The Simple Wild: A Novel

Calla spends a cold, drizzly morning picking blueberries with Mabel. At the airport, she listens to Sharon detailing her and Max’s plans to return to Portland. Hearing Sharon talk about her future makes Calla think about where she will be in a few years. She wonders if she will have a partner and a baby on the way and, most importantly, if her father still be alive. Jonah arrives for a flight, and Calla’s face flushes, remembering their kiss. She thinks it was a mistake because nothing can come of their attraction since she’s leaving soon. Marie, the veterinarian, arrives, and Calla can instantly tell she likes Jonah. Marie is attractive and intelligent, and when she touches Jonah’s newly shorn face, Calla assumes they have been intimate. Yet, she can feel the crackle of attraction between Jonah and herself as he jokes about his new look, casting flirtatious glances her way.

Jonah is flying to pick up hikers trapped by the weather, and Marie offers to join him. Jonah lies and says he promised Calla a flight, and she beams, thinking about him wanting to spend more time together. The flight is tense due to the weather and the unresolved questions about their kiss hanging in the air.