Chris never loses his patience or laughs. He corrects me gently, and after a very short twenty minutes, I sit back and assess my creation. It looks nothing like the photo, which is supposed to be a type of dragonfly, but still…I made it!
“That’s so cool. Thank you.” I offer a hand to the man and introduce myself. “I’m Ethan, by the way. I’m working at Snow Creek Ranch for the summer. You must know Colt? He’s a great fisherman.”
Chris nods. “I know who you are. Great to meet you, and yes, he’s an amazing fisherman.”
There’s no hardness to his voice, but it feels like I’m being evaluated. In a gentle way, though. I get the strong feeling Chris would protect Colt without a thought, and I find that oddly comforting.
“I guess it’s a small town and I stand out enough that you’d know who I am.”
He takes my fly off the vise and drops it into a small baggie before handing it to me. “Something like that. You should come to my shop. My wife is there right now until I get back.”
“I’m out exploring today, so I just might do that. Thank you. This is really cool.”
“My pleasure.”
Chris assesses me silently again, and I wonder if Colt has said anything to him about me. Good or bad. “Thanks again.” I slide the baggie with my fly into a pocket and leave the library. On the way out, I notice a posting for a paint class sign-up.
“What the hell,” I mutter and scribble my name and number under the sheet. Might as well do something away from the screen, like Cathy said. Making a fly was kind of neat. A different way of creating, I suppose. Perhaps painting might unlock something else on my creative side.
I don’t end up going to Chris’s fly shop. Instead, I browse the Mercantile and drink a cream soda at the park before dipping into the bookstore. I’m not looking for anything in particular, but it’s a nice shop, and I end up buying a book about trout fishing in Colorado because I like the pictures.
When I exit the shop, I look up to find Colt literally right in front of me. He’s so close that if I hadn’t been watching, I’d likely have run into him.
“Hi!” I hold up my book for Colt. “If you haven’t been inhere, they have a great section on fishing and the outdoors. I bought this because, ah…the fish are really pretty.”
Colt laughs as I cringe at my words. “I’ve been there. Told Aubrey what books to stock for fishing, and you’re right. The fish in that book are beautiful. Great photography.”
Of course, he’d have been in the bookstore and had probably known they have books on fishing. He’s lived here his whole life. Everyone knows each other, and if Colt knows when the lawn at the park gets mowed, he’d know about fishing books.
“Oh. I should’ve known you already knew about this. When I read it, I’ll ask you if I have questions. What are you up to?”
Colt motions to the door I didn’t notice on the side of the building. “I just got home from visiting my uncle in Fort Collins.”
“You live here?”
He nods. “Were you expecting something else?”
“No, I…well, I didn’t have any expectations. I just haven’t seen you all week.”
I stop short of telling him I missed him because that might be weird. To him, though. Not me. Ihavemissed him.
“It’s been a full week. Would you like to come up?”
That’s not a question he needs to ask me twice.
“If you’re not busy, I’d love to.”
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have time, Ethan.”
Colt leads me up the flight of stairs to a small landing where he unlocks the door to his apartment. “It’s not much, but it’s home, and I like it. Pardon the mess.”
Flattened moving boxes sit in the hallway along with unopened ones.
“Are you just moving in or moving out?” I ask as I follow him into the kitchen and stop when I see the tabletop easeland paints. “Do you paint?” Dumb question. Of course, he paints. It’s his apartment.
“Yes. Not much. Mostly sunrises and landscapes. I’ve never really branched out.” Colt laughs as he nods toward the painting. “You can get closer to look at it. I don’t mind.”
I practically fall over in my haste to see what Colt paints, and when I do, my chest fills with a mixture of wonder, pride, and longing that I’ve never experienced before.
