NOVEL NEXT 12. Nature Walk (Tess)
The conservation area I picked for our outing was about forty-five minutes away by car. I'd been there before so Amy let me do the navigating, though I mostly had to rely on my phone's map app for that.
She seemed to be in a good mood today but I could tell there was still tension under the surface. Neither of us had touched on her situation yet this morning, and I was worried about how things were going to turn out for her. I couldn't shake the thought that she was putting off dealing with it so she could enjoy herself today, while work and her roommate and her family and all those other problems were still going to be there for her tomorrow.
Beyond that I felt guilty and worried about last night. The bottom line was I took advantage of her. I appreciated that she was taking responsibility for her part in it, but I still felt like I should have known better and shouldn't have pushed her in that direction in the first place.
Whether she blamed me or not, she was vulnerable and in a situation she'd never had any preparation for in her life. She'd been a girl less than a full day, she wasn't used to her body or how it responded. And I got her drunk then I got my hands on her.
I was positive there'd be tears, shouting, some sort of freak out when she woke up this morning. Instead she just acted chill and took me out for brunch.
And I was scared to mention it, but the way she was acting so relaxed about it this morning sort of reminded me of how her roommate acted yesterday evening. It made me worried that Amy was being affected by magic, that something was forcing her to be calm when she should have been upset or angry or freaking out.
I tried to push that thought aside for the moment. Right or wrong, mentioning it now would definitely bring the mood down and I couldn't deny I was looking forward to this walk as much as Amy was. Afterwards, when we were back at my place, then we'd have to discuss it. Along with all the other serious stuff we were avoiding so far today.
There was a modest fee to get into the conservation area, but I took care of that. Then we parked, and at ten minutes past one in the afternoon we set out together. The trails all started in the same place, at the edge of the woods about fifty meters away from the parking area. A big map board was set up next to the trail head and the two of us stopped there to have a look at it.
There were about a dozen trails, in varying lengths and levels of difficulty, and with different sights to see. The trails all started there next to the map, then branched off at various points along the way. Each one was indicated with different coloured trail markers though, so all you had to do was follow the right colour to stay on your chosen path.
After a little bit of discussion Amy and I picked a two-kilometre trail that would take us past a little river and a small waterfall, then around a small man-made lake before finally ending up back here where we started. It was indicated as a fairly easy trail, suitable for the general public which was exactly what we wanted. We were here for a fun relaxing walk, not a strenuous or challenging hike.
Weather was perfect, it was a warm day with a bright blue sky and a very gentle breeze. The path we were following was fully cleared and while it had some hilly sections, none of them were very steep. Underfoot was hard-packed earth, and only a few minutes after we got started we were surrounded by trees and breathing clean fresh air. We could hear birds and squirrels and other small animals in the trees, and we could smell the earthy scent of the woods around us.
Neither Amy or I talked much at first, apart from the occasional comment about the trail and the location. I was still getting over how much I missed doing this sort of thing, and I suspected she was feeling the same. When you spend all your time indoors or surrounded by concrete and glass and brick, you forget what it's like not having all that around.
It only took us about ten minutes to get to the part where our trail branched off from the main one, then another four or five minutes after that we reached the little waterfall itself. There wasn't much of a flow at this time of year, it wasn't as much a river as a seasonal creek so it was probably more impressive in the springtime. But it was still really pretty and I wasn't the least bit disappointed.
Amy and I both dug our phones out to take some pictures of the water and the creek and the scenery. Then I caught her snapping a picture of me, so I did the same and got one of her. Then we both quit trying to be sneaky about it and did some poses and had a little fun. In the end we took a few selfies together, and seeing both our smiling faces together on my phone's screen sent a flutter through my chest.
"This is really nice," she commented. She was still smiling happily as she looked around, and at me. "Thanks for suggesting it Tess. I'm really happy we came here."
I smiled back at her, "Thank you for asking. I'm really enjoying it too, I forgot how much I liked doing this."
We probably spent a half hour or so hanging around and exploring the little waterfall, taking pictures of the water and the trees and each other while we enjoyed the fresh air and a bit of idle conversation.
Eventually though we'd had enough and started moving again. The trail took us up some hills and through a tall stand of hardwoods, then a few minutes after we started down the other side the reservoir came into view. It was probably a stretch calling it a man-made lake. It was more like a really large vaguely rectangular pond. I'd guess it was about two hundred meters long and eighty or a hundred meters wide, and I had no idea how deep it was.
