Cal thought he might have to try that one day soon. Then he looked straight up to the top of that mountain and almost swooned. He decided he could probably find better things to do with his time. Some of the trails that wound around the steep side of the mountain were challenging enough.
Maggie, however, was like a goat. She went along with him sometimes; she was sure-footed and lithe. They usually didn’t talk until they reached a summit and relaxed, enjoying the view. They’d sit, guzzle a pint or so of water, let the breeze cool them and unwind before they talked.
“I think you’re starting to like Colorado,” Maggie said.
“Colorado has a lot to offer,” he said, putting his arm around her.
“What are the chances you’ll stick around?”
“I haven’t made any plans to leave yet, Maggie. You getting tired of me?”
She laughed. “Do I act like I’m getting tired of you? You’re almost like one of the family. If you leave now it might upset Sully more than me.”
“I hope that’s not true. I haven’t spent much time with Phoebe and don’t know Walter yet.”
“I don’t want to scare you off,” she said. “I’ve been wondering—how did it feel, doing a little lawyer work?”
“Very familiar,” he said with a laugh. “It wouldn’t be a big deal to rent space, take a few clients here and there. I don’t want to make any fast moves,” he added.
“I know you’re in flux, that you left Michigan in a state of grief and by the time you got here you weren’t sure what kind of life you wanted. Are you getting any closer to knowing? Like where you want to be? How you want to live? Work? Any of that?”
“I kind of like the life I have right now. It’s satisfying.”
“What about lawyering?”
“Turns out there’s a use for me in that regard, as well,” he said. “I worked a little bit.”
“But were you paid?”
“I’ll be paid one way or another,” Cal said. “But then it turns out I don’t need much money, living off my girl like I am.”
“I’m your girl, am I?”
“I’d say we’re pretty attached. Wouldn’t you say?”
“What I want to know, Cal, is will you ever be able to talk about the future? Because I might want to. Talk about the future.”
“And I’d love to hear what you have to say about it. From what I’ve heard so far, you and I are in the same bucket here—trying to figure out what to do next.”
“Well, for starters, I want to stay here. I’m planning to raise a family here.”
“Ah,” he said. “Are congratulations in order?”
“I’d like to tell you something very personal. Sully doesn’t know. No one around here does and only a couple of people in my other world. Can you keep a confidence?”
“You know I can.”
“I do know you can. A little too well for my tastes. I’d love to know about your court case, and yes I know you weren’t teasing me—it was really court. You were dressed way too pretty for just giving legal advice or helping someone understand statutes.”
“Could have been a meeting with an IRS auditor,” he suggested. “It’s smart to dress up for those guys, too.”
“Never mind,” she scoffed. She took a breath. “Here goes. I think I loved Andrew. I was seeing him for a couple of years. I was prepared to marry him. We lived in different towns but the distance was commutable if our situation changed, like if we wanted to live together. Then it did change. I got pregnant. And,” she said, taking a breath, “he was very clear, he didn’t want to have a child. He’s forty and is the single father of an eight-year-old daughter. He had a pretty unhappy marriage and ugly divorce and he was not inclined to be the happy daddy. The fact that I was excited about it didn’t seem to change things. But I guess all that’s kind of irrelevant—I miscarried.”
Maggie, however, was like a goat. She went along with him sometimes; she was sure-footed and lithe. They usually didn’t talk until they reached a summit and relaxed, enjoying the view. They’d sit, guzzle a pint or so of water, let the breeze cool them and unwind before they talked.
“I think you’re starting to like Colorado,” Maggie said.
“Colorado has a lot to offer,” he said, putting his arm around her.
“What are the chances you’ll stick around?”
“I haven’t made any plans to leave yet, Maggie. You getting tired of me?”
She laughed. “Do I act like I’m getting tired of you? You’re almost like one of the family. If you leave now it might upset Sully more than me.”
“I hope that’s not true. I haven’t spent much time with Phoebe and don’t know Walter yet.”
“I don’t want to scare you off,” she said. “I’ve been wondering—how did it feel, doing a little lawyer work?”
“Very familiar,” he said with a laugh. “It wouldn’t be a big deal to rent space, take a few clients here and there. I don’t want to make any fast moves,” he added.
“I know you’re in flux, that you left Michigan in a state of grief and by the time you got here you weren’t sure what kind of life you wanted. Are you getting any closer to knowing? Like where you want to be? How you want to live? Work? Any of that?”
“I kind of like the life I have right now. It’s satisfying.”
“What about lawyering?”
“Turns out there’s a use for me in that regard, as well,” he said. “I worked a little bit.”
“But were you paid?”
“I’ll be paid one way or another,” Cal said. “But then it turns out I don’t need much money, living off my girl like I am.”
“I’m your girl, am I?”
“I’d say we’re pretty attached. Wouldn’t you say?”
“What I want to know, Cal, is will you ever be able to talk about the future? Because I might want to. Talk about the future.”
“And I’d love to hear what you have to say about it. From what I’ve heard so far, you and I are in the same bucket here—trying to figure out what to do next.”
“Well, for starters, I want to stay here. I’m planning to raise a family here.”
“Ah,” he said. “Are congratulations in order?”
“I’d like to tell you something very personal. Sully doesn’t know. No one around here does and only a couple of people in my other world. Can you keep a confidence?”
“You know I can.”
“I do know you can. A little too well for my tastes. I’d love to know about your court case, and yes I know you weren’t teasing me—it was really court. You were dressed way too pretty for just giving legal advice or helping someone understand statutes.”
“Could have been a meeting with an IRS auditor,” he suggested. “It’s smart to dress up for those guys, too.”
“Never mind,” she scoffed. She took a breath. “Here goes. I think I loved Andrew. I was seeing him for a couple of years. I was prepared to marry him. We lived in different towns but the distance was commutable if our situation changed, like if we wanted to live together. Then it did change. I got pregnant. And,” she said, taking a breath, “he was very clear, he didn’t want to have a child. He’s forty and is the single father of an eight-year-old daughter. He had a pretty unhappy marriage and ugly divorce and he was not inclined to be the happy daddy. The fact that I was excited about it didn’t seem to change things. But I guess all that’s kind of irrelevant—I miscarried.”
