47
They rode through the night and rendezvoused at dawn, if all went according to plan then they’d only now be exposed, but you know the fastest way to make God laugh.
“And you know that God is ice cream, don’t you?” quizzed Rowan, as they crossed into New Mexico. “Well, God is good, right? And ice cream is good, isn’t it? So according to the transitive property, God is a great big scoop of mint chocolate chip.”
“Are we there yet?” grumbled Tiana.
“Not too far,” assured Miles. “At least to where we’re unloading, still got a day’s ride after we leave the grid.”
“I’m excited to see your dirthouse,” she chirped. “And for the private tour.”
“Shouldn’t take long, it’s only one room.”
“Might take longer than you think, I’m still pretty amped up from last night.”
“Are we there yet?” grumbled Rowan.
Miles hadn’t called ahead. Cap’s number was in the phone that had been MIA longer than him, long gone enough that the phantom vibrations that used to keep him constantly in his pocket, had vanished. A wiretap in your pocket isn’t exactly the most revolutionary of ideas, and the conflict minerals of the slave trade put a damper on renewing his contract, but mainly, his life was just way more gratifying without the constant buzz of instant distractification.
It was late afternoon before they topped the hill, the horses hung back as Miles and Tiana walked in for the soft entrance, it was already a much different scene than he left it. Looked like at least three more buildings, a few cars parked and several tents littered the hillside, and was that a greenhouse? He saw a couple strays he didn’t know and introduced his alumni status, Timps verified his credentials and told him that Cap was in the RV, he looked around for his kolas but no luck, tapped on the door and thoroughly surprised his most elated host.
“Of course you can stay, anytime you want, no call necessary, you’ve got sweat equity in this place.”
“Cool, um, there’s actually six of us...”
“No problem.”
“...and seven horses.”
“Damn brother, you have been on an adventure. Should be alright, I’ve made friends with my neighbor, and he’s got a big fenced-in field where I bet they can stay.”
“Hooray fences,” cheered Miles. “Cool man, let me go tell the others, you’re gonna dig them.”
“I bet I will, especially if they feel up to tamping.”
Miles popped out of the RV as Annie was popping in, shock and awe set the tone.
“Holy shit! Miles! Oh my fucking God! No fucking way! How in the world?”
“I see that no swearing thing’s working out for you.”
The hug was well beyond oxytocin release, and the cheek kiss didn’t help, nor the whispers of tonight’s new moon. Tiana was cool, she understood the moment, but she certainly noticed its intensity.
“So anyway,” deflected Miles. “I want you to meet Tiana, she’s a Water Protector too, and... my girlfriend, like, my monogamous girlfriend.”
There had been no need for labels on the trail, it just was what it was, and that was all good, but they figured it would be easier to integrate if they made it official, which made them both feel pretty good about it all.
“Oh, that’s so great for you Miles. Hey, I’m Annie, so good to meet you.”
Their hug seemed even more intimate than the one Miles had gotten.
“And Spaz is around here somewhere. Ooh, I have to show you around, so much has changed, we’ve been busy.”
“I can tell.”
“A bunch of new projects going, gearing up for winter and all. And oh, the one we built is sitting empty for now, waiting on a woodstove to turn it into a cannery. You guys can sleep in there if you want, might be cool to complete your circle.”
“Well, actually we’re still...”
“We’ll take it,” Tiana jumped in. “It sounds perfect.”
The guided tour kicked off at the fully furnished honeymoon suite, which considering its size, only required a rustic table-bed and some solar mood lighting, and a rather fabulous stucco job that tanned the entire motif together. No stove yet, but the thermal insulation was sure to captivate every drop of body heat. Standing inside the full completion filled Miles with a grandiose sense of accomplishment, he’d achieved so much since those days, but this stone floor had been the foundation of it all.
