Breakfast sounded good to Heidi, too, as well as to the rest of them. After leaving her house, everyone drove up Sandy Boulevard and stopped at an IHOP, where they all sat together at a double table and ordered a kind of celebratory, rite-of-passage breakfast. For all the anxiety and uncertainty any of them had ever felt whenever on the threshold of a dramatic undertaking, a communal repast could fortify the state of mind necessary to carry through. To give a slight twist to a Samuel Pepys’ quotation, it was strange to see how a good meal and feasting together reconciled one to a contemplated course of action not entirely agreeable. A similar notion might be applied to a prisoner’s last meal—though the analogy, as it pertained to anyone in Heidi’s group, certainly would have seemed farfetched.
Even though she wasn’t going with them to Montana, Lisa tagged along as far as the restaurant. She and Mitch had spent the night together at his apartment, and she wanted to be with him up to the last minute to ensure that he did not change his mind about going. For all the sincerity of the commitment he had made to Heidi, he had doubts about the desirability of traipsing several miles across unfamiliar range-land to shoot a few cows and then scurry off. The idea struck him as being of little value in terms of the kind of message it would convey to anyone, and it seemed downright silly: more of a theatrical stunt than anything else. Besides—and this was an argument he couldn’t quite square—he had read that certain states did allow regulated wolf kills as a way to control the population. In some cases, it was, in fact, all right for a rancher to shoot the beasts without suffering consequences. In light of such a seeming contradiction, where was the logic in protesting the kind of thing being done anyway where it was legal? To be consistent in their objection to wolf kills, maybe Heidi and her little group should journey throughout the West and, whenever they heard about a rancher taking it upon himself to shoot a non-compliant wolf, kill a few of his cattle to teach him an object lesson. If what they intended to do was all about publicity, in hopes of focusing awareness, perhaps they might want to consider the idea. It would, after all, satisfy their environmental objectives while at the same time giving them that sense of high adventure and derringdo they seemed to crave and that, if truth were known, may have been as much of a motivation.
Whether and to what extent Mitch’s reservations indicated a genuine reluctance to go along, or simply reflected a penchant for critical thinking, thanks to Lisa’s intervention, the issue never got beyond pillow talk. In her own way, she managed to muffle any dissenting opinion he might have tossed out as food for the others to fatten up any of their own reservations. Heidi and the others might, themselves, have harbored a troubling thought or two about going to Montana, but Lisa tried her best to make sure they never got the benefit of Mitch’s input.
Wearing a diaphanous red and black negligee that stopped just short of mid-thigh, and rivaled anything for sexiness found in a Victoria’s Secret catalogue, Lisa had curled up against him and, while he prattled on, listened with a dutiful and thoughtful gaze. As his objections played themselves out, she feathered his bare abdomen with her fingertips and said, “There’s a difference between wanton destruction of a wild animal and regulated culling, isn’t there, Mitch?”
“Of course, but—”
“And we’re protesting wanton destruction, not regulated culling, right?”
He raised his head off the pillow and looked at her.
“I see where you’re going with this, Lisa, but—”
“Well, then what might happen elsewhere doesn’t have any bearing on what we’re doing, does it?”
“Not if it’s just wanton destruction you’re talking about…”
“Exactly. But that’s not the only reason we’re protesting. We’re also drawing attention to the importance of allowing nature to maintain a healthy balance. And that’s useful in itself, because wolves are as much a part of a healthy environment as bears, mountain lions, badgers, raccoons, wolverines, coyotes, and any other predator. They all have their place, Mitch.”
“I know all that, Lisa. And it’s not really that so much as the extreme nature of what we’re doing. I mean, I like Heidi, have a lot of respect for her convictions, but, I have to say, these shenanigans—and, in a sense, that’s what they are—seem to be more about staging an extravagant performance than about a serious attempt to draw attention to something. For example, we could’ve just made Mobley Johnson the object of a letter-writing campaign, explaining why it’s not okay to dump his garbage along the roadside; we might have even showed up at his house and offered to sit down and discuss it with him. How much better would it have been if we had used persuasion to bring him around to our side? We might have made a friend, as well as a real convert. And the construction-site caper—if we’d simply gone out there to protest with signs and some kind of rally, we could have garnered the same amount of publicity, not to mention that what’s-his-name would still be alive.”
