He heard her crunching along the gravel pad beside the Looner Module, then rattling up the steps. Knew before her determined rap summoned that it must be Andrea.
“Hi,” she said, when he opened the door. “Me and Avi are going for a picnic up Wul’aam Park lookout. Want to join us?” Avi stared up at him from the bottom of the steps, where he sat at the far end of a long lead. Buddy couldn’t tell whether the dog was just curious or if it was sizing him up. “He’ll behave,” Andrea promised.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’ll make him.”
“That’s reassuring,” Buddy grinned. “Let me get my body armour.”
Andrea smiled, permitting herself to be amused, but in a way that made it clear his quip wasn’t particularly funny.
He grabbed his jacket from the wardrobe in the companionway and a mismatched ball cap. “I don’t have any hiking boots,” he called out to her.
“Don’t need ‘em. We’ll be on sidewalks and roads most of the way, and the trails inside the park are pretty good.”
He stepped outside the camper, closing the door behind him. Avi growled softly at the foot of the stairs; Andrea yanked his lead sharply. “No!” she commanded, and the dog obeyed reluctantly.
“You’re sure this is such a good idea?”
“He’s got to get used to friends and neighbours, right?”
“Where do I fit into that schemata?”
“Huh?”
“Friend? Or neighbour?” Or lunch, he thought uneasily.
“Both, I hope. Sorry to be so forward, but… that’s me. If you like someone, you go out of your way to let them know it.”
“Ts’okay,” he said, but…
He resisted the tantalizing idea. Tried to shoot it down before it took recognizable shape…
Is she interested in older men?
Not elderly, he reminded himself.
In any case, he’d definitely have to signal that the feelings are not mutual.
Why not? he allowed.
They tromped north, up the steep grade of Esplanade. He was chuffed by the time they reached high ground. Might want to request an ECG.
Andrea breathed easy.
Why not? he persisted.
No denying she was attractive in an athletic sort of way. Most men would no doubt be tantalized in his situation—in a lascivious genre. And she, no doubt, would be thinking about what he was thinking about and wouldn’t be at all surprised or offended if he flirted a bit.
She’s… graciously tough, he judged. And forthright.
Why not?
What would he say if she came right out in that astutely confident manner of hers and asked why he wasn’t interested in her romantic inclinations, if she happens to have any?
Was he too old? Surely that’s up to her to decide.
He plodded on.
Is she too young?
Flip side of the same coin, he argued.
So what if he was out of breath half way up a hill that barely registered in her metabolic function? They could still enjoy each other’s company, couldn’t they?
Why not?
He let go of the question, let it burrow into his subconscious flesh, where it would make its nest and morph through its larval stages, emerging as a genetically complete adult…
Adult what?
“So, how’d you end up in Chemainus?” Andrea asked.
“I just happened to turn off Highway One for a coffee and, presto!, here I am. Saw Bernice’s ad in the Courier, which happened to be lying on a table at the Willow Café, and decided to check it out.”
She gave him a knowing look. “Generally, somebody’s driving to someplace, or from someplace, when they’re on Highway One. Don’t mean to pry, but which direction were you headed? To or from?”
“I was headed north and didn’t really have any particular destination in mind. So ‘from’, I guess.”
“It’s complicated?”
“Kind of.”
“Kids?”
“One of each. A beautiful daughter and handsome son.
“You?” he countered.
“Not yet… Not sure I want to bring kids into this world or mess up my life, starting a family.”
For a while, they trudged on in silence, Avi between them seemingly grown used to Buddy’s company. They passed through a neighbourhood of what had once been working men’s cottages, looking out over Chemainus Bay on the seaward side of the street. Esplanade ended in a T-intersection at Elliott. They turned right, stopping briefly to take in the panorama of Stuart Channel from the edge of the escarpment.
“And you?” he asked, as they continued on their way. “How did you end up in Muraltown? Seems a bit off the beaten path, if you don’t mind me saying.”
“It’s complicated too,” Andrea said.
They zigzagged their way past Chemainus Secondary School, a zone of apartment blocks, the town’s firehall, then up to the top of Channel Drive, where they entered Wul’aam Park. “Means Echo Park,” Andrea informed him as they made their way along the uneven trail, crisscrossed by cedar roots. Their footsteps thudded on what might have been centuries of detritus, packed down by human traffic. At last they stepped into a clearing, where a bench looked out over the rooftops of the town, Chemainus Bay, the Gulf Islands, and the snow-capped peaks of the mainland beyond.
“Come here often?”
“When I want to be alone,” Andrea said. “Or with a friend, sharing a picnic lunch.”