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I turned on my heel and headed back to my office. Without giving myself a chance to think, I walked quickly over to my phone and pulled up her number from the 'recent callers' list.
“Hello?” Maya’s voice vibrated with annoyance, but I couldn’t blame her.
“Hey, Maya.” I forced a brightness into my tone that was nowhere close to feeling.
"What do you want, Jack?"
I pinched my eyes shut and rubbed the spot between my brows that started to throb.
"I wanted to apologize for hanging up. I was out of line.”
The throbbing in my head continued to beat to the rhythm of my too-fast pulse.
"You think?" Ah, there was the Maya I used to know. Full of sarcasm and not inclined to take anyone’s bullshit.
“I know. I’m sorry.” I sighed deeply, trying to exhale all the weird energy that was whirling through my body. My blood felt like it was spinning through my veins.
“Look, I’m heading out of town for a few days, to my cabin up in Crested Butte. How about you come up and we can do the interview there. You can get photos, videos, whatever you need.”
"You want us to come to your cabin?" Her confidence wavered a bit, her voice pitching up. I smiled, as this was also the Maya I once knew.
“Yep. If you want to do this, that’s what I can do. I’ll be too slammed when I get back to Denver to fit this in.”
I held my breath, unsure if I wanted her to deny or accept my proposal. What would it be like to see Maya again? Especially since so much time has passed?
There was a long pause before she finally said, "Okay. We'll come up to the cabin, but I'm bringing a few people."
"Exactly how many are a few?”
"Three, plus me. I need an assistant, photographer, and videographer.”
I sighed again. There went my relaxing time in the cabin.
“That’s too many. Three of you total. I’ll be up there through the rest of this week and next. You can come up on Tuesday or Wednesday.”
I could tell Maya was getting upset because I could hear her teeth grinding through the phone.
"Still as stubborn as ever," Maya muttered, more to herself than to me, and I had to fight the urge to laugh. “Fine. We’ll be there Tuesday by noon.”
I sank in relief. I had expected her to put up a bigger argument, and I just wasn’t in the mood to fight with anyone. I gave her my cell number, the address, and a few instructions about how to get to the property.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you next week, Jack. I look forward to seeing you again.”
And with that, Maya hung up the phone. I sat there, staring at the receiver even though the line was dead, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed. I rubbed my chest as my heartbeat picked up the pace to something barely tolerable. Sweat trickled across my hairline and down my back. The walls were crowding around me and I felt suffocated. I threw the phone down and walked out of my office, ripping the buttons of my shirt open, exposing the white T-shirt beneath it.
I couldn’t get any air and I felt like my whole body was ready to explode as I forced myself onto the elevator down to the parking garage. I barely managed a smile and a wave to the guard before I darted off to my car.
As soon as my ass was in the seat, I started the engine and threw it into gear; windows were wide open to let in some goddamn air.
I buckled my seat belt as I took the curves of the parking garage too fast, desperate to get the fuck out of this place. Finally, I was out in the bright, cold sunlight, weaving through traffic, feeling a small sense of relief as I hit the highway and sped away from the city, leaving the congested streets and smoggy air in my rearview.
The mix of anger and feeling of suffocation eased just a fraction and my fists slightly released their death grip on the steering wheel as I turned south down the smaller four-lane highway that would eventually wind over the mountains and through the vast valley that always helped me feel free before climbing back impossibly high in the sky. Too often, I flew to Crested Butte, the driving time was always long and unpredictable with traffic. But today, the windshield was what I needed most. And on a Thursday late morning, traffic shouldn’t be too bad.
I wanted nothing more than to be alone, escape the social obligations of the city, and find solace in the mountains. But I couldn't turn Maya down. She was an old friend, and I knew she meant well.
As I drove, I used Bluetooth on my phone to dial up the cleaning company I hired to maintain my cabin. I had done it a million times before, but I could barely focus when I heard the vaguely familiar voice answer the phone.
My heart raced with anticipation. I was nervous, my palms sweating. I knew that I was getting into a situation I was not entirely prepared for, but I had to make it work.
