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“So…palm trees and movies?”
She rolls her eyes. “Uh-huh.”
“What made you trade all that for a visit to a small-town amusement park?”
Auden is silent—for long enough that I start to count the seconds. If the carnival’s music were any louder than a muffled pounding in the distance, I’d repeat the question, but I know she heard me.
After twenty-seven seconds, she answers. “My parents are getting divorced. I found out this morning.”
Sorry gets overused. I didn’t break up her parents’ marriage. I respond with “You don’t seem upset about it” instead. Maybe that’s an insensitive thing to say. A normal response would beI’m sorry, but I don’t know her, and I sure as hell don’t know her parents. What would I be apologizing for? I’d sayThat sucks, but again, she doesn’t seem upset about it.
She doesn’t seem offended by the observation. She flicks the water a couple of times with her bare feet. She’s dressed casually, in jeans and a t-shirt, but her toes are painted pink, making me think she might be more of a girly girl than her casual outfit lets on.
“Yeah. I’m not. More annoyed?”
“Annoyed? Why?”
Auden sighs. “It’s inconvenient. For me.” She glances at me. “I know that sounds terrible and selfish, but my parents aren’t in love. They haven’t been for as long as I can remember…I’m not sure if they ever were. I’mfinewith them getting divorced, if that’s what they both want. Their lives haven’t changed at all, but so far it’s gotten me shipped off to the Canadian wilderness, and when I get home… Well, I’m going to get a lot of questions from a lot of people that I don’t want to answer.”
“Are your parents famous or something?”
“Or something. They know a lot of famous people,” she replies.
“I hope you know you’ve basically confirmed every stereotype I’ve heard about California.”
She laughs. Laughs aren’t usually something I notice about a person. They simply register as sounds of amusement, but Auden has a laugh that sinks in. It’s a sparkler in verbal form that fizzes and demands attention.
“Have you ever been to the States?” she asks me.
“Once. I… My dad lives there now.”
“Your parents aren’t together?”
I shake my head. I can’t remember the last time I talked to someone who didn’t already know my family’s backstory. I hate talking about my father. It’s the one topic that manages to make me sad and piss me off simultaneously. Even so, I elaborate. The words fly out of my mouth without me thinking about them, the same way I sat down here and haven’t moved since.
“No. My dad left when I was little.”
She doesn’t offer an apology either. “Does he come back much? Your dad?”
“Never.”
“His loss.”
“I like to think so.” I lean back on my palms, adopting a more casual pose. “How come you ended up in this part of theCanadian wilderness?”
It’s hard to tell in the dim light, but I think she blushes. “Um, sorry. Was that offensive? I just meant…”
I cut her off with a chuckle. “I’m not offended. Just curious.”
“Oh. Uh, my aunt lives here?” It comes out like a question. “And my cousin. I was supposed to reconnect with extended family.” She uses finger quotes around reconnect. “But now I’m thinking it was more an attempt to get me out of town so my dad can move out.” She shrugs.
“You’ve never been before?”
“To Canmore? No. It’s, uh…nice?” She laughs, then tucks a piece of dark hair behind one ear. I study her profile in the moonlight as she chews on her bottom lip. “Just quieter than I’m used to, and I don’t really know anyone. Until you and your friends came in this morning, I thought I was in a retirement community.”
I laugh. I can’t remember the last time I was this amused by someone. “What about your cousin?”
Auden makes a face. “If you ask her, I’m not cool enough to hang out with.”
