“Now I’m pretty sure I’m good just staying home rather than going to a huge get together.”
“Why? They’re all very nice people,” Boon said.
“I’m sure they are. But, they all sound so otherworldly — their stories ones of awe. I’m just a boring human.”
“There is nothing boring about you. They’ll love you if you just treat them like they're the same as everyone else.”
“I hope so,” Angelle said. “What if your people don’t like me? I’m not good with people.”
“They don’t like me most of the time already, so it doesn’t really matter,” Boon answered.
“They don’t like you?” she asked, surprised.
“I think I make them nervous. But I don’t know, honestly. I never took the time to notice. I’m always respectful and when I have extra meat I always give it to those who need it, so I think they try to like me.”
“You help to feed their families. I’m sure they think very highly of you.”
“I guess. Though, now that I think of it, it would kind of be a good thing if they don’t like you, because then they wouldn’t be coming to visit all the time.”
Angelle laughed.
“What? What’s funny?” he asked.
“That you don’t want people to like me so they’ll stay away.”
“Works for me. No unwanted visitors that don’t know when their welcome has run out, and I get you all to myself, all the time.”
Angelle was still laughing a little as they changed direction and began to follow the edge of a bayou. “This is almost too big to be called a bayou,” she said.
“We widened and deepened the ones that were originally running through the area to allow for more water flow, and even to encourage fish to enter them and live in them.”
“It’s very impressive. And so pretty.”
“Thanks, I think so, too.”
About six more minutes of walking and they rounded a bend in the bayou and there before them a corner of land extended into the wide bend of the bayou. “Oh, wow! This is beautiful!”
“It’s always been my favorite fishing spot. My hut used to stand right out there practically on the waters’ edge. Now, our home sits here, but not as close to the water. Right over there.”
Angelle had been admiring the wide bayou and its slowly, yet steadily flowing water making its way past as a pair of white egrets waded in the water nearby scouring for food. At Boon’s words her head jerked up and she followed his line of sight to the very large, very new home built several hundred feet back from the bayou. Standing high enough, and far enough from the bayou to be safe from any overflow, but close enough to be able to look out over the bayou in both directions as it curved around the land, its bend seemingly caressing the land as it moved past.
“Boon, this is spectacular,” she whispered.
Beaming with pride, he gently pulled on her hand. “Come on, let me show you inside.”
Chapter 10
Boon led Angelle from the edge of the bayou where it curved around the front point of his property to the back of the house. He kept going until he reached a point halfway between the house and the tree line furthest away, then turned to look up at that side of the house. “You saw the stairs on the bayou side, right? Well, we’ve got a door on this side, too. You can enter from both sides. And there are nice doors on both sides.”
“You put front doors on both sides?” she asked, looking up at the house.
“Actually, Tempest thought of it, but I’m glad she did.”
Angelle let go of Boon’s hand and took a few steps away from him to better see the house. Then she turned in a slow circle as she surveyed the land, and the trees all around them. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anywhere this pretty, Boon. Everything is so vibrant and green. It looks completely untouched.”
“It is for the most part. There’s no pollution here. There aren’t any cars, no electricity. It’s a life like was lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. We live off the land. If we do want something from the city, we ask Enthrall or Lily to arrange it for us. Gaston goes into town sometimes and can get us whatever we need if it’s not an emergency and we can wait until his next trip in.”
“It’s beautiful. It’s got a different look, a different feel from anywhere I’ve known.”
