“Oh yes, Veda. I’d love to show you around! I’m sure many people are excited to meet you!”
“She just arrived, Mom. There’s time,” I say, hoping she connects the dots and understands what is happening here. We don’t need people interrogating Veda about something she doesn’t know.
Mom takes Veda’s arm and flees through the door, talking up a storm while Veda watches me over her shoulder, a bunch of demands on that gaze, but I can’t keep up with that right now. I have a room full of dads watching me like hawks.
“Now, son, you'd better start talking.”
nineteen
Veda
“And right in that corner over there? That’s Jacinta’s house.”
Anne goes around the township, pointing at every home and telling me who it belongs to. I nod and smile, overwhelmed by the amount of information she’s throwing at me.
In this beautiful little township, tucked inside the mountain range, every single one is polyamorous. I don't mind people living the way they want to live, but it’s a lot of information and an awful lot of names. I was nervous about meeting two sets of parents, and now I have to meet eight new people. At least.
“Anne!”
A woman runs to us, and while it’s Anne’s name she calls, her wide eyes are on me, and only me. I can’t stop feeling like she’s looking at me like I’m a zoo animal. It’s probably just an impression,right?
“I heard it. Is it true?”
My mouth dries, and my heart bumps fast, but I have no idea why. Whatever she’s talking about doesn’t have anything to do with me, so I force a small smile on my lips.
“Catarina, we can talk later. Now’s not the time.”
Catarina’s gaze tears from me and back to Anne. She reels back as if she had just been slapped. “You can’t keep this from us.”
“I’m not.”
Anne’s tone with Catarina is different, firm, and leaving no room for argument. The moments tick by, and the silence is thick between them, but eventually Catarina nods and walks away. She’s not happy, and I can’t help but follow her retreat until she meets a few women and they put their heads together, eyes on us.
My cheeks burn, and I feel extremely uncomfortable about the encounter, even if I don’t fully understand it. It doesn’t bother Anne. It rolls off her shoulder, and that easy smile comes to her lips again as she tugs me around.
“We have about fifty cabins, though they aren’t all used as homes. We have some for storage, so we don’t need to go to the city so often, and that big one over there? We use it as a town hall so everyone can talk about important business.”
I can’t help but notice more people are coming out of their homes, and every set of eyes is on me. Anne laces my arm with hers, not sparing anyone a glance, but my anxiety is at an all-time high.
“We had plans to stretch to the other side of the river.” She sighs. “That was before everything, of course.”
“Everything what?”
She shakes her head from the thought instead of replying and pats my hand. “Don’t worry about that.”
But I do. I worry about the glances, and I worry about the whispers following us around. The air is getting heavy, and I don’t understand what’s going on. My ignorance spikes the anxiety, and I wonder if they just hate outsiders. Should I leave?
“Are you hungry?” Anne asks out of the blue.
It takes me a minute to even understand what she’s asking. “Oh no, we had a good breakfast. And it’s just an hour trip.”
“Oh yes, I almost forgot how close it actually is. It feels miles and miles away sometimes. Everything on that side of the mountain feels like a different world.”
For the first time since we stepped out of the cabin, my attention is away from the citizens and back to Anne. “The boys don’t come back home often?”
“You know, the ranch takes a lot to manage. They have responsibilities out there, and I know it’s hard on Major to be back. I understand. But I have to say, I’m a little surprised that Derrick took to life out there.”
“What do you mean?” I snort. “He’s the perfect cowboy.”
