Chapter Thirty-five
~
Hale evaporated on me. No clue where Beky dragged the poor bull off to. Funny. He was in Heaven. But me listenin’ to Naid and Cordiz was nearer to Hades, than Heaven. Not that they didn’t have interestin’ stories, but I’d pretty much heard Cordiz’ side, and to be honest, I wasn’t much interested in Naid’s whinin’ about travelin’ across the region inspectin’ the company’s various kitchens and farms. Sounded like such a horrible life.
The one tidbit I caught that interested me—he’d mated Beky’s mama when Beky was still very young, and he seemed as papa to her as if she carried his DNA.
Though he looked forward to her settlin’ down, one day. He bubbled with near-ecstasy inside, that she was able to follow her own direction. Kinda sorta lived vicariously through her, I think. But, he maybe slid on the conservative side of thin’s.
But prolly had in mind her settlin’ down with an orc. Not an ogre-troll. His prejudice wasn’t hurtful. Pretty sure he assumed his baby couldn’t be happy at all in the long term, mated with Hale. Yeah, I kind of agreed. The physical side turned my head loopy. Bein’ a virgin, can’t really imagine what kind of—physical intimacy they could have. But I’m in med school. I understand the birds and bees have a way of makin’ the unexpected work. Never gotten less than an A in biology.
But a tiny orc, carryin’ a fetus with ogre and troll genes—?
I closed my eyes tight. Really gettin’ out front of my skis, as the humans say. Holy moly do they want to cut down trees in the Range for that sport. Never gonna happen. If ogre kind ever allowed it, the stinkin’ dwarves would swarm down from the peaks carryin’ torches and pitchforks. Not literally. Though they’d have axes affixed to their belts. Even their attorneys. They like to hold to the old ways.
I’ve met a dwarf attorney. Ornery sucker. Don’t think a one of ’em have ever smiled in their life. Any dwarf. Not just those who are members of the bar.
Thankful my mind had taken a more comfortable direction, it swerved again as my phone tinkled. A stinkin’ text from a soul I never expected to hear from again. Think my face blazed. What the stinkin’ heck?
“Anythin’ wrong?” Cordiz asked.
Maybe I made a face, huh. “Naw. But I prolly oughta answer this,” I said hoistin’ the phone in the air. “Think I’ll turn in, too.”
Naid only interrupted his monologue by a second to wish me a good evenin’.
I waited till I sat on my, thankfully, troll-sized bed in the icky-frilly guest room. Re-read the text from Alder, or Alexander, or Alex, apologizin’ for textin’ so late, but could he call me. I thunk about it about five seconds, and answered, sure. In my mind I concluded I should have answered, why in the world ya wanna call me.
“Hey,” he said. “This is Alex.”
I gave him a hey back, and waited.
“It’s been a couple days. I had wanted to call you right away, when I heard. But, uh, wasn’t sure if you’d want to talk to one of us, you know.”
“One of ya?” I asked, knowin’ what he meant.
“Everyone in the department is sick about what happened,” he said.
A cliche. Ick. I waited. Not as sick as Hale is. Prolly never get over it.
“I’m personally—very ticked it didn’t work out. Really thought it would be cool—”
What didn’t work out? I waited.
“I, uh—”
“It was nice of ya callin’,” I said.
“Wait. Don’t hang up. Please?”
I waited. What could this artist-wanna-be want with me? Human, artist-wanna-be.
“I’d really like to see you again,” he said.
What? Thought he was a bit strange—well, nice really—but where in the stinky hoo was this leadin’? I maybe stammered a bit.
“May come across a little—weird,” he said. “But, uh, you, uh—”
I waited. This oughta be good.
“You, uh—” Were all humans incapable of completin’ a thought? “I was struck by, uh— You got under my skin.”
So now I’m a skin pathogen? Must be a human expression I wasn’t familiar. Made absolutely no sense.
“I’ve got plenty of time before the next semester starts.”
Yeah. It’s called summer break.
