“What club?”
“Theyou park like a doucheclub.”
She looked back too and noticed the front left wheel was over the white lines of the parking bay. He didn’t understand how difficult it was to park. She was sitting on the wrong side of the car, but at least he seemed to be in a better mood now. “Yep. I just got bumped up to VIP status last week.”
“Oh, yeah? And what exactly does VIP status entail?”
“I can’t tell you,” she replied haughtily. “You’re not part of the club.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and that’s when it happened.
Slowly, so very slowly, a smile curved on his lips, two adorable dimples sinking in on both cheeks, and she melted a little. He was so abrasive, she hadn’t expected such a heartwarming smile. It took her by surprise.
“Oh, my God. Is that a smile, Kevin? Like a genuine smile. Just when I thought you couldn’t get any cuter.”
He rolled his eyes and continued walking to the entrance of the museum. “You’re a jackass.”
“And you’ve got dimples, Son. I don’t know why you hide those away from the world.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. It was just face spasm. It happens when I’m annoyed.”
He was trying to be grumpy again, but it wasn’t really working. They walked into the museum and she was in awe from the second they entered. It was the perfect blend of art, science,and technology. The first thing that caught their attention was the hylozoic veil that hung from the ceiling and they went up the escalators to get a better look. It was amazing, an intricate mesh that looked like white palm leaves and feathers. It moved almost eerily, the leaves opening and contracting on their own, but it wasn’t made of anything organic. They learned that it was made of shape memory alloys and it worked very similar to a human muscle, drawing CO2 from the atmosphere to make it move. The mechanics of it was so complex and yet so simple.
After that they could not be contained. They exchanged numbers before they split up and they were like two kids who had been let loose in a candy store. He went to the moving map on the floor while she made a movie of herself in front of a green screen. She made friends with three kids somewhere along the way, two boys and a girl. They built Lego airplanes and painted on the walls, watched moving pictures and drew with the multimedia tools. There were illusions that played with the mind and workshops and a science lab. It was nerd heaven. There was so much to do, so much to learn. It was the most fun she’d had since…ever!
Occasionally, she passed Kevin and it was just awe-filled drivel that left their mouths as each of them moved to the next exhibit.
“Those paintings over there are made from silver nanoparticles,” she said. “Nanoparticles! It’s silver salt mixed with electrons, but look at how they manipulated the colors.”
He didn’t stop walking, merely slowed his pace for the exchange. “You gotta check out that alien and android section,” he said, pointing behind him. “They’ve got real live robots. It’s insane!”
They had a few moments like that, fleeting yet filled with eagerness. She’d only planned to be there for about two hours, but they ended up spending the entire afternoon there. Despitethe fact that he made it seem like her idea of fun wasn’t fun at all, Kevin was just as enthralled as she was. He didn’t smile, but he didn’t have to. His excitement showed anyway. By the time they left, she knew one more thing about him, a small piece to his mysterious puzzle. He loved science as much as she did.
*****
Alone again. Somehow the solitude was not as appealing as he’d hoped. Kevin had been looking forward to getting away from her all afternoon, but the peace and quiet wasn’t so peaceful. Every time he was alone with his thoughts, the memories came back, relentlessly swirling around his head.
It was dark out already and he was getting ready to settle in for the night. He didn’t know if other parts of Salt Lake City had a buzzing night life, but this particular area was very still and all he could hear was the occasional car passing by.
They’d booked into a cheap motel, not as nice as the one they’d stayed at the night before, but he couldn’t afford to be fussy. He’d spent the entire afternoon with Jasmin. After the museum, they’d gone to a small café and discussed the trip going forward. Money didn’t seem to be a problem for her at all, but she still listened to his concerns and tried to think of ways to cut costs. She volunteered to cover all the costs for gas and sightseeing, so he would only need to pay for his food and accommodation. She’d also said that she’d won vouchers that were redeemable at any South Star hotel or resort and they could stay the night for free. That would help him enormously and he might just be able to scrape by if he managed it properly. If push came to shove, he’d have to swallow his pride and give his sister, Jordan, a call. He didn’t want to get his family involved in all this. This was his impulsive decision and he didn’t want them to have to bail him out of a mess he’d created for himself.
He felt a bit better now that he’d actually discussed it with her, less anxious. What was still mind-boggling, though, was her attitude towards everything. Two days. Two days and he’d lost count of how many times he’d been rude to her, yet she didn’t even bat an eyelid. Like water off a duck’s back. His remarks didn’t affect her at all. And not only did she not retaliate, she showed kindness.
Any other person would have told him to hit the road after he blew up in the car like that, but she just calmed the situation with firm kindness. He didn’t want to be rude; she was helping him out and he was grateful. But she was so goddamn annoying. He was trying to put her upbringing in context, trying to fully understand the type of whack-job she was, but it became a bit much at times. She touched him without permission, picked from his plate, complimented him in a way that was awkward and uncomfortable.
Their afternoon at the museum, however, proved that she wasn’t that bad. They seemed to have at least one thing in common. With a lot of effort, they could potentially get along. If she could just work on not making him uncomfortable every single second, there was a chance this road trip might actually be bearable.
He was about to pull down the covers and climb into bed when he saw her walk past his motel room window. Where the hell was she going this time of night?
He rushed to the door and flung it open. “Jazz, where are you going?”
“I want something to nibble on and there’s a twenty-four hour diner a few blocks away.”
“So take the car.”
“Kevin, I’m not going to pollute the air to drive someplace when I can easily walk there.”
“You’ve never been here before. You can’t just walk around at night all by yourself. I feel the need to point it out again: you’re a girl.”
