I show her a little bit of my surroundings. “I’m walking down to check the campus out. Want to come with me?”
“Yeah, of course.” Rosie pauses, and even with the distance and technology between us, I can sense the dynamic is about to change. “I wanted to talk to you about something, but it can wait until later.”
I bring the phone up toward my face so I can get a good look at her. I narrow my gaze. “What’s going on?”
She shakes her head and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, averting her eyes for a moment. “Nothing.” She quickly changes the subject. “Oh, what’s that?”
I turn to check out what would have been in the frame of my shot. “Bram’s. It’s a diner; it’s really good, actually. Definitely going to be a regular place. Their coffee is spot on.”
Rosie raises her eyebrows. “Wow, and that’s coming fromthejava snob.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever.”
“Don’t act like you aren’t. I know it. You know it. Everyone who knows you knows it.” She fluffs a pillow and lays back against her headframe. “What’s the weather there? Are you wearing a sweater? I thought it was eighty-something?”
I bite at my lip and come up with a lie. “It’s a bit chilly in the shade.”
“Right, sure it is.” Rosie adjusts the phone to her other hand and rolls over on her side. “You’re coming in bright and sunny on my end.”
I flip the screen to the forward-facing camera, glancing both ways and then crossing the street. “There it is.”
Up ahead is the small but pretty campus. From the map I’ve been trying to commit to memory, there is one main building with four smaller structures jutting out from each corner. Walkways line the space between them with some tree coverage and the occasional picnic table or bench. It’s not as intimidating as I thought it would be, but maybe that’s because it’s empty.
Tomorrow, when students will be filing in to find their classes, it will probably be a completely different story.
“Did I tell you I got accepted into that writing class?” Rosie anxiously tries to hide her excitement.
“Brantley?” The small, hard to get into six-week class we both daydreamed about taking together. The one that would potentially evolve our written word and shape us into better writers. Something we planned on doing together. Although I’m disappointed I can’t be there with Rosie, it’s such a huge step and I’m so fucking happy for her.
“Yep.” No longer able to hold it back, her cheeks turn up into a beautiful smile.
“Rose, that’s amazing!”
Within an instant, her grin fades. “It would be better if you were there.”
I sigh and nod. It sucks, but it’s not the end of the world. There are worse things that could happen than me missing a creative opportunity. “Maybe next year, okay?”