that party," he said. "You were at all those parties. I'm
thinking maybe she was trying to play matchmaker."
"Maybe." Erika set down her burger. She'd eaten a little over
half of it and was full. "Maybe it was just coincidence. I mean, you
were dating Kate and all."
"That didn't keep Laura from plotting to get us together. Why
would she care about whether I went to this or that party? She
only twisted my arm about parties you were going to be at."
"Twisted your arm," Erika scoffed. "Like you had to be forced
to go to all those parties." She ran a quick survey of her own
memories and laughed. "She had to twist my arm, though. I'm
not that into parties."
"You're kind of shy," Ted said. That he would describe her so
bluntly intrigued her, especially since he was right. People who
saw her-particularly at parties-wouldn't guess that she was
reserved. But Ted had figured that out about her.
"The thing is, I would never have even thought of you, well,
this way-" she motioned with her hand across the table to indicate that by this way she meant a couple, dating "-because you
were with Kate."
"I'm not with Kate anymore."
She recalled him telling her last night that he'd had a crush on
her from the first time he'd seen her. That meant he'd had a crush
on her before he started dating Kate, and during his time with
her. "Why didn't you ask me out?"
"I did." It was his turn to gesture toward their surroundings.
"Hello? I asked you out."
"I mean before. If you had a crush on me for all that time."
"You were busy," he said, as if that explained everything. "You
were into your horses. And you were kind of exotic. Maybe it's
your Central American blood."
"South American," she corrected him. "There's a difference."
"Yeah. I didn't do so well in world history."
"I don't know why they called that class world history. We
studied Europe, Asia, and a little bit of Africa. We hardly spent
any time on South America at all." She sipped her lemonade and
sighed. "You can't really learn about places by reading about
them in textbooks. I want to visit all those places we read about.
Europe, Asia, Africa. I want to travel around the world."
"I wouldn't mind seeing the world," Ted said. "But I'd kind of
like to see America, too. I've hardly traveled at all."
Erika flashed on a fantasy of the two of them traveling together.
Driving across the continent in the trusty old Wagoneer. Sailing
across the ocean to Europe. Riding a mysterious train to the Middle
East and roaming through northern Africa. Galloping on horses
across the Sahara, kicking up sand beneath a relentless sun. Then
moving on to Asia, hopping from India to China to Japan to
Australia. Winding up on a South Sea island, lying on a white
beach, surrounded by turquoise water and swaying palm trees.
It was a lovely fantasy, and a silly one. First she had to go to college. Then she had to figure out a way to pay for this around-the world adventure. And if Ted started college next year, he'd be a
year behind her and it would take a couple of years for him to
earn enough money to help pay for their trip ... and why was she
thinking about him years into the future? This was their first date,
for God's sake.
"Here," she said, pushing her plate with her half-consumed
burger around the fries basket to his placemat. "I'm full. You can
finish this."
"Thanks," he said. Obviously he wasn't full. And obviously he
saw nothing wrong with eating her leftovers, as if they were
already a steady couple. As if they'd been together long enough
and knew each other well enough to share their entrees. As if he
understood that finishing her burger was an intimate thing to do,
and he was okay with that intimacy.
Maybe they would take that trip around the world someday.
Today, her burger. Tomorrow, Europe.
For the first time in her life, Erika's dream of the future wasn't
about winning another event at a horse show and bringing home
another trophy. It was
thinking maybe she was trying to play matchmaker."
"Maybe." Erika set down her burger. She'd eaten a little over
half of it and was full. "Maybe it was just coincidence. I mean, you
were dating Kate and all."
"That didn't keep Laura from plotting to get us together. Why
would she care about whether I went to this or that party? She
only twisted my arm about parties you were going to be at."
"Twisted your arm," Erika scoffed. "Like you had to be forced
to go to all those parties." She ran a quick survey of her own
memories and laughed. "She had to twist my arm, though. I'm
not that into parties."
"You're kind of shy," Ted said. That he would describe her so
bluntly intrigued her, especially since he was right. People who
saw her-particularly at parties-wouldn't guess that she was
reserved. But Ted had figured that out about her.
"The thing is, I would never have even thought of you, well,
this way-" she motioned with her hand across the table to indicate that by this way she meant a couple, dating "-because you
were with Kate."
"I'm not with Kate anymore."
She recalled him telling her last night that he'd had a crush on
her from the first time he'd seen her. That meant he'd had a crush
on her before he started dating Kate, and during his time with
her. "Why didn't you ask me out?"
"I did." It was his turn to gesture toward their surroundings.
"Hello? I asked you out."
"I mean before. If you had a crush on me for all that time."
"You were busy," he said, as if that explained everything. "You
were into your horses. And you were kind of exotic. Maybe it's
your Central American blood."
"South American," she corrected him. "There's a difference."
"Yeah. I didn't do so well in world history."
"I don't know why they called that class world history. We
studied Europe, Asia, and a little bit of Africa. We hardly spent
any time on South America at all." She sipped her lemonade and
sighed. "You can't really learn about places by reading about
them in textbooks. I want to visit all those places we read about.
Europe, Asia, Africa. I want to travel around the world."
"I wouldn't mind seeing the world," Ted said. "But I'd kind of
like to see America, too. I've hardly traveled at all."
Erika flashed on a fantasy of the two of them traveling together.
Driving across the continent in the trusty old Wagoneer. Sailing
across the ocean to Europe. Riding a mysterious train to the Middle
East and roaming through northern Africa. Galloping on horses
across the Sahara, kicking up sand beneath a relentless sun. Then
moving on to Asia, hopping from India to China to Japan to
Australia. Winding up on a South Sea island, lying on a white
beach, surrounded by turquoise water and swaying palm trees.
It was a lovely fantasy, and a silly one. First she had to go to college. Then she had to figure out a way to pay for this around-the world adventure. And if Ted started college next year, he'd be a
year behind her and it would take a couple of years for him to
earn enough money to help pay for their trip ... and why was she
thinking about him years into the future? This was their first date,
for God's sake.
"Here," she said, pushing her plate with her half-consumed
burger around the fries basket to his placemat. "I'm full. You can
finish this."
"Thanks," he said. Obviously he wasn't full. And obviously he
saw nothing wrong with eating her leftovers, as if they were
already a steady couple. As if they'd been together long enough
and knew each other well enough to share their entrees. As if he
understood that finishing her burger was an intimate thing to do,
and he was okay with that intimacy.
Maybe they would take that trip around the world someday.
Today, her burger. Tomorrow, Europe.
For the first time in her life, Erika's dream of the future wasn't
about winning another event at a horse show and bringing home
another trophy. It was
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