Page 73 of Places We've Never Been

“Do you know why she’s called Old Faithful?” Paisley asked the next day as we stood behind wooden barriers ready to see what drew people from all over the world here.

I had my pad out and was sketching the surrounding area of dark green pines and sandy hills, waiting for the main show. “Because she erupts like clockwork or something?”

“She erupts every thirty-five minutes to two hours. I personally don’t think something with an hour-and-a-half window should be considered faithful. I mean, if I were an hour and a half late to something, nobody would call me good old faithful.”

“Maybe if you werealwaysbetween thirty minutes to an hour and a half late, they would.”

Paisley smiled. “True.”

Steam had been seeping from the geyser since we got there, like a warning.

Some kid from another group near us said, “Why do we have to be so far away?”

“Because the water is two hundred degrees,” an older guy next to him said.

“So,” the kid returned.

“So it would boil your skin right off.”

“Nice,” Paisley said.

“I only like fried skin,” Skyler said. “With a little flour and seasoning.”

I didn’t reward his comment with a laugh this time. I was still irritated with him about the little digs he’d been making at my social life. Wasn’t he the one who said we weren’t experts on each other’s lives anymore?

“Ew,” Paisley said.

“Are you vegetarian now?” he asked.

“After that thought, maybe I am.”

“Bacon,” Austin said. “The only thing keeping me from becoming full-on vegetarian.”

“Really?” I said. “The only thing?”

“That and steak.”

A low murmur from the crowd drew my attention to the geyser, where steamy water was slowly bubbling up. A foot at first, then five, building and building until it shot in the air at least a hundred feet. At this, the crowd let out a cheer.

“That’s pretty awesome,” Ezra said.

“See.” Mom patted his cheek. “I can still show you new things once in a while.”

“Are you taking credit for Yellowstone?” I asked.

“I’m taking credit forbringingyou to Yellowstone,” she said.

Me and Ezra exchanged a look. One that said,Were we just imagining it?Because Mom seemed perfectly fine now.

“What’s this I hear about a dance tonight?” Olivia asked.

“Blame Skyler for that,” I said.