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“That she is. I wonder if you asked around if you’d find out that she’s been a bit predatory among the male students.”
“Ugh.” I look over at Weston, who seems lighter and less worried than he did on the way down. “When we get back to the Airbnb, do you want to contact Petra?”
“Yeah. I hope she doesn’t mind.”
“Hopefully, when I tell her I’m not leaving, she’ll at least cheer up.”
“Yes, there’s that. I certainly feel like the weight of the world is off my shoulders right now. You must be relieved too, even though it’s also a disappointment for you.”
“It’s not as disappointing as you’d think. The right thing will come along. I still worry that someday I may have to make the decision to go somewhere else or ask you both to uproot your lives.”
“We’ll see. No reason to fret about it now. Hey, there’s a good parking place right in front. We’re lucky again.”
I park the car, and I can’t help grabbing Weston’s hand as we walk into the cottage we rented.
Once we get inside, I send Petra a text:
Callum: How are you feeling?
Petra: About the same. How’s it going down there?
Callum: Could have been lots better. But the good news is, I’m not taking a job here.
Petra: Yay! I’m so relieved, but I’m sorry it wasn’t better news for you. What are you doing now?
Callum: We’ve talked about heading over to Clifty Falls State Park for a hike, then we’ll have dinner. Can we call you after?
Petra: OK. I hear CFSP is pretty. Take some photos.
Callum: Will do. Miss you.
Petra: Me too. TTYL xo
Callum: Feel better xo
And that is justwhat we do. The park is gorgeous this time of year, so we find a promising trail to follow and snap photos of anything that looks like something Petra might enjoy. Plenty of hamming it up for the camera and lots of muscle flexing ensues, so we end up laughing our way through the park. It’s a great stress reliever.
“I feel so light and unburdened now that the job situation is resolved. Thank you, Weston, for not badgering me to make a decision and letting it all work itself out.”
“Like I told Professor Cougar, your happiness is vitally important to me, Callum. If we need to make some ah… hard decisions in the future, Petra and I will be there for you. You mean the world to us.”
“You and Petra mean the world to me as well. It’s amazing how all of this worked out for us, isn’t it? Who’d have expected that answering an ad for a roommate would end up like this for us? We were incredibly lucky.”
Weston slings an arm around me and squeezes. “Lucky indeed. Are you about ready to go find that restaurant? I’m starving.”
Despite the great reviews,we find the restaurant’s décor too fussy for our taste, and the menu is overpriced and pretentious with plenty of oddball pairings. The wine list too is overblown with ridiculous claims about the flavor of the featured wines. Weston looks up at me with an amused expression and asks, “Does wineeverjust taste like it comes from grapes?” I can’t hide my snort, and that makes us both laugh harder. “This one ‘suggests notes of cloves and tangerine,’ and this one over here ‘expresses a whisper of vanilla and nutmeg on a chilly evening.’ I don’t want to drink a damn Christmas cookie, for crying out loud.”
“I guess this makes people feel better about spending a fortune on the stuff.” Just then the waiter arrives and asks as he looks down his nose at us whether we’ve decided on a bottle of wine, so I answer, “I’d prefer a Corona. With a lime, please. And I’ll have the duck.”
Weston smiles and says, “Corona and lime for me too. And I’d like the prime rib—rare, please.”
The waiter gives us both a condescending smile and a nod, saying, “Very good, gentlemen,” with an odd accent. Then he gingerly plucks up the wine list as if he didn’t want to leave it with a couple of cretins like us one more minute.
I like wine as much as the next guy, but the hoopla over it makes me laugh. Little does the creep know that I’m probably far more educated about wines than he is. Looking at Weston, I ask, “Do you think he realizes we’re on theOhioRiver here andnot the Seine? I bet he’s at least a fifth-generation Hoosier who’s trying to pretend he’s European.”
Dinner arrives with some rather unfortunate vegetable sides that also make us have to squelch our laughter. Beets and poorly prepared kale seem to be featured in this establishment, whether you like them or not, but the main courses are delicious. At least there’s that.
We skip dessert, opting to get back to our place for the night where we can call Petra. I know Weston misses her as badly as I do, judging by how many times he brought her up during dinner.
