Page 174 of A Matter of Time

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow’s Sunday.”

“I know.”

I shrugged. “What time?”

“How ’bout we get lunch? I know this great little Italian place. We can have⁠—”

“Actually, I gotta have brunch with my brother, then I can meet you.”

“You have Sunday brunch with your brother?” he asked skeptically, one brow raised.

“Yeah. Why?”

“No reason. That’s awesome.”

“Why is it awesome?” I asked because of the way he was smiling.

“It’s just nice. I like it.”

“Whatever, man.” I scoffed. “Maybe we can go another⁠—”

“I’ll meet you after brunch,” he rushed out, brushing past my attempt to reschedule. “Do you know where the Field Museum is?”

“Yeah, I’ve been there lots of times. I can’t wait to see the T. rex once they put it out on display. How cool is that?”

“Uh,” he groaned. “You so don’t wanna get me started on the damn dinosaur. All that money could have been directed into other research programs that⁠—”

I put up my hands. “I’ll meet you by the store inside?”

His eyes twinkled. “Don’t wanna hear my usual rant?”

“No, thanks.”

“Okay so…by the store at say, one?”

“One’s good.”

He sighed. “Good. Can I get your number in case I get hit by a bus or something?”

“And how’re you calling if you get hit by a bus?”

“I’ll gasp out that somebody needs to call you before I die.” He smiled, his eyes locking on my mouth. “Is that okay?”

I stared into all that darkness. “It’s okay.”

He leaned on the counter, pulling out his cell phone. “Give it to me.”

We stood in the kitchen, me leaning against the sink while he ate standing up. I told him to go sit down in the living room, but he preferred to stay where he was and talk to me. I asked more questions about the museum and he explained that, with his doctorate in biology, he worked in the Division of Mammals in the Zoology Department. He had me laughing over the phone calls that came in from people in the city.

“This lady called the other day and described this animal to me over the phone, and when I asked her what she thought it was, she said she thought it was a yeti.”

“As in the yeti. The abominable snowman.”

“That would be the one.”

I smiled at him. “And you said?”