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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
After they left the aquarium, Jamie and Lucy continued to ride their bikes until they came upon some big ponds behind a place called the South Bay Salt Works.
“What are those?” she asked Jamie.
Jamie pulled his bike up next to her and said, “Evaporation ponds. If you look closely, you can see the water being agitated. It sits there, being manipulated in different ways for about a year before the water completely evaporates off and only the salt is left.”
“Cool,” she said.
“It is pretty cool,” Jamie said. “It’s…well…”
“What?”
“It’s one of the businesses my family has stock in. It’s been here for over 100 years. It’s had a lot of different names, but they’ve been processing salt pretty much the same way the entire time.”
“Wow, I guess when you have a good system you stick to it. It’s funny, I’ve never once thought about the time and effort that goes into the salt that I so easily stroll into the market and buy.”
“That’s true of most people,” he said. “Unfortunately, during my time studying and teaching about the environment, I’ve discovered that as long as people can go buy it, they don’t spend much time thinking where it came from, or how it got there, or even how what was produced has affected the environment. I’m not judging,” he said quickly. “Or at least, I’m trying not to. I know how busy people are. How many are overwhelmed with everyday concerns. But so much of what we consume is either damaging the environment in the processing of it, or damaging the environment because of the waste it produces.” Jamie stopped suddenly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to give you a lecture.”
Lucy grinned at him and said, “No problem, Professor. I’ve been meaning to sit in on one of your classes, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know that. I’ve sat in on a couple of yours.”
“You have?”
“Your general ed ones.”
“Oh.” The ones that were so big she felt like she was teaching in a sports arena. “How come you never told me?”
“I guess it just never came up. You’re good at what you do, Luce. But I’ve never doubted that.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. What he was saying was so real. So genuine. She tried to give him the same thing back. “I think it’s admirable that you’re so passionate about the environment. Most people, rich and poor, don’t give it much thought. They think it’s someone else’s problem, and someday when their grandchildren are older, there won’t be an earth for them to live on.”
“You know what else I’m passionate about?”
“I think I can guess, but…” She waved her hand for him to continue.
“Right now, I’m really hungry.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yep.”
“For what?”
“Lunch, for starters. What do you say we finish up our ride, grab something to eat, and then…” He wiggled his brows up and down.
“Then…what?”
“Then I’ll eat some more. Only I’ll eat you.”
She actually blushed. Without commenting, she started pedaling again. As they left the trail and headed back into Coronado, Lucy enjoyed seeing the freshly painted buildings and perfectly manicured lawns. There were more people strolling down the sidewalk than there were driving in cars, and the whole place had a nice “homey” feel to it. Of course, she knew that was in part because the community was so affluent, and thus life on the island was a bit like living in a bubble. A very nice bubble, but a bubble nonetheless.
At one point they got off their bikes and walked them through a residential area so she could admire the beautiful homes lining the street.
“I bet it was fun growing up here,” she said.
“It was,” he said. “I had a good childhood here, but it wasn’t perfect.”
