Eleven

"'Cause if we could, you can bet your life I wouldn't have time to worry about mine. Um...well...well,actually, yes, yes, I would; I'd have all the time Iwanted. But you know what I mean; I'd be having way too much fun careening through the continuum."

"Can't argue with that either."

"But then, I don't think time travel'll ever really exist. Otherwise, someone from 2152 would've already come back dying to tell us about it. But if he did, we'd probably just lock him up."

"Heh, yes...or some guy from 1912 dressed like Charlie Chaplin, trying to find anyone who won't ask him if he thinks it's Halloween."

"Right. But really, I'm suresomeonewould've convinced us by now. The problem is, when they'd travel, they'd have to be able to take the time machine with them. DeLorean or whatever. If you go back to when the machine didn't exist yet, could you still have it?"

"Excellent point. 'Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth.' And 'there's more to the truth than just the facts.'"

"You sound like quite the philosopher."

"I studied it in college. 'S kinda one of my things. Like, I know it's getting dark, but just take any of these trees around us. If they got struck by lightning or whatever and fell, but we weren't here and couldn't hear it..."

"Oh, would it still make a sound?"

"Right. You think it would?"

"Well, yeah, of course it would."

"Ah. Butwouldit?"

"...Oh, man..."

"Heh...a'right, you don't wanna play, that's cool. So, uh...what do you do for a living, Andi?"

"I'm a florist. I own my own shop. And y—...uh...sorry. I was about to ask, 'And you,' but..."

"That's okay. My folks are retired now. They're scientists. And before they had me, they invented something that made them utterlyfilthyfriggin' rich...but we're not really at liberty to disclose it or talk about it. But, so they had me and my brothers and sister, and stillwaytoo much money left over. So my sibs and I went to college, and they all have careers now...even though there was never a big need for the Wolfschlegelsteinhausenberg kids to get a job. So I had a lot of free time. And someone said, 'Why don't you try doing volunteer work? It's kinda fun, and really rewarding, knowing you're helping people,' they said."

"Sounds logical to me. And?"

"Well...I did. I helped at the fire station for a while. I delivered food, I worked with the local recycling program. Only...I dunno why, but...somehow, I just didn't seem to get much out of it. I know it wasn't supposed to be for my own enjoyment, but...maybe that person who suggested it kinda idealized it in my mind. Honestly, Andi...I'm ashamed to admit this, but I didn't find it funorrewarding, really. Maybe...maybe it's the result of coming from a rich family. Maybe I'm spoiled. Or just not such a nice person."

"Aw, Merissa, I wouldn't say that. If you weren't a good person, I doubt you'd feel ashamed. Maybe you just didn't find your niche. Or maybe that kinda thing just isn't important to you. There's nothing wrong with that. No one can force you to like something you just don't, or aren't cut out for. Some of us just aren't that lucky finding our passions or purposes in life. I mean, I love flowers. Some of 'em tickle my nose. But no official allergies. I love flowers, and I love my shop, but I originally wanted to be a, uh...heh."

"...A what?"

"I wanted to be a dancer. At least when I was little and thought I could do anything. I loved all kinds of dancing: tap, ballet, classical, belly, you name it. But then I grew up and realized I just didn't have the talent. Or coordination. And sure, I was bummed for a while. But I still go jogging with my music, and throw in some fun moves here and there. Y'know, stuff in life sparks our interest to all different degrees. Some of 'em work out, some don't. But not gelling with volunteer work definitely doesn't make you a bad person."

"Thanks, Andi."

"Oh, think nothin' of it. Are you allergic to any flowers, just outta my own curiosity?"

"Mm, no. Not to my knowledge, anyway; I'm sure I haven't encountered every kind of flower there is."

"Good point. Y'know what? I really do like talking to you, Merissa. I think you're a fantastic conversationalist. If youarea spoiled rich girl—which I'm not saying you are, just hypothesizing—you could've fooled me."

"Yes, well...try telling that to Dannica."

"Aha, and Dannica would be..."

"Right; my ex."

"Oh, yeah...I'm sorry about that. May I ask, eh...what exactly happened?"

"Honestly...I think it was just the culmination of a bunch of things that started little, then weren't so little anymore. Y'know, sometimes in relationships, things are so exciting at the beginning, stuff's still cute even though it rubs you the wrong way. I'm sure I did a lot of things that irritated her, and God knows a number of things about her annoyed me. Like...she-she did this thing women do sometimes, where she'd be mad at me, and I'd wanna know just what the heck was bothering her so much, or what I did to upset her. And she'd say—quote—'Well, if you don't know, I'm not going to tell you.'"

