Meanwhile, in Toronto

On the outskirts of Western Toronto, the No Frills was finally closing and Catharine couldn’t be happier. Not that she hated the job. I mean she didn’t love it but she was satisfied. No she was happy because tomorrow a group of them were going camping for the next two or three weeks. Her friend Mary, who worked the cash register, helping the last customer of the day. She and Jo Ann had invited Frank in hopes Catharine and him would hook up. Catharine was far less thrilled about that. Jo Ann worked at the Mountain Co-op with Frank. Dylan, Jo Ann’s boyfriend didn’t know about this plan until the day before and he thought it was a terrible idea. Blind dates were not great ideas as it was, never mind while on a several week long camping trip. He straightened out the freezer section, hoping this trip wasn’t going to be ruined by this attempted match-up.

At the Mountain Co-op. Frank is regaling a pair of customers with his camping tails and making recommendations of backpacks, tents and so on as they cling onto every word. This was going to be a BIG sale for sure. Jo Ann popped the gum in her mouth and waited, somewhat patiently, for them. She checks her phone. There were texts from everyone in the group except one. Still nothing from Wayne. Probably too busy.

Downtown, Wayne jumps out of his squad car and chases a perp. Wondering, like most officers, why do they run? Wayne easily catches and takes down the perp hard. He reads him his rights as he cuffs him and brings him to his feet. He picks up the stolen purse that was dropped by the would-be criminal and brings them both back to the woman. After returning her belongings, Wayne walks the man back to his car. “Don’t you have better things to do with your time?” he asked him, the man doesn’t respond. That was fine, Wayne had plenty more to say on the way.

Later that night, Mary met up with Wayne at a pizza place. They had dinner and kissed then went home to rest for the big trip. Everyone was already packed and ready before the day even began so by the next morning they just had to load the cars and meet-up. Frank and Jo Ann stopped in front of Catharine’s house and she loaded her bag and gear in the back. Dylan, Wayne and Mary were in the car behind.

It’s a long trip north-west, following the roads and making the necessary stops for food and rest or sight-seeing. Most conversations were pleasant enough, when Frank didn’t come off as a know-it-all or a self-absorbed sleaze. Dylan could already see, he was going to ruin this fun trip for everyone. Catharine sure wasn’t enjoying his company and tried only to talk to her friends for most of the trip.

They kept moving north into Nunavut. They all switched to their warmer gear and had to admit, this was turning into a real adventure. They saw a fair amount of wildlife and everyone forgot about their city lives and all the other problems. They went a few more miles and the only vehicle they saw was traveling the other way. They made another stop and set up camp, since there was no hotel around. After the set-up, which Frank tried not to take too much control of, Frank, Wayne and Catharine went out fishing. Frank had a huge tackle box with all kinds of lures and bait, Wayne had a fairly fancy rod himself but limited gear. Catharine’s rod was old and she only carried a cooler. They all picked out separate spots and settled in. At camp, Mary asked Dylan if this was the camp sight they were staying at. He told her Frank was taking them farther up, near a big lake he forgot the name of. The trio of fishermen came back. Frank had caught two fair sized fish, Wayne three slightly bigger ones and Catharine caught four good sized fish and a big one. They definitely were not going hungry. Frank asked her what bait she was using but she wasn’t going to give up her secret.