The afternoon for Becky, Josh, Carol and Bernie started out with an enjoyable late lunch. The ladies made some tasty cheese burgers along with fresh green salads. After Bernie finished his second beer, he suggested that more wood was needed for the fire. Josh got up and grabbed the ax while Bernie re-buckled his belt.
“Oh boy, am I stuffed,” Bernie said while he slowly stood up.
“Come on Bernie, like you said we need to get enough wood to last the night,” Josh said as he walked away from their campsite.
“Be careful out there,” Becky called out.
“We will,” Josh said.
Bernie hurried to catch up to Josh as he walked deeper into the forest. Carol picked up the condiments and put them away while Becky bagged up the paper plates and trash.
“You were right Becky, this is pretty relaxing. It’s just that guy at the convenient store freaked me out with that story,” Carol sat back down in her canvas chair.
“I know, but like Josh said, there are always going to be stories made up to freak out new visitors. Small town people don’t like outsiders,” Becky grabbed a bottle of water and sat down.
Out deeper into the forest, Josh found a small tree that fell and started chopping it. Bernie wandered off a ways and looked around. What he stumbled upon made him wonder.
“Hey Josh, come here and look at this,” Bernie called out.
Josh chopped one more time and then left the ax in the log, “where are you?”
“Over here. Just follow my voice,” Bernie said and then hummed so Josh could hear him.
Josh pushed through some low thin branches and walked around some shrubbery before finding Bernie standing there.
“What did you want to show me?”
Bernie pointed at two rock piles spaced about two feet apart from each other, “what are those?”
Josh looked at them, “they look like grave markers.”
“I was afraid that you were going to say that,” Bernie said.
“They could be for anything… Maybe someone’s dogs died,” Josh said.
“At the same time? You know what that man at the store said,” Bernie looked around.
“Yeah, he said that in the 1800’s that the father buried what was left of his son and wife in the woods. That doesn’t mean that these two mounds are them. I bet their graves aren’t even visible anymore,” Josh said.
“Well, what are we going to tell the girls?” Bernie looked at Josh.
“Nothing. We didn’t see anything out here, got it?”
Bernie nodded, “okay… Yeah, there probably someone’s pets, big pets.”
Josh turned around and went back the way he came. Bernie glanced back at the graves but then followed Josh. The two of them gathered and cut up enough wood for the night. While they walked back to the campsite Bernie asked Josh when he was going to pop the question.
“Shh, small ears might be listening. But if you must know, I was thinking about later tonight on a short moonlit walk with her,” Josh smiled.
“Good luck man, but I’m sure she’ll say yes,” Bernie smiled.
Before the guys got back to the camp site, Josh heard a different sound and quickly stopped.
Bernie then stopped and looked at Josh, “what? Did you hear something?”
“I thought I did but it must be just the wind blowing through the trees,” Josh said and continued on.
“What did it sound like?” Bernie asked.
“Like I said, it was probably just the wind. Let’s get back to camp,” Josh walked a little faster.
After being gone more than a half an hour, Becky and Carol were happy to see the guys again. Josh and Bernie dropped the cut wood near the fire pit and brushed themselves off.
“What took you guys so long?” Becky asked.
“It just took us awhile to find something I could cut,” Josh said.
“I was beginning to worry about you,” Carol said as she got up and then hugged Bernie.
“There’s nothing to worry about sweetheart,” Bernie gave Carol a quick kiss.
“Did you see anything else out there besides trees?” Becky asked Josh.
Puzzled by Becky’s question, Josh asked “what was I supposed to see?”
“Maybe some deer or other wildlife? I thought I heard a growl earlier,” Becky said.
“You heard a growl too?” Bernie looked at Becky.
“Well, it sort of sounded like a growl but I wasn’t sure,” Becky said.
“You didn’t say anything to me,” Carol looked at Becky.
“Well, I didn’t want you to freak out again,” Becky said.
Carol hugged Bernie again and then looked into his eyes, “are we safe out here Bern?”
Bernie quickly thought and said, “I told you earlier that we will protect you if anything crazy happens. So, stop worrying and enjoy the beauty of this place and the fresh air.”
Josh smiled at Bernie and then walked over to Becky while she still sat in the chair. Josh softly massaged Becky’s shoulders and then gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“How about a beer? Anyone?” Josh asked.
“Sure, I’ll have one,” Bernie smiled.
The four of them sat and visited for awhile. They talked about their jobs and some of the annoying people they encounter. Becky mentioned this one lady that works with her and how she flirts with most of the men that she encounters.
“Yeah, some women are like that, but you know what, men don’t find women like that marriage material,” Josh said.
“Really? So, what do you think marriage material is?” Becky smiled and asked.
“Well, I like a woman who is intelligent, funny, witty, and naturally beautiful. Not someone who is worried about her makeup all the time and flirty,” Josh smiled.
“Good answer,” Carol said and smiled.
By this time, it was just about six o’clock and the sun was going down. Josh put another log on the fire and then got his flash light out of the tent.
“How about some hotdogs?” Becky said as she stood up.
“Sounds good to me. And grab a bag of chips too please,” Bernie said.
“It’s only been three hours since you stuffed yourself, are you sure that you want chips too?” Carol asked.
“Yeah, chips and dogs go good together,” Bernie smiled.
As the sun set and the forest got darker, the night time sounds seemed noticeable.
“It’s been a long while since I sat in the woods somewhere at night. It’s a little spooky,” Carol got up and moved her chair closer to Bernie and the fire.
Please join me again for chapter 3 of: It’s In The Forest.
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