"Ah. Yeah. Well, 's a little hard to fix your mistakes if you can't identify 'em. You said you didn't have any kids, right?"

"No, thank goodness. We wanted to, but we couldn't agree on the method. I wanted to adopt. She wanted us—and by us, I meanme—to be a.i.'d and give birth."

"Hm. Not exactly the most selfless approach."

"That's putting it diplomatically."

"Did you think about taking her last name? Just to...maybe make things a little easier?"

"Frankly, no. Not for a second, once I learned what her last name was. I won't say it, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I'll tell you this much: her last name wasn't Tomei. But it was even more embarrassing than mine."

"...Okay. Well, I'm not gonna pretend I'm not curious, but I shan't force it either."

"Thanks. Are you married? Or did you already tell me?"

"Oh, yeah, no, I never married. Just never found that right person. Love is such a mystery. How long were you married?"

"Eight years."

"Oh. So, two of your birthdays."

"Heh, yeah. We took a jaunt up to Toronto to tie the ol' knot, then to Italy for the honeymoon. Then it was back home to Arnold, M.D., this little city just east of Annapolis. Quite an achievement too. How many people can say they got married at nine years old?"

"Well, whether you celebrate it every year or just every four, I hope you get to go out with your friends and family."

"Yeah, there's usually a little party. Sometimes we go out, sometimes we just stay in and take it easy."

"Oh, good! Based on what you know about me so far, you can probably guess I love parties. I love celebrating, just anything. I love to celebrate life in general. Sometimes I just treat myself or friends to a meal, or present or whatever, for no reason at all."

"Yep, I could kinda tell. You are quite the Positive Polly."

"Ha! I never heard that one before."

"Well, I mean it. I'm admittedly more of a Negative Nancy or a Debbie Downer. I wish I could be more like you."

"Oh, Merissa, I wish you wouldn't do that to yourself. We may've just met an hour or three ago, but Iknowyou have a lot of wonderful qualities. Everyone's got a few. And some have more than the lion's share. You may be an entire eleven years old now, but honestly, who knows? You might just discover the most fantabulous thing about yourself, as soon as tomorrow."

"That's really so sweet of you to say, Andi...I...oh, I dunno. I guess now and then it gets to feeling like once upon a time, I ran over life's dog. And it's been treating me as such ever since. 'Pessimists do not expect great things to come, but take them as they do.'"

"...Is that a quote?"

"Actually, it's a haiku. Kind of a hobby of mine."

"Wow!...You see, Merissa? That's a beautiful thing! You're poetic. And philosophical. You have a lyrical soul."

"...You really think so?"

"Absolutely! Dare I say, Merissa, you're so intriguing, you scintillate me. You excite my mind."

"Oh, my."

"Hee hee! I didn't exactly mean that way, but...well, I'll share my thoughts, you can take 'em where you want. I don't really believe that life, per se, or a higher power treats us like we ran over their dog. Like you just said, pessimists take good things as they come. So good things must happen to them now and then. The glass can'talwaysbe half-empty, can it?"

"Well, yes, you're right, but I've never given credence to that metaphor. In my mind,nothingcan be 'half-empty,' because I don't see that as a viable concept. To me, something is either completely empty, or it's not. If it has enough to fill it halfway, then it's half-full. And that's really it, no two ways about it."

"Okay, but hopefully you can see my point. Fortune doesn't frown on us deliberately, out of irony. We never know what's going to happen from one day to the next. It's one of the things that makes life so savory. And exciting. And beautiful.

"...M-Merissa?"

"Yes?"

"...You're...holding my hand."

"I hope you don't mind...something in the way you were talking just...inspired me, somehow. It made me develop...affection for you."

"I...uh...I don't mind."

"Maybe...one of those good things came, and I didn't even notice it as it was happening."

"So, um...how...long are you planning to stay in Minnesota, Mer?"

"Honestly, Andi...I really have no idea. It was an impulse. Like I said, I didn't even know where I'd end up when I got on that train. But in the meantime...why don't'cha tell me about Minnesota? I know it's about as cold as America gets here, but not much else. 'What can it be that awaits visitors in the lovely North Star State?' There's another haiku for ya."

