Page 9 of Love Hollow at Last
Aya walked over then called out to him when she found it, “What am I supposed to do with this?I take it you don’t need a tourniquet.”
“No.B-B-But you should use that harness just to make sure you don’t fall.”
She came back wearing the harness, its rope with carabiners thrown over her shoulder, and she went to the top of the bridge.Standing there in the creek, he had another chance to see just how beautiful Aya had become over the years.Though he didn’t visit often, Aya’s mom seemed to “drop by” the house each time he was around.Every time she pulled out her phone, with its photo of her three daughters, he avoided looking directly at them as if he might go blind.Back in high school, Aya had been obsessed with straightening her hair, and she wore it in a fashionable ponytail with a sort of stripe on the side.But now she was wearing it loose.With her silky hair blowing in the breeze, Aya looked like a goddess who had suddenly decided to wear jeans and a quilted jacket.And with the harness around her, she was also his savior.
“Okay,” Noah said.“Just clip it around one of the posts on the bridge.If you get on your belly, you should be able to reach me.”
If he had been several inches closer, he would have been able to pull himself up to the bridge.But he was just far enough that he knew it would be a stupid move.Though Aya was short, he’d be able to reach her arm without a problem.
“Fine,” she said, and he could see that she had turned a little bit pink.“So now what?You’re just going to grab my hand?”
She got on her stomach, stretching out an arm to him.
“I’m going to grab your arm here,” he said, getting a tight hold next to her elbow.“And you grab mine.”
He looked up at her, and for a moment, he was distracted.Her eyes were earnest and kind.Aya was concentrating, showing a different emotion from the tidal wave of resentment he had felt just a moment ago.
“On the count of three,” he said, trying to remember exactly how to do it, “I’m going to try to jump up and grab the bridge.So just stay as steady as you can.One, two, three.”
It was a scramble, and it wasn’t easy, but Aya was steadier than he’d thought.He caught hold of the part of the bridge that had been just beyond his reach and dragged himself up.When he got purchase with his feet, he had to awkwardly straddle the railing then let himself down.He ended up next to Aya, his jeans so muddy that it looked almost as if they ended at his knees.
Aya laughed.“What a mess!I would have had no idea how to do that if you hadn’t told me.”
He raised his eyebrows.“Yeah, well, I have some experience.”
“I guess so,” she said.“Given that your family apparently keeps all the equipment for exactly this sort of rescue maneuver in the bridge.Who got stuck here last time?Your mom?”
He frowned.“Why would you assume it was my mom?”
Her good humor still hadn’t dissipated.“Oh, she hated when we got too near the creek without ‘proper supervision,’ remember?I always thought it was because she didn’t like it back here.”
He smiled dreamily, thinking of one afternoon when Aya had come over and they had tried panning for gold.It was probably because of that riveting lesson on the gold rush in third grade.They had ended up filthy, and Noah had been grounded, though Mrs.Kato didn’t do anything to Aya beyond giving her a stern lecture about playing in creeks without an adult.Aya was a guest, so no matter what her behavior was, it was not going to be harshly punished.
“No,” he said, sighing.“It wasn’t my mom.But anyway, it doesn’t matter.I mean, thanks.”
She saw through his answer immediately.“It was you, wasn’t it?Wow, Noah.Did you lose your boots that time too?”
He gave a mournful look at the muddy spot where his beautiful boots had disappeared, possibly forever.“No, I was just wearing some…um, slides.”
Aya was laughing still, rocking back and forth, her whole body heaving as she made fun of him.With anyone else, Noah would have gotten annoyed, but she looked so beautiful that he couldn’t really get angry.
Until she regained her composure, took the harness off, and handed it to him.
“So.I hope I can expect your formal document today?I’ll present it to the board.Your parents seem pretty busy with the, um, the grandbaby, so I know they have better things to do than sit through a lot of emergency meetings.”
Noah looked away.“I mean, they don’t get a vote anymore, do they?Not after what happened, you know.”
Aya was furious.“They should never have resigned.You’re right.They don’t vote.But the meetings are public, so they always attend.”
She had looked irritated before, but now her eyes were flashing, fury in her voice as she stood up and stomped down the bridge.
“Aya, thanks,” he said.“And yeah, I’ll have my assistant send the p-proposal in.”
He hadn’t meant to step in it again, but he could tell it was the wrong thing to say.
Aya laughed again but with bitterness.“Oh, excellent.I’ll have my own imaginary assistant read the proposal, draft a response, convene a meeting, do the million other things that need to happen before the Pilgrimage, and maybe have dinner with my mom and sisters too.Or maybe your assistant can take care of that while he’s at it.”
“She,” said Noah weakly.“Her name is Grace.”
