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“Dare I ask what those are?” I asked and sipped my beer.
“You’re funnier, more adventurous, easier to talk to, and just a better person that I thought you would be.”
“Gee, thanks for the compliments, keep them coming,” I teased.
“I’m being honest. I’m sure you thought that I was opinionated, overbearing, and a drama queen before we started this trip.”
“What makes you think I still don’t?”
Her response was to throw a nacho at me but she smiled while she did it. “Do you?”
“No, well, maybe a little bit but not in a bad way. You know what you want, you know what you like, and you aren’t afraid to ask for it. There’s a lot to be said for anyone who can do that.”
“Much less a woman,” she finished for me.
“I wouldn't say that but yes. It’s good that you know your mind and you aren’t afraid to articulate it. I think that will make you as good of a producer as you are a star.”
“Are you okay with me being a producer with you?” She didn’t look at me but ate her nachos.
“Why not? Dad was and he was the star. You will be it now, or at least you will be for the foreseeable future.”
“Foreseeable future? Are you saying that I can be replaced?” She looked up at me.
“We all can be replaced. You might not want to do it eventually or at all. You might decide that you like being a producer more, or you just want to try something else. As you have said, the only thing constant is change. You shouldn’t feel you’re obligated to do the show if you don’t want to. I would like you to, I think the audience would, but that doesn’t mean you have to or you need to do it for the rest of your life.”
“I never thought of it that way, but that makes sense. Thanks,” she said with a smile.
“For what?” I asked, taken aback.
“You have a way with words. I could tell you’d heard me, you validated my concerns, and you gave me an honest and upfront answer that I could live with. I didn’t give you enough of a chance before. I don’t think I wanted to but I could see that I was wrong.”
I knew it was a lot for her to admit.
“As I was about you. Do you think this was what Dad wanted for us? A chance to get to know each other doing something that we love with someone he loved?” I asked.
“Of course, it was. You didn’t figure that out from the beginning? He was always telling me how great you were when he was alive and it annoyed me. I didn’t want to hear it. Now, I can see he was right and I feel bad for not listening to him.”
“Don’t feel bad. I did the same thing. At first, I thought he was doing it to try and tell me how much better you were than me, but I could see that wasn’t the case. He just loved you and he loved me and he wanted us to get along.”
“Mission accomplished,” she said and finished off her beer.
It was a small victory for her to admit everything that she did and I wanted to take it and see if I could push it a little bit more. I wanted to see if she would admit that while she could see me as a friend, she could see me as something more. But I didn’t. She was a woman who knew her own mind and I didn’t want her to think that I was trying to influence her one way or the other.
I would take this night for what it was, a new leaf, a new stage in our relationship, and I would use it to make it into something more. The night only made me see how great of a person Natalie was and how much I wanted her in my life.
Chapter 15
Natalie
At the lone cypress tree on 17-mile road there had been a box with Jason and my name on it. Inside was the next clue.
Boasting grandeur of style and size
I will help you get to your ultimate prize
Crafted with stone piled high,
I look like I could reach the sky.