"I love it! Well, you're right, it does get chilly. And we have some of the most friendly down-home folks here. And Minnesota's home to the national treasure Garrison Keillor, the comedian Maria Bamford, and Prince. Prince, nowthatguy's just ageless. I bet he's gonna live forever. It's also a big settlement for lots of Germans and Scandinavians. Then of course we've got the Mighty Ducks movies, we wouldn't have them without our beautiful state. Not to mention the biggest mall in the country. And now someone like you, you're pretty upper-crust and you've got deep pockets. You're what some of us here'd affectionately refer to as a 'cake-eater.'"

"Hm! Interesting..."

"By the way, what kind of cakedoyou like?"

"Mmm, I'd have to go with vanilla."

"Okay, that's good...what's your favorite ice cream?"

"Oh, I couldn'tlivewithout ice cream. Gotta say anything Oreo-y, or cookies and cream-ish."

"Know what'cha mean. Nothing like taking an already tasty flavor and crushing cookies on top. Well, as for our food, blueberry muffins and rhubarb pie're big here. And at least for me, they beat the hell outta morel mushrooms and lutefisk."

"What's lutefisk?"

"I'm...not sure you wanna know, quite frankly. What do you eat in Maryland?"

"Oh, our big thing's crabs. We've got the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean right there. And I like 'em, I don't wanna seem like a bad Marylander, but I don't really care for all the preparation and work to get to the edible part. Now if someone picked them apartforme and gave me a bowl full, ready to eat, I'd love it. Crabcakes and soft-shells are delicious too. But otherwise you gotta crack it open manually or smash it with a mallet. Forgive me, but if I wanted to work that hard for my food, I'd go to cooking school."

"You're starting to make me hungry."

"Come to think of it, I'm getting a little peckish myself."

"Are ya?...Well, um...we're actually getting close to my apartment. If-if you'd like, maybe we could go, and...get some supper, and...then I could take you to a hotel."

"Really??...Aw, gosh, Andi, I'd like that! You can show me one of your famous Minnesota hot spots! Or, uh...cold spots. As it were. One thing, though, if we could: anywhere except a buffet."

"Oh? You don't like buffets?"

"It's not that I don't like them, but...I had a bad experience at one once that kinda traumatized me. I was about, uh...heh, about four or five at the time. In Merissa years. See, I was super-hungry, so I just went around and put basicallyeverything on my plate. High and deep; just food on top of food on top of food. I was literally drooling. Could notwaitto get back to my table. Unfortunately, eh...on that particular day, turns out,Iwas wearing tennis shoes, and...I guess someone stepped on one of my laces. And on the way back to the table,Istepped on it, and, well, uh...tripped."

"OH,no."

"Yup; splat."

"Oh, God, Merissa, I am so sorry! That must've been horrible!"

"It was quite the 'daymare,' yeah. The upside was, you can just get up and make another plate and all it costs is a few minutes. It is, after all, an endless assortment of food. But yeah, the train I tookthatday went straight to Embarrassment City. I'm sure everyone around felt sorry for me, and it was a restaurant, so all I had to clean up was myself. But y'know, when something that humiliating happens, you just want people to leave you alone. Maybe I'm being a baby, but it kinda intimidated me on the whole buffet thing since."

"Awww...well, that's okay. There's no shortage of wonderful sit-down restaurants in Juniper. Feel like anything in particular?"

"Mm, yeah, I believe my belly's telling me...something Italian."

"Oh, like your honeymoon."

"Yeah...some of the happiest days of my life. I really loved her, Andi. Even if shewasa little selfish and aggravating."

"...Condolences, Mer. But for what it's worth, you'll be okay, I'm sure of it. Enough time heals anything."

"...Thanks."

Le porte alla felicità

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016, 9:10 p.m.

"I hope I'm not throwing off your jogging schedule," said Merissa.

"No worries," Andi assured her. "If I think it's necessary, I'll do a little extra tomorrow. 'S not every day I get to meet someone new."

The ladies reached Andi's apartment and Chevy HHR. Andi unlocked the car and drove them first to her favorite Italian restaurant. Under normal circumstances, she'd go inside, take off her clothes and shower. But as she walked home with Merissa at normal pace, the crisp late-winter air acted as a refrigerant. So any scent of sweat was masked by nature's perfume. Merissa didn't mind very much either way. She insisted, however, on paying for dinner, adding that no wouldn't be taken for an answer. And so Andi didn't say it.

