Page 67 of Free Heart
Ha! He knows exactly why I do it. One, because I’m a braggart and I want the world to know he’s mine, and two, because of all that stuff he told me about KPop marketing. It’s the intimate look at the inner world of the “celebrity” that makes the videos so appealing. Sejin is my world so long as I can’t climb.
“Let’s not stand here with the door open,” Sejin says with a shiver as Romeo slips past our feet. Sailor makes an aborted, half-attempt to grab him. “He’s fine out there. There’s a kitty door for when he wants to come back in.”
“You let your cat just roam?” Sailor asks with a hint of judgment as everyone moves into the entryway. Sejin and I busy ourselves taking their coats, scarves, and hats to hang up on the hooks there.
I can’t help but admire the way Sailor’s Fair Isle sweater pulls over her ample chest.
“He’s not ours,” Sejin says. “The house isn’t either.”
“Oh, yes, Lowell said you’re housesitting.”
“Yup, and the human these cats have claimed always lets them come and go as they like. They have their claws, so they aren’t defenseless. But I know. I get it. I’d probably keep them inside too, if they were mine.”
Meeting new people is always awkward and weird, but at least this woman seems bent on liking me. That’s something I can get behind. Even if I’m not getting behind or on top ofher.
I notice Rye is hanging back, a pensive expression on his face. Probably because he’s sad about Jeanie. I’m sure he’ll loosen up soon.
Sejin serves drinks and moves everyone out to the side yard where he’s dragged the long picnic table from beside Peggy Jo’s garage and created an impressive bonfire twenty feet away to keep us warm. The night sky is vast and open, and the air is cold but dry enough. It’s a beautiful night for it.
Rye helps Sejin bring out all the food, leaving me, Lowell, and Sailor seated at the picnic table like two lords and a lady.
I feel guilty about not being able to help, but obviously I can’t do much on my crutches, and when Lowell offers, Rye very pointedly says he should stay and entertain his guest.
I’m not entirely sure what’s up between them, but maybe I’m getting better at reading people because I can guess. With Sailor being here at Lowell’s invitation, and with her looking like she does, and Rye being the first guy Lowell’s ever been with, I suspect jealousy is the problem.
Ignoring the tension, I ask Sailor where she’s from and what she’s doing in town. I don’t love small talk. It’s one reason I relied on hookup apps to get laid before meeting Sejin. But it’s not like I’mincapableof it. Foster mother number three, Edith, taught me the basics, and Peggy Jo has drilled them into me too.
Turns out Sailor’s from North Carolina—the Asheville area. She’s a climber too, though more of the alpine variety rather than big walls. However, she’s been known to do a few of those too, and that is, of course, part of why she’s here in Yosemite Valley.
“Sailor’s in town making a short film,” Lowell says, putting his arm around her like a proud papa and shaking her back and forth. She laughs and doesn’t make him stop. Oh, sothat’swhy Rye’s jealous. It’s not just how she looks. It’sthis.“That’s her job. She makes or helps to make documentaries. She’s going to be here another six months or so for it.”
“This one’s not my baby, though. I’m doing a lot of the prep work for my uncle. He owns Jagged Edges Films. This project ishisdarling. I’m here scouting and acting as an advance fixer of sorts.”
“Fixer?”
“Industry-speak for being a bridge between the locals and the film crew. I’m here tightening relationships, making connections, and scouting locations to make things easier when the rest of the team arrives this summer.”
Sejin and Rye bring out the last of the food. After placing the big plates of turkey and baked beans on the table, Sejin reaches over to hand Sailor the bottle of beer she’d requested earlier.
“What’s the film about? The one you’re fixing for?” Sejin asks.
“Fixing for. Ha, cute. A documentary about the history of YOSAR,” she answers. “That’s how I met Lowell actually. Back a few years ago, when my uncle was still in the proposal stage forit, Lowell was still on the SAR team. I talked with him and a few other members.”
“Seems like yesterday in some ways,” Lowell says, and again he smiles at her with a light in his eyes.
“It does.” Sailor goes on. “Lowell and Nina had just broken up, andmyex and I had just ended things. Whew. What a time. Let me tell you, the two of us killed plenty of bottles of wine commiserating.”
Rye tenses a little, but Lowell massages his shoulders and kisses the side of his head. The tense expression that’d begun creeping over Rye’s features dissipates, but not entirely. I don’t think he has anything to worry about, but that flash of visible jealousy makes me look a little closer at Sailor and Lowell.
Didthey hook up back then?
If so, Lowell’s a lucky man, and she’s a brave woman. Taking on someone with Lowell’s intensity right after the divorce when he was a mess? That must have either been wildly fun or something kind of dark for both of them.
But maybe they haven’t fucked at all. It’s hard to tell by looking at them. There’s a fondness in the way they behave toward each other. I could ask what they’ve been to each other, get it over with and out in the open for everyone, but I suspect Sejin will kick me under the table if I do.
“I know Rye, Lowell, and Dan are all climbers or associated with YOSAR, but what about you?” Sailor says, turning to Sejin. “What do you do?”
Sejin focuses on his plate for a moment as if he’s trying to decide what to take a bite of next. “I work a few jobs actually.”
