by Alisha Watts
“What else does he do when he's not singing?”
“He works with his family at a landscaping and gardening shop. He works in the tree center, nursing baby trees to health.”
The saccharine quality to her voice made it difficult for Tara to not wince. “Aren't they supposed to be healthy in nature?”
“Well, yes, but he helps them.”
“Skylar.”
“What?”
“... nothing, honey. Just remember to be looking at everything about him, not just what he tells you.”
“It's fine, Tara. I thought that you liked him, too.”
“I barely got to talk to him at the club.”
“Hm, well, you'll have plenty of opportunity to talk to him while we wait on the movie tonight.”
“What are we seeing, anyway?” Andrew asked.
“I think it's that new one about little people that have their own culture in someone's backyard or something. It's supposed to be total eye candy.”
“He goes for that kind of thing?”
Skylar glared briefly at Andrew. “I'm sure he's just picking it to be a gentleman. I wouldn't want to go see some movie about guys on bikes chasing each other. What's the deal about all those hyped up cars, anyway?”
“Cars are something you have to ride in to really appreciate,” Tara commented before Andrew could voice his indignation. “Or you have to see different models next to each other to see what makes some of them better than others. The chassis and paint and design are all unique depending on the model and they lend them to being able to do some things better than other and guys appreciate a ride that's got a good handle on it.”
Andrew chuckled and affectionately squeezed her thigh. “Yeah, we do.”
Skylar sighed and chalked the conversation up to yet another example of a situation where they would all have to agree to disagree. After all, it was entirely possible that Grayson wanted to see the kinds of movies that she liked and she wasn't going to judge him for it.
~~~
“So? Are you going to admit that you needed this or are you still pouting over there?” Steve asked as he stretched a crick out of his back. “It's pretty hard to go for a hike with a book over your face.”
“It's the only way I'm not going to get sunburned since somebody forgot the sunblock,” was the reply that grouchily emerged from the tented book over Chris's face.
“Well, you did tell me you didn't want anything from the store,” Steve said in his most logical sounding voice.
He sighed in aggravation. “That was when I thought we were going out for wings!”
“That was rather presumptuous of you. Why would I have asked you to get the first aid kit so we could get wings?”
“Presumptuous of me?” Chris pushed the book off of his face to glare at his so called friend. “Have you bothered to look in a mirror lately? I know we have some nearby since the truck is parked... somewhere.”
Steve smiled. He had managed somehow to park the truck and unpack enough of their gear while Chris was finishing up that nap. The fact that he was that tired had convinced Steve that he had been more than in the right to kidnap him like this. It wasn't until he had unbuckled Chris that he had realized they were out in the middle of the woods. Thankfully, Chris had been too groggy to recall where the truck was once they were safely at their campsite and Steve had been able to keep him in the country for nearly two days thus far.
Now if he could only convince Chris to stop pouting with his research and writing little notes to himself about his thesis; Steve felt like the trip out was going to be much more of a success. As it stood, the outing was a little mediocre and he had plans to take Chris back to the truck later that same evening. Then, back towards civilization so he could find his beloved power source.
“Don't you have something better to do? It's the middle of the week, Steve. No one takes vacations in the middle of the week.”
“Shouldn't that mean that everything is less crowded out here, then? We're less likely to be bothered and more likely to have the trails to ourselves. Besides, I'm a server so our crazy time is during the weekend while everyone else is taking their breaks. I'm good, and as long as you're back in time to let your mentor know that you aren't dead and have been thinking about intelligent things then you're fine. You said yourself that you needed a break.”
Chris gave him a flat look but grudgingly pulled on a set of hiking boots and joined him in stretching. “That didn't mean I wanted you to kidnap me.”
“Sorry, next time I'll hire a hot girl to do it for me.” Steve shifted to pull his left arm over his head and his eyes widened as he caught the look Chris was giving him. “... or not.”
“The last thing I want is to get kidnapped by someone I don't know, male or female.”
“Yeah, that would probably be a bit of an interesting story for the kids. How I met your mother, well, she kidnapped me and then we played the most dangerous game and I lived so she decided we were good. Then a year or so later we had you so decided to get married.”
“Um, no. That is not even how things would go.”
“Then how do you see it going?”
“I want to know someone for a long time before I decide they should be a part of my life. It isn't like going to the grocery store and picking someone up to take home and be yours.”
“What would a place like that even be like?” Steve asked, his gaze going distant as he tried to envision it.
“Probably like a slave pen.”
“Huh, I was thinking more like those Barbie boxes, like they do in those Bachelor TV shows.”
“Hm. Sounds like yet another good reason for me to mostly avoid watching television. It's really not a wholesome activity.”
“Well, no, not the reality TV shows. Some of them are pretty good, though. I don't know why you avoid watching it altogether.”
“I watch on my own time and when I can avoid commercials. So no, I don't get too much into any one show because I am not going to rearrange my life schedule to have time for that show.”
