Put mask back on, Pemba Ang said, his heavily accented words muffled by his oxygen mask.
No. It gets in the way. Im all right. I am. Dont worry. Just a few more minutes.
The guide studied him for a long moment, then nodded. Few minutes. Stay up here for half hour already. We must go.
Had it been that long? Time seemed to be slipping through his fingers at an alarming rate. It seemed like just days ago that hed graduated college and now he was fast approaching thirty.
Charlie turned again, slowly, taking in more of the view. It was over. He was finally finished. He had the rest of his life in front of him and no plans for how hed spend it. Why hadnt he thought of this sooner? What would he do with his time? There was always the Second Seven, the second-highest peaks on each continent. But was he willing to invest another five years of his life?
Charlie!
The words echoed in his ears. But in the thin air, it didnt sound like Ang at all. It sounded sweet and soft, tantalizing. Funny how he still remembered her voice. Thered been so many other women since Eve, women hed easily forgotten. Yet she was still there, indelibly imprinted into his brain.
Charlie stared down the route of their descent, his footprints still visible in the snow. He still had to get down the mountain and he knew the dangers. Fatigue, the weather, cerebral edema, snow blindness, avalanches, crevices that could swallow a man in the blink of an eye. A successful ascent didnt guarantee a safe descent. But what was waiting for him at the bottom? Would anyone really care that hed made it up to the top and back again?
Did she even remember him? Did she think of him at all or had the passion theyd shared been replaced by the love she felt forhell, what was his name? Dave? Dan? Odd that he couldnt remember. Shed married him, chosen security and dependability over uncertainty. He hadnt blamed her for making the safe choice. She deserved better than a man who warmed her bed every six months in between adventures.
Charlie! Move. We head down.
Im thinking I might stay here, he said, sitting down in the snow.
Get ass up! Ang shouted, grabbing his arm and tugging. I not leave you here. You walk down or I carry. Kill us both.
Whos waiting for you? Charlie asked.
Ang reached for Charlies oxygen bottle and turned up the flow, then held the mask over his face. Breathe. Clear head.
Im perfectly clear, Charlie said, waving him off. Do you have a wife, kids?
Wife, Ang muttered. We marry last year.
And shes all right with this? She doesnt mind that you tramp up and down Mount Everest.
This my last trip. We have baby. I tell wife, no more. I save money from many climbs, we open laundry in Namche. We have happy life. Grow old together. He held out his arm and pointed to his watch, strapped over his sleeve. See? We leave now. You move or I roll you down to base camp.
No one would care if I didnt make it down, Charlie said.
I would, Ang said. I never lose client. He helped Charlie to his feet. Maybe, you need wife. Someone who care. Maybe kids. Cant do that frozen to mountain. You go find happy. Find girl you love.
No, Charlie said. I think I had her once, but I let her go.
Two years back, I love my girl. Another man love her, too. I make her see we have happy life together. All is well.
For an instant, Charlies mind cleared. What was to stop him? Maybe thats what he needed to do. Go back and figure out if he had made the wrong choice that night five years ago. And if he had, try to fix it. Suddenly, he had a reason to get down the mountain. Hed go see Eve. Hed figure out why it was her face hed seen.
All right, Charlie said, clapping Angs shoulder. Lets get off this damn mountain. He snapped his oxygen mask back in place and pulled his goggles down over his eyes.
In a weeks time, he could be back in Boulder, Colorado. Back where it all began. Then maybe hed figure out what he was supposed to do with the rest of his life.
LONELY GUY AT TABLE SEVEN. And hes a hottie!
Eve Keller glanced over her shoulder at her best friend and business partner, Lily Winston, then shook her head. In case you havent heard, the Garden Gate is one of the best restaurants in Boulder according to a recent article in the Denver Post.
Oh, yes, Lily teased. But I hear the chef at the Garden Gate is turning into a bit of diva. Television appearances, interviews in foodie magazines, a new cookbook and a possible television series for the Food Channel. Her partner has been having trouble finding toques that fit her ever-expanding head. Of course, she cant be bothered with something as mundane as a handsome man.
Eve Keller glanced over her shoulder at her best friend and business partner, Lily Winston, then shook her head. In case you havent heard, the Garden Gate is one of the best restaurants in Boulder according to a recent article in the Denver Post.
Oh, yes, Lily teased. But I hear the chef at the Garden Gate is turning into a bit of diva. Television appearances, interviews in foodie magazines, a new cookbook and a possible television series for the Food Channel. Her partner has been having trouble finding toques that fit her ever-expanding head. Of course, she cant be bothered with something as mundane as a handsome man.
