Setting Up For a Fall

Chapter Seven - Elsker

"So, Skye, what brought you to San Francisco?" Dylan's father, David, asked her in between bites of kalbi short ribs and brown rice.

"The food," she laughed.  Dylan and his parents laughed along with her.  "I saw this online coupon for a culinary tour of San Francisco.  I had never travelled alone before, and figured San Francisco would be a good start to what would hopefully lead to many more solitary travels."

"Alone?  Were you running away from something?" Mary pried.

"No, no, nothing bad, if that's what you're thinking.  I just wanted some time to be by myself, which would probably sound weird because I'm always by myself.  I guess I just wanted to be by myself in a different city," she laughed again.

"But Dylan ruined your alone time, right?" it was David this time.

"He did, but that's okay.  He's been a great companion.  And he knows the city like the back of his hand, so that's been great.  He could have actually led the tour if he wanted," she took a cursory glance at Dylan.

"But I liked being led around, too.  And some of those places we went to, I've actually never been...either because it was the first time for me to discover those gems or because it's new, and I've been out of the city for far too long."

"What is it you do, Skye?"  Mary asked. 

"I'm a chemist for a pharmaceutical company."

"Oh that's nice," Mary smiled.

"A chemist, huh?  Ever thought of being a chemist for a cosmetic company?" David asked.

"Are you hiring?" she joked.

"Dad, why would you move Skye from Los Angeles when I have just found her," Dylan looked at his father with a wry grin. 

Skye's heart did flips at what she heard.  'Play it cool,' she said to herself. 

"LA is full of masters of disguise, and I've finally found someone who wasn't into the whole Hollywood starving waitress waiting for her big audition kind of thing.  So why would you take away the one friend I have who is down to earth, huh?"

Skye swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.  Friend.  There was that word again.

"Oh, Dylan, your dad was probably just asking.  Way to jump to conclusions there, buddy," Skye emphasized on the last word. 

"Yeah, Dylan, nothing wrong with inquiring about it, don't you think?  Chemistry doesn't just have to do with drugs," David winked at Skye.  "The cosmetic industry is pretty lucrative, I should know," he let out a hearty laugh. 

"Oh, by the way, Mary, this is really delicious.  Thank you for inviting me to dinner," Skye changed the subject and regarded the woman seated in front of her.

"You're welcome.  I'm glad  you liked it.  I love cooking, didn't get to do it much when I was working full time, but now I have all the time in the world and no bellies to fill," she looked pointedly at her son.