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She sat up and rubbed her eyes and threw her legs over the bed. The floor was much cooler to the touch, so she knew the temperature must have dropped a bit. She could hear the others stirring and knew they wanted to be on their way by six-thirty, so she stumbled into the bathroom and got the shower going.
When she walked into the kitchen, Barb was already busy making egg and sausage biscuits and packing a huge cooler. “Mornin’, Jenni.” She smiled. “Are you ready for your big debut?”
Jenni reached for the mug of coffee Barb handed her, took a sip, and attempted a smile. “I guess so. Caitlin really taught me a lot yesterday, but I am not sure how much of it I’ll remember. It was a crash course in Tournament Fishing 101 for sure.”
May Ellen and Caitlin walked in at the same time. It was very clear given the layers they were wearing they expected a very chilly day. May Ellen looked askance at Jenni’s long-sleeved T-shirt. “You surely are going to put something over that, right?”
“Oh, sure.” She had hoped that the T-shirt would be enough. The heavy plaid shirt they purchased at the tackle shop seemed a bit over the top when they bought it, but now, looking at the others, she realized she was definitely underdressed for the occasion.
“I just came in for my coffee. I’ll go and put it on right now.” She rose from the table. “Do you need my help packing up the truck?”
“No,” Barb replied as she closed and fastened the lid of the cooler. “This is it. Glad we packed most everything up last night. Get yourself together and let’s plan to leave in a few minutes. We’re right on schedule.”
Jenni pulled the tags off the shirt and tugged it over her head, adjusting the waders over the top of her jeans. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and stuck her new tassel cap on her head.She stepped back and looked at herself in the mirror, not sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. Maybe both.
This was way out of her comfort zone.
Or was it? The old Jenni would have relished this new challenge. The current Jenni felt overwhelmed and at a loss.
She hoped she would at least not let the team down, even if she didn’t add much to their efforts.
She ran into the bathroom one more time, not knowing what the proper toilet arrangements would be on the beach. She’d been too embarrassed to ask.
At six-thirty sharp, the “Reel Southern Ladies” headed off.
The rain had stopped, and the clouds were breaking up just enough to allow the first bit of daylight to come through. But the wind had not stopped.
“Will it be this windy all day?” Jenni asked timidly.
“It might back off a little,” replied May Ellen, looking at her phone. “Hmm…Weather Channel says ten to fifteen from the northeast all day. That’s not terrible, but out there on the beach, you’ll feel it, especially if it’s more on the fifteen side of things.”
Jenni tried, and failed, to figure out a way to capture the warmth of the truck and keep it with her. She felt herself begin to pout as they turned back into the campground, following the road down the ramp onto the beach where she and Caitlin had practiced yesterday.
Barb told them at dinner last night that they would be on the south side for the morning and the north side for the afternoon. On Saturday morning, they would be back on the north side but not as far away.
Jenni wondered how Barb would know exactly where to park, but she soon found out.
There was a stream of four-by-fours heading over the ramp. There were markers with numbers, in order, on the sand.
“See those,” pointed Caitlin. “It’s like I mentioned to you yesterday, but you probably don’t remember, with everything that I put into your head. We are number 112, so we’ll look for that number, and we can fish in between the stakes with our number. The teams next to us will be 111 and 113.
Jenni nodded and watched as the four-wheel drives turned off into their slots. The numbers had started at 120, so she knew they wouldn’t have too far to go.
Sure enough, Barb eased the truck into slot 112 and announced it was time to unpack and set up. She had made it clear there could be no fishing before seven, that was strictly forbidden, but they could get everything ready.
Jenni’s bathroom question was immediately answered when Barb and May Ellen put up the strangest tent she’d ever seen. “Is that what I think it is?”
Caitlin laughed. “If you’re thinking ‘bathroom’, you’re right.” Caitlin elbowed Jenni. “And aren’t you glad?”
Jenni nodded and was as thankful as she’d ever been for a piece of outdoor equipment. They had parked in the center of their allotted area, so she assumed two of them would fish on one side and two on the other. She glanced over and noticed a group of men and women, a mixed team, setting up at 111. As far as she could tell, no one was in 113, so maybe they wouldn’t show up, and she could fish at that end.
As Barb and May Ellen seemed to have things under control, she grabbed Caitlin’s arm and pointed to where she’d hoped to be. “How ‘bout I fish on this side?”
“Whatever you want,” said Caitlin. “Let’s walk over there and see what you’ll be casting into. If there’s a bit of a hole there, you’ll be in luck.”
They wandered over to the stakes between 112 and 113 and looked out. The wind was incessant, and Jenni was so thankful they had outfitted her appropriately.
She was cold enough with the layers she had on. Without that flannel shirt and her hat, she’d be frozen.
