Wood River Reunion

By John Haeberle

April and Rob were friends in high school in Medford, Oregon.  They were part of the music and drama gang at Medford High.  Following graduation, their group went its several ways. completely losing track of each other.  April graduated from the UNiversity of Oregon in Elementary Special Ed., while Rob attended Utah State University in Logan.  His dream was to be the Sports writer covering the Utah Jazz for one of the state's biggest newspapers.  Rob found the love of his life, Lindsay, a fellow journalism major, while April found her dear love, Jim, who happened to be her school's vice principal where she taught in the Boise area.  

     Lindsay has secrets...conditions, really, that neither she nor her parents share with Rob.  These secrets begin to manifest themselves not long after the two are married and move into a small apartment in Salt Lake City.  
     April's sister has four kids and lives in Salem, Oregon.  On their first trip to meet this family, Jim becomes best friends with little Sarah, his new neice.  They grow quite close, staying in touch by phone and even developing their own secret language.  Though Jim has been a school administrator for young children the same age as Sarah, she holds a very special place in his heart. 

The story unfolds as April and Rob each live their own lives, facing the most heart-wrenching experiences that life can offer, unaware that, in the least expected fashion, they are being led back together.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Magic Valley Publishing
• Release date: Mar 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9780998377100

John Haeberle

John Haeberle is a recovering middle school and high school band and choir director.  He taught in northern California for many years, then returned to his home of earlier years, Idaho.  He enjoys writing about life and its challenges and rewards.  He and his wife, Annie, make their home in Twin Falls, in Idaho's Magic Valley.

Book preview

Wood River Reunion

By

John Haeberle

Introduction

Ketchum, Wood River Valley, Idaho  2000

VIEWED FROM THE VILLAGE OF KETCHUM, the sun had just dropped below the western mountains, leaving the small valley in half light.  At this hour the contrast between the dark pines, which heavily populated every hill in sight, and the pure, fresh, white snow, which covered everything that wasn’t vertical, was exaggerated by the departing sunlight.  Clouds were still disappearing over the eastern mountains, leaving the village draped in a clear, dark sky filled with numberless points of light of every imaginable size and brightness.  The air was clean and clear, crisp enough to cause one to wish for the comfort of a fireplace and a soft, leather loveseat, adorned by a cozy quilt.

Though neither was aware of the other’s presence in the Wood River Valley, two friends were both there, just arrived, and for surprisingly similar reasons.  They had last seen each other the night of their high school graduation, now an old memory of fourteen years ago in the town where they had grown up, Medford, Oregon. 

April was coming out of a used book shop, clutching three volumes she had long known of but not read.  Rob was hurrying across the street in the dusky grey, heading from the B&B where he was staying, to the restaurant his host had heartily recommended for its unbelievable steaks and amazing soups...staples of any self-respecting ski resort town.

For each of them, this was their first solo Christmas since their significant others had exited their lives.  They had unknowingly made the same decision, that going home for the holidays would have been just about their last choice.  Too much awkwardness.  Too many unasked questions hanging in the air.  Their loved ones would have been on eggshells, fearful of saying the wrong thing, bringing up the wrong memory, or worst of all, speaking the wrong name.  Each had made the painful choice to go it alone this Christmas season.  It would be less embarrassing for all concerned.  And so, unbeknownst to each other, each had chosen the very same...yes, identical method of dealing with what promised to be an unfulfilling Christmas.

They had been friends back in high school and had enjoyed many of the same things.  They had been in the school productions of Broadway musicals and in choir.  It was no surprise that they had developed affinities for the same styles of music, books, and movies.  It had been obvious to a few of their friends that these two belonged together, though their attempts at match-making into a couple were complete failures.

April had graduated with an Elementary Education credential, from the University of Oregon in Eugene.  She now lived in the Boise suburb of Meridian, where she worked as a teacher of second graders who were dealing with learning difficulties.

Following graduation from Utah State University in Logan’s Cache Valley, with a degree in English, Rob was a veteran reporter whose assignment was to know and write about all things Utah Jazz.  It was a coveted role for which he had worked very hard.  He had made his home in Salt Lake City for the twelve years he had been with the paper.

AS ROB CHECKED FOR traffic while hurrying across the street, April was busy trying to balance her newly purchased books in one hand while carrying a bag of groceries in the other.  Neither saw their pending collision until it was too late.  The unforeseen meeting resulted in everything she was carrying ending up in the piled-up snow at the curb.  Both she and Rob found themselves with arms and legs hopelessly entangled and both of them sprawled on the sidewalk.  Both began apologizing profusely even before looking at one another.

