“My sister can’t go with me, want to come?”
Simpler words can not be spoken by Sea Bee, and I find myself following her through the maze of evening traffic in the Valley of the Sun. It’s a brilliant sunset as we make our way along the city streets to the Piestewa Peak trailhead.
The trail is smooth but rocky, and so very steep. We climb 96 floors in just under forty minutes. We are both pretty damn proud of ourselves. We sit at the top of the mountain, talking about our friendship and life in general as the city lights shine brightly below us.
I tell her that I know when she finds someone else, that our friendship will fade into the night. She tells me that isn’t her focus right now, and changes the subject. I don’t resist and listen to her other concerns, trying to be a true friend, as having her in my life again is the number one priority.
She sees the Piestewa Fox, and excitedly shows me. I tell her I think it’s a ring tailed cat. We laugh as we stumble back down the mountain in the dark.
We high five and part ways. No hug this time, but that’s ok.
