Altitude Adjustment by Mary Beth Baptiste

Author:Mary Beth Baptiste [BETH BAPTISTE, MARY]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781493009213
Publisher: TwoDot

The first night we sleep together I hear an elk bugle, and the sound imprints forever in my heart as a bifurcated seed ripe with the twin emotions of desire and loss. The bugle starts with a low rumble, then accelerates, fluting upward in pitch to a piercing scream, then ends with a series of guffaws. Olaus Murie described the sound in his 1951 book, The Elk of North America: “A-a-a-a-ai-e-eeeeeee-ough! e-uh! e-uh!” It’s the quintessential call of the wild, and I can’t get enough of it.

I freefall into this new dimension, into a primal exuberance and youthful recklessness. As a wildlife biologist, I now have a whole new view of sex. While I claimed an open mind when I was married, my views were tainted with an impatient, yet envious disdain for single lovers. Now I see sex as the most natural thing in the universe. Evidence abounds around me. Some animals, like trumpeter swans, are monogamous for life, while others, like deer and moose, will couple with many mates over their lifetimes. Bears, too, are promiscuous. In fact, bears can exhibit multiple paternity, that is, females can carry cubs sired by different fathers in the same litter.

Julian and I dart between one another’s houses only under cover of darkness. The unspoken rule is no one will know about our trysts. We sleep together only a few nights a week, and are always back in our own places before dawn.

Rachel says, “I stopped by your house last night.”

“Oh,” I say, “I must have been out … walking.”

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