Running Northwest (57 page)

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Thomas, Daniel, Derrick and Erin walked down the city street of Tillamook, eventually sitting on a bench. It was fall carnival time in Tillamook. Children ran up and down the closed off streets, eager to try various activities. Thomas and Derrick loved this time of year here in town. It was a very traditional small town fall celebration, quaint and something you rarely saw in bigger towns. The festival was very kid oriented and they watched and laughed as Daniel got his face painted so he looked like a bear. After he was done, they kept walking and Daniel would occasionally let out a growl pretending to be a bear, it made the grownups laugh. Volunteers ran simple games for the kids to play in the closed off streets. The nice thing about this festival was that 75 percent of the money taken in went towards the town’s school
s
who were suffering from budget issues. Daniel dared his father to “bob” for apples; it was something he had not done in years. When he bent down to get an apple Derrick pushed his friend head under water quickly causing his entire head to go under. Daniel and the rest laughed hysterically and even Thomas ended up laughing despite his head being soaking wet.

They stopped at a stand run by a bakery that was selling fresh apple cider and homemade donuts, Thomas felt it was essential fall food. He loved cider donuts and bought two bags of them for home. He struck up a conversation with the bakeries owner who was new in town. Thomas eventually arranged for two dozen cider donuts a day to be delivered to the coffee shop for the next month for his fall special. As they were waiting in line, a gust of wind blew some bright colored leaves down the street. The air was filled with the scent of fall…and fish for some reason. The four of them walked around the corner and saw a
fish-throwing
contest that essentially broke down to who could throw a dead fish the farthest. After some nudging by Erin and Daniel, Thomas and Derrick gave it a shot and competed against each other. A few attempts and 20 bucks later, they called it a draw in their fish tossing competition.

They wandered in and out of some store shops, going into a small coffee shop where the owners who were his competition eyeballed Thomas. Daniel did a few more activities when he found some that were interesting. When they were done, they all drove out to a small restaurant past town around the south side of Tillamook Bay. There was a stiff October breeze coming off the ocean and by the time, the four of them got to the restaurant a light rain
had begu
n to come down. They drove separately since Derrick was going to work after they ate and Thomas and his son were going to go for a drive and find a good beach to walk on.

However, by the time, they were done eating Thomas and Daniel decided to head home instead and cook s'mores over the fire and maybe take the dogs for a little walk. It would be good end to a Saturday and Daniel appeared to be getting tired anyway. Daniel fell asleep by the time they reached Tillamook and Thomas wondered if they would actually have a fire, he might have one even if his son was too tired to join him. Thomas loved having fires this time of year; he always felt it made more sense to have them in the fall. As he drove a song came on that he had not heard in a long time. It reminded him of Stephanie, and he wondered where she was. He knew she loved this time of year and loving the fall was one of the many things they had in common, he wondered if that was
still
the same.

By time they reached their house on the
beach,
Daniel had long since fallen asleep in the back seat of the truck. Thomas nudged him awake and the boy opened his sleepy eyes and looked around.

“Are we still going to have a fire tonight Dad?” Daniel asked as he wiped his sleepy eyes.

“Well I probably will buddy, it’s up to you if you want to join me or not, you seem pretty tired
,
” Thomas replied as he opened the truck door and got out.

Daniel got out and unlocked the door to the house, inside he could already hear the dogs making noise and anxious to get outside. Once the door was
open
,
they bounded out, Layla nearly jumping on Daniel. While Harley ran right towards Thomas as fast as her old legs could carry her. The dogs both got rubbed and petted all over then took off around the house to do their business. Daniel went inside and unlocked the slider then went to the bathroom.

Thomas went around the house towards the ocean side of the house and begun unloading firewood off the pile and placing it into the fire pit. He looked out over the ocean and saw the last glints of red and orange that was on the edge of the horizon. The drizzle let up and the clouds dissipated enough for a decent sunset. A chill went through his bones as a breeze blew off the sea over the sand and hit him in the face. He realized he would have to put something a little warmer and more comfortable on for sitting next to the fire. After he was done with the
wood,
he whistled for the dogs and the three of them went inside where Daniel was sitting on the couch watching TV.

“Anything good on
?
” Thomas asked
.

“No, not really Dad
,
” Daniel answered then asking “we gunna have a fire?”

“Yeah I think so, it’s getting a little cool so make sure you wear somethi
ng warm, maybe a hat since
the wind is kicking up
,
” Thomas said.

A short time later, they were sitting next to large fire. The dogs were relaxing on blankets on the ground near enough to the fire where they were also warmed by its heat. As Daniel roasted himself, a marshmallow Thomas looked over at Harley who was looking at him from the ground as she lay on her side. The fire was reflecting in her eyes and he smiled at her. He noticed she was slowing down these days; she was getting very old and would not be around much longer. It was not something he liked to think about and Daniel had not yet noticed how bad she was getting.

The boy had always known Harley as an older dog; Thomas remembered her as puppy and knew how much she had changed. Harley’s tail began whipping up and down hitting the ground under her as Thomas reached forward and slowly rubbed
her neck and ears, then rubbed
her hips. Last night he had to lift the old girl onto the bed, she could not get up on her own. He would have to bring her to the vet again for a checkup, but during their last visit, the vet had warned him about this. Thomas had noticed even the much younger Layla was not playing as rough with her older friend anymore. She seemed content on cuddling with Harley on the couch and licking the older dog.

