Secrets and Lies | ✔️

Chapter 41 - Talia

Ch.41 - Talia

"This is fascinating," Jackson announced, clearly impressed with the scenery. "I can't imagine what it's like to look out at this every day of the year."

Charlie smiled, his body language more relaxed than it had been in days. Talia knew getting him out on the airboat would be good. "Wait until we get into the thick of it. You'll be amazed."

Jackson nodded his head in approval. "I already am."

The boat slowly made its way through the sheet of fresh water gradually picking up pace. Sawgrass rippled around them like green waves while two white pelicans swooped overhead, finally settling on a shallow location to fish.

Talia watched as Jackson took in their surroundings, his expression tight as he eyed a crocodile sunning itself on the shore. "So, how did you end up here in the Everglades? Do you get to choose where you go to write your articles?"

Jackson was quiet for a moment before answering. "I've always had an interest in the Everglades, ever since I vacationed here with my parents as a child. But the truth is, my editor came up with the idea. She wanted a series of pieces written on the Florida Wetlands. I started out in the Okefenokee Swamp then gradually made my way here."

He glanced at her with curiosity. "Did you grow up here, Talia, or are you a Northern refugee?" He laughed. "It seems most everyone I've met on this trip came from some place cold."

"Charlie grew up here, but me. . ." She saw no reason to lie. "I was born in Michigan and eventually found my way here."

Jackson laughed again. "I thought I detected a Midwestern dialect." He looked at her closely. "So, are you a Yooper or a Troll?"

Talia shifted in her seat cradling Carter closer and widened her eyes in surprise. "Oh my goodness, I haven't heard those terms in years! I was born in Ann Arbor. That's in the lower peninsula, so I guess that makes me a Troll. Yoopers live in the U.P." She suddenly chuckled. "I never did like those nicknames. I always wished we were Yoopers instead of Trolls! No kid wants to be referred to as an ugly elf with crazy hair."

"What are you two talking about?" Charlie asked, amused. "Why are you considered a Troll?"

"It's just a silly Michigan thing," Talia explained. "Anyone who lives in the upper peninsula, above the Mackinac bridge, is considered a Yooper--for the U.P. If you live under the bridge, you're a Troll." She laughed again, enjoying herself. "Get it?"

Charlie's smile spread across his face. It was good to see for a change. "I get it."

It had been a long time since she thought about her roots in Michigan. Reflecting on her childhood brought on thoughts of her parents, which in the past Talia would avoid at all costs. Losing them the way she had, their senseless murder, still haunted her. The drifter who'd broken into their home made off with a minimal amount of money, barely enough to fill a gas tank, but he'd shot her parents anyway. It made no sense. If she hadn't been spending the night at a friend's house, she might be dead, too. For a very long time, she wished she'd been killed along with them. It would have been easier than living on her own. Since she began meeting with Rebecca Blair, Talia found many things were getting easier and easier for her to do. Thinking about her parents; thinking about Steven; finally feeling stronger and in charge of her life. She'd been skeptical about seeing the psychologist at first, she wasn't quite sure it would help. But after getting to know her through her work at Heeling Hearts, Talia felt a connection, and the therapy seemed to be paying off.

After everything that had happened with Steven, part of her "rehabilitation" had been to attend sessions with a doctor. The state of Florida placed her with a man who'd been in practice for more years than she'd been alive. During their appointments, he'd just stare at her over steepled fingers, asking questions like, "And how did that make you feel?" It'd been been one big joke. The day she went in for her last meeting with him had been one of the happiest days of her life.