“I’m paying for drinks for a month,” he said.
“What made you think I couldn’t last?”
This line of questioning wouldn’t produce anything good. What happened to the clean state? He hesitated before answering, wondering if he should play clueless, but he ultimately decided to tell her the truth. “You have no experience with the outdoor tourism business. Also, people from big cities tend to find Cedar boring long-term.”
She didn’t respond, and he took her silence to mean concession.
When they arrived at the first inn, Silas pulled up to the entrance and told Raven, “I always get out at each stop and greet the tourists.”
They hopped off the bus and found a waiting family of four and an elderly couple decked out in camo that still had the folding lines from the store.
“Morning, everyone,” Silas said warmly, but the group replied with lackluster energy.
“Oh, c’mon now, you gotta give me more than that,” he said. “That sounded like you think this bus is taking you to Alcatraz.”
The joke got the adults chuckling.
“Okay, let’s try that again. Morning, everyone!”
“Morning,” they spiritedly responded before Silas gave a short introduction. Once the last of the guests had boarded the bus, he turned to Raven and asked, “Simple enough?”
His question was laced with a snark he thought he had a rein on, but unfazed, Raven responded, “I think I’ll manage.”
And during the subsequent stops, she proved to be sweet and effervescent, smiling and welcoming everyone with a compliment. “Those are cute sneakers. Look at you in that hat! Now, what vitamins do I need to take to look so awake in the morning?”
It brightened the recipients’ countenances immediately.
“How am I doing?” Raven asked him at one point, her brows pinched as if genuinely curious, but she’d actually thrown out a challenge. And for the remainder of the pickups, they were seemingly competing to be the most amiable.
He produced his best smiles, high fives, and the most enthusiastic “Are you ready to have funs?” while she continued to hurl affirmations at everyone.
Who won? Nobody, because they sounded as coherent as banging pots talking over one another.
On their way back up to Mountaintop, Silas watched Raven walk the length of the bus, doing more socializing and laughing with the tourists. She fit in easily. Played the part well. And it fucking irked him.
“So what do you do?” he heard one of the ladies ask Raven.
“I’m the owner,” she said as confidently as one would declare the sky blue.
“Oh, the owner,” they cooed.
“Yes. Yes,” Raven said, grinning from ear to ear.
Irksome.
“Look! Baby bears!” someone shouted midway through their trip.
The black bears were far enough from the road that Silas felt comfortable pulling the van over and allowing photos. The tourists raced to the shuttle’s left side, squeezing to find a spot at the wide windows.
When Raven walked up to him in the driver’s seat, Silas was studying the time, calculating how many minutes he could spare before they were late.
“Could you take some pictures for me? There’s no space back there,” she said.
From the clipped tone of her voice, she seemed to resent having to make the request, which may have been the only reason it wasn’t painful for him to oblige.
He used her phone and captured the mother bear and her cubs in photos and video.
“Make sure to get all three babies in one picture,” Raven said, leaning in to observe his work.