“We’ve got a really good group of folks out here now, apparently the interweb is crawling with the frontline of unemployment. I think there’s eleven of us now, plus your six, dang, we’ve got ourselves a regular old hootenanny, and more hands makes the work go so much faster. There’s two more small ones completely finished, our first attempt at a corbelled roof is getting there, and we’re just getting started on my baby, a big ol’ community lodge with an indoor cob kitchen. Guessing it’ll only take ten thousand bags.”
“Only.”
“Yep. And you can stand on this rock and see our meandering pockets of luscious gardenscape. It’s so magical how all the tasty colors are sprawling throughout the boulder patches, there’s so much abundance even with our late start, and the hoop house should extend our season well into fall.”
“What are you doing for water?” wondered Tiana.
We still haul a bunch from the bottom, but we dug some gravity fed channels to utilize what precipitation we do get, and all three metal roofs will catch and funnel it into a cistern over there, should be collecting a good bit of snowmelt pretty soon.”
“Wait a second,” jumped Miles. “What’s that out there on the flat one? Is that a piano?”
“Yeah buddy, that’s Crocodile Rock. We found it in town for free, just had to move it. It was a little tricky getting it way out there like that, but many hands make light work. It’s dry enough here that we figure it’ll hold up okay under a tarp, probably have to retune it with the temperature fluctuation, but the best part, is that right now it’s set to 432. And just wait til you hear the jams we’ve been kicking out on open mic night.”
The rest of the horse drawn hodgepodge was on their own walkabout as paths merged into one, they were thoroughly impressed by the caliber of Miles’ all inclusive hideout on the hill, this place would do just fine. Dinner conversation filled the hunger of tales from the road, piñon pastries filled in the blanks that were classified, the promised jam session filled the valley with crunchy tunes and sweet melody.
Miles and Annie stepped aside for the full story of redacted intel, she was dazzled to say the least, she knew she’d been right about the Water Protector resting below the surface.
“So...” Tiana speculated, as she snuck into the private party. “Am I gonna get to see this moonlit sanctum, or is that still your little secret?”
“Well, that depends,” revealed Annie. “Just gotta fill out a questionnaire first. Do you smoke?”
“I’m Indian, ain’t I?”
“Are you scared of heights, falling, or the sudden stop at the bottom?”
“I’m no sugar glider like this guy, but I don’t back away from a cliff either.”
“And just one last thing, do you have any deep seated disposition against experiencing the most exhilarating thrill ride you could possibly imagine?”
“Definitely not,” she assured, as she squeezed Miles’ hand in eager anticipation.
“Good news, you’re approved,” smiled Annie. “As long as we can manage to tiptoe out of here with no one noticing.”
“Now, that one, I’ve got on lock, my dear.”
The legend of the fog failed to disappoint, breaths were taken and memories were shared, it was way more comfortable than Miles could have possibly foreseen in the stars.
“It’s been great around here with all this new energy,” updated Annie. “But there was definitely something special when it was just the four of us figuring it out as we went.”
“Yeah, that’s how it was at camp too,” Tiana compared. “When he got there it was just a handful of us, relatively speaking, and now there’s thousands. It’s awesome for the movement, and still satisfies that itch for conscious community, but there was something deeply fulfilling back when we knew everyone’s name.”
“Oh I do miss camp,” reminisced Annie. “But this place feels so right in a whole other way. It’s like we’re building a better way to live, instead of fighting against the old broken one.”
“For sure, and I think both are important. You can’t convince someone to abandon everything they’ve known, unless you can show them that there’s another way. But at the same time, if we all just hole up in our hobbit huts and forget the woes of the world, then we’re leaving it up to the lost souls to find their own way to freedom, and if they don’t, then the destruction will find us, no matter how far removed we dig in.”
“Exactly. Damn sister, here I was thinking I had to let you know how good of a catch you snagged, but I think I may have gotten it backwards.”
“Hey now,” objected Miles.
“Oh hush, you,” chided Annie. “This is girl talk. You’ve had plenty of time to demonstrate value to both of us.”
“I can still leave, you know?” he offered, as he shot a playful glance to Tiana. “Maybe Brooke would be interested in a little further demonstration.”
