by Anita Claire
“Tomorrow I’ll run with you.”
“The town hasn’t changed much,” Mom comments.
“The restaurant in town changed hands. They have a new sign,” Abuela points out.
“The neighbors built a new garage,” Camila contributes.
“Someone from out of state bought the Miller’s house,” Sofia adds.
“You’re from out of state,” Camila counters.
Sophia rolls her eyes. “That’s not the same thing. I grew up here. This house has been in our family since the 1920s.”
“The heater is from the 1920s,” my brother-in-law complains.
“Go up and shower,” Mom tells me. “Put your dirty clothes in the hamper and don’t leave your wet towel on the floor,” she adds as I head to the stairs.
Is itdéjà vu...knowing the strong sensation you’re currently experiencing is a direct repeat of one from your childhood? After a quick shower, I head back down to the kitchen. The buffet is set and everyone is in the process of grabbing a plate and filling it up. Breakfast at our home has always been boisterous. Anyone who thinks girls, now grown women, are quiet and mellow didn’t grow up with four sisters. After breakfast, my twin, Bella, and I automatically clear off the table and load the dishwasher—our chore growing up.
“I read about you inFortune, Bloomberg, andThe Wall Street Journal. It’s weird sitting in a doctor’s office and reading about your brother,” Bella comments.
“You didn’t hold the magazine up, point to my picture, and tell everyone, ‘That’s my brother,’ did you?”
“No, but Mom did.”
“Yeah, I found out about that little episode on Facebook.”
“You check Facebook?”
“When my inbox fills up with messages about what Mom did, I do.”
“Your company, this whole thing, is it real? You really run some hotshot, unicorn company?”
“We’re not selling unicorns,” I sarcastically respond. Still, I’m amazed at my success and dumbfounded at how fast we’ve grown. It also freaks me out a bit when my sister looks up to me this way.
“With all this success, are you seeing anyone?” My older sister, Veronica, breaks in to the conversation.
“With all your notoriety, you need to watch out for gold diggers,” Bella warns.
My sisters are always on my tail about having a girlfriend. Though the few they’ve met, they’ve hated. My mind flashes to Ana. Last weekend was good.We can go hiking again without getting too involved, right? With no desire to discuss Ana with my sisters, I avoid eye contact and wipe the counter.
“You don’t really know how good life can be until you have a good woman and some kids.” Dad’s deep voice resonates through the kitchen.
I turn around, surprised. I had no idea he was in the room.
“Turning sentimental on me, old man.”
“Brody, I know you work hard, but don’t let life pass you by. I was lucky to have two careers: one with the Army and the other with IBM. But your mother, and you kids, are my legacy. Fancy cars and big houses never made a man happy.”
***
After breakfast, I head outside in search of quiet, I wind up sitting on the picnic table with a perfect view of the beach. I pull out my phone and check my texts and e-mail. My youngest sister, Sofia, sits down and stares at me.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“You’re the main topic of conversation. Mom and Abuela don’t understand why you’re not yet married.”
“Are you gay?” Camila interrupts. I didn’t even hear her sneaking up.
“What? No, I’m not gay.”
Both sisters look at each other. I’m so glad I wasn’t there for that conversation.
“You never bring any women home.”
“You never talk about any women.”
“I’m not gay and I’m not talking about my personal life with either of you.”
“Do you talk about it with Bella?” Camila asks. She’s two years younger and has always had a chip on her shoulder. Since Bella and I were twins, she thought we locked her out. I scowl at them and focus back on my phone. This action works like magic at the office, but my sisters are not deterred.
“He’s straight,” Sofia comments.
“He deters all the women with his personality,” Camila replies.
“I bet he has a decent pool of women to choose from at the office.”
“You know how growly he is. I bet they all flee in the opposite direction.”
“No way. Now that he’s rich, I bet a ton of women would put up with him just to get their hands on some of his money, and to be close to his power and connections,” Bella adds.
