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His guest looked around, up at the sky, toward the trees where Bracken stood hidden in the shadows. He should just walk out and introduce himself, but he didn’t. He heard the other man draw in and release a long, slow breath. There was something on his face that Bracken didn’t expect. A deep skein of worry. Not the arrogant blankness he’d expected. And something else. Was it fear? He seemed to inspect the trees, the road that led to the house. What was he looking for?
The trunk of the car opened as he approached it, revealing that it was packed to the gills. Suitcases, backpacks, coolers, all high-end brands, items with high price tags but the same made-in-China crap like everything else.
Who would pay four hundred dollars for a cooler when sixty dollars would buy you something that worked just as well, was better designed, more practical? Very typical of a certain set.Look at me! Look what I can buy!He shouldn’t complain. It was just that type of person who rented the house he’d built here on the twenty acres of land he owned. And his livelihood depended on them.
The guest grabbed a couple of suitcases and headed toward the house. Then he climbed the porch steps, put down the luggage, and looked at his phone. When he punched in the code on the lock and tried the door, it didn’t open.
“What the fuck?” he said. Just a moment’s delay and he was immediately angry. He walked back to the steps and called for his wife, looking like a helpless toddler. She didn’t come right away. He sighed, called her again.
Finally, she got out of the car, dressed in expensive yoga gear. From the trunk, she took a bag and her yoga mat and then went to meet him on the porch.
He couldn’t hear their voices from where he was standing. But Bracken noticed that the colors of their outfits coordinated. Did they plan that? Her pants dove gray, a lighter color than his gray zip-up hoodie, her tank top sky blue, his a deep royal. Bracken noticed that her exposed arms were lean, muscles defined.
Then the husband was picking her up like she weighed nothing at all and she was laughing as he carried her across the threshold. Bracken felt another rush of pride. He liked it when people were happy at his rental cabins. That was the whole point.
Bracken had let the grocery delivery person in earlier. A trunkful of organic this, vegan that, gluten-free, free-range, fair-trade, no-hormone high-priced items that he knew cost four or five times their store-brand counterparts.
The fridge and cupboards were packed; Bracken could stock the town food pantry for a couple of weeks with what his guests had bought for a long weekend. In fact, anything they left unopened would go there. He did that with all his rentals. People wasted so much food. They didn’t know what it was like to go hungry.
Not a judgment.
Just an observation. He considered himself an observer of the very different ways people chose to spend their lives, their money.
He clicked on the phone app that activated the camera in the main room.
“What about the booze?” big man was saying. He opened and closed cupboards.
“I thought you wanted to detox,” said his wife, looking at him. “Everyone else is bringing their choice of beverage or—intoxicant. Cricket’s bringing gummies.”
“I said I wanted torelax,” he said, with a chuckle. “Notdetox. Big difference.”
“Hmm. I see.”
She gave him an indulgent smile, like he was a loveable but misbehaved child. Could an adult woman truly love a man that she had to parent?
“I’ll run into town,” he said.
“Don’t,” she said, moving over to him. “Just call Hannah, have her pick up whatever you need.”
“It’s not going to take long.” He kissed her quickly. It was clear that he would do as he pleased and there was fuck all she could do about it. “Was there anything else?”
“Looks like they forgot the kale,” she said thoughtfully, peering into the fridge.
He lifted his hands in mock dismay. “Can’t have that. God forbid we should go withoutkale.”
“You like my smoothies,” she offered with another sweet smile. Bracken liked her a lot.
Shark man kissed her on the top of the head. “Iloveyour smoothies. And I love you. See you in a bit.”
“Be careful,” she said. “Don’t take those blind turns too fast.”
“Oh, wow—look at that. Bruce and Hannah are here,” he said.
Yes. A sturdy black Volvo SUV pulled up, another young, well-heeled couple inside. A Volvo was in every way opposite from the Tesla—reliable, safe, understated. An expensive car, but not one that screamed conspicuous consumption. A car bought for its value, not for what it said about the owner.
And then it was all hugs and happy greetings. Bracken stood watching, a familiar twinge of longing, undercut by a little bit of anger. What was it like to be a part of a family, to be welcomed and embraced? He didn’t know. He’d been deprived of that for whatever reason. The world was not a fair place and nothing—not looks, not wealth, not love—was evenly distributed. He knew that, of course he did. Why did it never stop hurting?
Inside there was more talk about who would go into town. Bruce offered. Hannah said that they’d brought plenty of alcohol—wine, vodka, gin. But Mako insisted. It was obvious to Bracken that the shark man had other things on his mind. And finally he was out the door.