“You better watch it buddy,” warned Tiana. “You’re this close to getting me alone in your dirthouse, I’d hate for you to fuck it up now.”
“Ooh, you could always come stay at our camp, if he runs you off. Or better yet, we can stick him with Spaz and make a girl’s night of it.”
“Either way works for me, I’ll let Captain Champion here figure it out, but I think I am going to mosey up that way and get settled in. You kids have fun down here, but don’t stay out too late sweets, don’t want me falling asleep on you or anything.”
“I could think of worse things. But don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you.”
A “goodnight love” and a hug capped her evening out, but all Miles got was a lingering touch of subtle enticement, how had it worked out that he was the jealous one?
“So she’s pretty much awesome,” regarded Annie. “I’d have had a hard time letting you run off with the wrong woman, but I think she’s about as perfect for you as it gets.”
“I think so too. Feeling pretty lucky, that’s for sure.”
“Oh, so you still believe in luck, huh? Interesting.”
“You know what I mean. And no, I guess I don’t anymore, there’s just too much at play to chock it all up to coincidence.”
“That a boy. You just had to settle into who you really were, before the universe opened up your next chapter. Could you imagine if you’d have met her before you found yourself? I bet you wouldn’t even have gotten the time of day.”
“I hardly did as it was,” he confessed. “It’s been a slow road of getting to know ourselves, but it’s been amazing, every little touch of our hearts has connected us in the most intimate kinda way.”
“I’m so happy for you Miles. For both of you. And not to go digging into bygone moons or anything, but could you feel me thinking of you when ours was up there?”
“You know I did, especially those first few. And I was up in the tree when I read your letter, it really reminded me why I was there, and pushed me to make you proud.”
“That you did Miles, I’m so proud to have you as a friend. Maybe a little disappointed that’s all I get to taste, but even she can’t take away my fondest memories of our magic together.”
The seduction of the moon hung thick in the air, the tenderness of the moment kissed the edge of innocence, one last peck of the cheek would have to tide them through the receding current.
Annie returned to the melding of minds, a five piece offered a rambunctious rendition of Ramble on Rose, a fire full of congregation wove their yarns into tapestry, outcroppings in the shadows leaked only hints of touchier subjects. The hill had become a beautiful place. It always was, but with the energy of a rewilded society, it had come to life in a new way, or maybe an old way, either way, its cycles were complete as the Earth sang her deepest serenade.
The wild was tended, the Earth was nurtured, and the vibrance that poured from her pores was nothing short of exotic. Miles fought the slightest urge to join the local motions, but there would be plenty of time for all that, he needed to hold his sacred close.
“Oh, hey there,” she warmly welcomed from her preheated cocoon.
“Darn, I thought you’d be asleep by now.”
“Uh huh. Turns out I’m not that tired for some reason.”
“Must be all that music out there.”
“Probably so. Doubt they could hear a thing over all that fun they’re having.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Guess it would depend on how rowdy it got on this side of camp.”
“You’re snoring, you mean?”
“I do not snore,” she insisted. “Do I?”
“I don’t know, I’m always too hung up on the perfume you hang in my tent before you leave me to my own aromas.”
“What’s it smell like?”
“Frybread.”
“Mmm, keep talking.”
“And honeysuckles.”
“Oh baby.”
“And pickles.”
“Pickles! Now I know you’re wanting to set up your tent. I do not smell like pickles.”
“Maybe I should take a closer whiff.”
“Sweet pickles, I hope.”
“The sweetest.”
“Mm hmm. You know, all your dumb shit aside, I think this place is pretty spectacular. I know a lot of it’s new to you too, but you had a big part in the foundation of the energy here, that’s something to be really proud of. And I love Annie. I can totally see how she pulled you into her comfort zone, and I understand that there’s always going to be a strong connection between you two. I hope you didn’t dump out all of that pent up moon magic though, cause I’m kinda thinking I might be in love with you too.