Birthday Girl Ch. 07

Nick was dangerous when he was wound up, he got violent for the smallest reasons, and right now he was wound up tighter than a crack addict looking for his next fix.

"Where is it right now?"

I pointed at my pocket. He sighed and relaxed a little,

"Dude, sometimes I don't know whether to hit you or to thank you."

"Decide when we're in the van. Let's go before they think we're getting freaky in here," I said, stepping out, "and by the way, try and relax, you look like you're about to have a seizure."

"What do you expect? Rainbows to shoot out of my ass? I'm shitting bricks here thinking about all the possible ways she can say no."

"She won't. Now get it together," I said under my breath as we got close to the others.

We got questioning looks as we settled in, me next to Lissy and Nick with Jenna.

"He wanted me to check for monsters under his bed," I explained.

"I can't find my camera," Nick answered Jenna's pointed look, loud enough for everyone to hear, "I wanted him to check whether I had accidentally put it in his bag."

"And...?" Jenna enquired.

"It's not there," I replied for him, "although I gave him a very good alternative."

"What?"

"Use your damn phone. It's not the nineteen nineties, what the hell do you need a separate camera for?"

Everyone agreed, though Jenna was still looked skeptical.

"You've been acting weird since last night," she told Nick, "are you alright?"

"What? Yeah, yeah of course, I'm fine. A little stomach upset I think, those canned beans didn't agree too well with me," Nick lied.

"Told you we should have gone with hot dogs," I muttered, earning a glare from Jenna.

If the idiot didn't calm down he'd blow our cover. We set off down a trail on the left of the cabin that we hadn't notice before. There was just enough space for the vehicle to pass through, and if we stuck out our hand, it'd probably get snagged on a branch or a bush. The sun had risen by this point but as soon as we entered the undergrowth it was twilight again. The air was decidedly cooler and more humid and from time to time we could hear the rustle of the undergrowth as creatures scurried away from the oncoming vehicle.

The trees started thinning out after about two miles and allowed the sun to reach down to the forest floor. If I wasn't mistaken, it was as if we had wandered over into a bamboo plantation. Tall stalks of bamboo shot up everywhere, between trees and bushes, and gave the area a unique feel.

"This here is Panda territory," Jack called out from the front.

Ah, that explained the bamboo. He slowed down to a crawl and gave us a running commentary on panda's lives, habits and population. We all tried to get a glimpse of one but they were very elusive. Then Sally became excited and started pointing towards a thicket.

"Look, look, I think I see something there," she said.

Sure enough, between the stalks we saw a big white form with black splotches on it. There seemed to be two of them, sitting with their legs stretched out before them, chewing on sticks of bamboo. Jack slowly maneuvered the vehicle in their direction and stopped a close distance from them. The pandas didn't seem at all bothered by our presence and continued merrily devouring their bamboo.

After sufficient pictures were taken we continued on our journey, leaving the panda territory after a while. Time and again we saw something flitting between the trees and I finally asked Jack, our guide, about it.

"Ah, those must be the deer. They're very shy and it's almost impossible to catch them standing in one place, although you'll keep seeing them jumping between the trees all the time."

That gave me an idea. Since morning I had been concerned about Nick's behavior and I knew I had to do something about it or else he'd freeze at the last moment, rendering all our careful planning useless. I knew what would loosen him up, but I'd wait until a bit later in the day.

"You guys interested in rappelling?" Jack asked.

We all looked at each other before Bill asked, "What do you mean?"

"We've have a spot here for the more adventurous folks, a little bit of rappelling down the cliff if you're into that kinda thing," Jack replied.

After a short discussion we agreed it wouldn't hurt to check it out. Jack maneuvered the vehicle expertly through tight spots for another half an hour during which we saw quite a few deer and a few other animals that scurried away before we could identify them properly. The sun was quite high in the sky now, and it had become warm so we decided to unfold the top canvas.

We came onto a clearing much like the one our cabin was situated in, only that this one was a lot bigger and had a medium sized stream flowing right up to the edge of the cliff, where it disappeared and we could hear the sound of water crashing down somewhere down below. Jack parked on the side and let us know this was the spot.

