Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“I did, and he’s incredible.” I had to agree with that. “Lark messaged me last night and told me about your surprise visitor. Then this morning, Ryder knocked on our back door, gave us a basket of freshly baked muffins, and asked us to join everyone for breakfast. We’ve been invited over for dinner tonight, too. Apparently he’s making empanadas. Lucky and I are both very excited about that.” He grinned at his husband, who was cutting a slice of quiche into bite-size bits for their son. Lucky glanced up and flashed him an adoring smile in return.
I watched Ryder as he made his way around the table, selecting things he knew I liked while chatting and sharing laughs with my friends. He was perfectly relaxed, as if he’d known these people for years.
After a minute, he put a full plate in front of me and took a seat. “I made the banana bread with pecans, because you’re slightly allergic to walnuts,” he explained. “And I made sure not to include pineapple in the fruit salad, because it upsets your stomach.”
I said softly, “The way you pay attention and remember the most random things about me is nothing short of amazing.”
He grinned and kissed my forehead before saying, “Dig in. I know you’re going to tell me that’s way too much food, but I wanted to give you a chance to try all three kinds of muffins. We can share ‘em if you want.”
Not surprisingly, the food was absolutely delicious. After we ate, Vee, Lark, and Dylan insisted on cleaning up, since Ryder and Kit had done all the cooking. Ryder turned to me and asked, “What would you be doing now, if I wasn’t here?”
“I’d probably go to my studio on campus for a while. I’m still trying to come up with some ideas for a better collection.”
“Okay. So, let’s do that.”
“Won’t you be bored?”
“Definitely not. I’d love a chance to see your campus and the stuff you’ve been working on.”
I got ready to go and invited Kit to join us, since Ryder was splurging on a Lyft. My housemate had other plans though, so we set off on our own.
On the drive, I tried to gauge Ryder’s reactions to the city. I knew there was no way he could ever move here, but I still wanted him to like it.
“This is so different than the other big cities I’ve been to,” he muttered after a while, as he tilted his head to try to see the top of a tall apartment building. “It’s like they crammed as much as they possibly could into a limited amount of space.”
“That’s exactly right, actually. San Francisco is on the tip of a peninsula, so the only way to build was up.”
“That they did.”
I had to ask. “Do you hate it?”
“No. I think I’d feel kind of hemmed in if I lived here, but I guess you get used to it.” That was about what I’d expected him to say.
I asked our driver to drop us off on the far side of my campus. It was filled with artwork done by former students, so I led Ryder on a meandering walk and showed him my favorite pieces. He snapped a few selfies of the two of us along the way, and I said, “Those will probably end up as your only souvenir of your visit to San Francisco. I still wish you’d let me show you some of the sights.”
“I’m seein’ all kinds of cool stuff, including this, which really speaks to me.” He gestured at a nearby sculpture. It was about twelve feet high, and it looked like a huge fork supported by a few strands of spaghetti.
When we reached my studio, he went straight to my collection. “Oh wow,” he murmured, “these are gorgeous. I’ve seen them on our video calls, but it’s different seeing them in person. I missed all these pretty details.” He indicated an intricate fold on a skirt.
“Thanks.”
“Tell me again why you aren’t excited about showing this collection.”
“Because it’s not original, on-trend, or particularly creative.”
“The fact that it’s beautiful has to count for something, though.”
I shrugged. “Not really. It’s a highly competitive field. In June, a whole new crop of aspiring designers are graduating and hitting the job market. All of us know how to make a pretty dress. I need a collection that’ll make people sit up and take notice, and this won’t cut it.”
“But you can see what’s good about it, can’t you?”
I stepped back and took a hard look at the six outfits. The colors were black, white, and cream with a few pops of red, and the lines were clean and restrained. As Ryder admired another piece with an unusual fold, I said, “It’s well-constructed, and I like the fact that it reflects part of my heritage. I learned origami when I was a kid, and I wanted that to be my inspiration.”