2

Nikola smelled coffee. He assumed that the scent came through the doorway of the trading post. He followed Lucas inside. At the counter, a man gently blew over the rim of a metal mug. Lucas had been right. The only other person there would be the postmaster.

“Good morning!” said the postmaster. “Either you turned in early last night, or you didn't sleep at all.”

Nikola and Lucas looked at each other, and Nikola noticed that Lucas’ eyes were half open. There were shadows beneath his eyes. His hair was in tendrils, in clumps, in tangles, in twists. He turned his shoulder in small circles and laughed. Nikola laughed. He couldn’t believe it was over—it had been a tough night! How did the postmaster know that?

“Good morning,” said Lucas. He put his arm around Nikola’s shoulders. “I want to show you something.”

Lucas led them to the first row of shelves. They were stuffed with sleeping bags. Nikola read all the tags. There were long bags, fluffy bags, wide bags, double bags, bags with hoods, two-person bags, connectable bags, thin bags…. Nikola found himself in awe. Almost any one of them seemed so, so warm. And night was so cold! So, so cold! Maybe they could afford something for the rest of the trip?

Nikola searched the aisle. Lucas had been right there. Where did he go?

Shelves spanned the rest of the aisle. They held used sleeping bags, canteens, ponchos, backpacks, and stakes in all lengths. At the end of the aisle, a crate held what Nikola thought were prime walking sticks.

He turned the corner. A sign labeled with the word firestarters hung overhead. Baskets filled the shelves, and they were full of waxed pine cones, cubes of sawdust, coils of lint, balls of red cotton….

Nikola handled them all. He remembered how long they had to wait to roast marshmallows. Firestarters would save so much time! Building one from scratch was the problem.

Nikola rounded the corner at the end of the aisle. Lucas stood there gawking at piles of tents organized in cubbyholes, and he seemed entranced by the burlap tents.

Lucas nodded at the tents. “Smell that?”

“Smells like moss.”

“It’s oakum. It’s like resin. It makes things waterproof. I really want one. I really want to camp in the rain!”

Down the aisle, more tents stuck out from the cubbyholes. Nikola found hammock tents, pole and canvas tents, a-frame tents, 6-person tents, waxed tarp tents….

Lucas perused alongside Nikola. “Some of these have bottoms, but they’re heavier. I like mine. Besides, sleeping on the ground tests your mettle.”

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Nikola paused. He stared off, thinking. Did sleeping on the ground test your mettle? What exactly was mettle? One night sleeping on the ground was brutal. Damaging! Even Lucas was still rolling his shoulder!

Lucas strolled by the rest of the tents. Nikola followed. At the end of the aisle they walked into the wafting scent of hot savory food. Around the corner there was a cart with three metal dishes set on racks over candles. Warm air wavered over each dish.

Lucas whispered. “This is what I wanted to show you!”

Lucas lifted a lid. Aromatic vapors escaped. Steam billowed out. Nikola peered inside, and his eyes widened. Lucas opened the next lid. A gold-orange glow reflected on the bottom of the lid. Heat blasted from the dish. Nikola felt his mouth water. Lucas opened the third lid and Nikola felt the heat on his face. He gasped. Was this what camping was all about? Look how good it looks, so good!

Nikola felt a large hand tousle his hair, and he looked up at his brother. Lucas smiled, but Nikola thought it was a strange smile. Something was in that smile, something like mischief.

Lucas turned to the dishes where his eyes reflected that gold-orange glow. “Pick whatever you want.”

Nikola stared, agape, up at his brother. He wondered if it was true. Pick anything? Anything at all?

Lucas went through his wallet. Coins clinked as he mouthed a count. Nikola peered once more inside each dish. His smile turned wide. Was Lucas really treating him? Lucas brought money? To share with him? How awesome!

Wouldn’t it be nice to pay for Lucas’ food someday? Nikola nodded. In a few more years, when he began earning his own money, he would take Lucas camping to celebrate. Ah, what a weekend!

The trading post filled with arrivals. Campers swarmed the cart of dishes while Lucas paid for their food. They left the trading post, and Nikola looked up at Lucas’ silhouette against the sun. Clouds were coming in. Lucas’ hand descended from above holding a paper bag. It crinkled when Nikola grabbed it. Hot air wavered over the bag.

Lucas hurried toward a short trail which ended before a lake where morning fog slid over the water. Nikola jogged after him. They sat in the grass among bubbles of dew. Nikola saw the heads of ducks on the water in the shifting fog. He thought they looked like they were sailing. But was it just the moving of the fog?

He leaned to peer closer, and his paper bag crinkled against his sweater. He leaned back, smiled big, and opened his bag. What a monster, he thought, as he handled the battered cheese fried egg. Oh, how big and golden and big and crispy and hot and huge!

After the first crunchy bites, their silence extended. They ate as they watched the ducks and the fog and the lapping edge of the lake.

Nikola finished his final big bite when Lucas said, “There are better views you know.”

“This is a good one.”

“It gets better, and we’ve got a whole day ahead of us.”

Nikola considered the views he’d seen so far. Every lake had good views, especially the last one which had peach trees. All the trees around the lake had looked like eyelashes, and the lake had even looked like a hazel eye! And there were better views? But something was different about that peachy lake. Those ripples were hard to stop thinking about….

Lucas licked his fingers with loud pops. His paper bag crinkled as he passed it to Nikola. “Have the rest of mine.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

Lucas pulled a beaten canteen from his backpack. He unscrewed the cap. “Take your time. Today is our biggest day. Who knows if we’ll even make it back to camp in one piece! Don’t worry, we’ll take lots of breaks and drink lots of water. You’ll need to make sure your boots are as comfortable as you can tie them.”