Juniper Blue (NaNoWriMo2023; manxman)

Chapter 12

FYI: There is mention of hunting in this chapter. I don't mean to offend anyone, but this story is set in Maine and Juniper was raised to be self sufficient in the country.

Juniper

My dad, sisters, and I camped all year round. It didn't matter if there was a foot of snow on the ground. Actually, I loved camping in winter. If any of us wanted to move to Alaska, we were well equipped. Hunting wasn't my favorite thing to do, but I could do it if I had to. We'd all shot our share of deer, snowshoe hare, and wild turkey over the years. Our dad treated us all equally, regardless of gender. My sisters were taught to hunt, just like I was. Overall, I'd rather fish than hunt. Every year, I always renewed my hunting license while my sisters let theirs lapse.

It was Gabriel's idea to go hunting because he'd never hunted before, nor had he ever gone fishing. As a city boy, he didn't explore camping or the country until much later in his life. He had a lot to learn and he wanted me to teach him.

As I loaded my Jeep with camping equipment and supplies, my dad showed up, holding two rakes as if he expected me to help him. We hired landscapers to handle all that stuff, yet he wanted the two of us to help with the clean up. He'd given me no warning, so I'd already made plans for the weekend. I swore he installed security cameras around my house. I didn't understand what was going on with him lately. "Going somewhere?" he asked.

Oh no. Here we go with Twenty Questions again. "Yes. I'm going camping in Acadia for the weekend."

"By yourself?"

"No. With a friend. Hey, I'm borrowing a couple of rifles. That's okay, isn't it?" I'd only ever shot a rifle. My dad said there was no reason to shoot any other type of gun.

"Yeah, sure. You know you can't hunt in Acadia, right?"

"Yes, I know." Did he think I was stupid? "There are plenty of areas to hunt around there."

"Why didn't you tell me you were going camping?"

I stopped shoving items into my Jeep to stop and talk, maybe to set some boundaries. He'd been so nosey lately. "Since when do I need permission to go camping?"

"You don't. Usually you tell me, that's all. You would have told me you were borrowing some rifles, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"Because it looks like you just took them without asking me. What's going on, Juni? You don't tell me anything these days... like the name of the girl you're seeing. Why the big secret? Is she the one you're going camping with? I'm not prying. I'm just curious."

"You are prying, Dad. I'm going camping with Gabriel and there is no girl. Sorry to disappoint you."

"Gabriel, the doctor?"

"Yes. I gotta get going. I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Yeah. Maybe we'll talk then."

Upon reaching the two-month mark of knowing each other, Gabriel and I embarked on a three-day camping trip in one of the most visited places in all of Maine, Acadia National Park. Camping was half price in November and free in the winter months. Temperatures could get as low as fifteen degrees at night, but generally temperatures were around thirty degrees at night and averaged forty to fifty degrees during the day. We set up camp, then went on a hunting mission.

I wasn't in the mood to hunt deer. We focused on turkeys and snowshoe hare that were far easier to manage. Gabriel wanted me to teach him everything I knew. He'd never shot a gun before, so we practiced beforehand, aiming for an etched bullseye in a tree. That's how my dad taught me, in addition to shooting aluminum cans, but I didn't bring any cans. Gabriel had terrible aim, and thought it was best if I did the hunting. He needed a lot more practice, that's for sure. He'd never last a day out in the wild. He couldn't even watch me prepare the hare for cooking.