One couple stood out to her. Appearing to be in their mid-thirties, the man was tall, rail thin, and confident in stature, while the woman seemed tiny and demure by comparison. A boy who couldn’t have been more than eight years old trailed close at the woman’s heels, fiddling with an expensive-looking camera. She supposed them to be Japanese, based on the bits of conversation she overheard exchanged between them.
“Konichiwa!” She tested the theory in a friendly voice, waving with an open degree of uncertainty. All three stopped and looked at her with what she took to be immediate recognition. Before they had a chance to overestimate her linguistic skills, she held up her camera, pointing to it with her free hand and then motioning to herself. The man’s expression brightened in understanding and he accepted the camera from her.
“Hai, onegai,” she said in vague request, trusting he could figure out the device. She took several strides backward until she leaned shoulders into the cement portion of the railing. The man took care with the shot, shuffling to one side to include more of the cliffs with the falls behind her. When he’d finished, she gave him a dipping bow as she took the camera back.
“Domo arigatō,” she thanked him. And unless they wanted her to count to ten, she’d just expended her entire arsenal of useful Japanese vocabulary. Fortunately, the man and woman just smiled politely and didn’t seem to expect any further conversation. As they walked past her to the railing with the boy in tow, Angie stepped back to take in one last look.
She watched as the man hoisted the boy up to give him a better look at the falls and down into the massive gorge below. The woman spoke soft, rapid words to the child, in a tone that Angie thought held an air of reverence. The boy answered in a high, excited voice, pointing to something in the vicinity of the lower river. She felt herself warm at their shared amazement.
Almost without thinking, she advanced her film and snapped a quick picture of the awestruck family. None of their faces would be in the photo, but that didn’t matter. It was the concept, not the specifics, she wanted to capture. Contented punctuation to her otherwise manic impression of the landmark.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Angie parked along the street in a quiet, middle-class suburb of Toronto, grateful to have daylight left to spare. She’d never met Daniel or his family before, but she was sure showing up in broad daylight would be more comfortable for everyone involved.
Though, she had no reason to expect a poor reception. Daniel had met his girlfriend on the same story writing community that Angie had met them on, and from what she understood, she’d flown in from Alberta for a visit just a few weeks prior. His family had to be somewhat used to the idea of long distance social networking.
With her bag in hand, Angie walked to the front door of the cedar-sided house and rang the bell. She’d called from a payphone to verify her directions, and so it wasn’t a surprise when Daniel opened the door almost immediately.
He was a gangly young man, no taller than she was. Longish, mousy brown hair laid limp just past his ears. His facial features were fine, particularly for a male, and set against pale skin. His gray eyes would have appeared large behind the strong prescription of his eyeglasses, if not for their tendency to drift halfway closed.
“Hello Danny,” she said, offering out a hand.
Daniel thinned his lips into a smile and clasped her hand in a firm shake. “Good, you didn’t get too lost,” he answered in a mild voice. He looked over his shoulder and swung the door open. “Come say hi, Mom. See? She’s a real girl, just like I said.”
Angie waved to the figure approaching from behind him. The petite woman appeared to be in her early fifties with straight, shoulder length hair the same hue as Danny’s. Her expression brightened as she neared. “Oh, good. I just wanted to be absolutely sure. You understand, I hope—” she said in a high, rapid voice. She reached out and shook Angie’s hand just as Danny released it. “I’m Mary. And I’m sorry we don’t have a spare room, but you’re welcome to the couch.” The woman motioned behind herself and to the left toward the den. “You’re a friend of Katie’s?”
Angie nodded, smiling. “I wish I could have arranged my trip so I’d be passing through while she was visiting, but I wasn’t done with my classes then. It sounded like she had a great time with your family.” She stepped past Danny as the woman ushered her in.
“Oh, she was a delight to finally meet.” Mary said, reaching up to pat her son’s shoulder. “I was more than a little worried when Danny flew out to see her over Christmas break. But, what could I do? He’s twenty, after all. And he was so bound and determined.” She leaned toward Angie to add, “He was a preemie, you know. I’ve worried about him his whole life.”