Oh!  I’m sorry!  I wasn’t looking where... she blurted.  At the same moment, he was saying, Oh. No!  I’m sorry!  Are you hurt?  Here, let me help you up.

Dusting snow off herself and still not having set eyes on him, she said, I’m fine.  What about you?  Are you okay?  Oh, I can be such a klutz!

Upon hearing that phrase, spoken by that voice, he suddenly knew, without looking, that the other person was not a stranger.  He had heard that voice speak those words, I can be such a klutz, more times than he could count.  She was forever dropping a hammer while building a flat for a play, or tripping as the choir entered or exited the stage.  He momentarily froze, then shifted his gaze to her face.  He recognized her instantly but said nothing, knowing that she still had not looked at him.

As she finished dusting snow off herself, a gloved hand appeared in front of her face.  Without thinking, she took the hand that was being offered and felt herself being lifted up off her hands and knees.  As she made her way to her feet, she looked up into eyes that she had not seen for fourteen years.  As a smile took over her face, her eyes went wide.

Yes.  You certainly can be a klutz, he grinned.

Rob?

Then, she heard, April?  It is you, isn’t it?  What are you doing here?  Is this your home?

April, still dazed, slowly shook her head.

No, Rob.  I don’t live here.  Just here for the holiday.  How about you?

Same as you, I guess.  Sort of needed to be alone this year.  It’s a long story.

After quickly reading between the lines, she replied, You might not believe it, but our long stories could be more similar than you think.

Tilting his head, he gave her a quizzical look.

After he walked April to her hotel to drop off her books and groceries, he suggested that they go to dinner together.  She didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation.

Chapter One

Medford, Oregon 1997

HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THEIR INVOLVEMENT with school musicals and choir, April and Rob might well have passed their high school years not even knowing that each other existed.  Like most teens, especially high schoolers, they associated with their friends and those friends usually came from the things they were involved in.  They were largely unaware of anyone else in their school.  While working together as members of the cast of Fiddler on the Roof, a loose group of friends had formed, April and Rob among them.  After play practices or choir concerts, they would all head over to Millhollow Frozen Yogurt, their favorite spot.  They were well known regulars and sometimes behaved as if they owned the place, as only exuberant high schoolers can do.  From time to time they would break into a song they had just performed in concert that evening, or one they were mastering for their upcoming musical play.  Neither the employees nor the other customers had any choice in the matter.  Thankfully, the young singers were pretty good, usually earning an enthusiastic round of applause from the other customers and a friendly roll of the eyes from the shop’s manager.

Their little group of friends had come into existence during their junior year.  It was now late in their senior year.  The group was comprised of five girls and four guys.  A couple of very brief attempts at romance within this group were attempted, with little or no chance of success.

Once, while constructing flats for the backdrops of their production of   Seven Brides for seven Brothers, just as Rob was walking past a tall stepladder, April, who was near the top of the ladder, knocked a newly opened box of tacks off the top of the ladder, raining them down on Rob.  No harm was done, but April, after apologizing over and over said, I can be such a klutz!  Somehow it struck everyone as very funny.  Rob replied, still picking tacks from his hair and clothes, replied, You sure can.  The exchange became almost commonplace over the ensuing months.  April became known as somewhat accident-prone.  On another occasion, she tipped a half-empty bucket of paint, leaving a area of about six feet in diameter, to forever declare that April had been there.  As usual, she made her trademark statement...I can be such a klutz!  Rob, who happened to be nearby and was madly trying to mop up bright red paint, said, You sure can.

The group gradually came to realize that these were their best friends in high school, and probably nothing more.  There was no talk of going to the same colleges or being roomies.  They liked and even loved each other, but they sensed that, beyond high school, it was unlikely that these friendships would survive.  They each had their own dreams and those were going to take them to seven different colleges in four states.  That would be the end of the group.  They somehow knew that it was the music and the plays that had drawn them together.  Were it not for those fun, challenging, memorable, rewarding activities and experiences, they would likely never have become friends.

