The river

We floated down the river in inner tubes. I became separated from the group, singular in my float in the meandering current. At times my bum scraped over jagged rocks, but for the meantime I was stuck in a circular swirl, I put my head back and looked up to the heavens.

A lady from the bus on the way up to the tubing drop off point was very talkative. She kept involving herself in our conversation. Stacey said something, and the lady retorted with her own anecdote. I decided then that I liked her, possibly because she reminded me of myself, just a person who could relate to anyone, who had a good natured comment about most things, who wasn't afraid to speak up.

Stuck in the swirl the trees began to twist, from pale lime green leaves bordering a royal blue sky. The more that I swirled, the more dizzy that I became. I was already a bit dizzy. Stacey had let me drink an entire 16oz German pilsner at lunch... And I had thoroughly enjoyed it, before heading off on our tubing experience.

A voice carried across the rocky water, it was that lady from the bus. She said to her friend "You know Jeff? Well he is married. Why do I always fall in love with the married ones?". And her friend said "I do not know".

My current took me ahead of them, the lady from the bus and her friend were tethered together in their tubes, I was solitary, the current carried me ahead at times because of my singular weight, and then sometimes it held me back. I guess there was no continuity in this river, because of that it grew rather irritating.

About twenty minutes later, I found myself behind the bus lady and her friend. We were slowed by an outcropping of slippery boulders.  This time the bus lady remarked excitedly "So I found the perfect dog for me!". Her friend said "Oh where did you find it?" and the bus lady said "We'll technically the dog already has a home, it's my neighbours dog, its a Great Dane and she is beautiful".

At this point I started laughing. I said "I heard your conversation earlier about Jeff, who already has a wife. And now you're talking about your neighbours dog, who already has a home". I said to her "I think you just fall in love with things that you can not have".  Her eyes popped out of her head a bit.

I asked her if she grew bored very easily. With her mouth agape, she nodded her head.

So I lay back in my tube and I watched the sky. I was stuck in a swirl again. I went round and round again. Then, I adjusted my hat.

As we got off at the exit point, they walked past me. They bade me farewell with the forced friendliness of cautious eyes.  You know how people just don't like to be seen. It's not of course like I presume to even know her. Just like I already said, I saw myself in her.