“You miss the point of it all, Mitch. You’re too stuck in the idea of the sensible approach. Maybe doing it your way would have worked better—or achieved the same result—but, here’s the thing, Mitch…it wouldn’t have been as much fun. Heidi’s way may be outrageous, even to the point of craziness, but it has the advantage of turning it all into something challenging and exciting, even a bit dangerous. I mean, I’ve listened to speeches at protest rallies…I’ve been swept up in the wonderful sense of camaraderie that’s to be had…I’ve had that deep awareness of being connected to something much larger and far more meaningful than the individual ego; I’ve lost myself in the crowd. But none of it has ever compared to the feeling of stepping beyond the limits into a zone that’s both frightening and exhilarating, Mitch. In either case, it’s wonderful to be alive, but the latter is so much more intense.”
“Why don’t you just take up skydiving or mountain climbing? They’re both pretty intense.”
She looked at him as if to chide him for his flippancy. But slipping her hand under the drawstring of his pajama bottoms instead, she whispered, “Now tell me you’re going to be there tomorrow, Mitch, right along with everyone else.”
Mitch swallowed away a sudden catch in his throat and just stared at her with the bemused expression of one for whom speech no longer seems an option.
Without another word, she brushed her lips lightly against his, then rolled on top of him. Spreading her thighs apart, she straddled him at the waist and lifted her negligee up over her head, tossing it aside. Leaning forward, she put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes.
“What are you thinking right now, Mitch?” she asked.
“I’m not thinking anything.”
“Good…because you think too much, and I want you to stop. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
“And when you get back from Montana, we’ll do something special…maybe go to Arizona and do some hiking. Daddy has a condo in Scottsdale. We can hike during the day and spend our evenings enjoying the nightlife. Does that sound like fun?”
“Uh, huh.”
“Good…I’d like that, too. I’d like that very much, Mitch…”
§ § § § § §
“Glad to see you could make it,” Heidi said. She, along with the others, had arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before, and by the time Lisa and Mitch came in and sat down, they were comfortably seated at a table in the center of the room. The waitress had already set out coffeepots for everyone and had handed out menus.
“Mitch insisted I drive faster so we wouldn’t be late, but I didn’t want to get stopped.”
“All ready to go, then, huh, Mitch?”
“I wouldn’t miss it, Heidi. I’m here with bells on.”
“It’s all he could talk about last night. I even got Daddy to lend him one of his hunting rifles. I told him he was going deer hunting in eastern Oregon with some friends. Daddy was impressed…he’s a hunter himself.”
“Before you know it, you’ll be a chip off the old block, Mitch,” Heidi kidded him.
Lisa laughed and gave Mitch’s hand a squeeze.
“I don’t know about that. But he and Daddy have hit it off. Right, Mitch?”
“Uh, huh.”
The breakfast orders came and were placed around the table. The waitress got Mike and Tony’s mixed up, but neither said anything; after she was gone, they simply exchanged the plate of sausage and eggs for the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and then both dug in.
Carlos, Ralph, and Misty had ordered an eight-ounce sirloin apiece, with pancakes on the side. Jody had eggs Benedict, along with half a grapefruit. Mitch had oatmeal mush, sprinkled with brown sugar and raisins, and Heidi opted for hamburger steak, two eggs sunny-side up, hash browns, and sourdough toast. Lisa had a bowl of granola and a side dish of fresh strawberries and cream.
“So how long do you think it’ll take you to get there?” she asked.
After dousing the hamburger steak and hash browns with ketchup, Heidi set the bottle aside and said, “Staying at about sixty-five, maybe thirteen or fourteen hours…maybe more with rest stops.”
