Page 66 of Anywhere with You

“I will say,” Florence added, almost in a whisper, “I loved seeing those cave dwellings in your videos. It’s sad and wonderful at the same time, seeing them there, but empty.”

I smiled. “I thought so, too.”

“Maybe I’ll take a vacation there, myself, one of these days. Me and the chickens.”

I had no idea what that meant. Did she have literal chickens? In any case, it was nice to talk to her about travel plans and not about my emotional state.

“I’ll let you go now, Hon,” Florence said. “I’d say have fun, but it looks like you’ve got it covered.”

“Thanks, Florence.”

I put my phone back outside the splash zone and slid back into the water. I thought about turning on some music, but there was something in the quiet desert sounds that I didn’t want to miss.

Cara came back to the pool and slid in next to me.

“Did you get cactus needles in your butt?” I asked.

“No,” she said, with the irritated tone that I adored.

“Are you sure? Do you want me to check?”

She rolled her eyes and splashed me.

“Do you think other people come here?” I asked later, kicking my feet slowly in the water.

“I don’t know,” Cara said. “I’m sure there are other houses nearby.”

“It’s probably like living right next to a theme park. At first, you want to go all the time because it’s close, but after twenty or thirty trips, it gets old.”

“Hmm.”

“Maybe all the houses here have their own hot springs. They could just be polka-dotted all over the county.”

“That sounds like a dream,” Cara said.

When she started yawning, I got out and dug through the bag for towels and flashlights, handing her one of each.

We shivered as we tried to dry ourselves well enough for the walk back to the house.

“Next time,” she said, “we’ll come out early and leave at noon, not at cold-thirty.”

“Less talking, more walking,” I said, sliding on my shoes and making one last sweep over the rocks and pools with the flashlight. I was sure we’d be back tomorrow, but I hated the thought of littering even short-term in this incredible place. “The path is…”

“Here,” Cara said, walking across the rocky outcrop and back. “No, wait.”

My heart started racing before my brain caught up. We had both walked all the way around the hot springs, shining those spotlights that brightened so well…but also made the desert around us look colorless.

We couldn’t see the gravel path that was so evident on the way here.

“This is ridiculous,” Cara said. “Here, shine your light up so I can see where you are, and I’ll walk out a little ways.”

She headed away from me before I had a chance to argue, but within a minute, she had reappeared on another bank.

“It’s just…I…” she managed, then walked away again.

It made me nervous, but I could see her light clearly sweeping the ground, and she didn’t walk far.

Her light swung up and pointed around in the distance, hitting mein the face as it passed, but I could’ve told her that wouldn’t help. Half a mile was too far even for these flashlights.