Ben shook his head, but found that he was smiling — just a little. He threw the small bag of toiletries he’d just purchased on the bathroom counter and sat down on the empty bed. Julie had apparently done some quick cleaning up. Her hair looked like it had been combed, falling gently around her shoulders and toppling over the pillow behind her. Ben watched her drink the wine for a few seconds until she turned to look at him.
Again, he felt his face flush. Come on, Harvey, get it together.
Julie laughed. “What? Been awhile since you’ve had a girl in your room?”
It had been.
“Shut up,” he said, reaching for a wine glass and the bottle of Merlot that rested on the nightstand between the beds. He poured himself a glass and took a sip. When was the last time I had a glass of wine? Most of his coworkers drank beer, if they drank at all. Ben preferred a glass of bourbon or whiskey, single malt on the rocks.
They looked at each other for a moment, each trying to decide what to say next. Julie lost interest first, turning back to whatever was on the television.
Ben wanted to ask her about her life. Who was she, really? Where was she from?
Was there anyone else in her life?
As someone not terribly interested in other peoples’ lives, he was surprised at his train of thought.
But instead, he asked about their plans. “What’s next? After tonight, I mean?”
Julie looked confused for a moment, then turned back to him. “Randy will probably get back to me soon, and he’ll tell us where to go next. Whoever was working with your mother probably lives in the area, and we can track them down pretty easily from there.”
Ben nodded. “Makes sense. You think Randy will get anywhere?”
“He always does. He’s a genius with computers. He’s pretty new at the CDC, but we get along well. He’s probably not stopped working on it since I called him earlier. The real question is if Diana shared any of her findings with anyone else or not.”
“No idea. I hadn’t spoken to her in over a decade. She was never the secretive type, so I imagine she’d be open to working with someone else.”
Julie took in the information, and both lay silent for a few minutes.
“Okay, well, I need to get some sleep,” she said. “I’ve got my phone on, in case Randy calls. We can figure out anything we can from whoever might be around here, then I’ll get us some plane tickets back to Billings for tomorrow night.”
Ben shook his head. “I’ll take the rental back. You go ahead.”
“You won’t fly?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I just won’t. I don’t like it.”
“Come on, it’s perfectly safe. It’ll be much quick—”
“I’m not going to fly, Julie.”
“Ben, what’s the big deal? You won’t —”
“Knock it off, alright? I already told you, end of story. Drop it.” The words came out harsh, stressed. He regretted it, but the damage was done.
“What the hell, Bennett? Why the attitude?”
He didn’t respond.
“Seriously, Ben, what’s up? Why are you like this?”
“Julie…”
“No, I’ve had it. You barely speak to anyone, you treated me like dirt, and you’ve been off the grid for ten years. What is it about you that makes you so cold?”
Ben looked up sharply. He thought he could see Julie’s eyes welling up.
He didn’t know what to say. Didn’t want to say anything. Hell, what am I doing here? he thought.
He stood up from the bed and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Julie remained, a shocked expression on her face.
Chapter Thirty
They were the only patrons in the restaurant. Le Petit Paris was frequented only by guests of the lodge, and this particular week was a very slow one for the hotel.
Ben and Julie sat at the corner booth, enjoying a platter of waffles, sausage, bacon, eggs, and toast. Apparently the restaurant leaned heavily on the American part of “French-American cuisine.”
“Sorry about last night.” Ben said the words slowly, meticulously, speaking through a mouth full of breakfast food.
“Don’t worry about it,” Julie said. “I went too far. I shouldn’t have —”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Ben said, stopping her. “I’m uncomfortable around people, if you haven’t already guessed. I don’t do well with confrontation and, well, feelings in general.”
Julie laughed. “You wish you were a robot?”
Ben thought for a moment and grinned. “Yeah, kinda. That would be okay.”
“Really? No tasting food, no feeling joy, no, uh, more pleasurable emotions?”
“No feeling pain, either.”
“Pain’s not a bad thing, Ben. It makes the good stuff that much better.”
He scoffed and grabbed another waffle. “Ever eat these with peanut butter?”
“Gross. Are you serious?”
“Oh yeah. You have no idea. It’s the only way to eat them. My dad —”
He caught himself, choosing to take an extra-large bite instead.
“Your dad what?” Julie pressed.
“Nothing. He, just, liked it. I must have gotten it from him.”
Julie swallowed. “Can I ask you something?”
Ben looked at her. “Maybe.”
“What would you be doing if this bomb hadn’t gone off? If there was no virus, and it was just you, at Yellowstone?”
“You mean besides hauling nuisance bears around the park?”
“Yeah, I mean after work. What does Harvey Bennett do in his spare time?”
Ben considered the question. “Well, I’ve been working on buying a place of my own, actually.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Some land way up in Alaska. I want to build a cabin on it someday. I’m in the last stages of the deal, but I’ve been waiting for the bank to finalize things.”
“Wow — Alaska?”
“I’ve actually never even been there.” He laughed. “I saw the land online, saw what they were asking for it, and called them that afternoon. It was dirt cheap because of its location. Used to be owned by a trapper who passed away a few years ago. The land went up for auction and a local bank bought it, hoping to turn a profit.”
“You strike me as the kind of person who needs to be around a lot of people and live in a city, probably in a high-rise.”
“Yeah?” Ben smiled. “Seems like me.”
Julie paused to take a few bites, and Ben sipped his coffee. He knew what was coming next. Julie deserved the truth.
“Your mom. Diana Torres. You didn’t tell me she was your mom, and you called her ‘Diana Torres.’ Why?”
He shrugged. “We got in a fight a long time ago. She never really forgave me. I guess we both never forgave each other.”
“What happened?”
Julie wasn’t one to waste time. Ben liked that about her, but it terrified him all the same.
“It was the same time I ran away from it all. Thirteen years ago, right before I started at the park. I was camping with my dad and my kid brother. He was nine at the time, and he wandered out of camp and got stuck between a bear and her cub. My dad went to get him, and the bear attacked him.”
Julie covered her mouth with a hand.
“He got hit, hard, and went unconscious. My brother was pretty scraped up, but okay. My dad was airlifted out and spent a few months in a coma, then died.”
“God, Ben, I’m sorry.”