“I was going to call and ask if you want to go hike to the lighthouse.”
“That’s exactly what I was planning.”
“Sounds awesome. Want to pick me up?”
“Yep. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
Hanging up, I pull on some cargo shorts and lace up my hiking boots. My walking stick is in the back of Sam’s truck, so all I have to do is fill up a water bottle.
“I’m going out, Frank.”
He looks up at me from his spot on the counter and chirps.
“I will have a good time. Thank you.”
He chirps again.
“Really? Then what happened?”
Bored, he lifts his leg and commences licking himself. So much for that conversation. I’m ready to go when Sam pulls in. When I open the door for her, she gives me a half hug and heads for the coffee pot. “Got any brewed?”
“Yep, help yourself.”
She takes one of my travel mugs from the cupboard and fills it up. Watching her stop to talk to Frank, I wish for not the first time that there was any kind of chemistry between the two of us. Logically, I think we would make a perfect couple. Yes, we’re both on the butch end of the scale, but we get along so well. We respect each other, we laugh at each other’s jokes. She can’t cook for shit, but I can. Besides, other than changing a tire, I’m basically lost on any kind of car repair, whereas she’s a genius at fixing anything. We’d complement each other well. Still, there is that complete lack of desire on either side. That’s what proves to me that we were sisters in a past life. She’s still my sister. And I guess it’s better to have a lifelong friend than yet another girlfriend. She’s too normal, anyway. I’d never be able to be involved with someone who wasn’t psychotic in some way.
Sam notices that I’m staring at her. “Are you checking me out again?”
“In your wet dreams.”
“Oh baby.”
“I feel as if I’ve had this same conversation with myself a million times.”
“Which one?”
“The one in which I chastise myself for not being attracted to you.”
She flexes her biceps. “Yeah, I don’t get that either. I mean, I’m hot.”
“Put it away stud. Your bulk does nothing for me.” We wave goodbye to Frank and I lock the door behind us.
Sam smacks me on the shoulder. “Let’s go. I don’t want to keep the girls waiting.”
Suspicious, I look at her. “What girls?”
We walk out to her truck and get in. “Uh, Olivia and Susannah.”
It takes a minute for my mind to wrap around what she has just said. “Olivia and Susannah are going hiking with us.”
“It’s kind of a long story,” she says, backing out of my yard and turning around on the road.
“You have ten minutes.”
“A funny thing happened on my way to... Aw, fuck. I just called Olivia to apologize for being such an asshole and one thing led to another and I asked if she and Susannah wanted to go hike with us.”
“And if I hadn’t been available?”
“You always want to go to the lighthouse.”
She has a point there. It’s a long, uphill climb, steeper than our other regular hike, but shorter. I like it because I’m breathing like a freight train by the time we get to the top, but once we’re there, we’re looking at one of the most beautiful views on the island. The lighthouse is rusted and falling apart, but I can still climb the staircase inside, as long as I skip a few steps and am willing to live with the possibility of falling to my death. Sam likes it because we can take pictures from up there that truly show off how far we’ve come. She likes to send them to her sort-of girlfriend back in the States.
We drive along in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Sam taps my arm. “Hey, are you mad?”
“Huh? No, not at all. I actually do enjoy spending time with my sister. I think it will be fun. I’m just surprised.”
“I was surprised, too. She was just complaining again about how there’s nothing to do on the island and I told her that she obviously had never been to the lighthouse. She hadn’t, so there ya are.”
“Well, it should be interesting, if nothing else,” I laugh. “My sister hates to get sweaty.”
“I figure we’ll set a brisk pace and wear Olivia out. By the time we get to the top, she’ll be too out of breath to annoy me.”
Susannah and Olivia are waiting for us in the clearing where we usually park. From here, we’ll walk through the woods until we find the path up to the lighthouse. The first part of the hike is pretty easy, but it has a gradual incline which warms us up for the big climb.