“Are you gonna drive straight through?”
“There’s been some debate about that…”
“Tony wants to stop in Missoula so he can go to a cowboy bar,” Mike said.
“I do not!”
“That’s what you said.”
“I did not. Anyway, I was just joking.”
“Why don’t you go along with us, Lisa?” Carlos brought out. He had just drenched his pancakes with raspberry syrup and had cut out a wedge-shaped portion with his fork. He held the bite halfway between the plate and his mouth.
“I’d like to. And I’m sure, after it’s over, I’ll wish I had. But somebody has to stay behind to hold down the fort.”
“What exactly does that mean—‘hold down the fort’?” Carlos wanted to know, looking around the table at the others.
“Somebody who can act quickly, unencumbered by immediate circumstances, in case of an emergency, Carlos,” Mitch interjected. “She’s our ace in the hole, in case anything happens.”
“What’s gonna happen?”
“That’s the whole point—we don’t know. But that’s why we need somebody in neutral territory, so to speak, in case anything does happen. In a situation like this, it’s only smart to have a third party who’s not directly involved. It’s kinda like going off into the wilderness on a hike: You always wanna let somebody know, and you always wanna make sure there’s somebody there to respond, if necessary. She’s our safety net.”
“And she’s paying for our meals,” Heidi reminded everyone.
“Yeah, Carlos, she’s financing everything, including our motel rooms,” Tony added. “Right?”
“The best in the west—Best Western!”
Laughter went around the table, and Carlos, looking sheepish, said, “Hey, I’m cool—I was just asking. Okay?”
“It’s okay to ask, Carlos. I’m not trying to hide anything.”
Her candid response seemed to settle the matter, and everyone resumed the breakfast meal. A few minutes later the cross-table chatter had a tone more reminiscent of former meals together, and the incident—such as it had been—was forgotten.
About the time the waitress came around to ask if everything was all right, if anyone wanted anything else, Heidi’s cell phone rang. She had left it next to her coffeepot, and as she picked it up, everyone stopped talking.
It was Rick.
“Rick!” she exclaimed for the benefit of the others. “What’s up?”
She listened as he explained about a flat tire at the last minute: “The spare’s bad, and I’ll have to wait until my buddy opens his shop. Go ahead without me…I’ll catch up.”
“Are you sure? We can wait.”
“No. It’s probably best for everyone’s morale to get started. They’re nervous as it is. No sense letting them sit around and think about it.”
“Yeah—right—good thinking. But how about if we drive as far as The Dalles and wait for you there? That’s a couple of hours away.”
“We can do that. I’ll give you a call, anyway, when we get rolling again.”
“Everything else okay?”
“Couldn’t be better! You guys in good spirits?”
“Just finishing a great breakfast at IHOP. We’re all anxious to get started.”
“Great! I’ll see you later, then.”
Heidi told the others about the flat tire.
“He wants us to go ahead. He’ll meet us at The Dalles.”
“He didn’t have a spare?”
“I guess it was bad.”
“Man, if he’s gonna drive all the way to Montana, he better be damn sure he’s got good rubber,”
“He’ll manage…Is everybody about ready? Maybe we should start.”
While the others trailed out to the parking lot, Lisa paid the bill; Mitch stood off to the side and waited for her.
“What did it come to?” he asked.
“My business.”
“I wanted to give you my share…”
“It’s the least I can do, Mitch.”
“You’re not letting what Carlos said bother you, are you?”
“Of course not. Why should I?”
“Well, I don’t want you to worry about it.”
“I’m not worried about it. But thanks all the same for stepping in. I appreciate that.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
They were standing in the restaurant foyer, near a newspaper box. Mitch leaned in quickly and gave her a prolonged kiss.
“I’ll be thinking about you all the time I’m there,” he said.
“Don’t think too much, Mitch.”
“I meant more along the lines in your sexy nightgown.” He grinned.
“Well, then that’s okay.”
He kissed her again; hand in hand, they walked outside and joined the others.