Big Bend (g/t)

Visiting

Zoey

I raised my hand to my face, trying to shield some of the sunlight from my eyes. Even wearing a tank top and shorts, I felt like I was overheating. Probably because that was an actual possibility, if the thermometer in front of the visitor center was anything to go by.

I need to find a place that has air conditioning. Preferably sooner than later.

I'd been half camping, half living out of my car for the past few days. A lifestyle that countless van life influencers had managed to make far more luxurious looking than it actually was. Or at least far less sweaty.

That was my main motivation for walking up to the visitor center today - an excuse to enjoy air that was a couple dozen degrees cooler for at least a little while. I figured I could take my time looking at the various exhibits, maybe see if I could get enough reception to see if any apartments had called me back yet. Not that it was a particularly long list. There were only so many housing options in Marfa period, much less ones within my admittedly small budget.

It's starting to seem like deciding where to go by throwing a dart at a map also works out better in theory than reality, I mused, pulling open the door to the visitor center. The wave of cool air that washed over me felt near heavenly.

"Hi, welcome in!" The ranger behind the desk called. I returned the greeting, turning to look around the visitor center as my mind wandered to the other reason I'd decided to come up here. The much, much taller park ranger I'd run into on the night I arrived.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little curious about him - Easton. The lack of reception hadn't allowed me a lot of chances to consult google or social media on the subject, either. I'd seen him from a distance a couple of times since we'd spoken, but that did little to sate my curiosity. My mom used to joke that she should have named me Kat, instead of Zoey, so it went without saying that that sense of curiosity had been something of a unchanging trait.

As it turned out, I didn't have to wait long to get another chance to see Easton. I'd only been inside, enjoying the chilly air, for about ten minutes when the visitor center began to fill up. A quick glance at the sign by the door and the clock revealed that Easton had some sort of talk on flowers in another fifteen minutes.

I wasn't sure if the purpose of hiring Easton had been to draw crowds, or if that was just a side effect, but either way, I felt more like I was standing outside a new attraction at Disneyland than at a national park as people continued to spill into the visitor center. Most asked the ranger at the counter about Easton almost right away.

For my part, I found a seat on an empty bench on the far side of the visitor center, taking a sip of my water bottle and plugging my phone in to charge.

Well, at least it'll be less obvious I'm just hanging out here with this crowd, I thought.

I wasn't really sure if there were rules against loitering in national park visitor centers, but I'd never heard of anyone just hanging out at them either, so I thought discretion was the safest option.

Easton's actual arrival was noticeable for a number of reasons. It wasn't exactly easy - or possible, really - for a building sized giant to sneak up. I watched out the window as he slowly took a seat next to the visitor center, smiling at the crowd of people gathered. He gave some sort of talk about flowers native to the park as well as some from Aphiria. I idly wondered what flowers from Aphirial looked like - in my mind, I pictured that scene from Alice In Wonderland where she meets the blue caterpillar among all of the giant plants.

After the presentation on flowers, Easton spent some time talking to visitors and taking pictures with them. I watched, deciding to wait for the crowd to disperse before I went to speak to him. That also gave me a while longer to wait for my phone to charge.

As the crowd died down, I unplugged my phone. I slipped the cord into my pocket as I headed out the back door of the visitor center. As I walked over to where Easton was sitting, it occurred to me that I wasn't really sure what I was going to say. I didn't even really have a reason for going to talk to him, other than vague curiosity. And a lot of time to kill, given my present "living out of my car in the desert" situation.

"So...you know a lot about flowers."

Really? That's what I go with?

To my surprise, Easton's face lit up with recognition right away.

"Zoey! How are you? Did you find a camping spot?"

"I'm..." I hesitated in replying, thinking about the recent events in my life.

Best to just go with the socially acceptable answer, probably.

"I'm alright. And yeah! I did."

"That's good! I wasn't sure if you were still around."

"Yeah. I think I will be for a bit. Or, at least in the area. Uh, that was a nice talk about plants."

"Thanks," Easton replied.

"So, I take it you're the person Easton ran into the other night?" The bearded man that had been standing alongside the visitor center during Easton's talk walked over to us. He had an air of authority, though he didn't seem to be wearing a uniform.

"Yeah! I'm Zoey."

"John O'Riley, IMA," he said, extending a hand. I shook it, my curiosity getting the best of me as I asked my next question.

"You work for the IMA? What's that like?"

"Good question. Always interesting, I guess," John replied. "It definitely keeps me moving. Speaking of which, I think it's about time we head to lunch?"

John glanced up at Easton. Easton nodded.

"Right, yeah. Well, it was nice to see you again, Zoey."

I felt a little disappointed that the conversation was ending so soon - back to staring at my car's ceiling and trying to figure out what to paint, I guess.

"Yeah, you too. Have a good one." I paused. "We should hang out sometime, since it looks like I'll be around a while. I mean, if you want to."

Easton looked genuinely surprised at my invitation, something which in turn surprised me based on the crowd of people that had been gathered around him.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds fun," Easton said.

"Cool. Well, I won't keep you guys any longer," I said. I headed back towards the visitor center, intending on using the bathroom and enjoying the air conditioning before heading back to my campsite. I glanced back to see Easton and John leaving, with Easton carefully picking John up. I turned, only to run directly into a tall, blond woman. I stumbled back.

"Shit, sorry," I said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

She glared at me from behind a pair of expensive looking sunglasses. "Clearly not. I guess a building-sized monster is pretty distracting, though."

"You mean Easton? He doesn't seem very monster-y to me."

"Don't tell me you're one of those Aphirial-lovers," she said, rolling her eyes.

I decided that was enough of that conversation, and just gave her a tight smile before walking away.

Well, at least I'm not the weirdest person here.