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“You’ve never said how you got infected.”
“Nope.” Feeling confident, she continued, “And you’ll have to wait until two to find out like everyone else.”
“That’s the thanks I get?” he asked, but she could tell he was secretly pleased. Paula, one of the women who ran the department’s office, had told Mina there were worries about her age. Mina had raced through graduate school as quickly as it was possible to do, meaning she wasn’t all that much older than her students, and she looked younger than some of them. Thomas always seemed pleased when she asserted herself.
They said their goodbyes, and Mina hung up the phone. Then she sat at her computer, wrote a brief introduction—including her relationship with Levi—and scheduled the post. The Adventures of Mina +. She also scheduled Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. Her social media covered, she powered her computer all the way off, so she wouldn’t be tempted to look at the post, and went to the kitchen to find Levi.
At the sound of her footsteps, he turned away from the bacon he was cooking on the stove. “How’d it go?” he asked.
“Good. He asked me to give him until two so he could make the necessary calls. Everything’s written and scheduled. Now I just have to wait.”
“Waiting sucks. After we finish breakfast, we’ll go on a hike.”
“But it’s cold outside.”
“Brisk. You lived in Chicago, so you know this isn’t cold. Yet.”
She harrumphed.
“If you’re cold, you can think of what a bad boyfriend I am for taking you out in the miserable weather.” He said the words, then gestured with his head to the window, where the sky was a clear blue, and the sun had a brightness to it that you only got at high altitudes.
“I’ll expect hot chocolate when I get back.”
“Always negotiating.” He tsked. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll make you hot chocolate, then sit on the couch with you in my arms and a blanket wrapped around both of us while you drink it.”
“That will be nice.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “On the condition that you’re not looking at your phone while I do it.”
“Pfft,” she said, smiling. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed. I expect to get my own back.” His wink looked completely unnatural on his hard-angled face. And she loved him for it. She loved him for everything.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
MINA WAS ESPECIALLY grateful for Levi’s imposed internet ban as Saturday evening went on. She wanted to check the comments on her post and her Facebook page and see the Twitter response and do an internet search of her name to see where else people might be talking about her. But anytime she reached for her phone, Levi cleared his throat and raised his eyebrow, and she leaned back. Back against his solid chest as he searched Netflix for another movie. Back into Levi, whose presence reminded her that she would be okay. Tomorrow, she would wake up, and she would still be the same person she had been a week ago, just smarter and more in control of her own message.
She didn’t sign in to her computer until Levi left Sunday afternoon to do his laundry and take care of other chores. When he’d asked if it was okay for him to leave, she’d practically pushed him out the door. Wanting him by her side was one thing; having him stand over her shoulder as she read the horrible things people had to say about her was another.
There were ten emails from her family, mostly from her mother, asking what she had done and why. Mina reached for her phone and looked at her texts. Again, most of them were from her mother.
I’m fine. I’ll call you later tonight to explain. Sorry for not warning you.
Then she settled back into her chair and read through the rest of her messages. Most of the emails were supportive, which she’d expected out of the people who knew her well enough to send her an email. Other comics artists and graphic novelists, some Russian scholars, librarians and a bookseller or two. Fans. Facebook was much the same. Her fan page was fairly well curated, and it wasn’t like Facebook shared posts with everyone who liked her page. She was pleased to see that the university had shared her post, though calling her “inspiring” seemed a bit much.
