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She sped up to Dean, then pulled ahead. She heard him laughing quietly behind her
, and she knew they were both thinking of the girl shed been-the one who couldnt stand to lose at anything, even a pop corn dare like “race you to the park. ”
The road curled around a huge Douglas fir tree and spilled out into the sunshine. Ruby jumped off her bike and set it against the wooden bike rack. There was no need to lock it.
She heard Deans bike land against the rack with a clatter, but she was already walking toward the lake. She had forgotten how beautiful it was here. The heart-shaped sapphire-blue lake was surrounded by lush green trees and rimmed in granite. A ribbon of water cascaded over the “giants lip”-a flat, jutting rock at the top of the cliffs-and splashed onto the placid surface of the lake.
There were children everywhere, locals and tourists, playing on the grass, shrieking, swimming along the shore.
Dean came up beside her. “Are you up for a climb?”
She laughed. “Im an adult now. Waterfall Trail is for mountain goats and kids who are desperate to smoke pot or get laid. ”
“I can make it,” he said, letting the challenge in his words hang there.
She sighed. “Lead on. ”
Side by side, not talking, they walked around to the western side of the lake, wound through the horde of picnickers, Frisbee-catching dogs, and screaming children. When they reached the heavy fringe of trees, they left the people behind. Gradually, the sound of human voices faded away. The gurgling, splashing sound of falling water grew louder and louder.
Once again, Ruby was sweating.
The trail was rocky and narrow. It corkscrewed straight up through the trees, salal, and blackberries (which scratched her exposed arms and legs, thank you very much).
Finally, they reached the top. The giants lip.
It was a slab of gray granite as big as a swimming pool and as flat as a quarter. A thick green moss furred the stone; dainty yellow wildflowers grew impossibly from the moss. A stream of water no wider than the length of a mans arm flowed across the rock in a groove worn long ago, then spilled over the edge and fell twenty feet to the lake below.
Ruby stepped into the clearing and saw the picnic basket. It was sitting on a familiar red-and-black plaid blanket.
Dean touched her shoulder. “Come on. ” He led her to the blanket, which hed carefully spread out on a spot where the moss was several inches thick.
They sat down. He reached into the basket, pulled out a thermos, and poured two glasses of lemonade.
Ruby drank hers greedily. When she was finished, she set the glass aside and leaned back on her elbows. The hot sun beat down on her cheeks. “We used to come up here all the time. ”
“This is where you first told me you were going to be a comedian. ”
“Really?” She smiled. “I dont remember that. ”
“You said you wanted to be famous. ”
“I still do. And you wanted to be a prize-winning photographer. ” She didnt look at him. It was better to stay separate and talk about the past, as if they were just two old high-school friends whod bumped into each other. “Thats a long way from junior executive. ”
“Yeah . . . but I still wish for it. If I could, Id throw everything away and start over. Money sure as hell doesnt make you happy. ”
It bothered her to think of him as unhappy. “Spoken like a man whose family business is on the Fortune Five Hundred. ”
He laughed softly. “Yeah, I guess. ”
A quiet settled in between them, and she was vaguely afraid of what he would say, so she said, “I saw Eric yesterday. ”
“He told me. It really meant a lot to him. "
Ruby wishboned her arms behind her head. A single, gauzy cloud drifted above the trees. “I wish Id stayed in better touch with him. ”
You?“ Dean laughed bitterly. ”Im his brother and
I hadnt seen him in years. "