“I was surprised I didn’t need a visa to travel South,” he continued.
This dolt was leanin’ in a direction I’d never thought I’d experience. Considered shuttin’ him down quickly to ease his pain. But, it was entertainin’, in its way.
Be mean to lead him on. He was okay lookin’, for a human. But. He’s a human. I could smack him through a wall. Humans are so fragile. Maybe he wanted a private guide for alpine hikin’. I told him plenty of his kind visited the Hamlet, and the nearby communities everyday—wished him a nice visit.
“Not the hills I want to visit,” he said. “I’d like to visit you.”
“Why?” I asked, to be mean, prolly. Didn’t he realize—did he just want a token ogre-troll acquaintance, so he could say he had one as a friend?
“You’re making this kind of hard,” he said. “Guess that’s, uh, my fault. I guess I should have, uh, started this conversation differently.”
“Ya think?” I visualized him turnin’ radish red. I hate radishes. Do pigs even eat radishes? Prolly not. Meh. Trolls will eat anythin’ disgustin’. I’d ask Mama.
He blew some hot air about startin’ over, and asked how Hale was, how I was doin’. Said he assumed we weren’t comin’ back, which he thought was terrible, and blah blahed some more. I sighed maybe, a couple of times.
He stopped talkin’ after a bit.
I waited.
He sighed, aggressively. “If I fly down, will you see me?”
“Fly down where?” I teased. Don’t know what was makin’ me be so—difficult.
“The Hamlet. Isn’t that where you live?”
“A village just south, actually,” I said.
“Are you holding me responsible for what those five idiots did to Hale?”
Wow. That kinda slapped me aside the head. Was I? Clearly not responsible, but in the gooey pie, nonetheless.
“I thought we were getting along,” he said. “Before.”
I sighed loud enough to ensure he’d hear me. “A hen startin’ her second year of med school doesn’t have a lot of time for a social life. If I’ve been mean to ya, I apologize, but I really struggle to understand why you’re even callin’ me.”
“Wow,” he said. “Finally some honesty.”
“Now ya’re tryin’ to get on my good side?” I asked.
He laughed.
I waited.
“Will you give me a chance, if I come down?”
“A chance at what?” I had to ask.
“I thought we had some chemistry. I know, that, you, that I was really drawn to you.”
“Sounds like a personal problem,” I said.
He laughed. Maybe humans have a humor bone. “Cordiz said you liked me.”
Phift. Where’d that come from? “Cordiz lacks some mental faculties, clearly.”
“Why are you being so mean?”
I started to say it was my nature, but that isn’t true. Why was I? Irritation with Naid whinin’ about what sounds like a perfect life? A goofy orc hen puttin’ the moves on my totally socially deficient sibling? Troll cop wishin’ she hadn’t spent six years in college for a job she hates now? There’s nothin’ simple or straight forward in life.
Or. Maybe Papa’s near hatred of humans influenced me? Mama’s not big on humans either. A mob of ’em nearly killed her future mate.
I sighed. “Alder—”
“Alex,” he corrected.
Well, that was better than al-ex-an-der. What a stupid name. Too many stinkin’ syllables. After another sigh, I told him, “When do ya wanna come down? I can check to see if Papa’s vacation place is available.”
“That sounds nice, but my app shows plenty of availability yet. Guess the season’s just getting started, huh?”
I sighed for maybe the thousandth time. Why was I doin’ this? “I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon. Text me.” I pressed the red icon.
I tossed my phone down on the bed with maybe a bit of hostility. Why did I do that? I don’t want anythin’ to do with a human. Especially one who lived seven hundred miles away. Would be twelve-hundred miles away when I went back to TIT.
~
Hale
~
Any normal evenin’ I would have been addin’ to a sketchbook or usin’ a mallet on a block of granite, but it wasn’t horrible havin’ Beky leanin’ against me, head on my chest, studyin’ the trails and campsites near home, on her nature-app-thingy. Her hand wandered up and down my thigh now and then when she wasn’t swipin’ the screen of her tablet. Seemed a little—outgoin’. The thigh thin’, not the swiping thin’. Nothin’ restrained about this little, gorgeous orc hen.
