by the hostess’s podium, waiting to hear his name called.
Nicole laughed. “No way. You have a life to go back to.”
“I’m sick of that life,” he said. “I’ve got enough money to get both of us hotel rooms and food for a while.”
“How?” Nicole asked. “Didn’t you say you were working at the museum to be able to afford school?”
“Yeah, but no,” he replied. “They pay for school, and I pay for my apartment, and all the books and things for school. They’ve set up this savings account I’ve never tapped into that’s supposed to be for all the stuff I’ve been paying for. I’ve got money from that without the job.”
“Yeah, okay, but you’ll lose your job if you come with me,” she pointed out.
“I know,” he said. “My boss has been okay with me taking off a few days, but you’re right, she could fire me. But if I lose this job, I’ll find a new one. You’re very reluctant to take any help, aren’t you?”
“Daniel, party of two,” the hostess called.
The two walked to their table. While they looked over their menus, Nicole abruptly set hers down. “It’s not that I’m reluctant to take you up on this offer. I know it would be great to have food and hotels this whole trip, and I can see it would be kind of fun. You’re not a bad guy, at least not today. But it’s because you’re not a bad guy that I’m going to say no.”
“I don’t get it,” he said, slowly laying down his menu. “And what do you mean, at least not today?”
“You’ve got a life,” she said. “You’ve got a job and school and your parents counting on you. You shouldn’t just throw all that away for me. You don’t even know me.” She wasn’t going to answer that question. She meant what she said: right now he wasn’t a bad guy, but in another few days, he could be.
“I want to know you,” he said. He paused, thinking over what he’d just said, and continued, “That sounded strange. What I mean is, you seem like a great girl. I need a change from my life, and I think you’re worth changing my life for.” Another pause. “I promise I’m not always this creepy.”
She laughed. He was glad to see she didn’t seem as uneasy around him now, even though he kept screwing up and coming off way worse than he meant everything. “Fine. I’ll play along with your psychotic breakdown, on two conditions.”
He nodded. “What are they?”
“One, if you change your mind, please leave me in an actual town instead of the side of the road,” she said. He replied with a nod. She continued, “Two, I am not going to repay you for this with money or sex. This is out of the kindness of your heart.”
“Got it,” he replied. “I won’t expect anything from you.”
She smiled, and said softly, “Thank you. So much. It’s going to be nice not doing this alone.”
They ate their breakfasts while having a silly conversation about the things they’d dreamed the night before.
“I finally managed to be a doctor,” Daniel said, “But my tools were all toys. You know, like those plastic ones that would come in a kid’s doctor set?”
Nicole nodded. “I used to have a set like that.”
“But in the dream, I was operating on patients who had real problems, and I couldn’t actually do anything. I had to cut a guy open to do heart surgery and ended up poking at his chest.” He poked at his eggs for emphasis.
“That just sounds weird,” Nicole said. “But I dreamed I was living in a cloud city, so I can’t talk.”
“What was that like?”
She shrugged. “All the buildings were made of clouds, and we got around on Pegasuses. Pegasi. Whatever. I was mostly scared of falling off the whole time.”
The conversation meant nothing, but the tension between them had suddenly relaxed. Both were looking forward to continuing on this journey, wherever they were going.
They didn’t drive for nearly as long as they had the day before, but they talked more. They kept the conversation away
Nicole laughed. “No way. You have a life to go back to.”
“I’m sick of that life,” he said. “I’ve got enough money to get both of us hotel rooms and food for a while.”
“How?” Nicole asked. “Didn’t you say you were working at the museum to be able to afford school?”
“Yeah, but no,” he replied. “They pay for school, and I pay for my apartment, and all the books and things for school. They’ve set up this savings account I’ve never tapped into that’s supposed to be for all the stuff I’ve been paying for. I’ve got money from that without the job.”
“Yeah, okay, but you’ll lose your job if you come with me,” she pointed out.
“I know,” he said. “My boss has been okay with me taking off a few days, but you’re right, she could fire me. But if I lose this job, I’ll find a new one. You’re very reluctant to take any help, aren’t you?”
“Daniel, party of two,” the hostess called.
The two walked to their table. While they looked over their menus, Nicole abruptly set hers down. “It’s not that I’m reluctant to take you up on this offer. I know it would be great to have food and hotels this whole trip, and I can see it would be kind of fun. You’re not a bad guy, at least not today. But it’s because you’re not a bad guy that I’m going to say no.”
“I don’t get it,” he said, slowly laying down his menu. “And what do you mean, at least not today?”
“You’ve got a life,” she said. “You’ve got a job and school and your parents counting on you. You shouldn’t just throw all that away for me. You don’t even know me.” She wasn’t going to answer that question. She meant what she said: right now he wasn’t a bad guy, but in another few days, he could be.
“I want to know you,” he said. He paused, thinking over what he’d just said, and continued, “That sounded strange. What I mean is, you seem like a great girl. I need a change from my life, and I think you’re worth changing my life for.” Another pause. “I promise I’m not always this creepy.”
She laughed. He was glad to see she didn’t seem as uneasy around him now, even though he kept screwing up and coming off way worse than he meant everything. “Fine. I’ll play along with your psychotic breakdown, on two conditions.”
He nodded. “What are they?”
“One, if you change your mind, please leave me in an actual town instead of the side of the road,” she said. He replied with a nod. She continued, “Two, I am not going to repay you for this with money or sex. This is out of the kindness of your heart.”
“Got it,” he replied. “I won’t expect anything from you.”
She smiled, and said softly, “Thank you. So much. It’s going to be nice not doing this alone.”
They ate their breakfasts while having a silly conversation about the things they’d dreamed the night before.
“I finally managed to be a doctor,” Daniel said, “But my tools were all toys. You know, like those plastic ones that would come in a kid’s doctor set?”
Nicole nodded. “I used to have a set like that.”
“But in the dream, I was operating on patients who had real problems, and I couldn’t actually do anything. I had to cut a guy open to do heart surgery and ended up poking at his chest.” He poked at his eggs for emphasis.
“That just sounds weird,” Nicole said. “But I dreamed I was living in a cloud city, so I can’t talk.”
“What was that like?”
She shrugged. “All the buildings were made of clouds, and we got around on Pegasuses. Pegasi. Whatever. I was mostly scared of falling off the whole time.”
The conversation meant nothing, but the tension between them had suddenly relaxed. Both were looking forward to continuing on this journey, wherever they were going.
They didn’t drive for nearly as long as they had the day before, but they talked more. They kept the conversation away
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