Fly Fishing Lessons

Jennifer Gallagher was not what someone would call an outdoor person, but when Keith Warton asked her to accompany him on a fly fishing excursion on the Wolf River in Montana, she did not hesitate to say yes.  

“Are you nuts?” Morgan Sikes blurted out when you best friend Jennifer told her of the trip.  “Keith is such a wussy.” 

“No, he’s not.” Jennifer defended him and at that moment, Morgan understood why Jennifer had decided to tag along. “He’s going to teach me how to fly fish.” 

“What? You, fly fishing?  Are you kidding me?  You hate squishy things.” She grimaced. “It’s Montana, it’s cold and outdoorsy.” 

“I will love it.” She put a flannel shirt in her open suitcase.

“No you won’t.  You may like Keith, but the rest of it you will hate, mark my words.” She scowled.

“Keith is not my type.” She put some long underwear into the open mouth of her suitcase.

“I know you have a crush on him.” Morgan stood with her arms crossed over her chest.

“I do not.” She lied.

“Yes, you do.” 

“Do not.” She reiterated her original claim. 

“Whatever.” 

“Besides, he doesn’t see me as a potential girlfriend.” Jennifer stuck out her chin as she closed her suitcase.

“You do know there are more critters up there than people, right?” Morgan laid out one of her hands. 

“I am aware.” Jennifer nodded. 

There was more Jennifer didn’t know than she knew about Wolf Creek.  Located twenty-eight miles north of the state capital in Helena, the town was named for the snaky river that ran on the outskirts of the town.  Wolf Creek was, however,  just another whistle stop along the Montana Central Railroad which had been dissected by Interstate 15 a few decades before.   

None of that would have mattered to her anyway.  She had met Kieth in her comparative literature class.  He was tall, had a thick head of hair, dimples when he smiled, and he was soft spoken.  Some of her friends said he was quite the catch and it was upon their recommendation that she was drawn to him, even if she never gave a single clue to him.  

She had a reputation as everybody’s best friend which meant that romance had not visited her yet.  Despite the fact she was in her Junior year at the college she had not had a serious boyfriend yet while all her friends all had their dalliances.  On Saturday night while they were out with their boyfriends, she ensconced in the dormitory studying, which was why her GPA was sterling at 3.8.  If asked, she would prefer to have a steady boyfriend over her current academic success. She had no idea what Keith’s GPA was or if he was even all that smart. 

All she wanted was a boyfriend who would pay attention to her and she had a feeling Keith was willing to do that. 

“So, you’re going to Montana?” Christie, her roommate, asked in her usual drab monotone.  

“Yes, Wolf Creek.” She answered, looking over her list. 

“With Keith Warton?” She continued.

“Yes.” She nodded lying on her back holding the pad with her list above her eyes. 

“Why?” Christie looked at her.

“Because I’ve always wanted to go fly fishing.” She answered and Christie laughed.

“You?” Christie sneered.  

“Yes.” She blurted out, tired of everyone giving her that unbelieving accusatory look just as Christie was giving her right now. 

“Fly fishing? Do you even know how to do it?” Christie’s voice had become a bit more animated. 

“No, but he said he would teach me.” She closed her eyes.

“Oh, I get it, you have a crush on him.” She smiled,  but when she did it did not look right to Jennifer. There was something Christie was not telling her.   

“He’s alright, but…” Her voice faded.

“But what?” 

“I just wanted to try something new.” She glared at her roommate. 

“Oh, alright.” Christie lifted one of bushy eyebrows and smiled.  Christie didn’t say anything more. 

Before enrolling in college, Jennifer put aside her desire to have a boyfriend, Instead she concentrated on her studies, telling herself there would be time for boys once she had her college diploma.  

But there was something special about Keith that she wanted to get to know.  It wasn’t his physical appeal, though he had his fair share of that, but there was a quality he had she couldn’t put her finger on it, but she found it quite appealing.  It had something to do with a gentleness that was absent in most boys she knew.   

It was true, she hated the outdoors.  She hated that her father had brought her and her brother to Folsom Lake almost every summer until she was old enough to be on her own.  She hated the bugs and the critters who would find their way into the food chest.  She hated the fire that always made her smell like a forest fire, but what she hated the worst was having to sleep on the hard ground in a sleeping bag that was always too small for her.  Her brother, Timmy would wade into the water and splash around.  The water was cold, too cold for her.  When they played cards around the campfire, someone always misplaced a card.  There was not a single thing she liked about the Great Outdoors.

The next morning before the sun cracked across the horizon like an egg in a frying pan, Keith showed up in shorts and a t-shirt with sturdy boots on his feet. Using his sweetest smile, he asked, “Are you ready?” 

