perching on top of one of the picnic tables. “I’m always hungry,” I admit with a shrug.
Backing away from the waterfall, I stop at the informational signs. Wrapped in thick plastic, they are yellowed and warped, the wood that holds them up gray and sagging. Reaching out to touch one, I think about how much work it was to get them all up the trail and I’m thankful for that.
Snohomish Falls, Memorialized In 1871, I read. Several thousand years ago, when the glaciers receded, they left a fertile plain near Snohomish Falls. When Native Americans arrived, they found a bounty of edible bulbs, roots and berries on the prairie. Deer and mountain goats were plentiful. Though there were no salmon above the falls, the upper Snohomish River became a seasonal rendezvous and meeting place as trade among native peoples increased.
“I had no idea that these falls were so old!” I call to Aiden.
Aiden shrugs. “Come get some food. The falls have been there for a thousand years. They’ll still be there when you finish eating.”
My stomach chooses that moment to gurgle, so I head over to the picnic table. Aiden has spread out crackers, goat cheese, and a container of fresh berries. He also placed a big bag of trail mix between us, the good kind that has lots of cashews and bits of dark chocolate.
My stomach makes more noises as I sit down at the table, grabbing a cracker and some cheese. The goat cheese is creamy against my tongue, the cracker salty and crisp. Without meaning to, I let out a quiet groan.
“Oh my god,” I sigh, my mouth full of crumbling cracker bits.
Aiden smiles, grabbing a handful of berries. “I’ll take that as a good sign? Did I do well?”
I nod enthusiastically, going for two more crackers. At the same time, I’m already eyeing the trail mix. We eat in silence for a minute. I snag the whole bag of trail mix and funnel a bunch into my mouth.
The chocolate hits my tongue, so dark it’s almost bitter. But the almonds and cashews balance it out nicely.
Aiden glances at me with amusement. “Enjoying that trail mix?”
I blush. “You’ve found me out. I have a weakness for dark chocolate.”
I try to hand the bag over, but he declines. “Nah. Keep it, if you’re enjoying it so much.”
“I really am,” I confess. “Thank you for bringing it up here. And for bringing me too.”
His lips curl up. “It’s nice being here. Even if you’re kind of a baby about hiking.”
“Hey!” I defend myself. “I did not realize that it would be so hard.”
I get another cracker and cheese, to reward myself. Aiden chuckles.
“It’s okay. We’re all bad at something. You can’t hike without complaining, I basically can’t read…” He shrugs his broad shoulders. “To each his own, I guess.”
The cracker is halfway in my mouth when he makes his crack about not being able to read. I slow it down as I look at him.
I chew for a moment. “Are you talking about being dyslexic?”
His face darkens a little and he glances away. “Yeah. I mean, in passing.”
Tread lightly, his face says. And I’ll obey the best I know how.
“So when you look at… say… a page of the dictionary. What does that look like for you?”
He rolls his eyes. “It looks like exactly what it is. But the words are gibberish. They sort of look like some alien language or something. If I really focus and the words are big enough and bold enough, I can usually make sense of them. Or… I can make sense of some of them, and then use the context to piece together an idea.”
“Hmm. That workaround is tough, I imagine.”
His smile is bone dry. “Yeah. It’s tougher when I’m in public and the spotlight is on me. Like when I’m at a restaurant with people and the waiter comes to take orders.”
My eyebrows arch. “Really? What do you do?”
He looks amused. “I go last, and order something that one of my friends ordered. Or I ask the waiter what’s best. Like I said, I figure it out. I may not be able to read very well but I’m not dumb.”
“I would never think that,” I reassure him. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you’re one of the smartest people that I know. The fact that you’re working twice as hard as the rest of us and I still think that…” I shrug. “It’s impressive, is what I’m saying.”
He rolls