The Mighty Red

On an autumn night, Crystal arrives for work at the sugar beet plant. She loads and unloads carts of beets for 12 hours. On the way to work that night, Crystal almost hit a mountain lion. It was the first mountain lion she’d ever seen, and it had appeared only to her. She does not tell any of her coworkers about the experience. On the ride home, she listens to her favorite radio call-in show. The topic this week is angels. She recognizes the voice of Winnie Geist, the owner of the sugar beet fields where she works. To Crystal’s disappointment, Winnie’s son, Gary, is dating Crystal’s daughter, Kismet.

Gary picks up Kismet, who doesn’t call herself Gary’s girlfriend, from her house. He is nervous because he plans to propose. Kismet is characteristically quiet. She does not mind silence, and she does not always want to talk to Gary. Her feelings for him are complex: She enjoys her power over him and wonders if that is what love should feel like. She also finds him tedious and irritating. Gary stops the car and proposes, and Kismet panics, emitting a scream that he mistakes for “yeah.” His immediate outpouring of loving words makes her feel momentarily at peace.