We got down to stretch and explore. As we expected, the stream ended in a waterfall that went all the way down to the lake at the bottom. There was a surprising amount of water for what looked a relatively small stream. The water billowed and spread out as it fell, most of it turning to mist right before it hit the lake's surface. It also had a thunderous roar. I realized this was the same cliff as ours, only much further on, on one of the arms that extended outwards. On our side of the waterfall, a few feet from the waterfall, there were a couple of people in safety gear standing around some ropes and other climbing gear.

They greeted us warmly when we approached and we asked them about the rappelling business. It was simple. We would get strapped into a safety harness which was tied to a rope that was secured up here on the cliff. We would then have to lower ourselves by walking down the cliff face and manipulating the rope that was tied to the harness. I had done rappelling once before and I'd loved it so I was totally up for it, especially in this scenic location. Sally was a bit skeptical but decided to watch us go first then decide if she wanted to try it.

We spent the next half an hour being vigorously trained on how to use the rope to give slack and hold, and the different approaches when it came to walking down the face. You could walk down one step at a time or you could jump off, release the rope and lower yourself in bursts. They made sure we understood everything, even asking us to repeat the instructions at times. These guys took their safety seriously. Jack let us know he would meet us at the bottom in around half an hour, since he had to drive the long way down, and took off.

Nick went first. He looked like he needed the rush and burn off some of that adrenaline that had been keeping him on the edge of his seat since morning. He mistimed his jumps the first two times and hit the cliff face a little hard but after that he got the hang of it and sailed down like a pro, even twirling around once. The landing spot was a huge slab of rock that was naturally elevated from the lake, after which you had to skip on a few smaller rocks to get to dry land. Two more attendants in safety gear were waiting there to receive Nick, who unfastened him and the rope was pulled back up.

Jenna went next, squealing and shrieking the whole way down. She walked down carefully until about halfway after which she gathered enough courage to bound the rest of the way. Nick helped her out of her harness at the bottom.

Sally was still being convinced by Bill and Melissa so I went next. After strapping up I lowered myself and went right for it. Like Nick, I misjudged the distance the first few times since it had been a while since I had done this, but after that it just came naturally. About halfway down, I started feeling the spray of the water splashing onto me. It was refreshingly cool. I stopped for about a minute, just letting the mist spray onto me and looking around at the scenery. Near the bottom the spray turned into a light drizzle as I landed on the humongous rock. The little rocks we had to skip through to get to the shore were really slippery due to the wetness and moss growing on them.

I joined Nick and Jenna and we watched the next person come down after a considerable time. It was difficult to tell who it was from this far and about halfway is when we recognized Sally's top. They had finally managed to convince her to try it. Awesome. I went back out onto the rock, and helped Sally to lead her back carefully where we were waiting. She was gushing and couldn't stop talking about how amazing and thrilling it was and why she had no idea why she was so scared.

We recognized the next person as Melissa. She also stopped midway to admire the view before descending the rest of the way. On cue I went out to assist her, once again noticing how sexy she looked with slightly damp hair. The two rappelling guys helped her out of the harness and handed her over to me. I guided her in front of me and let her go first, making sure she didn't slip as I came up behind her.

At the last stone from the shore she lost her balance and her foot slipped off and submerged into the water as she tilted at an odd angle, almost about to fall into the water. I was just behind her and I caught her immediately, putting my arms around her waist and steadying her. There was a look of pain on her face as she pulled her foot out of the water and sunk back into me. I knew something was wrong.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

She nodded but her face still registered pain, "It's just my leg..."

Leaving one arm around her waist, I put one of her arms around my shoulder and slowly supported her the rest of the way as she hopped on one foot. I could have carried her but the rocks were too slippery and if I happened to slip, the results wouldn't be pretty.

She sat down on the ground and leaned back into a tree as she stretched her feet out in front of her, grimacing as she did so. By this time we had all gathered around her, concerned.

"Melissa, are you hurt?" Jenna asked as I sat down next to her, placed her leg gently onto my lap and started removing her shoe.

