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“We did. Nice guy. He gave us my crutches, which I have once again forgotten,” Cage said realizing it for the first time.
“I noticed your bum leg there. What’s that, a sporting injury? You look like you’ve played some ball?”
“Football injury.”
“I used to play football back in high school. We have a pretty good football program here. We don’t get much of an opportunity to travel for games. Funds in this town are always a little tight. But it has potential. Do you play at East Tennessee?”
“I did. My season’s over.”
“Sorry to hear that. I’ve always thought about going there.”
“Why don’t you?” I asked.
“Money. Time. Motivation. Take your pick. I was thinking I could study something that I could bring back here.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said appreciating his loyalty to the town.
“It is, but then I get stuck on what that should be.”
“That’s what University is for, to help you figure out what you want to do.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I need to give it some more thought. Now that I have two friends who attend, it might be worth considering,” Titus said with another welcoming smile.
Starting about twenty minutes out of town, we began our tour of the frozen waterfalls. No one had oversold them. They were amazing looking. They all looked like they were frozen mid-stream creating icicles that were as much as twenty feet long.
“My friends and I used to skinny-dip out here when we were kids,” Titus said as we stared at one of the falls from our parked truck. “When it wasn’t frozen over, of course. Yeah, as beautiful as it is in the winter, they are twice as beautiful in the summer. Maybe more. They’re hidden gems.”
“You’re right. I’ve never seen anything like it,” I said.
“Well, that’s not saying much because you’re from the city,” Cage joked.
“Oh, which city?” Titus asked.
“The big apple,” Cage volunteered for me.
“Wow! What was that like?”
I froze unsure how much I should say. My childhood couldn’t be compared to anything someone who grew up here could have had. And, did I mention that I had two dads and a mom? He seemed fine with Cage and me, but I couldn’t forget how the busboy had reacted the night before.
“It’s… different,” I told him.
“I bet it is. Are cars the only thing you hear?”
“Depends on where you are.”
“I can’t even imagine that. Do you hear this? It’s the sweet sound of nothing. You can’t beat that.”
“I grew up a mile away from our closest neighbor,” Cage volunteered.
“So, you two are the extremes,” Titus said with a smile.
“We definitely had different experiences growing up,” Cage said.
“We’re not that different,” I corrected not liking the distance he was putting between us.
“Come on. I can’t even imagine the world you grew up in. Or, what it feels like to be in your situation.”
“What situation is that?” Titus asked innocently.