“You could record it.”
“Not the point, dude.”
Steve sighed. “Look, man, I just thought that it's been forever since we actually hung out. Even when we go out to get wings and watch a game you seem distracted about something and don't really talk anymore.”
Chris started up on the trail and Steve fell into step beside him as they walked. “I just don't have a lot to talk about, I guess. Not a lot has been going on.”
“You used to try to explain your thesis to me,” Steve said.
“That almost got as exhausting as writing the thesis in general,” Chris replied with a laugh. “You hate economics.”
“I just don't get why you like it so much. It seems like a lot of work to say what everyone else knows about the economy: it sucks.”
“There are things we could be doing to help it. Sometimes the media throws out all these scary phrases and data and people don't know what to do with it so they start believing all about the recession being awful and unemployment being too high and it's not always the case.”
“They wouldn't be writing stories about it all the time if there wasn't some cause for worry, though, right?”
“That's what they want you to think,” Chris muttered darkly.
“I guess it shouldn't be too surprising that you aren't stoked about the news. They're on the TV, too, and obviously technology is evil because you can't write your thesis on it.” Steve laughed and shook his head. “No, it's cool, man. I understand, I'm just messing with you.”
“Hm. Anyway, have you been on this trail before? I don't think I've camped in this area yet.”
“Yeah, once or twice. Nothing too serious, just a trail run with the girlfriend when she was feeling ambitious and wanted to try to get closer to nature and all that business. It was her thing for exactly long enough for her to realize that there could be bears in the woods and then we were packing back to town. That and she had read some s
tatistic about how it was more likely for serial killers to kidnap people on running trails, but I told her that was not as much of a problem as she seems to think it is. For one thing, they’re more likely to pick up people that run the same trail on a consistent basis.”
“Hm, or maybe we should live in a world where we can go on a hike without worrying whether there’s someone down the path with an ice pick.”
“Let me know when you get a time machine, dude. Those days are passed, apparently.” Steve stopped moving as though a thought had struck him so hard that he had to physically react. “A time machine. That’s perfect! How else will you find an era where you belong?”
“Excuse me?” Chris asked flatly.
“No, no, it makes sense! We’ll get you a time machine and send you back in time. The cover story is that you’re going there to fix the economy so that we don’t all go into debt forever but in actuality...”
“That is not even how the economy would be repaired. It would take more than one person going back and knowing about economics to just make everything work right.”
“Would you stop trying to make logical sense and listen to me? That’s where we’d find your perfect girl, because back then girls fell for guys that were really smart.”
“They still do fall for smart guys,” Chris pointed out.
“Mm, no, I think they tend to fall for people with money that like sports. You kind of have hiking going for you, but there are times I think you chose economics because no girl wants to tell her parents she’s marrying an economics teacher.”
“Well, some people look at personalities rather than what people do for a living.”
“Aha, so I am right! You totally are trying to use your job to weed out the bad ones. Huh, you really are smart. You’re missing the next step, though, dude, what good is narrowing down your options if you never move in for the kill?”
“Could you not make it sound like I’m hunting down a rabbit for dinner? I’d like to think I have a little more self-control than to just jump on a girl because she seems somewhat decent and isn’t shallow.”
“It is kind of like hunting,” Steve argued.
“No, it is not. Not for me.”
“Hmph, well, you’re weird.”
“Then maybe more people should be weird.”
“Or maybe we should start working on that time machine...”
Chris chose not to respond to that last retort, but rather to walk on with his friend in silence for a while. Steve was right though. He was most certainly a little antiquated in his views on how to begin a relationship. It seemed as if people nowadays approached dating and relationships in such a backwards manner. So many people he knew out of high school or college seemed to jump on the first person of the opposite sex that showed more than a passing interest; only to end up forcing a relationship that really never worked in the first place.
Chris didn’t have the time, energy, or patience for that kind of thing. Why was it so hard to meet honest, straight forward, wholesome, people in an organic manner this day in age? Oh how he would love to simply bump into the perfect woman in some mundane place and get to talking about something the two of them had in common in a natural, unforced way. Then, what if that led to something resembling an actual courtship in which you really got to know someone before shacking up with them? Well, just imagine that. Seriously imagine - because that’s the only way it’s going to happen.
Just then the thought of Skylar fumbling in her purse for her keys in the coffee shop parking lot came into his mind and he chuckled to think that he probably looked similar digging in his satchel for a pencil to jot down notes, or for his notes in general. Seriously, how does everything placed in a satchel ever always end up at the bottom of that thing...
“...then we could go on a real road trip bro!” Steve declared, finishing up some sentence he had started and simultaneously stopping in a clearing that contained a small pond.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Chris asked as he came out of his reverie and stopped behind his friend.