Five blocks east of Juniper Street lay their destination, a few miles down Columbia Street. La Pancia Felice. Andi parked and in they went. Their senses were instantaneously enchanted. The surroundings put them in mind of a beautiful Tuscan villa. Soft accordion and violin music filtered through the speakers. Tantalizing aromas teased their noses. They were seated with menus, water and bread.

Dinner was little short of perfect. Merissa ordered the dazzling house lasagna, feeling her luck indeed being changed for the better. Andi opted for a panini on ciabatta, thinking precisely what she heard Merissa say next.

"I'm really glad you went to that seminar."

They went on talking as they ate, eating as they talked. The atmosphere only enhanced the whole repast. Merissa went on regaling Andi's ears with philosophical haikus. Andi cheered Merissa up with more inspirational sentiment. A surprisingly short time later, their plates were empty, and their pance were very felici indeed. After declining dessert on the grounds of being too full and leaving the waitress a generous tip, they waddled back outside, still paw in paw.

The next stop was a place for Merissa to stay, so Andi drove them to 37th and Bradwood Street, to the swanky, posh Meridian Inn and Suites. "Here we are!" Andi announced. "This might just be the finest hotel in the whole city, the Meridian. Seriously, if any hotel was up for asixthstar, this'd definitely be a contender."

Merissa saw what she meant as they wandered into the lobby. She could tell how spacious it was from outside. But onceinside, her mind was indeed blown. The place was incredible. Merissa'd never seen anything like it. It was magnificent, exquisite, and seemed suitable for her, based on its name. She was now about four hundred percent more excited than those apathetic moments in the park.

"Good evening, ladies," greeted the recep. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, hopefully you can give me a room, if you have vacancies," Merissa replied. "I'm visiting from out of town...sort of on vacation. I don't need anything super-fancy, just a nice room."

"Of course, ma'am. For you and your guest?"

Merissa's and Andi's eyebrows arched. They turned to one another.

"Oh! Oh, uh..." they began simultaneously, overlapping each other. "We, um...we're-we're n—...uh, not exac—...well..."

The lasses let their voices trail off, leaving the front receptionist somewhat bewildered. They took the next few seconds to do something they hadn't done since meeting in the park. They stood still, face to face in the brightly lit room, a foot of space between them...andgazedinto one another's eyes: Andi's deep green, Merissa's light blue. All four were soft, benevolent, inviting and warm. For the first time, they communicated without words. They let time, space, and everything else just fade away for a few moments. And then, something truly magical happened. Andi's lips and cheekbones rose into a smile that was simply...irresistible. Merissa couldn't help but melt just a bit. Her heart began to flutter, but steadied itself.

"My, um...my shop's closed on Thursdays," Andi quietly told her. "Honest to goodness. Lyin', I'm dyin'."

Merissa's eyes widened a bit.

"Uh, yes...yes, that's right," she declared, turning back to the recep.

"...A room for me, and my guest, please."

Suite Spot

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016, 11:23 p.m.

Merissa paid, and was given two keys to room 1014. She gave the receptionist a nice tip, and was bestowed with a bonus in return. Though she'd not exactly requested a suite, the receptionist was pleased by her generosity. And so taking the elevator to floor ten, following the signs down the hall to their room and entering, they were similarly charmed. They'd indeed been given one sweet suite.

"Wow!" breathed Merissa, setting down her suitcase. "What a beaut!"

"I'll say," Andi concurred. "Even though you already did and I don't have to."

Merissa unpacked some of her things, stretched out on one of the beds, nestled in and got comfy. She clicked on the TV to a quiet volume, retrieved her diary and started a new entry. Andi asked to use the shower. Merissa said of course, so in slipped her companion, removing her jogging gear. She may have neglected to bring fresh clothes, but didn't see it as a big deal. Besides, there were robes in the closet and other things on her mind just now. Once naked, she disappeared behind the shower curtain and ran the water.

Oh, did it feel good...the hot water raining down on her ripe, fair skin only sharpened the feelings she was already having. This shower, unbeknownst to Merissa right there in the other room, served a dual purpose for Andi.Oneof the purposes was to rinse herself clean and fresh from her run. Theotherwas something of a novelty.

Andi didn't know if she could let Merissa know that at least one part of her—three guesses which—was quite turned on. They had, after all, barely known one anothersix hours. Were Andi to be honest, part of her couldn't even believe they were already sharing this room—for the night, no less. Then again, what Merissa inspired her to do was a natural impulse. And who was to say; for all she knew, Merissa might be thinking the same right now. Hell, she might bedoingthe same right now. Improbable, unlikely, but not impossible.