Danny rolled his eyes and cast a light smirk between the women. “Thanks, Mom. I can take it from here.”
Mary gave an apologetic smile. “You make yourself right at home,” she directed to Angie. She pivoted then and trotted off across the hardwood floor toward what looked like the kitchen.
“She worries too much,” Danny said. “I’ll show you where the computers are, if you need to get in touch with anyone. And don’t mind my little brother. He’s skulking around here somewhere, but he shouldn’t bother you for long if he does show himself.”
Angie chuckled as she moved into the den to deposit her duffel bag onto the couch. She unzipped the bag and withdrew a square envelope, turning to offer it to him. “Here, before I forget. This is your -extremely- belated Christmas card from Elsie.”
Danny raised his brows, though this didn’t do much to alter his otherwise bland expression. “How…nice. Should I be terrified?” he asked, plucking it out of her hand and tearing it open on one side.
Angie laughed. “Maybe a little. This is Elsie we’re talking about.” She awaited his reaction as he opened the handmade card and read it to himself.
“Ah-ha. Thinly veiled threats and outright insults. I’m touched.” He flipped the card over and pointed to an amorphous shape laminated to the inside with scotch tape. “And look, she made a sculpture of my soldier character out of belly button lint. I will treasure this forever.” Danny’s dry sarcasm conveyed the undertones of good-humor, though his voice and facial expression remained deadpan. She’d begun to suspect that this sort of emotionally-limited countenance was normal for him.
Angie rubbed a palm over her face and sighed. “Don’t worry—it’s just pocket lint. I saw her making it, I just didn’t know what it was for at the time. But trust me, this is about as endearing as it gets with her.”
Danny folded the card back on itself and slipped it into his pocket. “It’s truly an honor.”
Angie followed Danny up the hallway staircase to the second floor, where an open office loft overlooked the ground level. Three computers sat along one wall, each atop their own desk. Danny motioned to the farthest one. “Help yourself. I’ve got a few things to take care of, but we can go get something to eat later at the restaurant I bus at. I get a discount.” He took a seat in front of the middle computer.
Angie settled in, going through her mental checklist. Once she’d finished with her mass email update, she spent another hour keeping entertained with online games, sitting in silence as her host went about his business. Bearing in mind the fact that she’d be leaving the next day, it didn’t seem worth her dwindling energy to force conversation.
Her gaze occasionally drifted to a framed picture sitting on the desk beside the computer. She recognized Katie with her long, dark hair and narrow-framed glasses, standing in front of the railing overlook of Niagara Falls near the very spot where Angie had viewed it earlier in the day. The timid-looking girl was dressed in a red tank-top and jean shorts, standing beside a broadly smiling Danny, who had one arm draped across her shoulders.
Geeks in love.
In the den she’d seen a similar picture of the pair, affectionately huddled together in front of a vast, mountainous vista. The two had obviously seen the sights during Katie’s visit.
While the most conscious
part of her was happy these two had found each other, another part or her wrestled with an upwelling of gloom. Whether it was envy or the result of long nursed self-pity, she wasn’t sure. Either way, she didn’t like it.
Am I really that petty? The last thing Angie wanted was to become the kind of person who felt entitled to resent those who’d found a counterpart. To her, that sort of angst was even more insufferable than the gushing declarations of the blissfully happy. She took one more intentional look at the picture, forcing herself to smile until she was sure it was sincere.
June 19,
Oh Canada
It’s been a memorable time so far. I ended up staying with Mark’s family longer than I meant to, but I wouldn’t trade my quality time with Sandra for anything. I was beginning to think I’d be heading straight back to stay with them again after I got stopped at the border. But, I guess when I didn’t turn out to have a criminal background, they decided I wasn’t trying to flee to Canada or something. They still gave me a hard time about my reasons for being in the country, but I don’t really have a great defense on that one. I know how it sounds.