“In high school, my friends all thought he was hot. Actually, his scowling and moodiness made him more attractive. They all thought he was deep, angsty, mysterious,” Camila confides.
“You know I’m sitting here. I can hear everything you're saying.”
“Oh when you get all grouchy, you’re still listening?” Sofia asks.
“Please don’t tell me you’re a total douchebag who sleeps with your employees, then ignores them the next day,” Camila comments.
“Do you remember Kayla Clark from high school?” Bella adds. Shit, is she really going to drag that up?
“I came out here for some peace and quiet,” I groan.
“Kayla Clark? No, I never got any of the good gossip. It sucks being so much younger than all of you,” Sofia complains.
“What are you all talking about? Did we figure out if Brody is gay?” Victoria asks, joining us.
“I’m out of here,” I get up and leave.
“Wimp,” Bella laughs.
“Tell me about Kayla Clark,” Sofia sings out.
***
For the rest of the morning, I find a quiet, hiding spot in the attic and focus on work. When I’m finished, I start down the stairs and hear Mom, Abuela, my aunts, and my sisters all in the kitchen cooking up a storm. From experience, I know if they see me I’ll get roped into doing some lame errand. Instead, I head to my room, change into my swimsuit, and sneak out the back door. One of my favorite places as a kid was an island a short swim from the lakeshore. It’s a short walk to the water’s edge and I make it without being detected.
“Brody,” Sofia calls out from behind me.
I turn and see her running down the hill from the house in her swimsuit.
“I’m joining you. If I hang out at the house, Mom will find some kind of chore for me to do.”
I give her one of my hard looks.
“I was a Plebe and a Firstie. I can dish it out and take it. Are you swimming to the island?”
“Yeah, I haven’t been there in ages.”
“First one on land wins,” she yells as she runs to the water.
I jump in after her. It’s obvious she’s been swimming—I have a hard time keeping up. She beats me to the island.
I get out of the water, exhausted.
“Having your sister kick your ass is good for your ego. I bet running that big, fancy company of yours...you probably have all those people kissing your ass all day long.”
“It’s not glamorous.”
“Bella says you no longer fly commercial. You have a private jet.”
“I use a private jet to save time and fit everything in. I use the time in the air to conduct meetings we don’t have the time for in the office.”
“Yeah, your life really sucks.”
“Not too many women with the skills I need.”
“You’re not looking hard enough. You need to make hiring and promoting women as well as minorities a priority.”
“So, this isn’t just a swim?”
“Hey, we can talk about your sex life.”
“We can talk about yours.”
“Truce. No work, no social life, which leaves—”
“How about we walk around the island? We can see if any forts are still standing. Afterward, we’ll swim back and go for ice cream.”
“Sound
s like a plan. Anything to avoid Mom and cooking.”
***
I don’t know where Mom found a Mariachi band in Northern Michigan, but at dinner time the house is ablaze with family and friends. My great aunts, some of Abuela’s cousins along with my aunt and my uncle as well as their families are here. I flew them all in and rented a couple of house for everyone to stay in. This way the whole family could celebrate Abuela’s ninetieth birthday. I probably could have saved money by flying everyone down to Mexico for the weekend. But this is what Mom and Abuela wanted.
The party is fun. Mom and the aunts make all the family’s favorite Mexican dishes. I’m kicking back and enjoying the evening when my aunt and Abuela corner me with my cousin’s friend in tow.
“Brody, have you met Elizabeth’s friend, Gabby?”
Anticipating an escape, my aunt takes a hold of my arm. “Gabby lives in San Francisco. That’s very close to you.”
“Gabby comes from a very nice family,” Abuela adds.
“Well, nice to meet you,” I politely say as an exit line. Unfortunately, my aunt still has my arm in a vice grip. That’s when Gabby moves close to me and smiles broadly. I look around for an excuse to leave. Unfortunately, my eyes land on my mom and sister who are smiling encouragingly. If I brush Gabby off now, I’ll never hear the end of it. Hopefully they’ll all lose interest if I just give Gabby five minutes of my time.
