a drink of water from the skin and handed it to her.
“What for?” she asked and then drank and wiped her mouth with the back of
her hand.
“I love the woods – watching the plants grow, the trees change. I’ve been here
eight years and haven’t been bored for one minute of it. I enjoy watching the animals more than anything else. They have a world of their own, parallel to ours, only more interesting, since they don’t hide behind good manners the way
people do.”
She stood and brushed herself off. “Well, thanks for bringing me along.
You’re going to have to point me in the direction home.”
He squinted at the sun. “It’s early enough. My place is only about forty
minutes that way.” He nodded up-river. “We can make it there, have a cup of coffee, and get you on your way home before dark. ’Bout time you and Mr. Free
know where I live, case you’re ever in need of anything.”
Olivia was too overjoyed to manage anything but a smile and a nod.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Olivia huffed along behind Jeremy until they came to a large flat rock that jutted out into the water. Jeremy stepped onto it and offered his hand to Olivia,
and they both stood facing upstream. The river flowed straight as a ruler until the
next bend. Tall willows, oaks, and maples lined the banks, skirted in the bright
red of sumac. The trees arched over the water, as if trying to join hands, but the
river was just that much too wide.
“This is the place that gave the river its name,” Jeremy said.
“I’ve been wondering why it’s named after Jesus.”
“It isn’t. Its name is G-e-e-s-i-s.” He spelled the letters out. “The G should be
hard. Geesis is Algonquin for sun. If we had time to wait for the sun to set, you’d
see it framed perfectly between the trees on either side of the river and leaving a
long reflection, right down the middle. Some white man must have written down
the name and then when other folks saw it instead of hearing it, they all mispronounced it.”
“How do you know things like that?” She bent to pick up a stone and skipped
it over the water.
“Mostly from talking to people over at the new university in Ann Arbor.
They’re thinking about setting up a faculty for the study of Native American culture.” Jeremy found a flat stone and tried to do as Olivia had, but it plunked
into the river. “You’re pretty good at that,” he said.
“Mourning taught me. When we were kids. He can make five jumps. Do you
have brothers and sisters?” she asked.
“Four sisters – all of them schoolteachers until they married. And one
younger brother. He took over the family printing business.”
“Do we have time to sit here for a few minutes?” she asked.
“Sure.”