I got to Niagara Falls around 1pm. It was just as incredible as advertised. I didn’t stay long, though. It was neat to be there and see it in person, but it made me sad for some reason. Looking back on it, I think it was because I didn’t have anyone to share it with. I guess even -I- need people sometimes. It’s not like I’ve ever thought I need someone to “complete me” or anything stupid like that. I’m fine with being alone. …I just don’t want it to always be this way.
I did get a little lost outside of Toronto. I don’t think they give as much warning for upcoming exits here as I’m used to. I could see the CN tower from a distance as I was going through (it’s hard to miss, what with it looking like a skewered UFO), but I didn’t want to risk losing my daylight to get a closer look. I don’t mind everything being in kilometers, but 100 kph sounds a lot more exciting than it actually is. Their speed limits here are pretty low, compared to U.S. highways. But everyone seems to make up for it by going 20 kph over the limit.
Danny is just as funny in person, but on the whole, a lot less talkative than he is online. And since he’s working tomorrow, I’ll have headed off to Ottawa before he gets back. Oh well. At least I got to meet him and put a face/mannerisms to the personality.
Tomorrow I’ll find out if Zak has the guts to meet me.
~Ang
Chapter 8
“Hello?” Zak answered on the third ring, tiredness apparent in his voice.
Angie launched straight to the point. “Hey, it’s me. I think I’m on your street, but I can’t find your house.”
“Oh, that’s…weird,” he said. “I’ll come out and walk the street to see if I can find you. I just got home, so I’m still in my school uniform—white shirt. Should be hard to miss me.”
“Thanks, that would help a lot.” Angie sighed, relieved at the genial sincerity in his voice. “I’ll keep an eye out. See you in a bit.”
She hung up the payphone and sprinted back to the side street where she’d left her car. Here in the urban residential heart of Ottawa, the houses were old and tucked close together, shrouded in the greenery and shadows of lofty trees. Angie perched on the trunk of her car and observed the entire length of the dead-end street. She waited a minute; then two.
Nothing happened.
Something wasn’t right, and she suspected that it was her fault and not Zak’s. She grabbed up the map again and traced her finger along the short road, verifying the cross street and then expanding her search. Several blocks over, she realized her mistake. There was a half-mile gap between the road where she sat and the main street with the same name.
“Fan-freaking-tastic.”
She pulled her car around and crossed several busy city blocks before turning onto the primary street. Sure enough, she spotted a lone figure walking away from her up the sidewalk. This individual was definitely male, judging by the build and gait, wearing an untucked white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. She caught up to the figure and pulled alongside him, waiting to be noticed.
The young man halted, slouching low to see through her passenger side window. Then came the slow smile and a wave of recognition. Angie rolled down the window.
“Hop in! Sorry about that—I was on the wrong part of the street. There’s another section of it a few blocks down from here.” She suspended any further explanation as Zak immediately obliged her by getting into the car, folding his legs up to make the fit.
He turned to her with an easy half smile, extending his hand across himself in greeting. “Didn’t know that, or I would have warned you. I was about to get worried.”
Angie accepted the offered handshake as a welcome distraction.
She’d once seen a picture Zak had posted of himself standing with a gaggle of his high school friends, but it hadn’t done him justice. Broad shouldered and lean in build, he had the sort of solid jaw-line that lined up in perfect balance with the rest of him. His face was bronzed, with high cheekbones and deep, dark brown eyes that suited the rest of his well defined features — all hinting strongly at a Native American heritage. His thick, glossy black hair was short on the sides and longer toward a central strip, which he kept spiked into a slight backward bent that reminded her of a cockatoo’s crest.
The term “attractive” didn’t begin to cover it. She couldn’t recall ever seeing someone so remarkably good-looking in person. “Nice to finally meet you,” she said, for a lack of a better conversation starter. “Mind pointing out your house?” She returned both hands to the steering wheel, fixing her gaze straight ahead.
