The Adventures Of Bette Porter and Sissee Gardner After Yale (Part 2, Chapter 4)

PART TWO: MAMMOTH LAKES, CALIFORNIA

Chapter 4

None of us knew where Terry was taking us. Even Bette admitted she had no idea. She said he had told her about this place but she had never been there. We either all trusted him or else we were just too bombed to give a damn.

We laughed and joked all the way there, seeing nothing but darkness around us, except for the headlights that illuminated the snow.

When Terry finally stopped the car, he got out and so did we. At first we all looked up and marveled at the expansive sky above us. The blacker the night, the more stars are visible and there were literally millions of them, some blinking like tiny fire flies, up, up, and beyond. The moon was nearly full and soon became our spot light to a new adventure.

Terry urged us to follow him. He went down the side of a hill, scattered with big and little rocks between which was a path of packed snow from earlier foot traffic. As we carefully descended, Terry said that it was a popular spot for skiers after being on the slopes all day, like a spa to sit in and soak away their aches and pains.

He also pointed out that there were usually more people there, spread out in the springs, enjoying the therapeutic waters but everyone seemed to have left.

“Well, it’s no wonder they’re gone, “ said Skip. “Does anyone realize it’s two-fucking-o’clock in the morning?”

“Time doesn’t matter up here,” said Terry.

Once down the hill we could barely see the steaming water. In the dim light it appeared to be no more than a pond . It looked promising but exuded a very unpleasant odor. In fact, it reeked of sulfur.

Terry stopped at the water’s edge. Tufts of dried grass reached up above the snow. We heard the sound of a zipper going down, as he started to strip.

Bette and I looked at each other with some hesitation. It was extremely cold. We had been enthused but now we were not so sure. Skip was also reluctant. He stomped his feet a few times to keep them warm. We could see our breath coming and going, in and out, in the stillness of the night, as the three of us wondered if we really wanted to do this.