“I know,” he says, nodding, and then some of the light comes back into his eyes. “But itcanfix some things.”
“Like what?”
“Well, it can be used for stuff like plane tickets and hotel rooms and—”
“Are you skipping town again?”
“Actually, yes,” he says with a grin. “And so are you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’re going to San Francisco. Or, to be more accurate, we’re going to Palo Alto. To see Stanford.”
“You’re joking,” I say, staring at him hard, but he shakes his head.
“I’m not.”
“You’re serious?”
“I am.”
“You and me?”
“Me and you.”
“No way,” I say, letting out a laugh, half-surprised and half-confused.
Teddy’s eyes are dancing. “Look, I know you think I’ve gone a little too crazy with the money, and maybe you’re right. But I want to spend it on things I care about. OnpeopleI care about. And that means you. So hopefully this is okay.”
I’m not sure what to say. “Teddy—”
“You’ve had your heart set on Stanford forever, but you haven’t actually been there in a million years, and I really think you should see it again before you decide.”
I nod, slightly overwhelmed. The full impact of this is just starting to sink in, not only Teddy’s thoughtfulness but what it means to be going back to California after all this time, to return to a place with so many memories, so many ghosts.
“I was worried it might be too hard,” Teddy continues, speaking more carefully now, his forehead knit with concern. “Going back. But I figure you’ll have to do it at some point, and wouldn’t it be better if you had someone with you?”
“Much better,” I say gratefully, and he looks relieved.
“I already talked to Sofia and Jake, and they thought it was a great idea,” he says; then he pauses and the tips of his ears go red. “They just wanted to make sure we’d have separate hotel rooms, which we do. Really, really nice ones.”
I feel my face flush, so I ask the first question that comes to mind, eager to move on. “When are we going?”
“This weekend. You busy?”
“I am now,” I say, unable to stop smiling, because I can’t believe this is actually happening, that after all these years I’m finally going back to San Francisco, the city that still has such a grip on me—and not just that but I’ll be going with Teddy, the two of us alone together for an entire weekend. “What about Leo?”
“He knows too,” Teddy says, waving an arm toward the back of the apartment, where Leo is presumably still on the phone with Max. “He tried to weasel his way into it with some nonsense about wanting to see Alcatraz, but I promised I’d take him somewhere else once school’s out. This one is just you and me.” He hesitates, looking less certain. “Is that okay?”
“Yes,” I manage to say. “Of course. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“How about you promise to hate Stanford so you won’t be so far away next year?”
I laugh. “How about something else?”
“How about you let me give you a million bucks?”
“Try again.”
