“You can do math. Go on.”
The service road was filled with people. Below, the mountains were deep gold. The sky was cerulean and completely without clouds. It was colder here, in the forties, but the sun was strong and felt good on her face. Ro rubbed her hands together.
“Cold?”
“Just my fingers.”
Ben reached into a jacket pocket and handed her a water bottle and a pair of gloves. “Drink. You don’t want to get dehydrated.”
She put on the gloves. “You’re not cold?”
“I’m fine.”
She drained half the bottle of water. “It really is spectacular.”
“A rare burst of positivity.”
“Is that what we do, Vicks? Bicker back and forth like an old married couple?”
“Truce?”
“Truce, but probably not for long.”
He smiled. They walked without talking until the entire vista was nothing but gold. Two elderly women were sitting on a view bench. When they got up, he snagged the seat, slipped off his backpack, and opened it up. He took out the food, opening the Tupperware, careful not to spill. “Hungry?”
“A little.” She took a chip and dipped it in the guacamole. “Good.”
“Try the salsa.”
She tried it and coughed. “What’d she put in there? Gunpowder?”
“This?” Ben made a face. “This is nothing!”
“You must have sandpaper in your mouth.” She gulped water. “That’s hot.” She coughed again.
“Eat some tortilla chips. Water will just spread around the heat.”
“Do you have any taste buds left?”
“Jalape?os are considered pretty mild over here. Take the guac.”
She did, slathering the roof of her mouth with avocado. “This place is nuts. It’s the only city I know that has a dedicated chili shop.”
“Like the Eskimos with snow, we have a zillion words for chili. Stop kvetching and look at the scenery.”
“Kvetching?”
“If you go to Las Vegas, New Mexico, there’s a Jewish cemetery with a bunch of Weils in it. My grandfather Ed on my mother’s side is a Weil.”
“I take it he’s still alive?”
“Yes. He lives in Albuquerque.”
“What does he do?”
“He was originally trained as an engineer, but worked as a patent lawyer for Sandia Labs down south. He’s always worked for the government. He’s retired now but he still does a lot of tinkering in his garage.”
“Do you see him?”
“Every time I go down to Albuquerque. He and my grandmother come up for the holidays. My dad lights Chanukah candles for him. It’s really funny because he says the blessing in Hebrew and he can’t make the guttural Ch sound. He’s a cool guy, my grandpa Ed. His own father, my great-grandfather Abe, was a physicist who worked at Los Alamos during World War Two with Oppenheimer and Teller.”
“Wow. You have pedigree. How about your father’s parents?”
“They’re alive. I see them at holidays too.” He turned to her. “What about you?”
“All my grandparents are alive.”
“Good genetics.”
“English, Scottish and Irish and Welsh. Believe it or not, even with that kind of homogeneity, there are blood feuds.”
“The English and the Irish? No!”
“And my Scottish grandfather fights with everyone. We have a rather contentious family.” Her eyes stared straight ahead. The sun was beginning to sink, casting gilt shadows on a gold carpet. “It’s really gorgeous.”
After she finished off the guacamole, Ben got rid of the trash. The road was less populated as the hour grew late. The air was cold and still except for the quaking of the trees. Ro was beginning to shiver.
Ben said, “We can go whenever you’re ready.”
“Just a few more minutes.”
He sat back down. “Habit-forming . . . right?”
“It’s just so peaceful.” She sighed. “It was nice of your mom to invite me for dinner. I really do have plans. We’re all going to the movies.”
“Sounds wholesome . . . except for the inevitable weed and boozing and other things that take place afterward.”
She didn’t deny it. “Ben, why don’t you come?”
“Not a chance.”
“You know, Lisa Holloway really likes you. And she really is cute, despite the Goth thing.”
Don’t say a word. “I’m not interested.” He focused on her eyes. “I know you mean well, hon, but please don’t try to fix me up. And please don’t try to integrate me into your clique. I’m happy with my status. I know I’m a lone wolf—as Lilly tells me all the time. And I always tell her that no great discoveries were ever made at parties unless it was a formula written on the back of a napkin. The truth is, people like me, we live a lot in our heads.”
“I hope it’s a good place.”
“Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s very dark. And when it’s dark, I go outside and see what the sun looks like. And right now, it looks like the sun is going down. We should go. The critters that you don’t see in the daytime are starting to hunt now.”
She stood up and they started walking. The hike down was silent. When they reached the bottom of the trail, the sun was sinking behind the mountains. Ben leaned against the hatch of the Explorer and together they saw the fireworks spread in the sky, a brilliant display of gold, pinks, deep corals, and lavender. By the time he pulled out, the Explorer was the only vehicle in the parking area.
Ten minutes later, on the silent trip home, the stars began to come out. Ro rubbed her shoulder, turned on the heat, and fished her cell from her purse. Ben said, “You might have to wait to get reception.”
She nodded and held her phone in her hand. “Can’t say the entire day was a hoot and a holler, but it ended with a bang. Thank you for what was probably the most interesting time I’ve had since I got here.”
“You’re welcome.”
“You are really an enigma . . . wrapped in a puzzle . . . wrapped in a riddle . . . wrapped in a mystery.”
“You forgot conundrum.” A pause. “And what are you?”
“I’ve already told you that, Vicks. I’m self-centered, egotistical, shallow, competitive, and if I need to be, a real scheming bitch.”
“I don’t see you that way at all.”
“Okay. I’ll bite. How do you see me?”
“You’re lonely.”
“Me? I’m like the most popular girl in the school. I’m around people all the time.”
“Who said you can’t be lonely with people all around?” He was staring out the windshield. “That’s why you talk to me. If you had someone else who you could tell your secrets to, you wouldn’t be talking to me at all. It’s fine, though. I like being your temporary confidant. In a year, you’ll be gone and I’ll still be here and we’ll probably never see each other again.”
Tears formed in her eyes. “You know, Vicks? You have this way of just bringing everything down.”
“Maybe, but at least I don’t find you scheming and bitchy and shallow.”
“Do you like me?”