Thomas knew moments like this, the four of them together just hanging out were coming to an end. So he enjoyed as many of them as he could. He looked over and smiled at Daniel who was feeding Layla a half-burned marshmallow. Thomas and his son talked about school, nature, fishing and their Christmas visit to Michigan. Before long, Daniel began yawning and said he was going to bed. After tucking his son in and giving Layla a quick head rub he and Harley went back outside and sat by the fire. He looked up at the stars that were out bright and clear above him. Thomas looked down at Harley then said, “Hey big girl,
let’s
go for a little walk,” and then stood up and walked down the sandy path that led to the open beach.

He and Harley walked slowly down to the left of where they lived down to where the land curved outwards and rocks and trees met the ocean. Thomas sat down in the
sand, lit a cigarette,
and lay on his back. Harley stood on his chest with her two front legs; it was her way of demanding a belly rub. Thomas gave in to her then eventually the dog curled up next to him in the sand as he looked up at the stars and she out at the ocean.

For Stephanie the drive across country had shown her more things than she ever would have imagined both visual and in her mind. She saw parts of nature, small towns and people that she never knew existed, new ways of living and a new side of America. At many points, she found herself having conversations with her dog Shadow or people that were not there such as Thomas, Karen even her mother. Thomas told her once that when you drive across country alone you sort of lose it a little; she knew now he was right. The Rocky Mountains were well behind her now; the states of North Dakota, Montana and northern Idaho were amazing to see as she went through them.

She stopped for a night in a place in the northern part of Idaho in a small town called Sandpoint. It was peaceful as she strolled around the small shops that lined their main
street, which
were already gearing up for Christmas time. On the top of mountains all around her as she drove west, she could see snow was already on th
eir peaks. When she drove thru Glacier National P
ark there was already snow on the sides of road and down in the deep valleys below. That particular part of the drive was nerve racking for her since she was mildly terrified of heights. At one point, she stopped at a scenic pull out so Shadow and her could stretch their legs and take some pictures as we
ll and
collect her nerves. Shadow began growling as they faced some trees and a moment later, a large bull moose emerged from the growth. Stephanie practically had to drag Shadow back to the SUV as the moose made grunting noises and Shadow barked and growled spastically.

She
was nearing Portland, Oregon; it had taken her four days to get this far.
She was far less intimidated about Portland this time around.
It was nearly 2 pm, she had gotten a late start this morning choosing to sleep in a while longer To her right the Colombia river was giant and majestic, she never realized how large it was. The high cliffs to her left were hard to see and she found herself awkwardly arching her neck to see whatever there was to see while she drove. Once she got closer to Portland it began to rain a little, however she was not surprised at all. The once rocky and barren cliff side to her left began to change into an overgrown jungle of dark green spruce trees intermixed with other. At one point, he saw a giant waterfall off to her left. She briefly thought about turning around but decided that was a trip for another day. In just few
hours,
she would be in Cannon Beach, her new home, her new future and her new life. She smiled as she looked over at Shadow who sat quietly
looking
out the window with great curiosity.

Once she was past Portland, she would call Ann or Beth and let them know she was nearly there. The last time she talked to them was somewhere in eastern Montana when she stopped for a night to sleep. They were obviously excited and busy getting everything set up for Stephanie. Stephanie’s things had arrived by truck already and Ann, Beth and the others took it upon themselves to move and arrange Stephanie’s furniture at least temporarily. They wanted to make her feel at home from day one. Ann made sure the movers put boxes in the rooms they belonged.

The passenger side window was down halfway and Shadow had her nose stuck out of the window. She smelling the new air the new scents and trying her best not to get rain on her. Stephanie listened to her GPS as it began to guide her through the confusing highways of the greater Portland area. The tall buildings of downtown Portland went by her on the right as she edged the river driving through the city. She crossed over another river, went through a tunnel and eventually came to The Sunset Highway. She thought it was funny how much this “big” city reminded her a bit of Grand Rapids the way it was set up. Portland was, however, cleaner and better looking; with a much bigger river running through it. Portland was a sharp contrast to the small town she was moving too; she could never handle something this busy. She understood why Thomas avoided it when possible when he first moved out here. Instead, he chose the coast, the ocean, the smaller and quieter towns…a more
laid-back
life. He was never a busy person and moved at his own pace for better or worse.

As she continued down the busy highway parts began to look familiar to her from her previous trip. She felt a mild amount of exhilaration as she realized she knew where she was.
Ahead of her she could see
the rolling coastal mountains getting closer as she kept heading about as far west as someone could go in the continental United States.
She ran her finger through her brown curly hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, remembering it was time to call Ann. She reached into the console next to her and pulled out her phone, finding Ann’s number then dialing it. A few moments
later,
the old woman’s voice was on the other end.

“Hey Ann it’s me” Stephanie said with a big smile on her face and waving to an old lady who was not even there. She told Ann she was just passing an exit for a suburb called Aloha.