Frank’s diner was more occupied than I’d have liked, but we found a booth towards the back. I sat facing the wall with Katrina facing out to the other patrons. Locals would assume she was just another skier tourist I had hooked up with. Very few people live here year round, so the inhabitants I see on my occasional trips to town have begun to recognize me and express casual pleasantries, much to my irritation.

“Hi folks, what can I get you?” Barbara, our waitress said. “Well, hi there, Cade. I didn’t realize that was you!”

I took it as a bad sign that her usual polite smile had been replaced by a huge friendly grin, and grunted. As I feared she turned her attention on Katrina. “And who do we have here?”

I groaned inwardly. “Barbara, this is Katrina.”

“It is sure nice to meet you, dear. I only ever see Cade by himself so you are a welcome sight for sure.”

“Aw, it’s nice to meet you too, Barbara.”

Barbara turned back to me. “How did you fare through the avalanche? Everything ok up there at your place?”

“Yeah, fine. Didn’t affect me too much.”

Katrina looked from me to Barbara like she couldn’t believe our conversation. “Um, apart from the fact that I crashed my car near his cabin and he had to take me in for several days? No, other than that it didn’t affect him too much.”

Barbara frowned. “Did you say you crashed your car?”

“Yes, ma’am. Up on Dogwood Pass right near Cade’s place. My chains snapped and I went right over the edge. Cade heard it and came and rescued me. I was out cold. I would’ve frozen if he hadn’t come for me.”

“My goodness, honey. Well, you sure were lucky it was Cade that found you. About another mile up the highway and you would have crashed near old man Gafford’s place and let me tell you right now, you do not want to set foot on that place.”

“Why, what’s the deal with old man Gafford?” Katrina said.

“Oh, he is just a misery guts. Hasn’t got anything good to say to anybody. And anything that moves onto his property line, be it on four legs or two, he’ll shoot at it. Just the most unfriendly man you’re likely to ever meet.”

“Well, I don’t know. You could be describing Cade in another thirty years.”

Barbara laughed and I cocked my chin to the side. I was not used to being addressed in such a familiar way, but I could see the funny side of it. Besides, her teasing was harmless and made me feel like she had accepted me as one of the locals.

“Is your car still up on the pass, honey?”

“Yeah, we’re down here to get that taken care of today.”

“Well, Cade, you know my husband, Barry, owns the garage, don’t you? He’ll get you fixed up if you go down there and see him.”

“Thanks, Barbara. We’ll do that.”

As she walked away after taking our order, she looked back at me over her shoulder with a wink to say she approved of my being with Katrina. And the strangest thing happened. Instead of being irritated that she thought it was any of her business, I basked in the ‘niceness’ of her sentiment. And that was really strange for me. Even before I chose to live in the woods I had zero interest in being part of any community. People bored me. I found them nosy and presumptuous. Just because they knew who you were they behaved as if they had some investment in your life and had the right to comment about your choices.

Whenever I’d come into town since living out on the mountain, I avoided interaction like the plague, keeping my conversations to well-timed grunts and nods. Once you pass the stage of a grunt and a nod at someone, you’ve got to keep it up every time you encounter them. Much better when they assumed you’re a cranky loner and kept their distance.

“This town is really cute,” Katrina said. “It’s got everything you need, but it’s still cozy and friendly. I bet the people who live here are really happy.”

“Don’t tell me you’d like to live in a small town like this. I had you pegged as a city chick.”

“No, no not at all. I mean, that’s where I grew up, but that’s not what I want for my life. I love these little pockets in the world where everyone knows your name and your troubles, you can always find someone to sit and have a coffee with if you come down to the town. There are families and old people, people who’ve lived here for generations and the tourists that breeze through dropping money and entertainment into daily life. I’ve always wanted to live in a community like this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, don’t you like it? I mean, what brought you out here, anyway?”

There she goes again, digging up the back story. “If we launch into some big discussion now before I’ve eaten my steak we are both in for trouble. I’m an asshole when I’m hungry.”

Katrina laughed at me. “Hey, I see that as progress. Good job, Cade, for letting me know that the jackass detector alarm bells are ringing. I will heed the warning.”