Both April and Rob made the mental switch from Medford High School to their respective universities without hesitation.  Like flipping a switch, they turned off high school and turned on college and career.  Their teens years were wonderful, but that was over.  The next great adventure lay just ahead.  Neither they nor anyone else from the high school bunch of friends made any attempt to contact each other beyond graduation.  In fact, so focused were they on the future that no one gave the breakup of their group a thought.  It was almost automatic.  As far as April and Rob were concerned, that was that.  He was off to Utah State in Logan and April was headed for the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Chapter Two

Utah State University , Logan, Utah  1991

ROB BEGAN HIS SENIOR YEAR at Utah State as a free agent.  That is to say, he was not involved seriously with anyone.  That had been his plan and he had stubbornly avoided any chance at failing to work that plan.  Fate, it would seem, had other ideas.  On the first day of Fall Semester, into his Journalism Editing class walked a girl who could not be ignored.  Whatever it is that makes one particular person especially attractive to a certain other person...this girl possessed that in abundance.  He had been bitten by a bug for which he had no antidote...not that he would have been interested in taking it.  Before she had even chosen her seat, he was smitten.  Two days later, in the following session, he played the odds that she would choose the same seat and got there early to situate himself right next to where he hoped she would be.  The plan paid off.  He knew he had been very lucky and didn’t intend to waste the opportunity.

Hi.  How ya doin’?

Me?  Oh.  I’m fine, thanks.  You?

Doin’ great!  I love it here in Logan.  I wouldn’t mind staying here after graduation.

Yep.  It’s a beautiful place.  I’m from Hyde Park, just up the road.  I assume you’re a major? she asked.  The course they were taking was usually taken only by those majoring in journalism.

Hyde Park, he thought to himself.  Wow!  Not only beautiful, but rich.  I think my chances just went down the tubes.  Money usually marries money.  That leaves me out.

With considerably lessened enthusiasm he answered her question, Yeh.  You?

Well, yes.  But I don’t know if I’m staying with this major.  The odds are pretty bad against actually making a comfortable living.

See? he told himself.  Money’s important to her.  Still, he wanted to talk to her.

I know.  It’s kinda scary.  Feast or famine.  Either you get a great gig and make a pile of money or you starve.  There’s not much in between.

What do you want to do with it? she asked.

You’ll think I’m crazy.  I want to write for the Tribune...Sports section.

Man!  Good luck with that!  There are only two big papers in the whole state and you want to waltz in and grab a plum job like that?

No.  Not right away.  I know I’ll have to struggle...work my way up.  I know I can do it.

She was impressed.  This guy wanted something pretty special and really believed he could do it.  Beyond that, he isn’t afraid of having to climb up the ladder.

I’m Lindsay.

I know.  I heard the professor call your name the first day.  I made sure I remembered it, he grinned.  I’m Rob.

She returned the grin. 

Just then the teacher began class.  From that day on, they made sure they sat next to each other.   In week three of the semester, Rob asked if Lindsay was okay with the idea of working together on the upcoming big team assignment. 

Well, she said.  He did say he wants us to work in teams.  I guess you’ll do.

She said it completely straight faced and looking straight ahead.  Rob was dumbstruck, crushed.  She let him suffer for just a few more moments and then burst out laughing, slapping him on the shoulder.  He grimaced and turned bright red, but he was hooked.  Little did he know that this was an act quite out of character for Lindsay, nor that she felt comfortable teasing him because, from the outset, he had made her feel more confident and comfortable than ever before in her life.  For Lindsay to tease someone was a rare thing.

From that moment, they were inseparable.  When graduation came along they even made sure they would be seated together for the liberal arts baccalaureate.  That, of course, meant introductions to each other’s families.      All went well, with the exception of Lindsay’s fifteen-year-old cousin asking when they were getting married.

That subject had not been brought up by either of them during their entire senior year.  It was as if each was afraid of jinxing their very happy friendship.  Neither wanted to be the one to ruin everything by making it so much more serious.  That they liked each other...a lot...was undeniable.  How to approach that situation seemed beyond either of their imaginations.  So, time passed and they grew closer and closer, though without any indications of romantic possibilities.  Then, a funny thing happened.  As they were walking across campus, a voice called out.  It was a feminine voice.  The voice’s owner obviously knew Rob.  To her surprise, this really bothered Lindsay.

Hey, Rob-the-Slob!  How ya’ doin’?

The voice came complete with a pretty face, gorgeous hair, and a great body.  None of these facts made Lindsay any happier.

Hey, Lacey.  It’s good to see you.  How’ve you been?

Busy.  Have you noticed that they like to keep it that way around here?  ‘Busy’ must be their goal.  How about you?

I’m doing great.  Hey, this is my good friend, Lindsay.  She’s another Journalism major, like me...destined for starvation.

The two girls sized each other up in a matter of less than two seconds.  More passed between them than a simple male mind like