Free Take Only Pictures by Laina Villeneuve

should give Meg a call. Touch base.”
    “Mmm,” Gloria mumbled.
    “Take care of yourself, sweetie,” her mother said, letting her off the hook.
    “I will, Mom. I love you.” Gloria replaced the receiver in the cradle and paused. Something made her glance in the store again though she knew Kristine was long gone. The clerk smiled brightly.
    Gloria didn’t miss how the clerk’s tight tank showed off her lean figure. She’d swept her dark hair up into a bun that instead of looking messy came off as stylish and cool. She returned Gloria’s appraisal with an openness that invited Gloria over. She thought about simply waving because by comparison she felt frumpy in her standard loose-fitting hiking pants, her Department of Fish and Wildlife tee and unexciting ponytail tucked through the back of her ball cap. What she’d said to her mother was true—she was finding her bearings. With the hope that talking to someone would make her feel more settled, she headed toward the store.
    “Checking in with the girlfriend back home?” the clerk asked without preamble.
    “Mom,” Gloria corrected, noting the clerk’s reaction, the sport in her eyes.
    “I never got to introduce myself the other night,” she said. “I’m Ocean.”
    “Ocean?”
    “Daughter of Deadheads and thus destined to be a whaler or marine biologist.”
    “I know plenty of people whose names match their profession, a Melody in chorus, a baker named Baker.”
    “Alas, the water is no draw to me.” She smiled, her eyes openly assessing Gloria’s body. “If you’ve got some time this evening, I’d be happy to show you what I am drawn to.”
    In the back of her head, Gloria heard Meg’s voice commenting on the wealth of selection Mammoth had to offer. Pushing it aside, she smiled and said, “My evenings are nothing but time.”
    “Super.” Ocean smiled brightly. “You had dinner? I usually grab something at the café.”
    “That sounds good,” Gloria said. Gravitating toward the cards against the wall, she smiled and stepped aside to let Ocean do her job. Though she told herself she should find another photographer’s perspective to send to her mother, Kristine’s cards still spoke to her the most. She lifted one from the display.
    Two backpackers crossed a sheer expanse of granite. The color of the rock, which dominated the image, should have made the picture feel cold, and the tiny backpackers remote. When she studied it though, Gloria felt warmth, felt like Kristine had captured something resonating between the two women and their surroundings.
    When the clock rounded to seven, she laid the image on the counter.
    “Last sale of the day,” Ocean said, slipping the card into a bag for Gloria. She ducked under the counter and motioned Gloria out in front of her. “I could take you there.”
    Gloria tilted her chin.
    “You hike, right? When I’m off, we could take the trail in that picture. That granite pass is on the way to Fish Creek. I hear there’s a killer set of hot springs down there. We should go.”
    Gloria wondered if that’s where the women in the picture were headed, if they were going to a romantic natural hot spring. “It sounds lovely,” she answered as they settled in at the counter in the café.
    “It’s on my list of spots I have to get to this summer. It’d be awesome if I had someone to go with.” she beamed.
    “Is this a second summer for you?” Gloria asked, scanning the simple menu.
    “Yeah, it’s a pretty sweet setup. I get food and board and a chance to hike on my days off. All of my friends are totally jealous of my summer job.”
    “You’re in college during the winter months?” Gloria asked. Please, please, she thought, let her be working on her master’s degree.
    “I’m second year at UC Santa Cruz,” Ocean said, quickly adding, “I took a few years off after high school. I wanted to do some backpacking in Europe, which my parents totally didn’t get, so I worked for two years to have a