Never Far Away (The Never #2)(17)
“That area down there,” Ella said as she pointed towards where the water was pounding into a pool formed at the bottom, “it used to be open to the public. Megan and I would come here with my parents and we would swim down there. A few years ago, that big boulder there fell from the top. They closed off all the areas close to the falls to make sure, if anything like that happened again, no one would get hurt.” A smile formed across her face. “I will always feel privileged that I got to swim in those waters; we got to explore this beautiful place before they had to close it down.”
“Sounds like a great memory.”
“It is. Tell me a memory from your childhood,” she gave him one of her shy and simple smiles.
“Well, I guess my favorite memory would be the one time my dad took me deep-sea fishing when I was twelve. It was a birthday present to me and I had wanted to go out for years, but my mom always thought I was too young. She had irrational fears of me falling overboard and drowning. Finally, my dad convinced her that I was old enough and he signed us up to go out on one of those tours you see signs for along the highway in Lincoln City.”
“I’ve always seen those signs! I’ve always wanted to go on the whale watching tours!” Her excitement was contagious.
“Well, maybe we’ll go sometime,” he said as he flashed her a bright smile. “I remember being on the boat for a while before they stopped and let us throw out our lines.” Porter took a few moments to bring the memory to the front of his mind. Sometimes he had a hard time visualizing his father’s face; it had been so long since he’d seen him. But this memory was so vivid, he closed his eyes for a moment to try and burn it into his mind forever.
“My dad was an avid fisherman, but deep sea was new even to him. I swear he was almost as excited as I was. I remember just sitting on the boat, in our cool anchored chairs, built to keep you onboard as you reeled in a fighting fish, and we talked about everything. He gave me advice about girls. He told me about his dad, whom I was never able to meet. We talked about sports, I mean, everything. He wasn’t lecturing me and he wasn’t trying to tell me what to do. We were simply talking.
“All of a sudden there was a pull on his pole and his line started zooming out of his reel. The men who owned the boat started shouting instructions at my dad to pull up hard and crank the turn. Pull and crank. Pull and crank. My dad went at it for about ten minutes and I was on the edge of my seat. The excitement was overwhelming. My dad looked over at me and said, ‘Porter, get over here and reel this fish in’. I couldn’t believe it, but he handed me the pole and I must have worked on that fish for twenty minutes. Pulling and cranking. The whole time my dad was behind me, pulling me back by my shoulders, giving me more strength to reel it in.
“When that fish finally got close enough to the boat for us to see it, my dad started hollering and clapping his hands. The owners handed him a giant net and eventually the fish was close enough for my dad to swoop down with the net and get it on board.”
Porter looked over at Ella and realized he had been talking for a very long time, and she hadn’t said a word.
“That is an amazing memory, Porter,” she said softly.
“The fish ended up being a thirty-four inch tuna and it was a beast. My dad was so excited, and I remember him hugging me and telling me how proud he was of me – for a stupid fish. But looking back, I think he was talking about more than just the fish. I think he was proud of the man I was becoming and I hope he still is.”
Porter felt Ella’s hand slip into his and he laced their fingers together as he looked over at her.
“I’m sure your dad is very proud of the man you’ve become.”
They continued up the winding path that zigzagged up the side of the mountain, passing people who were walking at a more leisurely pace, and also politely smiling at the hikers coming down from the top of the trail. All kinds of people were drawn to the beauty of the falls, teenagers out enjoying the sunny weather, older couples staying active, and even young families were hiking the trail. Porter watched as a few dads passed him carrying small children on their backs. He noticed how proud and doting some of the fathers seemed to be, making sure the babies still had sunhats on, or if they had fallen asleep on their father’s backs, making sure they weren’t in a position that would cause them pain when they woke up. He also noticed the way the mothers of these children looked at the fathers.
Obvious love. Not lust, not even infatuated love, but love simple and overt. The love he saw directed at those men who coveted their children was astounding, and for the first time he felt a little hollowness deep within him which he knew was the longing for a family.
He knew it wasn’t an accident or coincidence that these feeling would transpire as he was holding Ella’s hand. It was only a matter of time before he started thinking about their future, hoping she was onboard for everything he hoped they would experience together.
The image of Ella’s belly round and full with his child suddenly grasped his heart and he knew that someday he wanted exactly that.
About thirty minutes later, they made their way close to the top. Of course, on such a beautiful Oregon day, there were a lot of people who had come to hike the falls and it had become a bit crowded near the viewpoint that looked out over the edge of the falls.
“Let’s take our picnic and follow the water back a bit. We can find a spot not so crowded and wait until everyone leaves for lunch.”