Page 78 of Falling Slowly
She said nothing, only watched me in silence.
Our host, Anna, barged in, wiping her hands on a tea towel. “Good news! My son Nash is on his way over. He’ll take you to town.”
“Thank you so much.” Bess smiled at her.
“Don’t thank me, thank him. See if you can get more than one word out of him in response. He can be a bit moody.” She rolled her eyes. “But I’ve bribed him with pumpkin pie so you can expect a swift journey.”
I inhaled the aroma coming from the kitchen and my stomach growled like a ventriloquist dummy.
Anna’s eyes widened. “I’m so sorry! When did you last eat? Stay for pie. It’ll be done in a minute. Nash can have his reward in advance.”
I saw Bess’s head about to shake and jumped in before she could politely refuse and ruin this chance for both of us. “That sounds amazing! We had some muesli bars, but it’s been hours.”
“Hours of carrying your girlfriend? You’re quite the hero, Charlie.” She gave me a warm smile, her head tilted.
My brain kept searching for hints of sarcasm, but there seemed to be none. Yet those words twisted like a knife in my gut. “I’m really not. I’m the reason we got lost. I wanted to see the elk mating, so we followed the sound of bugling and then it got too dark.”
“Oh! Did you see them, though? It’s quite the sight. Might be worth a bit of extra trouble. Drop a good video like that in the town chat group and people go nuts!” She chuckled.
“We got a video, didn’t we?” Bess looked up at me. “Maybe we can share it.”
Anna clapped her hands. “Fabulous!”
I brought up the videos I’d taken on the binoculars and let Anna have a look.
“This thing records video? What do you know!” She held the binoculars to her face. “Can you send this to me? My email is up on that board because I keep forgetting it.”
The oven timer rang. “That’s the pie. I’ll bring it over, so you don’t have to move with that sore leg.”
We chuckled at her email address, printed, and laminated, on a corkboard by the shelf.
The front door opened and a huge guy with a dark beard stepped in, eyeing us with suspicion. “You’re the young couple who got lost up the hill?” He made it sound like we’d walked in circles in his backyard like confused toddlers. Which we kind of had.
I straightened, offering him a friendly smile and a handshake. “That’s us.”
I introduced myself and Bess, and by the time we’d confirmed this was Nash, our ride, Anna barged in with a tray of pumpkin pie and plates. My mouth filled with saliva and Nash’s expression thawed considerably.
Maybe it was best he got his reward in advance, so he didn’t eat us.
Anna poured us cups of coffee and cut us generous pieces of pie. We dug in, too busy stuffing our faces to engage in small talk. Nothing had ever tasted so good. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten something home baked, anyway.
Feeling a lot more alive, we said farewell to our host and gathered our things.
“I’ll bring the car closer, so you don’t have to… you know,” Nash gestured at Bess’s leg. As he traipsed across the yard towards a freestanding garage, I handed Bess my phone. “Here you go. It’s got enough charge now. Call your mom.”
Leaning on the banister, she turned the phone in her hands, looking conflicted. “Maybe it’s best that I don’t get her all worried. Celia is still at kindergarten… She’ll have to pick her up. Does she even need to drive up here? She’d have to borrow a car.”
“Your mom doesn’t have a car?” I instantly regretted the surprise in my voice.
“She uses mine. We sort of share.” She glanced up and I could practically see the thoughts crisscrossing in her brain. “What if I can’t drive my car back? How do I get it back home? Even if Mom comes here, she can’t help. We won’t have enough drivers.” She dipped her chin, studying her feet as she tried to move her ankle up and down.
“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but you can’t drive anything without a functioning right foot. I can give you a ride back. We’ll pick up your car later.”
She released a sigh, and her gaze drifted out to the mountains. “I really screwed up this whole thing.”
“What thing?”
“This retreat. I was supposed to help you with the campaign, but I don’t think I’ve been much help at all. Instead, there’s all this unnecessary drama.”