“I think so.” She held her suitcase.

“Here, let me get that for you.” He gently removed it from her hands and walked to the parking lot where his compact Toyota was parked with the hatchback wide open. 

“Are you looking forward to fly-fishing?” He asked as he closed the hatchback. 

“Oh yes.” She nodded, but she was thankful he could not see what was going through her mind at the moment.

“Great.  Get in.  We have a long drive ahead. It usually takes me about sixteen hours to get there.” He opened the passenger door so she could get in. 

Closing it, he scurried over to his side and got in the driver’s seat. “You know, I am from Montana.” 

“No, I didn't.” She smiled as he started the car. 

“Yeah.  My dad Frank is a fishing guide there. Winona, my mom works in a travel agency. ``he explained as he pulled the car out of the parking lot. 

“I’m from around here.” She shrugged as it didn’t seem as exciting as where he was from. “Sacramento.”

“I’m not sure, but I feel that place is too big for my liking.” He shrugged. 

“Why did you come to California?” She asked, twirling her finger in her auburn hair.  

“I got a scholarship.” He answered as they exchanged smiles.  

“What’s it like up there?” She asked.

“It’s pretty rugged and it’s mountainous.  Most of the state is for that matter.” He pulled onto highway 5 North.  

“Will I meet him?” She asked, rolling down her window.

“It’s late season, but I’m sure he will spare us the afternoon.” He nodded. There was something he left unsaid, but she would find out what she wanted to know in due time.  

Keith turned on the radio and he began singing to some of the songs playing on the radio.  Jennifer found his deep baritone voice quite charming. 

“I love music.” He confessed. “Hope you like country music, because that’s all everyone listens to up there.” 

“It’s alright.” She lied.  Country music was for rednecks and she was from that Trible, but as it played and Keith continued to sing, she was gaining an appreciation for it. 

He drove up to Seattle where Interstate 90 intersected Interstate 5.  Once on 90, they began to travel west.  In a few minutes it seemed, the eastern part of Washington became an endless ascension into the Cascades.  She closed her window when she felt the icy air up her skin.  After an hour the landscape flattened out into a more arid, desert-like stretch from eastern Washington State into Idaho before rising up into the Rockies as they rode into Montana.  The mountains were raw and majestic with a deep rich blue sky above. 

“This is Big Sky Country.” He said with pride. 

“I can see why.” Jennifer nodded.  

For a moment she caught a glimpse of his blue eyes that matched the richness of the sky overhead. 

His eyes were locked into hers for a moment before he turned his attention back to the road again.

“Fly fishing is easy once you get the hang of it.” He explained. “I’ve got some flies in my tackle box. If I have time, I’ll teach you how to make them.” 

“That sounds great.” She suppressed a giggle since giggles were what  young girls, not women, did.  

“Me and my father had a falling out when I left for college.” He told her to keep the conversation going. 

“How come?” 

“Good question.  He was happy when I got accepted at the college, but there was something that rubbed him the wrong way.  I don’t know, maybe it was something stupid I said.” He shrugged, “He was a strict father.  He had been to Vietnam, so there was part of him that never came home, you know.” 

She did know.  She had an uncle who was never quite right when he came home from the war before she was even born.  He spent a lot of time in the hospital when he wasn’t talking to his doctor at the VA, but nothing anybody did seemed to help.  

After stopping for dinner, Keith continued to drive as Jennifer slept, slumped against the door. 

She had no idea, he had been watching her since de the beginning of the year always hoping he would have his chance to get to get to know her.   He was overjoyed when she agreed to come with him to Montana.  He wanted to make sure she was as enchanted with the Big Sky as most folks were who came visiting.  

Dawn broke over the horizon as he wound his way through the pass near Butte.  They would be in Wolf Creek in another hour or so.  His dad texted to say he would meet them at Denny's for breakfast.   After breakfast, they would head up to the creek where they would begin the fly fishing lesson. 

 As the sun peeked between the jagged peaks, Jennifer was gently awakened by the warmth of the new day sun.  Her eyes fluttered open as Keith continued to drive through the mountain pass.

"Sleep well?" He asked.

She yawned, saying, "As well as I'm going to, I guess."

"We are almost there." He said as she sat up.  The slopes surrounding them on both sides were jagged and steep, covered with pine trees, some of the higher mountains were snow capped. It was breathtaking scenery, she noted to herself as she viewed the scenic landscape. 

An hour passed when Keith exited the highway at a sign that read, "Wolf Creek Exit." Five minutes later Keith pulled into the Denny's parking lot.  As she got out of the car, she saw there wasn't much to this tiny hamlet, but what there was in the picturesque town was cozy and rustic. Feeling the cool air when she got out of the car, she knew she was in a special place. 

