“So is the future on the list of acceptable topics to be discussed today?” Boone asked as we headed down the stairs at an inchworm’s pace.
In The Thing, stairs were next to impossible to maneuver with any speed. It probably would have been quicker and easier to roll me down.
“I got a good night’s sleep. No one’s yelled at me yet about my hair, my dress, or my weight, so sure, let’s go crazy.”
When I took the next step down, my toe caught on the step and threw me off balance a bit. Boone’s hands were bracing me, keeping me upright, before I knew I was off-kilter. I thanked him with an embarrassed smile and slowed to a senior citizen inchworm’s pace.
“You own a business. A successful one, from the sounds of it,” Boone started, keeping his hands up—I guess in the event I decided to take another spill down the stairs.
“Yes, and yes, maybe,” I answered.
He gave me a look that suggested he knew I was being modest.
“Okay, yes, it’s been successful beyond what I imagined it would be,” I admitted with an eye roll.
“Nice,” he said, sounding like he actually meant it. If I’d admitted the same thing to the majority of my family, I’d be met with similar comments that would sound as if they meant the total opposite. “Warning you upfront here that I’m going to sound like an ignorant hick, but what exactly is your business?”
I smiled at the floor as we took the last step that put us in the foyer. “That doesn’t sound ignorant at all. That sounds honest. Like the question most people would ask instead of pretending they know what the hell I’m talking about.”
“So yeah, I’m an ignorant hick. Every one of my teachers’ assessments of me from kindergarten through senior year study hall has been confirmed.” He threw his hands up in the air like he was celebrating. “At last, I’ve finally lived up to someone’s expectations.”
I nudged my shoulder into his. “I’ve created a consulting business that works with large corporations to make them more energy efficient, ultimately saving them thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars a year, and doing my part to help the environment too. I see it as a win-win.” I glanced at him and added, “And you’re not an ignorant hick. God knows I’ve spent my fair share of time around them, but never has one minute of that time been with you.”
He nodded as we moved through the kitchen toward the back door. “Your family is one of the oldest, wealthiest oil families in this country’s history. Who would have seen their oldest child going into the business of saving the environment instead of advancing its demise?” He smiled at me, almost like he was proud I’d done one of the most outrageous, disgraceful things I could in my family’s eyes by opening a business with the goal to lessen the country’s dependency on oil, instead of doing everything I could to increase it. “And thanks for saying I’m not a hick, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. You can paint it white and braid its mane, but at the end of the day, you can’t turn an ass into a unicorn, no matter how much glitter and flowers you sprinkle on it.”
“You lost me around the glitter part there, but now you can understand why my visits home have been so infrequent. My dad couldn’t talk to me without practically going cross-eyed after I told him about the company I’d started back in California.”
“So pretty much the same look he gave you yesterday at breakfast when you told everyone you were expanding nationally?” Boone asked as we stepped through the screen door onto the back porch.
“Close, just a few notches less severe in the shock-and-awe department. Yesterday’s look was three years ago’s tamer version.”
When we made it to the steps leading down into the yard, Boone and I stopped and surveyed the scene before us. Neither of us seemed in a hurry to throw ourselves to the sharks. We’d played the chum role long enough yesterday, and the whole apex of predators trailing us with bloodlust in their eyes had gotten old.
Boone sighed before looking at me in a way that suggested he was saying, You first.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him along, taking that first step down together.
“So you’re hoping to rid the world of its need for oil?” Boone’s voice was a bit louder than necessary, no doubt because he wanted every one of the oil-rich breakfasters to hear.
“I just want to save the polar bears. That’s all.” I waved at Avalee, who was camped out in a chair with a pair of dark glasses propped on her nose and an expression that indicated she was regretting certain aspects of last night.