“Holy mackerel man!” Chris said as he spun around with all the animation he could muster, “Would you get out of your head for five minutes?! I was saying that you should fix up that bike of your’s so we could go on a planned, un-accosted road trip together; among other words I don’t care enough about to repeat. I promise to bring sun screen.”
“Really Steve, is it ‘bring up every subject that annoys my best friend’ day?” Chris replied, a little more icily than he had intended (as a result of being pulled from his day dream only to encounter a subject that he had absolutely no desire to discuss).
“No,” Steve answered, obviously feeling somewhat dejected, “I just thought that it would be a nice change of pace for you is all. You used to love that bike and I used to love riding mine with you. That’s another thing about our friendship I miss. Anna misses you too man.”
Chris saw the look of genuine... something... on his friend’s face, but at least it was genuine and he softened slightly.
“Look, I know you’re concerned about me and it’s nice to know that for whatever strange reasons your girl misses seeing me around too, but honestly I’m just busy and, because of all the busy, I am understandably stressed out at the moment. I’m also being a little introspective man. I guess it’s just that time in my life.”
“All right!” Steve exclaimed somewhat questioningly and plopped down on a grassy patch of earth and started looking around for rocks to skip across the pond, “I still think you should give it some thought though. There’s nothing better than driving from Colorado to South Dakota with the wind in your hair and with no reason behind the trip other than frequenting random dives along the way. Besides you can’t let what happened ruin something you care so much about.”
“First of all, dive hopping does not sound fun to me. Second of all I’m in the middle of a thesis. Third... Ow!” Chris had unknowingly crossed in front of his seated friend at the exact moment Steve had located and launched his first rock towards the water and Chris got rewarded with a stinging pelt to the back of his thigh. Stifled giggles erupted from behind him as Chris began to rub his leg and finish his sentence through clenched teeth.
“And third, what happened only happened a little less than two years ago. So I’m pretty sure I’m not yet in danger of becoming akin to some hermit-esque, cat lady.”
“Just saying, think about it.” Steve repeated as he stood up and clapped Chris on the back.
“Yeah because that never happened before you mentioned it. Thanks old pal.”
Steve rolled his eyes and started back for the trail at a quickened pace with the intent of conquering a particularly fierce hill. Chris paused for several moments and took in the scenery; along with a deep breath. He just couldn’t get Skylar out of his mind. He felt that he could be the person she wanted, if only he had the time. But then again, he did have time for an invigorating kidnap-camping session and his thesis would hopefully soon be finished. Would he really be able to use those things as an excuse for much longer? Or, would it turn into a new excuse like finding a career.
Chris reached down and picked up the rock that had hit him in the back of the leg and threw it at the water; watching it skip numerous times before sinking to the bottom of the pond beyond reach. He was sure there was some sort of glaring metaphor in that moment, but it was just beyond his grasp. So, not wanting to be left alone for an ice pick wielding, serial killing bear or whatever, Chris turned and joined his friend in a comfortable and, mercifully, quiet jog.
~~~
“And remember, kids, you never hit as hard as you can. You find your focus, channel your feelings, and always stay in control. What you learn here is for safety, not so that you can win fights. We respect each other and our friends and through that we gain a better understanding of ourselves. We’ll see you next week, keep practicing your kicks if you find an empty space big enough for it at home, and good job,” Skylar said as she bowed to her class. Seve
ral children of various ages bowed back and then went to find their mothers and she smiled as she watched them go.
Volunteering as a trainer after she had learned enough karate on her own had seemed like a good way to get a little extra cash. It had also made it possible for her to continue taking her own lessons on Thursday nights.
The lessons, though, had turned into something that she loved to do. It felt good to help younger kids to learn, especially when she could tell that some of them had had difficult lives that had led them to need something like martial arts in their lives. Most parents seemed to have their reservations about taking children that had problems with hitting other kids to karate, but in Skylar’s opinion nothing could be better for them.
As she was on her way out to her car she saw something limping in an odd manner around the parking lot. Her brow furrowed and she veered away from her car to get a closer look.
A little duckling with bright yellow feathers banded in brown where his adult colors were coming in, was scolding her from the hot pavement. As she watched he parted his beak to pant harshly and it broke her heart to see his shoulders pounding with the effort for his heart to keep working.
“Oh, you poor thing,” she said softly as she shrugged out of her jacket and set it next to the duckling. “Here, come on. I know it looks hot still but I can take you somewhere cooler. Come on, it’s safe. I won’t hurt you, little friend,” she continued to cajole.
The duckling flailed to one side and she eventually gave up on his walking onto her hoodie and instead used it to scoop him up. He protested violently and she gently put pressure around his wings in order to keep him as still as she could. “No, if you keep fighting you’re only going to get hotter,” she scolded gently as she took him back inside with her.
“Did you forget something, Skylar?” one of the other instructors asked.
“No, I just found a duckling outside that hurt his foot. I was going to get him something to drink and then take him to the vet.”