"This is it.  What do you think?" Keith spread his arms.

"Keith, son." He heard his father's voice call out.  Emerging from his full sized pickup truck was Frank, his father.  His mother, Winona, threw her arms around her son, kissing him on the cheek.

"Mom, dad, this is Jennifer Gallagher." He put his arm around her shoulders.  Jennifer felt a warm surge of electricity run through her under his touch.  Her cheeks reddened a bit.

"It is good to meet you." She shook Frank's hand and when she turned to Winona, she was taken by surprise with a hug.

"Good to finally meet you, dear." She whispered into Jennifer's ear. Jennifer glanced at Keith who wore a sheepish expression as the four of them entered Denny's.

During the initial chit-chat, Jennifer felt like an outsider as they caught their son up on family and local events.  It did give her time to gaze out the widow at the  panorama unfolding in front of her eyes.

"So Jennifer." Frank attempted to draw her back into the conversation, "What do you think of the town?" 

"It's beautiful." She answered.  She was enchanted by what she saw.

"We are going to teach you how to fly fish like you were born here." Keith said.

After breakfast, Keith followed his father's truck up the rugged state road that shadowed the banks of Wolf Creek.  The sun warmed the cool morning air where fog still clung to some of the low places near the creek.

"You told them about me." Jennifer finally got brave enough to say.  Keith's cheeks flushed as he took his time to respond.

"I did." He admitted. "My dad is a suspicious man who does not pander to strangers.  His doctor calls it paranoia.  He got it from the war.  He moved out here because of it. Fly fishing is his therapy.  But it's more than therapy, to him, it's a religious experience."

"They seem nice." She put her hand over his that rested on the seat near her.  Their eyes met as they both felt A magnetic attraction to each other at that moment.   

 "They can be. " He cleared his throat, "We didn't always feel that way."

She did not ask for details on the “we,” but she suspected there was an unnamed sibling Keith had never mentioned.  She had fought her own battle with her parents.  Because of that, she felt a kinship with him. It was  something they had in common that was binding them together.  

"Ready?" His father already had his rod and reel as Keith parked his car.  Winona retrieved a folding chair that she set beneath the embrace of A Ponderosa.  With a cup of coffee and a local newspaper, she was ready to observe them as they waded into the cascading water.

Keith pulled her close since the rocks could be slippery in places.  Once they were a few yards from shore, he tied a fly on his line and cast it into the water.  It landed with a small splash several yards away.  

He handed her his fishing pole before pulling her close to his body.  She could smell his musky scent which melted any resistance or reservations she might have left. As he leaned in, she took the opportunity to kiss him.  Taken by surprise, he jerked his head back, but then smiled and put his lips in hers, how sweet and soft they felt.

"Hey you two!" Winona cried out from her chair, "None of that!"

They both pulled away with their cheeks ablaze.

Frank helped Keith get the tent put up and then started the campfire in the circular area Keith had made.  After three hours of teaching Jennifer the secrets of fly fishing, it was time to sit in front of a warm fire as the sun drained from the sky.

"Me and your mom are going to shove off." Frank draped his arm around his wife.  

"Thanks dad." Keith hugged him.  Jennifer had no way of knowing how rare this embrace was for the two of them, but for Keith it would be A memory that would stay with him for quite some time.

"Come by in the morning, son.  We will have a stack of flapjacks waiting for you kids." She embraced him, whispering in his ear, "She seems like a really nice girl." . 

" Thanks, mom." He kissed her on the cheek.

After his folks had vacated the place, Keith continued where he had left off while they were in the creek. Soon they were matching on the ground, passionately kissing and letting their fingers explore places on each other's bodies.  

His fingers slid beneath her jeans and panties where her skin was so soft and tender.  Her fingers brushed sensually across his chest.  Neither of them knew exactly when their clothing had been discarded, but feeling him as they made love beneath a blanket of stars in the big sky above them, was better than she imagined it could be.

Afterwards while he stoked the fire, she propped her head up on her hand so she could look at him, "I've wanted to do that since I first saw you."     

"I felt the same way." He lay on his back and sighed.

"I was too afraid to ask." She put her hand on his warm cheek.

"As was I." He turned his head to see the outline of her body against the expansive night sky.  

"Funny how we fear the things that make our life so worthwhile." She lay next to him on her back.

He took her hand and walked into the creek.  They embraced again as their naked silhouettes were fused together under the waning moon in the sky.   

The fly fishing lesson was completed by both Jennifer and Keith. Their hesitation had ended and now their love became rooted and blossomed on that cool evening in Wolf Creek.