Yet, neither point has discouraged me from leaning more and more toward this. Which is a little frightening.
It doesn’t take us long to get ready. Since we’re just wandering the city, we don’t dress in any particular way. Comfort and not like we just stepped out of the gym are the only considerations. We’re the first downstairs, but the others aren’t far behind. Then Hector pulls up in his enormous SUV. It might as well be a truck since I think I’m going to need to climb up into it, and I’m not considered short by any means.
“Hey,” Noah greets, twisting in his seat while we climb in. Horny, Julian, and I get into the far back. For three big men, there’s a surprising amount of room back here. Hilt and Keno take the two middle seats.
“Hey,” Keno answers as he buckles in. “You know everyone?”
Noah shrugs. “In passing.”
Keno goes around the car. “Hilt, Julian, Lund—though we call him Horny because of his last name; I don’t know anything about his sex life—and you know Etna. This is the mighty Noah Kain and Hector Atlas.”
Hector snorts. “Why don’t I get an adjective?”
“This is the whiny Hector,” Keno corrects, grinning. Hector flips him off.
Noah laughs. “I’m not sure I’m mighty, but nice to meet you.”
“Where you chauffeuring us to?” Keno asks.
“Okay, first I thought we’d stop at Zuma Beach so you can stick your feet in the Pacific Ocean. Then the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Griffith Observatory and Griffith Park so you can see the Hollywood sign. Drive along Rodeo Drive on our way to grab something to eat downtown and wander around the shops for a while. Then we’ll finish with either Sunset Boulevard or the Santa Monica Pier.”
“We have time for all that?” Hilt asks.
“No,” Noah admits with a grin. “But we’ll see what we can do. I tried to plan things that were quick but impactful. Not a lot of walking means we should be able to do them somewhat rapidly.Then again, we have to deal with traffic, so who knows? We might just end up at the beach and Walk of Fame.”
“Ever the optimist,” Hector says.
“You didn’t ask your partners to come?” Horny asks.
“Nah,” Noah says. “Lix is enjoying home life. He might drop in if we do Sunset Boulevard later, though. He enjoys that.”
“Toby feels like he’s a doomsday to hockey players and they glare at him a lot,” Hector explains with a smirk.
“I don’t take it personally,” Keno says.
“He’s also a fan of yours,” Hilt counters. “He calls me old and slow.”
“You are old,” Horny argues.
“In sports, I’m old. I’m only thirty-eight!”
“He doesn’t ever attack you as a person. He only comments on your game,” Hector says in what sounds like a very well-repeated argument. “It truly isn’t personal.”
“I know,” the entire car says, making Noah laugh.
“Don’t worry; he’s not always my biggest fan either,” Noah says.
We’re not rushed through any of the events that Noah has planned, and I’m a little surprised he’s as laid back as he is. I don’t know why I had the impression that he wasn’t. I don’t recall anything Keno’s ever said about him.
We all stick our feet in the Pacific Ocean, then head to the Observatory. I wasn’t sure that the Hollywood sign would be worth seeing, but it was pretty cool. We end up skipping the Walk of Fame and go down Rodeo Drive as Noah uses an app to point out different celebrity homes. However, he definitely got a few wrong and backtracked several times.
Noah is a fun tour guide.
We end the rich and famous tour in a parking lot Noah says is a short walk away from a small shopping district that also hassome cafés and restaurants. It’s snack time. Need to feed the big hockey players.
The restaurant we stop at has Greek cuisine. Keno and I order gyros that are probably better than anything I’ve ever eaten from any Greek restaurant. I also appreciate that they’re handheld, so we’re able to keep walking down the sidewalk, peeking in shops, and listening to Noah and Hector as they point out whatever they can think of.
In a quiet moment of walking and eating, I muse about how I’ve managed not to think about Keno and marriage for a few hours now… right until I think about the fact I haven’t thought about it. Yet, the only thing I note is how I’m glad we’re sharing this together. I like these memories.
