That moment opened up a new perspective now, one she hadn’t heeded before. Wrapped against his side was a slender woman, her well-curved figure also expensively clothed. Blonde hair spilled over her shoulders and she smiled easily. Camilla knew at once that she worked in some area of the entertainment industry, since there was a buzz among classmates who seemed to know her from somewhere. Magazine, movies, television, what did it matter… Camilla’s gut truly wrenched. This woman’s air of easy possessiveness told Camilla what she didn’t want to acknowledge. Using every ounce of energy and poise she could muster, Camilla did the only thing she could: smile.
“Camilla!” Dan cried and leaned forward to grab her hand. He half-hugged her and enthused “You look great!” Camilla stepped back as quickly as she could, in time to see the blonde grin at her. “Oh, your old girlfriend, Dan?” she cooed at him. “How sweet.” The next two minutes flashed by in unbearable slow motion. Camilla felt that she’d actually left her body, occupied now by a walking, talking, smiling automaton. Other classmates pressed in gradually, and Camilla was able to extricate herself from the chattering group.
Wendy took her arm. She and Lily dragged Camilla over to one of the food tables. They stared at her, Wendy squeezed her arm. “We figured you weren’t in a position to follow any news or gossip, and it seems we were right,” Lily stated glumly. “She’s a sportscaster for one of the national television channels. They met at some party in Hollywood a couple of months ago.” Wendy shook her head. “She’s also five or six years older than Dan. Ex-husband was a star on the U.S. Olympic hockey team.”
Back in the present, a last boom sounded overhead and suddenly the rain funnel was gone, moving ahead with the wind that whipped tree branches at the side of the road. Just as suddenly, the road crested a final hill and sunshine slid into the place vacated by the rain. Camilla could see the dark clouds racing southwest, soon to be over the Hopi mesas where the harsh rain would be received with gratitude. Just so did she visualize this natural phenomenon as a metaphor for her failed relationship with Dan. She had not clung to him — no, Camilla had never physically clung to him — and that had been a mistake. Or not. They had each pursued their post-high school training with single-mindedness.
Camilla’s reward, however, could be viewed in the landscape unfolding before her as she rounded each hairpin curve. To the northwest, the red beauty of the Chuska Mountains glowed, deeper and more raw than the famed glory of Sedona’s red rocks. To the south lay a pastoral setting of green. At a pull-in near the bottom of the road, Camilla guided the Camry to a stop, thrilled by the misty rainbow that framed the Chinle Valley in contrast to the faraway dark hump of Black Mesa. She had worked so hard for all this. A kingdom more alluring, she realized, than any of Dan’s exotic getaway scenarios. Still the tears she’d suppressed came now, raining into the tissues she’d retrieved from her purse.
The remainder of that fateful reunion gathering had passed quickly. Camilla had smiled, joked, and carried herself with aplomb, making sure to stay far away from the celebrities, despite a couple of half-hearted attempts on Dan’s part to call her over. In the end, they’d proved to be from different tribes, indeed. She’d had a number of warning signs upon reflection, but the work of the past year had swallowed up all opportunities for deliberation. In the meantime Dan had walked away to greater temptations.
She was glad she’d made the practical arrangement she had, seeking a guest room at the college on a reservation not known for many hotels. Her interview tomorrow was a full-day one, but she suspected it was all formalities. She knew she was well equipped for the position, and the certification diploma tucked into her briefcase confirmed that fact. The crying spell was shorter than she figured it would be, and she restarted the engine to pull out and stop again at the Lukachukai Trading Post, now a grocery store. The lady behind the counter gave her a smile as she strolled in, heading for yet more junk food.
“Came down the pass in the rain, huh?” the woman asked as she rang up Camilla’s Coke and Hershey bar. “First time, too?” Camilla nodded and smiled weakly. That climb and descent typified so much more than just a new experience. At this moment, her loss weighed most upon her. Yet stirrings of something else gathered in the back of her mind.
The drive to Tsaile was an easy one, the sun so warm and all-encompassing the rain seemed more like a dark memory. The assistant in the Admissions Office greeted her pleasantly and, happily, had been briefed on her arrival. Camilla stared unseeing out over the busy office as the young woman made a quick telephone call.
“Ms. Natachu?” a warn baritone voice sounded at her elbow. Camilla swung round to confront a man in his early thirties. He was a few inches taller than she and wiry, with an interesting face and shoulder-length black hair. The smile on his face showed he liked what he was beholding. Camilla studied him for a few seconds before sticking out her hand to shake his. “I’m Samson Bitsue,” he confided. “I’m in the Chemistry Department. Have you had dinner yet?”
When Camilla shook her head, his smile grew wider. “Excellent. Let’s get your bags out of your car and stowed at the dorm. Then we can head off to Chinle. I know this restaurant…”
A wave of well-being swept over Camilla. She even giggled when, after they went outside and he viewed the muddy, leaf-strewn Camry, he hastily stated, “Let me get my car and I’ll drive.”
It was going to be a fine, fine, sunshine-y day after all.
A new story starts next week.