Amy commented, "Oh I bet this was an old quarry or something! I've heard about this, since the fifties or sixties they've had this thing where gravel companies have to rehabilitate the land after they've finished digging it up? So they let the pit fill with water and turn the area into a park or nature reserve or something, then give it back to the region or set up a trust or whatever to look after it."
"Huh," I frowned as I looked across the water. "I didn't know that, but it makes a lot of sense. Way better than just walking away and leaving an ugly scar on the Earth, anyways."
The trail took us out away from the water again and through some more dense woods for a ways, then swung back around and we finally emerged from the trees at the south end of the reservoir. The path led us along the top of what was basically an earthen dam holding the water in. So we had the 'lake' on our right while on the left was a grassy slope that was probably pretty amazing for tobogganing in the winter. It wasn't that steep but it had to be twenty or twenty-five meters high and ran out about a hundred meters in total length.
Being in the sun again after spending most of the walk in the shade was nice, I appreciated the warmth on my face and arms while the soft breeze was enough to keep it from being too hot.
We ended up taking some more pictures of each other, and selfies of the two of us together with the water and trees in the background. Then we started moving again. This time as we walked, I decided to bring up some of the serious stuff. We were in the home stretch of the hike now, less than a half-kilometre from the end.
"So Amy," I said, trying to keep my tone light. "You remember tomorrow's Monday, right? Have you thought about what you're going to do about work?"
She nodded and in a fairly casual tone replied, "Yeah. I've decided I'm not going."
I glanced at her and she elaborated, "It's not a great job. It's retail, minimum wage. When we were at my place yesterday I checked my closet? There was no trace of their itchy ugly work shirts, so I don't know if I even still have the job. And if I do, will they even recognize me or will they be expecting 'him' to show up?"
She shook her head and continued, "If it was a decent job or something I liked, then maybe I'd put some effort into keeping it? But not that job."
"Ok," I said slowly as I tried not to look too concerned. "So what are you going to do instead?"
We were back under the trees again but the trail was curving to the left, in the direction of the parking lot. And a few moments later we emerged back at the trail head where we started.
Amy replied as we were walking, "First thing, I was hoping I could stay at your place again tonight? I know you have to work tomorrow, so I'd head back home when you have to leave. But I think I'm happier staying with you than I'd be at my place dealing with Mike again. I think he works as a courier or something, he sometimes has weird shifts but odds are he'll be working tomorrow by the time I get home. So I can put off seeing him for a while longer. And I guess once I'm back home tomorrow, then I'll put some thought into looking for a new job as Amethyst?"
As we continued on out towards the car Amy added, "Honestly, work is towards the bottom of my list of worries right now. There's way more important things I need to deal with first. Like the number one thing for me is figuring out how to deal with my family."
It honestly surprised me that she wanted to spend another night with me. I still felt guilty about what last night, but maybe Amy really was ok with it after all. It only took me a few moments to think it over then I replied, "You're welcome to stay the night. I have to be at work by ten thirty tomorrow morning, but it's not far so I don't have to leave till ten? So we don't have to get up super early or anything."
I continued, "About dealing with your family, have you been thinking about how you're going to handle that?"
She opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything she was interrupted by a ringing from her purse.
Amy frowned as she dug her phone out, then grimaced after she checked the screen to see who was calling. She looked at me and sighed, "Speak of the devil, right? That's my mom calling."
"You're not going to answer it, are you?"
She shook her head, "I'll let it go to voicemail. She wouldn't recognize my voice if I answered, right? She'd probably think she dialled the wrong number. Or she'd think I lost my phone and some strange girl found it."
A few seconds later the ringing stopped. Amy unlocked the car and we both got inside, then she sat watching her phone as she waited for the voicemail notification.
It was another minute or two before her phone pinged, but rather than a voice message her mom had sent her a text instead.
Amy opened her messages and her eyes widened slightly as she read it. She was looking anxious again, like all the calm and fun of our walk was just erased.
"What's wrong?" I asked warily. "Is everything ok?"
She sighed as she stared down at the phone, "Mom was calling to remind me, it's my sister's birthday on Tuesday and we're doing a family BBQ dinner for her at my parents' place. Mom wants me there at five sharp."
After a gulp she looked up at me and said, "So I have two days to figure out how I'm going to tell my parents and my sister that I'm suddenly a girl and my name's changed to Amethyst."
