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Greta pulled Ingrid to the side, to a hallway that opened to the living room. She peeked over her shoulder to see where the hallway led, then back to Ingrid.
“How’s it going with Ryder?” she asked.
“Nothing’s going with Ryder,” Ingrid whispered, “except maybe he finally doesn’t think I’m a total brainless twit. And how is your Otto?”
Greta grinned, gazing at the skinny hiker with adoration. “Isn’t he cute?”
“He is, in an awfully thin way,” Ingrid said carefully.
“He’s hiking the Pacific Crest Trail,” Greta said in an indignant tone. “That’s over two thousand miles. He says he has to eat three to four thousand calories a day just to maintain.”
As they watched, Otto wandered out to the kitchen and piled four snacks onto a napkin, then popped another one into his mouth. He glanced over at Greta and grinned. She gave him a little wave.
“He’s from Austria. Isn’t that cool that he came all the way to America to hike the PCT?”
“That is cool, Greta. Quite an accomplishment.”
“Oh, look,” Greta whispered. “Olivia and Luka. Do you think they’re an item?”
“Gross,” Ingrid said. “They’re old. I don’t like to think about things like that.”
“How do you think we got here, Ingrid? Our parents had to look at each other like that at least once.”
“Now you’re really grossing me out, and I’m not talking about this,” Ingrid said.
“I’d love to go to Austria. Hey, maybe next summer we should go to Europe!” Greta stared at Ingrid wide-eyed, as if she’d just discovered a new galaxy.
Ingrid shifted her gaze to Ryder, who was chatting with West and Trisha. “I don’t know, Gret. I’d like to go to Europe, but I have things to do here.”
“What’s more important than going to Europe?”
“Maybe I can get a summer job working at a vet office. Or maybe run a horse camp again. Something with horses.”
Greta turned to look at her friend. “Really? You want to work again?” Her voice dropped to conspiratorial level. “I know we can talk our parents into footing the bill. C’mon, Ingrid. Let’s go explore Europe together. Otto said he’d show us around the Alps, Austria, Germany, Switzerland. It would be amazing.”
Ingrid couldn’t take her gaze off Ryder. “It sounds great for you, Greta. But I have other plans.”
Greta followed Ingrid’s gaze. “I knew it,” she said. “You’re acting all nonchalant, but you want to find a way to hang around Ryder, don’t you? Admit it.”
Ingrid looked languidly at Greta. “I have plans,” she said, then walked into the kitchen and asked Kathy for a soda.
Kathy called everyone to dinner, and they all moved to Randy’s enormous dining room table.
Everyone knew who they were unofficially paired with, yet people seemed reluctant to make that declaration by sitting next to their unofficial partner. Olivia lingered by Kathy as the guests awkwardly moved toward committing to a place at the table.
“Jesus, I should have made place cards,” Kathy muttered.
Trisha sat smack in the middle of one of the long sides. West promptly plunked down beside her, and Luka hovered, finally sitting next to West.
Olivia gave Kathy a small smile and wandered over to sit next to Luka. Greta took Otto by the hand and pulled him to sit next to her. Ingrid sat next to Greta, and soon Ryder joined Ingrid.
Once Greta had her place firmly entrenched at the table, she excused herself and went to the kitchen. She helped Sam carry out small Caesar salads, complete with shaved parmesan cheese and real anchovies.
“That’s nice of you, Greta,” Ingrid whispered as they ate.
“I can’t let Sam do everything on his own,” she said. “I’m an important part of the kitchen staff.”
“You are,” Ingrid agreed.
After the salad, Greta gathered the dishes and returned with Sam carrying plates of wild Pacific king salmon, red potatoes, and asparagus.
Conversation lulled, replaced by moans and groans of appreciation for the meal. As plates emptied, West glanced at Otto. “Otto, how’s the hike going?”
Otto, who had eaten most of his food and eyed the kitchen for seconds, paused. “Gut, ah, very good. I’m enjoying it very much but appreciate this break. The food has been delicious and most welcome. And the company,” he glanced at Greta, who blushed demurely, “even better.”
“Remind me where you’re from?” West asked.
“Austria, near Graz, the capital. It’s where Arnold Schwarzenegger trained.” He grinned.
“What made you decide to hike the PCT?” Kathy asked from the end of the table.
“I had just graduated university and wanted to explore the world before I started working. I majored in computer science, coding, which is writing—”
“Honey, we all know what coding is,” Kathy said gently. “We may live in the boondocks, but Seattle isn’t that far away, and it’s the home of Microsoft.”
“What is ‘boondocks?’” Luka whispered to Olivia.
“We’re in the backwoods, away from civilization,” she whispered back.
“Ah yes, Microsoft,” Otto nodded. “That is my dream, to get a job working for Microsoft.”
Randy, who had been characteristically silent through the meal, suddenly spoke up. “Olivia here,” he began, and everyone turned to him. “Olivia came to us from a high muckamuck position at Microsoft.”
“What is ‘muckamuck?’” Luka whispered to Olivia.
But instead of answering him, she stared at Randy as if he’d just told everyone he’d seen her naked.
Otto leaned forward and stared at Olivia. “You worked at Microsoft? Wow. What did you do?”
Olivia set her fork down slowly.
“Coding, I believe, if I remember your resume,” Randy said. “At least that’s how she started out. Isn’t that right, Olivia?”
“Really?” Otto said, sounding surprised. “I mean we had a couple of girls in my class. How did you get on at the company?”
Olivia finally turned to Otto. “My coding skills,” she said coldly.
Greta studied Otto as if trying to figure out a puzzle. Had her cute hiker summer crush just sounded demeaning to women?
“She may have started out coding—” Randy said.
“Randy, please,” Olivia interrupted. “Nobody’s interested in my career path.”
“I am interested,” Otto said, leaning forward to study both Olivia and Randy.
“She started on the ground floor of Microsoft,” Randy continued, “with her buddies Bill and Paul, and ended up head of HR.”
“What?” Otto practically shouted. “But you’re here now. Do you still have any influence? Can you introduce me to someone?”
“No, Otto,” she said slowly but firmly. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
But poor Otto didn’t know when to shut up. “But, but I would be most grateful. It could change my life. Why are you here in this wilderness place? If you started early with the company, wait, I’ve read about this,” he gasped. “You started early, you’re living here, working at a job on a small ranch in the wilderness. Mein Gott, are you one of those, what are they called, Microsoft rich—”
Greta corrected him in a soft voice. “Microsoft millionaires.”
“Ya, that’s it!” Otto grinned. “Microsoft millionaires!”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Kathy snapped, throwing Randy a scolding look. “Olivia’s business is none of our business, so let’s change the subject. Sam’s serving up seconds if anyone’s interested, then we’ll move on to dessert.”
The mood of the party had shifted. Only Otto took his plate to the kitchen for seconds. Kathy and Sam served dessert and slowly conversations resumed. Olivia stared at her plate, and Luka kept glancing at her as she picked at an apple pie and ice cream that normally she would have devoured. Soon the party began to break up and everyone said their thanks and goodbyes.
Ingrid left with Ryder, and soon Greta caught up to them with Otto nowhere in sight.
