CHAPTER TEN
Stella had taken up mountain biking much earlier than the rest of them. She’d worked to convince them that it was a fun way to see the interior of the forest trails. Shabina ended up the first of her friends to jump on board. She biked with Stella regularly and added her voice to Stella’s until Vienna and Harlow joined them on their excursions. Raine and Zahra reluctantly became mountain bikers as well. Zahra claimed she had to pedal twice as much because of her shorter legs in order to keep up with them. Raine said they were all crazy and she’d rather run behind the bikes, but she bought a mountain bike and went with them.
They drove to the Blue Diamond overnight parking lot. Vienna had never seen the truck Rainier and Zale rented. He’d sent her pictures of it and the license plate, so she shared them with her friends. They were early enough that they found it almost immediately. She found the keys hidden exactly where he had told her they would be. Collecting them, she put them in her pack and indicated she was ready to go. She wasn’t going to inspect the interior now. She wanted to have fun with her friends, not worry about Zale. There was nothing she could do for him if he was injured. She had no idea where he was, and she couldn’t text him. He’d been adamant about not contacting him.
They unloaded their bikes and ate a leisurely lunch at the picnic tables. Vienna was shocked to see Benny Dobsin leading a group of mountain bikers onto the trail they had planned on taking into the desert. He seemed to be very familiar with it and rode as if born on a bike. He flashed by so fast, it took a moment to actually recognize him. The others were talking so animatedly about climbing she didn’t interrupt them to tell them she’d recognized him.
Stella led the way on the single-file trail through the dirt and rock. She’d mapped out the trail she’d wanted to take ahead of time. She had told Vienna her hope was to see one of the desert tortoises, although she knew the chances of that happening were very slim. She’d chosen a trail through the Joshua tree forests where wild burros grazed. Even if she never caught a glimpse of Nevada’s official state reptile, she wanted to see the burros she knew were in the desert in abundance.
Joshua trees normally had a single thick trunk and grew three to nine feet tall before branching out. The branches ended in clusters of white flowers and spiky leaves. Vienna thought the trees made the desert appear more like an alien landscape. She had read a great deal about them and knew how important they were to the environment of the desert. The Joshua wasn’t an actual tree but a yucca plant, or member of the asparagus family and close relative to the agave, the plant used to make tequila.
Mountain ranges rose up in vibrant shades of earth and jewel tones. In the distance, a mountain rising on one side of them was layered with various colors of earth, clearly portraying the ages of the rise and fall of earthquakes and flash floods. Sandstone, ancient and jagged, was carved with petroglyphs. Canyons showing evidence of rapidly moving water filled the sides far above their heads. Shocking pools of water were in the middle of nowhere, tiny oases that instantly became treasures.
Vienna glanced over her shoulder quickly to make certain Raine was keeping up. Raine was in the best of shape. She did martial arts. She ran daily—and Vienna knew Raine despised running but she still did it to stay in shape. Still, she really thought riding a bike was insane. She told Vienna that for some reason, it hurt worse than any other sport she did. She was behind Zahra, but some distance back. Zahra, either by design or because she was having trouble keeping the pace, had dropped back also. Vienna was certain she had fallen behind in order to stay close to Raine. Zahra might complain, but she never seemed to really have trouble in any sport she chose to participate in. She was a natural athlete.
Cholla cactus was in abundance, and Vienna turned her attention to the narrow trail to avoid any contact with the spines. She might admire the plant and even think the cactus was beautiful, especially in bloom, but she wanted no part of the spines penetrating her skin. Many of the plants were a little too close for comfort on the narrow trail.
There were large rocks close to the trail, as well as a few on it, so if you were pedaling fast, you had to swing around to avoid them quickly. That meant taking care not to encounter a cholla cactus when you chose which side to ride around. Vienna hoped Raine was concentrating, otherwise either Harlow or she would be picking spines out of Raine’s ankles or legs and it would hurt like hell.
Suddenly, Stella, who had been bent low over her handlebars, was sitting up straighter, slowing the pace and signaling toward their right side. “Over there. Look over there. Finally.” She spoke in a hushed tone that wasn’t exactly quiet and she stopped moving completely, forcing everyone behind her to do the same.
