Merriton

“Kevin’s going home…” Randy heard Sierra’s voice trail off. It was the first time she had said it out loud. Home is San Francisco… and Merriton isn’t. He heard it in her voice and he didn’t even need to acknowledge her position in the matter.

“I think his exact words were, ‘This fucking mountain is trying to kill me. I’m going to see my grandma and eat her red pork.’” Sierra was trying to convince Randy to go “home” for Thanksgiving. He didn’t mind getting in the car and driving to San Francisco to have a vegetarian holiday with Sierra’s parents. He just didn’t like calling San Francisco home.

Sierra cuddled up on the futon while Randy worked on the computer. “I don’t blame him for wanting a break. I heard some kids at Mt. Zen Cafe talking about it. He just picked up that big teenager like he was nothing and escaped that avalanche. They were calling him Mighty Mouse.” Randy smiled to himself. “You’re behind. They’re calling him M&M now. One of them thought Mighty Mouse wasn’t cool enough, so they changed it to M&M. I saw them tell Kevin and do you know what he said?”

Sierra shook her head, anticipating the story from Randy. “He said, ‘I like that name. You should call me that from now on.’” Randy paused, expecting a reaction, but she just waited for him to continue. “It was like he was repeating a rehearsed speech.” Randy smiled to himself. The avalanche did a lot more than just install Kevin as the local hero. It LITERALLY buried Zaunter. Their data storage plant had been in the Southern Industrial Complex. Neither Randy nor Kevin had known that their plant was so close to Mount Zen, but the deliciousness of it all filled Randy with warmth.

“It was kind of cool how he literally BURIED Zaunter, though, huh?” Randy tried to get Sierra to partake of the lovely revenge, but she wouldn’t bite. “They lost power for three days while they dug out. I don’t think their customers appreciated it.” Randy smiled to himself at it all and tried to steer the conversation back to Thanksgiving.

“Didn’t you like what we did for Thanksgiving last year? We had a little turkey for the three of us. Remember? This place felt so warm and cozy while it snowed.” Sierra shrugged and enclosed herself with an afghan on the couch. “We were worried about Kevin hiding from Valleywag. There wasn’t really an option of going home last year. This year it’s just the two of us. There’s nothing stopping us from going home.”

HOME. Every time she said the word, Randy seethed at it. It had been nearly two years in this house and she still felt like they were just temporary. Home and San Francisco were one in her mind and he hated to admit it, but they were in his mind as well. He never let himself say it, but Randy was homesick. This house made him feel like he was sitting in a tub of lukewarm bathwater. The more he sat, the less clean he felt. Were Curly and Elvis and Tank all right? Was he just a short-timer here in Merriton? He clenched his jaw.

“We can visit your parents for Thanksgiving if you want. We haven’t been back to San Francisco since we moved here. It might be nice to see things there.” Sierra perked up. “Really?” Too happy. She seemed too happy to be going back. What was going on in her head? Was she planning on running while she was there? Was all of this just a ruse to get herself to a place where she could run without risk of hypothermia or avalanche? Try as he might, he couldn’t watch her twenty-four hours a day. He had to sleep sometimes.

“I think it would be good to visit your parents. We could talk to them about your running and see if they have any ideas.” A cold wave passed over her face. “We don’t need to tell them.” Randy walked over to the futon and took her in his arms. He kissed her on the top of her head. Her hair smelled like shampoo and warm evenings in the sun. “We don’t need to tell them. They’ll be able to see just by looking at you that you’re running again.”

Sierra squirmed in his arms and stood up. She walked over to the coat rack and put on her muddy boots. “If we’re having Thanksgiving here, we should go get a turkey.”