"I slipped and I think I twisted my ankle when it went into the water. It kind of got stuck between something, and I twisted it when I lost my balance and fell the other way."

By now I had removed her sock and ran my fingers over her foot, trying to see if anything was out of place. In my mind I was thanking God that I was close by and had caught her before she fell into the lake. It was shallow and there was no possibility of drowning but she might have broken her foot if she had fallen. There were no visible signs of anything broken although I couldn't be too sure as I'm no doctor.

"Where does it hurt?" I asked as a gently pressed my thumb in various locations.

She winced when I got the top of her foot, where it joined with her leg.

"That's the spot," she joked.

By then Bill had also arrived down and he and the two attendants came over to see what was wrong. One of them was trained in first aid and took over from me, inspecting her foot with a more professional approach.

"Don't worry, nothings broken," he said after a close examination, "she just hyper-extended her foot. Keep most of your weight off it, don't do any strenuous activities and you'll be fine in a few days."

Melissa winked at me when he said the 'strenuous' part. She was just incorrigible. How could she think of something like that at a time like this. I glared at her in the best serious expression I could, which was pathetic to be honest, since I was trying to hide a smile.

"I'll just wrap this up for you," the attendant said as his partner got a first aid box, and he proceeded to tie a bandage around her ankle, securing it so she wouldn't be able to move it around too much.

We were all relieved that nothing serious had happened, none more so than me. I would have climbed back up that cliff and jumped off if she'd gotten seriously hurt. I would have felt responsible, being the one that brought her here and all that. Illogical I know, but that was my reasoning.

Jack arrived with the silent devil once Lissy's foot was wrapped and ready to go.

"You think you can continue or do you want to go back to the cabin and rest your foot?" Nick asked her before I got the chance.

"Are you kidding? You think I'm going to stop because of this little thing?" she pointed at her foot. "Gimme a break. Let's do this," she said and held out one hand at me to help her up.

I pulled her up and helped her until she was seated in the van. It was a good thing she was a trooper or else our plan would have totally flopped if she'd had to be taken back to the cabin. All our planning and effort would have been in vain.

We took off again and I placed Melissa's foot on my lap so that she could stretch it out comfortably. She protested but I was having none of it, her foot stayed. Everyone's mood was a little off after the little incident and I realized it was the right time to bring out my secret weapon that I'd brought along to combat Nick's anxiety. When I'd packed it I had had no idea it would come in handy to uplift all our moods.

"Guys, I have a little surprise," I said as I reached beneath my seat and pulled out my stash.

A bottle of Tequila Rose. It was basically just strawberry milkshake with a little Tequila in it for the kick. Girly, I know, but my intention was go get everyone in a jolly mood, not have them throw stones at rhinos and puke over the side of the car.

"Rose!" Jenna squeaked. It was her favorite drink.

We didn't have shot glasses so we used the bottle cap as a substitute and threw back three shots each, toasting to an incident free day from here on out. No one was feeling any pain when we stopped for a little lunch after a while. Jenna was already giggly and extra chatty and even Nicks face seemed to have cleared up some.

The place we stopped seemed to be a designated spot for lunch since there were a few picnic tables at the edge of a huge grass covered field. There was a little wooden shack adjacent to the tables and there was an incredibly delicious smell wafting from its interiors.

"Looks like we're a little late," Jack said, "the other vans have already left. Don't worry though, Polly will still serve us nice and good anyway."

Polly turned out to be a tiny woman in an apron that was too big for her and it was she who was conjuring up such mouth watering aromas. Jack helped her bring out a big pot of steaming stew and she ushered all of us to the table and told us to wait a few minutes for the bread. Screw the bread, I'd drink the stew by itself, it smelt that good.

"You sure you're ok?" I asked Melissa in her ear as I helped her sit next to me on the bench.

"I'm fine Brian, really," she said, smiling at my concern, "now stop fussing over me, or I'll start calling you Mom."

Before I could answer Jenna spoke up, "Where's Nick?"

I looked around and true enough, he was nowhere to be found. This did not bode well. In my concern for Melissa's well-being I had temporarily side-lined Nick. In his condition it was like leaving a fat kid alone with cake, you just knew nothing good would come of it.

