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Nathan: Yeah. Anyway, I didn’t want you to worry if you didn’t hear from me.

Steph: How’s your hotel?

Nathan: Nonexistent

Steph: ????

Nathan: Somehow I managed to get stranded in a town without a hotel. Or a Bed and Breakfast. Or an Air BnB. There’s literally no short-term housing here.

Steph: That’s crazy. Can you stay in the next town?

Nathan: The next town is on the other side of the roadblock. The rest of the town is surrounded by forest.

Steph: So where are you gonna stay then?

Nathan: The woman whose appeal I was reviewing is letting me stay in her extra bedroom.

Steph: You’re staying with someone who’s probably angry with you?

Nathan: We didn’t have a choice. Some pushy little old lady bullied us into it.

Steph: LOL. Okay. Tell me about the lady you’re staying with. Is she cute? Single?

Nathan: No comment

Steph: Well, this is interesting. A word of advice: try to be less...you, little brother.

Nathan: What does that mean?

Steph: You know how you are when you’re uncomfortable. You look constipated and talk like you’re giving a presentation on statistics to a bunch of mathematicians. Just try to not be so off-putting. That lady doesn’t need another reason to kill you in your sleep.

Nathan: Thanks for that vote of confidence.

Steph: Just breathe. Maybe smile a little. Make small talk.

Nathan: I’ll try.

Steph: OK, let me know how it goes. Love you.

Nathan: Love you too.

Once I finished texting with my sister I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I hang out in the bedroom and stay out of Liz’s way? Should I go out there and talk or something? I sucked at small talk. The answer came when Liz knocked on the door. When I opened it she stepped in carrying a large plastic tote that had “Robbie” written on the side. She placed the tote on the floor by the closet.

“Hey there,” Liz greeted me with an uncertain smile. “My kid left some clothes here. He’s taller than you and maybe a little slimmer, but since you’re going to be stuck here for a couple of days, I thought you might want to see if you can find anything that fits you.”

I was simultaneously touched by her thoughtfulness and brought back to a childhood spent wearing ill-fitting charity hand-me-downs.

“Thanks Liz, I really appreciate that. I’m sure I can find something that works.”

Remembering my sister’s advice, I gave her a little smile. Liz gave me a strange look, making me wonder if I’d pulled it off.

“Also, I wanted to ask if you have any food allergies?” Liz asked. “Are you vegan or anything?”

“No, I’m pretty flexible.”

I bit my tongue to keep from asking Liz if she was flexible too, and I wasn’t talking about food. Our eyes met again, and I wondered if she could read my mind. She seemed a little flushed. It gave me hope that I wasn’t alone in how I was feeling. Then I quashed that feeling. I wasn’t going to act on this attraction. Not only would it be inappropriate, but I had a feeling it would end up with someone being hurt. And that someone would be me, I was sure of it.

“Great, then I’m going to cook some chili that I have in the freezer and maybe make some cornbread to go with it. It’s a good meal for a cold night. Does that work for you?”