Page 22 of Yours, Forever

Jake: sounds like you don't want to mess it up

Max: of course I don't. It's my mess. She's already more involved than anyone would want to be

Javier: fine, but we're keeping an eye on you

Gabe: and I hope we see you soon. Don't disappear, okay?

Max: I won't. It's been ten years. You can't get rid of me now

At the end, Eva begged out of the walk the night before, but kept to her word the next day. Instead of strolling down Main Street, she chose the back road. Laguna Island lied tucked into small hills on one side, and a patch of almost-flat land at the other, where the town had been able to grow beyond the initial settlement. Beyond that, a few scattered small farm operations survived in the climate on this side of the world.

Eva stopped at a random street corner, by a house up on the hill. It looked old but well-maintained, and it sprawled over a large section of land. A big deck wrapped around the house, above ground level, with a couple of cars parked in the port created underneath it. Trees surrounded the property, and plenty of flowerpots livened it up.

"This is the Quintana family house," she explained. "Lucas, the eldest, is the pub owner and the one living in the main house, but his siblings live on the property in their own little cabins." She turned and pointed down the street where we stood. "The pub is that way, on Main Street. Have you seen it?" She gazed at me and I limited my answer to nodding.

The day wasn't too warm; my blue suit kept me nice and comfortable. Eva walked by my side in dark wash gray jeans, boots, and a teal plaid shirt over a tighter white cami. Casual to my business look, with my carefully styled hair, and her loose curls and shaved side. We made quite the pair.

Her eyes sparkled as she showed me around her hometown, and fascination powered my attention.

She smiled. "The pub is a family business, now run by the siblings. They also own the old distillery. You will probably hear from them, as they've been wanting to re-start the distillery and use their own liquor at the pub."

I nodded again. "That's smart. Being both the supplier and distributor."

She restarted the walk and I followed. Most of the houses mixed wood and stone, with gardens half-forgotten or overgrown. Once in a while, we'd come across a house as pretty as the Quintana's, and we slowed down to admire them.

"All of this section within ten blocks of Main Street is the old part of town. The houses alongside the hill and by the beach at Avenida del Mar are the fancier ones, but most of them could use a bit of TLC. Everything in this area has been here since the late eighteen hundreds, but it had been almost abandoned by the time a wave of refugees and immigrants, mostly from Latin America but from other parts as well, made it their home."

"I'm guessing a lot of the political issues in Latinoamérica in the seventies and eighties had to do with that?"

She nodded. "The town did amazing for a few decades, but suffered with recessions and the amount of younger people leaving in search of better opportunities. I'm one of the first trying to overhaul the town and setting up a business. Daniel and I see it as a step to bringing in more entrepreneurs; we have this vision of making Laguna Island into a tourist destination."

Her eyes continued to shine, and the restraint that typically lived on her lips had given way to a soft sort of... hope. She looked alight, and it prickled at my chest. Warm and smarting right behind my breastbone.

"I can see it," I said. "It's a special vision."

She smiled, but it was because of the future she imagined, not because of me. I kept track, and she still hadn't grinned at me. Not to say anything about laughter. It was okay; I'd get there.

"It is." She stopped by a fence overflowing with beautiful purple flowers. She bent low and took a deep breath. "That's why meeting you in Vegas was serendipitous for both of us."

She called me in with a gesture of her head. I bent low next to her, our faces almost touching, and I took a deep breath. A pleasant smell filled my lungs.

"What is this plant called?" I asked.

"I don't know, but it sure is pretty." She gave me a weird look I couldn't interpret.

She straightened and continued the walk.

I followed her again. "Lots of people would not have thought to include their town in their dreams. You could have gotten enough money to be set, not caring if you ever had enough customers. But you wanted to add Laguna Island to our deal."

"I love this place. I know it's not for everyone." She cut me a glance, eyes up and down my form. The message traveled unimpeded in the silences between our words; she didn't think I belonged here. "But it's my home. It held me when I needed it."

The implication itched hot on my skin like nettle leaves, but she was right. I didn't belong in Laguna Island. Not because I wouldn't want to, but because I was made for city living. Shaped for it. Didn't mean I wouldn't like to know that people liked me enough to welcome me into their hometown. At least, in terms of investment options, the vision held.

One of the houses on our path had vivid red flowers, but we didn't stop. The road ahead of us curved and, if my calculations were right, we were about to reach the beach and Avenida del Mar.

"Why don't you tell me something only the locals know?" I said.

"Going for the gossip, now?"