‘I’d hardly call it slumming. This place has its appeal. It’s very picturesque.’
‘I’m sure L.A. has scenic highlights too.’
‘Of course, but nothing like the small-town charm of this place.’
‘You wouldn’t think it was so adorable if you’d had to grow up here.’
‘I never said it was adorable. I don’t think I’ve ever called anything adorable in my life.’
‘You said it was charming. Charming is a synonym for adorable.’
He sighed. ‘You’re one of those people.’
‘What people?’
‘People who use words likesynonymin everyday conversation.’
‘I suppose you think people from small towns have limited vocabularies. Stereotyping much?’
‘I didn’t say that.’
‘Good, because it’s my turn to warnyou; we don’t really like judgmental people around here.’
‘I’m not judging anyone or anything.’
‘Good.’
‘I mean it.’
‘Good,’ I reiterated. ‘Keep it that way and you’ll be just fine.’
‘You know, for a place you seemingly couldn’t wait to get away from,’ he said after a long silence, ‘you’re pretty defensive of it. And that’s not judgment, merely an observation.’
‘You know nothing about me.’
‘That’s true,’ he conceded.
‘All I wanted was a nice, peaceful swim to cool off,’ I muttered.
‘I’m sorry I ruined that for you.’
I sighed. ‘You haven’t ruined it. Not completely.’
‘It’s actually my favorite part of the day,’ he admitted. ‘Coming down here.’
‘Do you come down every night?’
‘The past few weeks, yeah. L.A. summers are hot, but this is a different kind of heat. It’s been so hot that the tar on the roads has been melting. But it’s the humidity that really gets to me. Even the air is sticky. A cold shower after work is good, but finding this swimming hole was a godsend. It cools me down long enough to get some sleep, at any rate.’
‘Yeah, it’s pretty special,’ I agreed.
‘There’s something about being here that puts life into perspective.’
I groaned. ‘You’ve been listening to my mother.’
‘Why?’
‘That’s exactly the sort of cheesy thing that she’s always saying.’