Vienna found herself smiling. This was Stella’s bridal shower. It was unusual and exactly what she wanted. She didn’t need gifts. She wanted adventures with her friends, and they were going down her list, checking all the boxes. Vienna was grateful they had managed to run across a small herd of wild burros.
They all pulled out their cell phones in order to take pictures. Harlow was an excellent photographer. So much so that she sold her landscapes in art galleries. She had first made a name for herself with a few of her pottery pieces, but her love of photography had won out and she began almost exclusively dedicating herself to that art. She rarely took pictures of human beings, other than the six of them when they were together. She included Sam. She used to include Denver and Bruce. Denver had proven to be a serial killer, and now Zahra had indicated that she was finished waiting for Bruce. Generally, Zahra meant what she said.
They knew to stay completely away from the burros, not interact with or feed them. The burros were wild and should be treated as such, but they all had their phones out, staying on the trail a good distance away. Only Harlow stepped off the narrow bike path and moved around the Joshua trees and few cholla cactuses to get a better angle. She was careful not to approach the small group of burros, nor did she want to startle them, but she took many pictures from various angles.
“Don’t worry, Stella. I got some great shots for you,” she assured, returning to the trail. “I’ll send them to everyone.”
“The burros were on my wish list,” Stella said. “The desert has its own beauty. My first love is always going to be the Eastern Sierras, but I can definitely see the beauty here.”
Vienna could see it as well. “The trips we took to Joshua Tree to see the night blooms when Harlow wanted to photograph the Joshua trees and then again in the desert during the super bloom were incredible.”
“We’ll have to add another trip to Red Rock in March,” Harlow said. “The flowers will be out in force here. We can camp.”
“Camp?” Zahra’s tone was an instant protest. “No, Harlow. If you’re going to take really good pictures with your equipment, you need a clean environment. I’ll find an Airbnb close. Something with all the amenities. Everything you’ll need. And remember, if we want Raine to come, she needs access to the internet. She has to have WiFi. I’ll get right on that. We should book in advance. Stella will help me look.”
“I might not,” Stella said. “I’m getting married.”
Zahra rolled her eyes. “Of course you will. Marriage isn’t going to change things in the least. Sam is already around all the time. He doesn’t mind you going on trips with us.”
“What if I get pregnant or have a baby?” Stella challenged.
Zahra went very still. “You’re not . . .”
“No, but it could happen . . . someday. Not right away,” she assured as they all stared at her, a little in shock.
“I didn’t think in terms of a baby,” Vienna admitted. “I suppose that would be a natural outcome.” Would Zale want a family? They hadn’t really discussed that. There were many things they hadn’t discussed. She was a nurse. She knew the entire biological-clock-ticking concept wasn’t a hoax. The older a woman got, the less viable her eggs would become. “Do you want to have children, Stella?”
“I believe I do—with Sam. If it never happens for us, I’ll always be happy and satisfied. I think Sam will be as well. He says he will and you know Sam, he doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean,” Stella said with total confidence.
Vienna knew that confidence came from knowing Sam for over two years. Sam was steady, a man she had always been able to count on. Vienna didn’t really know Zale, yet she was committing to a life with him. What was wrong with her that she hadn’t sat down with him and really talked about the important things, like children?
Stella began to laugh. “You’re all looking at me as if I’ve grown two heads. If I have a baby, that child will grow up camping, hiking and climbing. He or she will love animals. For heaven’s sake, the poor thing will have Sam and me for parents. It will spend its early years being lugged around in a front- or backpack when we’re climbing or hiking.”
“Fine, have a baby, Stella,” Zahra said. “I’m sure I’ll be an amazing aunt. Be certain you have a girl. She’s going to love spas and having her fingernails painted. I can assure you of that.”
Vienna laughed with the others. She was positive if Stella had a boy, Zahra would paint his toenails as well and introduce him to the spa life early. Stella wouldn’t care and neither would Sam. They’d just shake their heads and teach their child the skills needed for survival in the world and to see the beauty of the wilderness.