“Had no idea there were so many documented trails,” I mumbled. I’d traipsed most of ’em if not all of ’em with Cousin Woriz, back when we were friendly, or dragged along behind Uncle Ike. Of course every weekend mornin’ I’d had to trudge along with Papa, too. Wow. I’ve done more hikin’ than I’d realized.
“I—”
“What?” Beky hissed. “Tell me. Tell me.” Her hand came higher up my thigh as she twisted on the couch to look up at my face.
“The peaks around the Lake are a few thousand feet higher than here, but ya’re not really gonna see much more than ya can get from around here.”
“It’s all about the journey.” She patted the inside of my thigh. “And the company.”
“Every summer,” I said slowly, “my Uncle Ike and I try to make it up on the North Ridge. We like to visit the Ike-Taiz’lin homestead.”
“Heard that museum is like a temple. No hiking trails up there, right?”
“Trails along the Ridge, but not up to the Ridge,” I said. Nothin’ but sheer cliffs. What a dragon would have wanted for peace of mind. Humans had hunted ’em almost to extinction, before the few remainin’ returned, to the other side.
“So—”
“Helicopter,” I answered the unvoiced question. “Way, way above the tree line. Nothin’ but a few brave marmots up that high. Goats don’t even go up there.”
“You trying to talk me out of it?” She giggled. “That sounds really cool. Never been in a helicopter. Be great. Not many invited up there. You think you could make that happen?”
I pulled my cell out of my vest, and dictated a note to my Uncle. Late. But the bull hardly sleeps.
Beky squeed. “Can’t believe you’re really talking to the Ike.”
“Textin’. But he’ll prolly call me if he’s available.”
“Ike just, like, calls you?”
“I’m his favorite,” I said. Would she think I was braggin’?
She squeed loud enough to wake a few ghouls dead a thousand years.
“Ya know that hurts a troll’s ears.”
“You’re only half troll,” she said. “And I’ve heard ogres have crappy hearing and sight.”
True, our kind didn’t have to worry about a predator sneakin’ up on us—evolution wise. But we can smell an appetizer from a hundred miles away.
My cell rang, and I answered, placin’ it on speaker. Of course, warned Uncle not to be crass. He can lean that way with me some days, dependin’—if Bele’s not nearby, mostly. Funny, that he’s so different from Papa.
“Don’t hear from ya for months, and now ya’re askin’ for favors?”
“We spoke when I was in the hospital,” I said.
“That was days ago,” he said.
Beky was vibratin’ against my chest, her little tiny fists pumpin’ up and down. So cute.
“Barely twenty-four hours ago,” I said.
“Ya shouldn’t correct yar elders. Unbecomin’.”
“Ya’re only my elder because ya’re old as dirt. Makes ya deservin’ of respect?”
“So who’s this Beky that’s listenin’ in like some sneaky spy?” As though he didn’t know. The nosy butthead prolly has had a security firm checkin’ her out. Interrogated Mama about my new friend. Bele and Papa too. Not that Papa would have said a word.
Beky was rollin’ into a ball with giggles.
“She okay?” Uncle asked. “Ya’re not stranglin’ the spy to death, are ya?”
“She’s stricken that ya sound like a miserable old goat,” I said.
“Old, but not miserable. Only irritated I have such rude younglings in the family who think I’m their personal social director.”
“Know it’s chilly as a witch’s wart up there still,” I said. “But could ya manage to get someone up there to open the museum, this early in the season?”
“I ’magine I could swing it. I know a few guys. Who know a few guys. When ya wanna go?”
“We’ll be home tomorrow afternoon,” I said.
“See what I can do.”
He hung up like the rude butthead he is, and Beky started squeein’ again. “That was really Ike, CEO of Ogreware? Son of Blair? Fourth grandson of the Ike.”
Was it fourth or fifth?
~
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