Earthquake Weather

Chapter I

Blythe woke up feeling a little strange, just a little – a slight almost imperceptible wooziness in her chest and tingling in her brain. She almost didn't notice it until she stumbled out of bed and almost missed a step down the stairs.

"You okay?" Adam asked, his mouth full of toast.

"Yeah, why?"

"Looking a little green there." He gestured around his face.

She shrugged and poured a bowl of cereal. "I'm okay. Don't worry."

"Never do," he smiled. "Anyway, I'm gonna be home late today. Going out with friends."

"Where?"

"If I told you, you might stalk me, try to get with Allen." His smile widened.

She sighed. "I tell you one time he's cute and you just won't let it go."

He laughed and rubbed her bed head. "See you later." He disappeared down the hall and the door opened and shut.

She finished her cereal and left the dish in the sink before sitting at her desk and opening her laptop, hoping there was some work to do today. Empty email, empty everything. Nothing to do but search for more jobs and hope for more work. The schedule of freelancing was great, but the lack of steady income with it wasn't. And it was hard. How can I build my portfolio when no one's taking me on?

Her phone vibrated and a message from Elise lit up.

"Wanna hang out today?"

"Sure, what time?"

"....now?"

She rolled her eyes and closed her laptop. No work to do anyways.

"I can't spend any money though."

"No problem. It's on me."

She wanted to insist Elise didn't need to, but what would they do that didn't involve money and was also fun? Might as well take the gift with gratitude.

They met at their old university campus and took the subway downtown. It didn't matter what time; the center of Toronto was always bustling with all kinds of people. She brushed shoulders with a few people as the commuting crowd surfaced from the underground tunnels and spilled onto street level.

"How've you been?" Elise asked as they settled into their favourite ramen restaurant. Blythe ordered a small bowl to lighten the bill for her friend.

"Good. Not much work lately, but I'm looking." Elise smiled and looked out the window, seeming absent. Normally she was so chatty. "What's up? How've you been?"

She twiddled her fingers in front of her. "Me and Ramsey are going to Europe for a few months."

"What? That's great! Where are you going?" It's not surprising, though. Elise always talked about wanting to visit Europe, see the history and culture. But a few months was a long time.

"Not sure yet. We want to go around April so we miss the high tourism months. We're thinking of starting south and then heading north." A small crease developed in her forehead that didn't go unnoticed.

"Okay, but why don't you look excited about it?"

The server gave them their food. They ate in silence for a while. Elise sighed, swallowing her food. "I'm a hundred percent sure he's gonna propose...but I don't know."

That wasn't surprising either. Ramsey was pretty intense, always talking about his goals of marriage and starting a family. "You're really sure about it?"