“What are you doing in San Francisco?” I ask.
“I’m an event planner,” she explains with excitement. She then takes off on a five-minute-long dissertation detailing a number of high-profile events. This seems to bore my aunt enough to let go of my arm and take off with Abuela.
As Gabby drones on, she shoves her boobs into my face, and shimmies next to me. Immediately my mind moves from thinking about work to thinking about hooking up with her.
“Would you like to take a walk?” Gabby asks.
I nod. As we head for the door, we pass Sofia, and she makes a face at me. Gabby grabs hold of my hand and leads us to the dark end of the wraparound porch. I’m about to let her hand go and walk back inside when my lizard brain and the beers take over. I rationalize to myself that If she’s willing to give it, someone’s got to be on the receiving end
Within seconds she’s all over me. I move so she’s against the wall of the house, grab her waist, and pull her tight. As our tongues and mouths collide, she raises her leg to my hip and starts rubbing herself against me an efficient turn-on. I’m starting to get really into it when someone turns on a light that blinds us.
“What’s going on out here?” Bella’s voice rings out.
It takes me a few deep breaths to get my head in a place where I can talk.
“Go away, I’m busy,” I declare while Gabby giggles into my shoulder.
Bella moves so she’s standing about three feet away with her hands on her hips.
“My kids could have come out here, or Abuela. You two need to break it up.”
All this mundane conversation makes my raging hard-on go down long enough for me to move Gabby away.
Gabby gives me a sexy wink. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
As I watch her walk away, I realize the moment is gone. There will be no “later” for us.
“I’m pretty confident Gabby’s just looking for a rich guy,” Bella says, imparting all her wisdom.
“It was a hook-up, Bella. Chill.”
***
Back in Silicon Valley on Monday, Elizabeth texts Gabby’s phone number to me. I have zero desire to call Gabby. Now that I’m home, my mind moves to Ana. She hasn’t texted me in the last few days. I wonder what’s up.
I head over to Ethan’s desk. Good thing he’s in.
“Can you arrange to get us up in a small plane this week?” I ask.
Immediately he stands at attention.
“I want to do some recon over the Santa Cruz Mountains,” I explain. “I’ll pay to rent the plane. Use the company scheduler, I’ll tell my secretary you’re a high priority.”
“Yes, sir.”
I’m surprised he didn’t salute as I walked off.
Chapter 13 – Ana – Text
Brody:Any news?
When Judy said Brody was waiting for me, I was relieved, since our connection felt real. But I had expected him to contact me after that day. Nothing. So, I contacted him. I made sure to keep my texts friendly, but still nothing. For a week! Now this? What’s with this guy?
Brody:I’m going up on a plane this week to recon her territory. Do you want to come?
I fumble and then drop my phone. Do I want to join him on an adventure in the sky to solve the mystery of who poisoned my cat? Hell yes, this is my project.
Ana:Yes, when?
Three hours later.
Brody:We’re flying out of Palo Alto airport 10 am tomorrow.
He has a buddy that knows how to fly. Why doesn’t that surprise me? I’d never get the budget to do that on my own.
***
At the Palo Alto Airport, I park and look around. No Brody. I fish out my backpack from my truck and throw in some supplies. Then I sit on the tailgate of my truck and wait. About five minutes later, Brody and a big guy who looks to be around thirty walk out of the airport office. My face feels warm. It’s been two weeks since I’ve seen him and he still looks good. Of course he does. I take a deep breath and tell myself to be cool, friendly. For all I know, I’m in the friend zone with him already. At least he’s helping me out.
“Brody,” I call out.
He gives me the typical nod.
I bound over to them. “What a wonderful idea. Thank you so much for doing this.” Then I extend my hand to the other guy. “Hey, I’m Ana.”
“Ethan,” he responds and shakes my hand.
“This is so cool that Brody got you to help out.”
