Hearts & Minds | WATTY Winner

Chapter 9 | A Visit | Part 2

     Nora nodded. Was Theo asking her to go camping with him? Her mind raced with the idea of tents and sleeping bags and cook fires. Or would there just be one tent? Would they go as friends or maybe with a big group? How would she deal with becoming a greasy, dirty, smelly mess, and how would she get time off from the Cottage?

He could see the anxious look on her face. "Unless you don't like camping."

"I—I haven't done much camping. Not since I started working full time anyway. I'd love to go, I just don't know if I could get away."

"Of course." Theo swiped and tapped his phone screen with one thumb. "Well, next time I hit the road I'll send a postcard. That's kind of our thing anyway, right?"

They had a thing.

Theo frowned down into his screen. "Shit. Sorry. I mean, shoot."

"It's okay. Really. You can swear. I'm not a complete Pollyanna."

He looked up. "I failed."

"What?"

"My last text. It failed. Didn't go through." He held up his phone. There was their text thread, and a little failed message dated 2/20 next to his message bubble: Just saw this. Was off grid. Soft opening on V day? Genius. Heading down under again. Call u when back.

He shook his head. "I can't believe I didn't see it had failed. I'm sorry. Blame it on the Aussies."

"Pardon?"

"Kidding. I was in Australia. The postcard should be arriving in a week or so."

"It's okay. Really." She felt embarrassed by how much she actually cared. "Wow. Australia. You do get around, don't you?"

He sighed. "I guess. Listen, I want to make it up to you. I need to. What are you doing for dinner?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah. Right now."

"I was just going to go home and...." She stopped herself from revealing her true plan of microwaving a frozen meal. Tuna noodle casserole, her favorite. "I was just going to relax."

"Don't relax. Come with me. How do you feel about paella?"

#

      As they walked several blocks into the Mission district, a collection of hipster and old-school Mexican shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants, Theo regaled her with stories of his trip to Sydney and Australian wine country. They snagged the last open table for two at Esperpento. Theo ordered everything—with Nora's sought-after acquiescence—a carafe of white wine sangria, a few tapas, and the house paella for two.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just so starving. God, I hate being on the road."

"Really? But you do it so much. I would love to travel."

"I don't mean to complain. Poor me, traveling around the world and getting paid." He looked drawn as he said it. "I used to think it would be—I don't know the word."

"Glamorous?"

"Sure. That works. But really, it's mostly jet lag and weird hours. And I'm so frigging sick of hotel food and living out of a suitcase. Plus: carbon footprint."

The waitress poured their first glasses of sangria. Theo picked his up and toasted Nora. "Here's to us."

"To us." She drank quickly. The sangria was peachy and delicious. It went straight to her head, mingling in a strange way with the green tea's caffeine from earlier.