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They all took a sip and then replaced their glasses as servers came by with salad plates. The conversation veered to favorite places they had visited. Everyone had visited Mexico and a few had visited the Caribbean, but Evie was the only one who had visited Ireland.
“Why did you choose to visit Ireland?” Matt inquired.
“My second oldest sister married an Irishman and she lives there with her two kids.”
“I hear Ireland is absolutely breathtaking,” Anya replied.
“It is. I’ve been there three times so far, and I love it every time. Everything's so green, something I’m not used to.”
“But Colorado is green,” Devanee interjected.
“It is, but I didn’t grow up there.”
“Where did you grow up?” Matt asked.
“Here… in California.”
“Then I guess if you like green so much, you should definitely stay in Colorado… or move to Ireland like your sister,” Devanee added. “So, Matt, where did you grow up?”
“I grew up in a small farming town in Northern California.”
“Like Napa? Oh… I love Napa.”
“A little farther north… and east.”
“Would we know the name?” Fran asked.
“Probably not, but the biggest city nearby is Redding.”
“Oh, that place can get so hot during the summer,” Evie added as she stuffed the last of her salad in her mouth.
Matt stared at her. “You’ve been to Redding?”
“Yep.” Evie nodded as she swallowed some water. “I was on a rodeo circuit in high school and we went there in August. I thought I was going to melt; it was so hot.”
“Did you grow up on a farm?” Fran asked Matt.
“Yes, I did, ma’am!” Matt replied as he nodded and tipped the edge of his make-believe cowboy hat.
Devanee, Emanee, and Anya all sighed. Evie just stared at him in shock while Fran looked at him with a scowl on her face.
“Fran,” Matt inquired. “Do you not like farms?”
“Oh,” Fran fanned her hand in front of her face as if to bat away the scowl on her face. “I like farms that grow things, but I’m not a huge fan of animal farms.” Fran laughed with embarrassment. “For example, one time I was traveling on I-5 to San Francisco and we had to stop and get gas at some run-down gas station. The horrendous smell almost killed me,” Fran continued as she laughed.
“That’s the smell of money!”
Matt and Evie both stared at each other as they realized they said the same exact thing. Then they both laughed.
“I don’t get it,” Emanee said.
“Fran drove by Harris Ranch which is an enormous cattle ranch in Central California,” Evie explained to Emanee and then she turned to talk to Fran. “And the smell there is horrendous… even for me who grew up on a cattle ranch.”
“You grew up on a cattle ranch?” Matt asked in surprise.
“Yes, sir!” Evie tipped her head and tapped her pretend cowboy hat.
“And did a rodeo circuit?”
