“Well,” she said, lifting her head to look at the ceiling, “we’re supposed to meet Sérgio for breakfast and then head to Avó Isadora’s for an empanada party, but if you want to explain to your avó why you are canceling, then by all means,” she responded with a flare of playful sarcasm.
This was their second visit to Brazil since the Moon City expedition ended. The first had been arranged by Sérgio so Rafa could meet his mother’s family. After spending a lifetime with no one but his father, it was almost overwhelming to suddenly come into a family with a grandmother, five aunts and uncles, sixteen cousins, and countless second cousins. But whenever he didn’t know what to say, thankfully Miri would jump in andsave him, always finding an abundance of words to fill the silence and leaving the family in stiches with her hilarious stories. They seemed to love her as much as he did.
Almost.
Everyone commented on how much he looked like his mother. After finally seeing a photo of her, he had to agree. As Miri had predicted, she was beautiful. And based on what he’d learned about her from his avó and his aunts and uncles, her beauty wasn’t only physical. She had been kind and caring, beautiful on the outside and within. It gave him some consolation that perhaps his father hadn’t only been attracted to her ties to os protetores da lua. Perhaps he reallyhadfallen in love with her. That’s what he liked to tell himself, at least. Why he still cared about his father in any way was a mystery. But those were emotions he was still unpacking in therapy.
On this weeklong trip, they’d delve further into os protetores da lua. In order for the Moon City to remain protected, they needed numbers. With Rafa’s newfound fame, he wouldn’t be able to hide in plain sight like the other protetores, but he could still do his part to honor his mother. And protecting the city was one of Miri’s top priorities with her new career endeavor.
“Right,” he said, remembering the schedule for the day. “I’m telling you, we need Anissa to come on these trips to keep things in order.”
Miri laughed. “Well, when we head to the ribbon cutting next month, you can ask her to be your personal assistant.”
“Hey, you’re the one with the busy schedule now that you’re launching the Institute. Plus, with your requests for speaking gigs and interviews all over the world, you probably need an assistant, not me. I’m unemployed, remember?”
Miri’s efforts to open the Archaeological Preservation Institute—a nonprofit dedicated to protecting archaeological sites and drawing attention not just to artifacts but to thepeoplewho lived in these areas—had garnered lots of attention. Her TED Talk on safeguarding the Moon City and the use of lidar in archaeological exploration had more than three million views in only two months, and it left people clamoring for more. People wanted to hear her talk. They wanted her to go on and on, fascinated by the way she expressed her passion. At first, she had been surprised by what Rafa had dubbedPringles Fever.
But he wasn’t. Miri’s confidence when she spoke on the things she cared about was palpable. So she turned that newfound confidence into action, bringing with her Felix and Logan, who said she’d led them on thebest damn adventure of their lives.
They even got her a coffee mug that said “World’s Greatest Boss.”
“I’m sorry we’ve been on the go so much,” she said.
“Sorry? What for?” He eyed her curiously.
“Well, we haven’t even settled into the new apartment yet. And you haven’t had any time for writing lately.”
Rafa smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “There’s plenty of time for that. You’re doing great things, remember?”
“I know. And I’m really excited about everything going on with the Institute. Like, seriously. I’ll never forget the look on my boss’s face when I told him I was starting my own nonprofit and taking with me all the funding people had pledged after the expedition.” She smiled thinking about it. It was a badass move. “But,” she continued, now with a slight pout to her lip, “I want to buy you a plant.”
“A plant?” He cocked his head, grinning at not knowing where this conversation was going. Yet another one of the things he loved about her.
“You said before that you’ve never felt settled in a home, and that your plants always withered away and died. So I wanted to get you a plant as a housewarming gift for your office, though one of those self-watering plants you only need to water once a month, just in case.”
“Just in case?”
“Well, I mean, I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. Yousaidit was from lack of watering because you were never home, but, hey, what if you just have a black thumb?” she teased.
He pulled her in for a kiss, unable to keep from smiling as he did so. “You want to buy me a plant,” he said, as if it was the most romantic thing he’d ever heard.
And frankly, it was.
“Well,Iwant to get back because I got something special for you, too,” he said.
“Oh yeah? Can I know what it is?” She looked at him sweetly, twirling her delicate fingers through the hair on the nape of his neck.
“It’s an international snack subscription box. A new box will come every other month with treats from all over the world.”
Miri’s eyes lit up and she gasped. “You know snacks are my love language.”
“I do.”
“You reallydolove me, don’t you?” she said playfully.
“With my whole heart. I’d get you all the snacks in the world if I could.”
“Would you slay for snacks?” she asked, then she perked up. “Oh! Are you my snack slayer?”