"When did you last see him?" I asked Jenna.

"When we got off the van. He went back saying he'd forgotten something and that he'd join us in just a minute. Think he's gone for a crap in the woods?"

We all laughed at the image of Nick squatted behind some bush, face scrunched up with the effort of pushing. My laugh stopped abruptly as I realized what I'd left in the van. Horror began to descend upon me as I realized the implications if my hunch proved correct.

"Let me look for him," I said and got up, walking to the van briskly.

Please please please let it not be what I thought it would be. Getting into the van I checked under my seat and groaned as my suspicions were confirmed. The bottle of Tequila was gone. All hell was going to break loose. Climbing out, I fished out my phone and tried to call Nick. Good news was that there was network coverage. Bad news was that Nick's line kept turning up busy. I looked at the table to check if maybe Jenna had called him but she was busy talking with Lissy and Sally. Who the hell was he calling in the middle of nowhere?

I ran my hand through my hair and desperately looked around, trying to figure out what to do. That's when something caught my eye. I saw the cap of the bottle lying on the ground near the edge of the clearing and I almost jumped for joy. At least I had a lead on what direction he'd gone. Checking to see the rest were still preoccupied - the bread had arrived - I set off behind the idiot who was bent on destroying his day.

The under growth wasn't that dense and the trees were far apart which made it easy to navigate. After just about a minute into the forest I heard a voice that resembled very closely to his. At least the fool had the sense not to go too far. Following the sound I reached him in less than half a minute and as I got closer the conversation he was having became clearer.

"... No Bob, Bob just listen to me Bob. Will you listen to me? Bob? I'm not drunk... I've never touched alcohol in my life!"

The empty bottle he was waving around in his hand tended to disagree. He was sloshed. There was more than half the bottle remaining after we'd had our shots and it looked like he'd helped himself to all it. Yes, it wasn't that strong, but drinking almost three quarters of the damn bottle was bound to get you more than a little high. I had to get him off that call.

I walked up him, spun him around and whispered, "Dude, what the hell are you doing?"

He held up a finger at me, the universal drunk sign language for 'wait, hold on a sec, I'm fine. No really, I'm fine'.

"Hey Brian! Bob, Brian says Hi... Brian, Bob say's Hi."

I gave myself a face-palm. Seriously? The shit I had to put up with in the name of friendship. Bob was Jenna's father and I could just imagine why this moron was calling him right now.

"Gimme the phone," I said and tried to grab it but he dodged and put up that damn finger again, keeping me at bay.

I knew it was useless so I just stood and watched him, waiting to see what he could possibly have to say to Jenna's father. Nick had already met Jenna's parents a long time ago and they adored him to death. Jenna was an only child so he was like a son they never had. It didn't hurt that Nick could charm the panties off a corpse, and Jenna's dad Robert, or Bob as he liked to be called by his friends, had all but adopted him. Bob knew Nick drank, hell they'd drunk together, so I wasn't worried too much, although Nick could do the dumbest things when under the influence.

"Bob, I need to have a little talk with you, mano e mano, man to man, me and you, as men."

Did he say man enough times? He listened for a while.

"Ok I'm a little drunk, but it's only so that I could get the courage to ask what I'm about to. Bob, I love your daughter Jenna more than anything else and I'm going to ask her to marry me... yes, today... No I haven't yet... I realized I'd forgotten the most important thing, to ask for her parents blessing so the first thing I did was get on the phone to you. Is Mrs. Howard there?... she is?... can you put the phone on speaker please?"

He winked at me. I had to grudgingly agree with what he was doing and couldn't stop him now. We really had forgotten to get her parent's permission, and though we knew they'd already accepted Nick as one of their own, it was still a good gesture to ask them first. Jen was their daughter after all.

"Mrs. Howard?... Sorry, Pam, I keep forgetting I'm supposed to call you Pam... Bob, Pam, I want your daughter to make me the luckiest and happiest man in the world, and to that effect, I sincerely hope you will give us your blessings as I am going to ask her to be my wife."