Ethan’s expression turns perplexed. “Oh, Brody didn’t fill you in?”
Ethan raises an eyebrow. Great, these are two guys who use body language instead of speech. Brody starts walking toward the planes. Ethan and I follow. Brody stops in front of one of the two-engine propeller planes. I’ve been in a number of small planes mostly as a grad student when I had to go to remote locations. I pull out paper maps and my iPad with the Google Earth image showing the overlay of my cat’s last two weeks of tracks to show Ethan.
“We found my cat poisoned here. I think she ingested the poison someplace around here.”
“Your cat was poisoned?” Ethan asks.
Sheesh, Brody didn’t tell this guy anything.
“I’m a scientist who studies large carnivores. Specifically, I’m researching the effect of global warming and human encroachment on mountain lions in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Most mountain lions are killed by getting hit by a car. A few weeks ago, we found F17 one of my female mountain lions poisoned. She’s not dead, she’s getting better. She consumed what we think is rat poison. We want to find out how.”
“I thought this had to do with ClosedDoor.”
“Oh, you work with Brody. I thought maybe you were one of his Army buddies.”
“No, we didn’t serve together in the Army,” Ethan explains as we get into the plane.
Brody, not surprisingly, doesn’t say anything.
Brody rides shotgun as I get in the back. I tug out one pair of my binoculars and reach between the seats. I tap Brody on the shoulder and offer them to him.
“I brought my own, Ana, thanks,” he acknowledges.
Ethan runs through his start-up procedures, while Brody pulls out a pair of Swarovski binoculars.
“Can I see your map?” Brody asks.
I hand the iPod to Brody. He looks it over and waits for Ethan. I scoot to be in between the two front seats. Then the three of us look at the map and discuss how to fly over the area.
“There’s enough air traffic in this area that if something stood out, it would have already been noticed,” Ethan comments.
“We need to look for anything that shouldn’t b
e there. My cat went out of her way to avoid humans. Let’s focus on areas that don’t have houses or hiking trails.”
“That still leaves a lot of territory,” Ethan says.
“We’ll see how much we can do today. If not, we’ll arrange another time,” Brody instructs.
“Don’t just look for human activity,” I say. “Look for areas with a pocket of dead foliage. If the poison impacted my cat, it could also be taking down trees. There have been pot growers in the area as well and those guys use a lot of nasty stuff. Look for patches that have different shades of green foliage with dead trees that are near water sources.”
Brody nods. I sit back and buckle up. As the plane takes off, I can’t help but smile.This is so cool, Brody’s into finding the problem.
Ethan focuses on flying, while Brody and I scan the trees for anything that looks odd or that has human impact. Mostly, we see the top of the thick canopy. When we see anything at all that looks out of place, we mark it on my topo map.
“It’s time we head back,” Ethan says about an hour into our reconnaissance work.
“Lunch?” I ask Brody when we touch down.
“Can’t. Meetings....”
“Oh,” I reply with disappointment. I’ve definitely been relegated to the friend zone. I wonder what happened. “We’re releasing F17 back onto the mountain at the end of this week,” I tell Brody. “Would you like to meet her?”
“She’s better?”
“She’s stable, but she’ll be happier in her own habitat rather than in a crate.”
“Yes, I’d like to see her.” Brody turns to Ethan. “You’ll take care of signing us out?”
“Yes,” Ethan crisply replies.
“I’ll meet you back at my car once you do.”
“Thanks for your help. It was great meeting you,” I call out to Ethan as Brody walks me to my truck.
Brody places his hand on the small of my back creating a warmth that sears into my soul. It feels quite the opposite of the friend zone.
“I’ve been meaning to call you,” Brody murmurs as he leans in. “Are you free this weekend? I’ll figure out how to clear my schedule and we can go to the locations we marked.”
“Oh.” This wasn’t what I was expecting.
He leans in further and his lips meet mine briefly. “Text me when we can see the lion.”
