Page 54 of Clear Path

Rory beamed. “Does that mean she’s starting her bike tours soon?”

“It does. She signed her lease this morning. She’ll be the first official tenant at the new business incubator.” Julie gave Rorya sidelong glance. “The new, smaller business incubator that leaves room for a playground and ball fields at the Patch.”

Rory snorted. “You know it’ll attract families.”

“I do. That’s why I agreed to it. You didn’t think it was all because of your dazzling smile, did you?”

Their laughter faded when Evan Jeffries appeared on the floor below, carrying a large box.

Diana pointed her chin at him. “How’s he doing?”

Rory blew out a breath. “He resigned as director of the history center and from the university. He says he needs a fresh start. He bought a camper and he and his cat are going to travel around the country. He might write a book. I don’t know if I’m supposed to feel bad or?—?”

“Nope.” Diana told her. “You’re not. What’s in the boxes?”

Rory shrugged. “No idea.”

Julie supplied the answer. “When he was downsizing to sell his cottage, he came across some personal books and photos he’d collected over the years about the founding of the three towns. The history center didn’t want them, so he offered to donate them to us.”

As if he sensed them talking about him, as soon as Camden took the box from his arms, he looked up. Rory lifted a hand and waved. He beamed as he waved back. Then he ducked his head and hurried back outside.

35

GAP Mile 0, Cumberland, Maryland

one month later

The Great Allegheny Passage terminated in a small park in Cumberland, Maryland, where it connected with the C&O Canal Towpath. A simple stone marker indicated the trail's official endpoint, a quiet celebration of the journey completed.

Bodhi stood in front of the marker, his pack light on his shoulders after days of hiking. He'd returned to the trail in late summer, drawn back to restart and complete the journey that had been interrupted. Along the way, he'd stopped to revisit the communities and people who had become unexpectedly important to him.

And now, he’d reached the end of the path. He'd finally completed the full trail, from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, moving at his own pace, observing the changing landscape with clear eyes.

Summer was in full bloom in the valley. Wild roses burst, fragrant and delicate, bordered the park. In the wildflowermeadows, purple sage, cornflower, and bee balm rose from the grass, waving in the breeze as fat bees and elegant butterflies danced through the fields.

Bodhi settled on a bench overlooking the Upper Potomac. Sunlight sparkled on the river’s surface, glinting silver. He removed his kraft journal from his pack and opened it to a fresh page to record his reflections on the final day of his journey.

He bent his head and began to write in his small, neat printing:

A journey that began as a solitary quest for clarity, a chance to walk alone with my thoughts, became something far more complex and valuable—a lesson in the power of collective vision, in the importance of seeing beyond oneself.

He wrote faster, filling the page and then another.

When a shadow fell over his journal, he looked up.

A tall, slender figure with distinctive white-blonde hair stood over him, a camera hanging around her neck.

“I heard a rumor you’d be here,” Rory said.

He closed the journal and stood. “And here I am.”

“Diana said you planned to take the bus back to Pittsburgh tomorrow.”

He nodded. “That’s right.”

“Well, we’re having a community potluck at the Tri-Town Center tonight. There’ll be lots of vegan options, and we thought you might like to join us. Julie’s waiting in the parking area, with the AC running in her car. Can’t let her makeup melt.” She laughed. “And Aaron can give you a lift back to Pittsburgh after dinner. He’s got a late flight out to OAC’s corporateheadquarters for some training seminar. There are a lot of people who’d love to see you.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “I’d like that, too.”

He was part of many communities—his sangha, his circle of friends back home, and the people he encountered in his travels. One thing he’d learned is that they all had something he could contribute, and they all had something to offer him. Tonight, in addition to friendship, it might just be Dot’s chickpea salad followed by a slice of Will’s vegan carrot cake.

He returned his journal to the bag and followed Rory to the parking lot. They stopped halfway there so she could squat in the meadow to take a picture of an iridescent blue dragonfly that glittered in the sunlight like a suspended jewel.