“Just keep going, it’s at the end on the left,” Zak said, motioning down the street. “You can park in the drive for now. My car has a street sticker, and I don’t want to risk you being towed.”
Angie nodded once. “Okay, whatever you think.” She found herself concentrating inordinately hard on coming to the end of the long street and turning onto the driveway. She parked alongside a two-story dwelling that would have reminded her of a quaint old farmhouse, if not for its neighbor sitting just a few strides away. She couldn’t guess at its age, though the wood-sided house bore a design that had to put it beyond sixty years. A fresh coat of a gray-blue paint was accented by bright white trim around the open-air front porch.
Once parked, she got out and stretched. In need of a distraction to keep from gawking at Zak, she strolled back to examine the car parked along the curb. The ancient, two-door Dodge Dart had once been tan in color, but was now half covered in rust and patches that had been painted a matte gray. “Is this your baby?” she asked, giving the vehicle a casual once-over.
“Baby? More like…disagreeable old man.” Zak smirked, moving to stand beside her.
Acutely aware of his proximity, she looked aside and then up.
She’d known he was tall, but only then did she grasp just how tall. She stood no higher than his shoulder, which she guessed would put him at well over six-and-a-half feet. She wasn’t accustomed to being dwarfed. “Does he have a name?” Angie pressed on with her attempted conversation, perplexed with how off-balance she felt.
“I call him Chip…for obvious reasons.” Zak stepped up to the car and scraped at a loose piece of roof paint in demonstration.
“Cute.” Angie laughed, motioning back at her car in a sweeping gesture. “I guess I didn’t introduce you to Gypsy.”
“Ah, also fitting,” Zak said, looking off toward the Geo with that same light smirk and then back to Angie. His hands sought out his pockets and he inclined his head toward the front porch. “Come on in. I guess you’re used to this at your latitude, but it’s a bit warm out for me.”
“Oh, sure. As long as your mom isn’t going to mind.” She followed after him, noting he didn’t respond to her concern. She hoped that didn’t mean he was getting them both into trouble by having her in the house. Being she hadn’t seen an “adult” yet, she slipped a ha
nd into her pocket and felt for the small can of travel mace.
He did just put me through the wringer with his unreliability, she reminded herself. She didn’t care how handsome the guy was, there was no reason for her to completely trust him.
The floorboards creaked as they entered. A small foyer funneled ahead into a hallway that ran between a staircase following the right wall and opened into a modest den to the left. The decor was minimal, with no particular theme that Angie could discern. Pinstriped blue and white wallpaper curled slightly where the seams met. The house was clean, but undeniably old.
“Mom bought this place two summers ago, so we’d finally have a house and she’d be close enough to walk to work,” Zak said. “It needs some fixing up.” He paused along the staircase, threading his arm through the slats of the wooden railing to pet the large, black cat sitting motionless on the fifth step.
Angie approached the staircase, taking a few slow steps up to sit beside the feline. The yellow-eyed creature turned its head to follow her movements, but didn’t bother to move anything else. Satisfied the cat wasn’t skittish, she stroked a hand along its back. “Hello there.”
“That’s Jinx,” Zak said, with a fond note. “He mostly stays inside, but don’t worry about it if he gets out, eh?”
Angie gave the cat one last scratch between the ears before standing up and following Zak on through the hallway, which opened into the back end of the house. There was a small dining area with a round breakfast table taking up a nook to the right, and a door set into the back side of the staircase she guessed to be either a closet or a cellar. Zak veered left into the kitchen. The small, square room had little counter space and the appliances seemed squeezed in wherever they happened to fit. Zak’s presence in the room only made the space appear more cramped.
She stood by and watched as he stooped to grab a liter container out of the fridge, twisted off the top, and began drinking straight from the carton. He’d easily downed half of the contents before lowering it to take a breath. “Oh, sorry. You want something to drink? We’ve got…water, juice, and eggnog.” He held up the carton in offering.
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