Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 69895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
* * *
The Larkspur compound—because calling it a house would be an absurd miscategorization—was like nothing Zachary had ever seen.
Set back from town, down a winding road called Bramble Lane, the canopy of trees parted to reveal a rambling house, two outbuildings, a huge garden with raised beds, a chicken coop, and a pen for goats. The chickens and goats in question wandered around the meadow. One goat seemed perfectly at ease, standing at the fence line, looking into the distance with a chicken sitting on its head.
Bram had grown more and more fidgety with excitement the closer they got to Olympia, and now he let his joy flow out of him. Zachary had always gotten the sense that Bram’s feelings were too big for him. But seeing him now, in this place, it was clear that they were the right size for Bram; Bram simply needed a bigger space to be Bram.
“Aww, Plastic Bag. She’s such a sweetie.”
“Your parents named their chicken Plastic Bag?” Zachary asked. “Why?”
“No, the goat.”
“Oh, well, sure. That makes sense, then.”
He’d been attempting sarcasm, but Bram seemed too blissed out by their arrival to take note of it. He said Zachary was bad at sarcasm anyway, since most things he said sounded sarcastic even when they were not. Zachary thought that was a problem of culture, not his intonation.
They only had a chance to make it halfway to the front door when it opened, and Bram’s parents came out.
“I’m so happy to see you,” his mother said. His father wiped away a tear and pulled Bram into a bear hug.
Bram’s father was taller than he’d seemed on video. About Bram’s height, though not as broad. He had a full head of gray hair and blue eyes that snapped with intelligence from beneath wild eyebrows.
Bram’s mother was also tall; she wore her gray-streaked blond hair in a messy bun and had soft brown eyes. She was wearing glasses and also had glasses pushed up on her head like a headband, as well as glasses hanging from a cord around her neck.
When Bram hugged her, he moved the hanging glasses so as not to squash them and tapped the ones on top of her head.
“Oh, there they are,” his mom said.
She held Bram by the shoulders and looked at him intently.
“You look wonderful,” she concluded. Bram grinned.
“Zachary,” she said, turning to him just as warmly. “It’s so wonderful to have you here. Hug?”
“Er, okay?”
She hugged him lightly—nothing like the fierce enfolding she’d given her son—and Bram’s father did the same.
“Everyone will be here later,” Bram’s mother explained. “But there’s plenty of time for you to get settled, have a rest, have a wander.”
“Perfect,” Bram said. “I want to show Zachary around.”
The air was cool and sweet, and the sun shone gently as they made their way around. Bram’s mother told him about the garden and all that they were growing there. His father talked about the animals and the milk and eggs they got.
“Have you ever made cheese?” Zachary asked. It had always struck him as a fascinating process.
“I have! I make goat’s milk ricotta and mozzarella regularly, but I have been wanting to try my hand at hard cheeses again.”
Bram and his mother exchanged a look that Zachary couldn’t read.
“Er, Dad once almost killed the whole family by feeding us a cheese he made. He’d aged it for six months, but the wax must’ve cracked because some mold got in and we didn’t realize. We were all puking for a solid day.”
He was grinning like this was a fond childhood memory.
“You’re lucky you didn’t start accusing each other of witchcraft,” Zachary muttered.
Bram’s father guffawed.
The land was beautiful, and Zachary felt immediately calm in the presence of Bram’s parents. Like him, they were easygoing, generous, and gratifying conversationalists.
“So Bram tells us that you’re interested in discussing solar energy,” Bram’s dad said.
“Yes. It’s something that should be built into the original design of a building rather than added later, for maximum efficacy, and since I’m particularly interested in designs that interact with the landscape they’ll end up in, it seems advantageous to have a strong working knowledge of the options solar power provides.”
Bram’s dad held out his hand, and Zachary took it after only a moment of hesitation, and let himself be educated in the ways of solar power.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Bram
“My baby,” his mom said as Zachary and his dad walked off. “I’m so glad to have you home. You know you’re the last one I ever expected to leave town.”
“I know. It’s so good to be home.”
He was desperate to know what his mom thought of Zachary. She certainly wasn’t shy with her opinions. But she had just met him.
“Um,” he said.
“I like him,” she said with a wink.
“Oh thank god.” He meant that she’d told him, but he was also grateful she liked him. “Tell me?”