One of the reasons weve been successful is that we focus on outstanding food and impeccable service. Not hitting on the customers, Eve said.
Im not looking to date him, Lily said. Im perfectly happy with Will. Im just looking tolook. God, hes gorgeous. You should go out there and ask him if he likes his curried carrot soup.
Eve groaned. Since her divorce three years ago, she hadnt put much effort into dating. In truth, shed put more thought into becoming a NASA astronaut than she had searching for a new man. Not that she didnt have a perfectly valid excuse for living like a nun. Her restaurant was growing in popularity. Shed already published one vegetarian cookbook and was working on another. Add to that the seminars she taught at three different cooking schools on the West Coast and there wasnt much time for a social life. She was even in preliminary talks with an investment group about opening a new restaurant in Seattle and hosting a cable show on the Food Channel.
Men had simply drifted to the bottom of the list of important things on her agenda. After the mess that had been her marriage and the bigger mess that had been her divorce, Eve wasnt sure she ever wanted to allow a man into her life again.
Just take a look, Lily said, pulling Eve away from the prep table. Youve been living in my guest room for three years. I see your social life first hand and its pathetic. Last week you alphabetized the spices on my spice rack. The week before, you cleaned the grease trap on the kitchen sink. You need to get a life, Eve.
I have a life. Here. In this restaurant.
This isnt life. Its work. Lily gently took the knife from her hand and set it next to the red peppers Eve had been chopping. Then she reached up and snatched the colorful bandanna off Eves head. Go ahead, she said, ruffling Eves short-cropped auburn hair. Just wander on out there, smile at the customers, and ask him how his soup is. Lily shoved a basket of quick breads into her hand. Offer him some three-grain nut loaf.
Eve knew she ought to spend more time in the dining room. All the best chefs interacted with their clientele. But life inside the confines of the kitchen was so much easier than life in the outside world. She peeked though the window of the swinging door, searching for the object of Lilys attention.
When her gaze finally found the lonely guy at table seven, her breath caught in her throat. Oh, God, she muttered, turning away from the door.
You dont think hes cute? Lily asked. Oh, good grief, Eve, if youre that picky youre never going to have sex again for the rest of your life.
Yes, hes cute, Eve snapped. But Im not going out there.
Why? Lily asked, taking a peek through the window. Too cute?
Tooeverything, Eve said, shoving the basket back into Lilys hands. Been there, done that.
Lily gasped. You know him?
Eve nodded. Unfortunately, yes. In every sense of the word. I have seen him naked and trust me, the body matches the face. Utterly and unbelievably gorgeous. A shiver skittered down her spine at the memory. Thered been a time when shed had that body in her bed, lying on her sofa, standing in front of his refrigerator looking for something to eat at three in the morning.
ButI dont understand.
Eve took Lilys arm and led her over to the walk-in fridge, then pulled open the door. Go ahead. Im not going to spill my secrets unless we have complete privacy. They stepped inside and Eve closed the door behind her.
Lily rubbed her bare arms. If this is going to be a long story, Im going to need a jacket.
Remember that night, after we got the good review in Food and Wine, and we drank those two bottles of Mendocino Monastery Reserve Cabernet? And I told you about that guy, the one right before I married Matt?
The one last fling guy? Lily asked. Thats him?
Eve nodded. Charlie Templeton.
You dumped him for Matt? Lily stared at her as if shed just admitted to serving puppy fritters with kitten aioli to the customers. Dweeby, whiny, needy Matt?
I didnt know he was like that when I married him. He seemed-dependable. It was only after the wedding I realized he was looking for a mother, not a wife. And Charlie was everything a girl is supposed to be afraid of. After a month of nonstop sex, he told me he was going to be gone for six months. At the time, I needed a man whod be there for more than a bi-annual sexfest.
Semi-annual, Lily corrected. And now hes back.
Five years later. Five years and not a word. No phone call, no postcard. Now can you understand my decision?
Why do you think he came back? Eve had a niggling suspicion. In truth, she wasnt proud of what shed done. And it had come after an other very expensive bottle of wine and an evening of feeling sorry for herself. Shed happened upon a Web site called SmoothOperators.com, a place where women could off-load all their dating horror stories. Shed been so fed up with men that night, shed created a profile for every bad date shed ever been on, full of all the tiny details describing the men whod done her wrong. And Charlie Templeton had been at the top of the list. In many ways, she blamed him for her bad marriage and painful divorce.