And Ben. He knew Alexei was here, too.
Alexei straightened. Stared ahead at the undulating brown hills, the blazing sky.
He had promised himself to take in the lessons the natural world always seemed ready to give. When he thought about it now, rattlesnakes were a rather kind species. There were scarier prospects ahead of him, he knew: mountain lions and bears, dried-up water sources and dehydration. Snow-filled mountain passes to traverse, roaring rivers to cross.
Rattlesnakes at least gave you a warning.
Mostly, like anything else, they just wanted to exist.
Mostly, they just wanted you to listen.
Alexei had survived his first rattlesnake.
He had received a warm smile from a handsome man.
And—he completed a quick pat-down of himself to make sure—he had not pissed himself.
He had been taught from an early age to take small bits of grace where you could find them.
His stride a little stronger, his pulse a little calmer, Alexei turned and walked past the rattlesnake’s path, farther into the heart of the desert.
***
The next time Alexei saw Ben, it was thirty miles later, and Ben’s face was full of shaving cream.
“Hey!” Ben’s voice stopped Alexei in his tracks, the friendly, unexpected greeting almost as surprising as that first rattlesnake. “You’re the guy who saved my life.”
Alexei stared at Ben’s reflection in the mirror of the bathroom, the small space and bright lights above the sink making Ben’s smile even more inescapable than it had been in the middle of the desert.
“I don’t think—” Alexei cleared his throat, dry after days of disuse. “I didn’t actually save your life.”
“Oh.” Ben rinsed his blade, tapped it against the side of the sink before bringing it to his face. “I was oblivious and dehydrated. I would have stepped on that sucker, one hundred percent. You most definitely saved my life.” His smile in the mirror faded, the hand holding the razor pausing as he turned to face Alexei. “I’m so sorry, though. I don’t remember your name.”
“Alexei,” Alexei introduced himself again.
“That’s right.” Ben smiled. “I’m Ben.”
Alexei definitely remembered Ben’s name. While Alexei had passed plenty of other hikers over the past few days, Ben was the only person he’d exchanged more than two words with. Alexei thought he would probably always remember Ben’s name.
“Anyway”—Ben returned to his shave—“it’s good to see you again. And hey!” He pointed at the counter with his blade. “Sinks!”
The thirty miles since Alexei had last seen Ben had not been the best thirty miles of his life. Past the initial triumph of not getting bitten by a rattlesnake, Alexei’s body was full of more aches than he had ever before experienced. His shoulders and hips were bruised from the weight of his pack, his pale face sunburned no matter how often he slathered on sunscreen, his feet blistered and painful even though the guy at REI had assured him they wouldn’t be. He had been so enthusiastic, that guy, about how with the right shoes, one wouldn’t get blisters, no matter how far you were traveling.
Alexei had spent the last twenty miles or so wishing he could go back to REI and have a serious conversation with that guy. He imagined most of the conversation would simply involve Alexei crying, while the REI guy stood there looking ruggedly handsome and upbeat, like any human who had ever been employed by REI. But for some reason, Alexei liked picturing it anyway.
On top of it all, Alexei’s stomach seemed to be rejecting the PCT entirely. He could barely keep anything down. And if there was one thing you needed on a long-distance hike, it was calories. He hadn’t planned on making this side trip to Idyllwild, several miles off the official trail, but the prospect of real, freshly prepared food at the restaurants here had proven too great. Hence, his current arrival at the restroom of Tommy’s Kitchen. And while he knew it was the right decision, he’d still been frustrated with himself, disappointed, the whole side trail down. Traveling to Idyllwild would set him back half a day, at the least.
Yet when Ben smiled at him and said,Sinks!—improbably, the corner of Alexei’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch into its own half smile. Sinks truly were exciting when you’d spent the last four days walking through the desert with barely a single freshwater source available.
It also felt like a funny echo of their first monosyllabic conversation.Snake.
Alexei had never been able to master the art of casual conversation, with anyone, really, but especially when it came to objectively handsome men. But maybe, just maybe, he could handle these single-word discussions with Ben.
“Sinks,” he agreed. And then, after another moment of realizing he had likely been staring at Ben’s half-shaven face too long, he added, “Okay, well. I’m going to use the restroom now.”
Embarrassment swept in as soon as the words left his mouth, the tips of his ears warming as it occurred to him that this had likely not been a completely necessary thing to say.
But Ben held both hands up in the air. The grin on his face spread. There was a small, straight gap between his lower front teeth.
