Page 45 of Steinbeck
“I had this sort of pseudo-family for a very short time.A foster family.I ran away and screwed that up.But...”She shook her head.“It was just a nice dinner, is all.”
The wind stirred the chrysanthemums, the scent mingling with the night.
“You could stick around.”
“Here?”
“Here.There.Wherever Stein is.Maybe figure it out together.”
“Is that what you and Declan are doing?”
Austen glanced at her.“Um?—”
“Please.Like Declan isn’t crazy about you.And Stein says he’s not a terrorist, so...”
“He’s not, Phoenix.I promise.And yes...we’re together.He’s busy, though.He’s got an exhibit at the state fair tomorrow.Some AI tech he’s developed and is using to help train service-animal robots.”
“And you’re along for the ride?”
“I did snag a free ticket from Florida on his Gulfstream, but I’ve never been interested in his money.I have everything I need.It’s the man inside that intrigues me.”
“His outside isn’t so terrible either.”
Austen laughed, and it sounded so much like Steinbeck that it closed Emberly’s throat.Oh no,she justmightbe in love with the guy.
Or as far in love as she could allow herself to go.
“We’re figuring it out together,” Austen finally said.“I think that’s all you can do.We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.We just have to walk one day at a time.And it’s nice to do it hand in hand with someone.”She leaned back against the pillows.
Emberly stared out at the dark lake, the rippling of the moonlight upon the waves.“I’ve been a Black Swan for the better part of a decade.I’ve always had a mission.A plan.An objective.I’m not sure I can do one day at a time.”
“Just start with one day,” Austen said, and shivered.“I’m going in.But apparently, we’re all going to the fair tomorrow.”
“Yay.Cows.”
“You might be surprised.”She got up.“My guess is that you’ve never had cheese-curd tacos.”She winked.“Glad you’re here, um,Emberly.You’ve told yourself that you are one type of person for a long time.You might consider that you could be another, even for a day.Don’t give up on that name quite so quickly.”
She went inside.
And Emberly sat on the porch for a long time, hearing“What kind of different life?”
Six hours later, she piled out of an SUV with Steinbeck and his family.The deep-fried, farm-animal, cotton-candy smells of the fair, the heat of the crowds, and the screams of children on rides just might convince her of that different life.
“Welcome to the Great Minnesota Get-Together,” Stein said as he handed her a ticket.
“The what?”She glanced at Conrad, walking hand in hand with Penny.Turned back to Stein.“Where do we start?”
“The Peg for an egg sandwich, and then down to the cattle barns for milk.”
The what?But Steinbeck grabbed her hand—as if they were continuing with the charade—and pulled her toward a tall space tower.He pointed to a restaurant with a red sign and matching umbrellas shading square picnic tables.“Save room.This is stop one.”
The family took up two tables, and she shared an egg muffin with Stein.
“I promise, I’m saving you,” he said when she eyed his half.
From there, they walked down to a cattle barn.Inside, fat cows lounged in tufts of straw, eating hay, the smell earthy.
“It looks like people are camping out between the stalls,” she said.
