28. Logan
28
LOGAN
If I can’t wake up with Daphne in my arms, I guess waking up to her sweet message on my phone is the next best thing. For the first time, I really don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be going somewhere new either. I want to be home with Daphne. It’s weird being homesick. Of course, I’ve missed my family and Daphne while I’ve been away before, but the lure of excitement and adventure has always been stronger than my longing for them. FaceTiming or texting had always been enough contact to fulfill any need I had to connect with people at home. This time it’s not. I have things to do this trip. I can’t pick up and leave because I want to kiss my girlfriend. I really want to though, so it’s a struggle to get out of bed, do what I need to check out of the hotel, and hit the road to travel to my next destination.
I give my best impression of a grown man and do what I need to, stopping at a café for a croissant with ham and melted cheese accompanied by a cup of coffee en route to Mérida, a town about three and a half hours southwest of Madrid. It’s an ancient Roman city that holds many incredible ruins, dating back over two thousand years.
I decide to spend the night at one of the historic hotels in town and take pictures of the old Roman architectural details and text them to Daphne while I eat dinner. She loves these kinds of things. And I thank God for it. An architecture history class is where we met, after all.
I can’t imagine my life without her in it. I’m not expecting a response to my texted pictures since she’s still at work, so it is a pleasant surprise when my phone dings.
Daphne: Oh wow, that’s gorgeous. It was a convent? Is it haunted?
Me: If any place is haunted, I would assume this would be. It’s built on the site of an ancient Roman temple. There are artifacts from the Romans, Visigoths, and Moors here. It’s incredible.
Daphne: Wow, I can’t imagine seeing sights that are over 2000 years old.
Me: We can visit them someday. Are you still at work?
Daphne: Yeah, I need to finish up some payoffs for the end-of-the-month closings. Are you going to bed soon?
Me: I should. I loved your message, the second-best thing to waking up to you in person.
Daphne: Oh good. I guess we’re going to have to schedule our FaceTime because of the time difference and my job. You can’t stay up late every night waiting for me to get home from work. We can do morning your time and I’ll stay up late. We probably can’t talk every day.
Me: Why can’t we? We’ll figure it out. Even if it’s a quick ‘tell me about your day’ sort of thing, I want to see and hear you.
A FaceTime invitation from Daphne appears on my screen. Swiping to accept, I can feel my heart beating faster. Daphne’s beautiful face fills my phone screen, and I can see the shelves of files behind her. It’s dark down there. It must be dreary to be stuck in a space like that without windows or natural light, surrounded by dusty files. I’d hate it.
But her sunny smile lights up the office-shaped shadows like a summer afternoon. “Hey, you! How’s your day?” I can hear Mallory in the background making kissy noises.
Daphne giggles and flips her the bird. If she must be in the dungeon, at least she likes her cellmate.
“Hello, sunshine,” I say. “My day has been okay. How about you?”
“He calls you sunshine? Oh my God, Daphne, that is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard! I want to be a bridesmaid!” I guess this is a conversation for three since Mallory is joining in.
“It’s okay. I’m stuck working with a crazy person, but it could be worse. We’re dealing with the usual end-of-month busyness.”
“You know you love me!” Mallory’s cheeky grin appears over Daphne’s shoulder, and she peers into the screen. “Do you have a brother?”
She cracks me up. “Yeah, but he’s still in college, gay, and not as awesome as I am.”
“I can work with all that!” I hear a beep, and Daphne makes an oh shit face.
Mallory calls out, “Hi, Will!”
My uncle must have come to their area. How much did he hear?
“I’ll let you go. Talk later,” I tell Daphne as she nods and blows a kiss before signing off.
I hope they aren’t in trouble. Uncle Will is cool and won’t punish them for being goofy. But she’s concerned about things being awkward now that we’re in a relationship and she’s like family. She is family. She’s the person I want to make a family with.
And I want to be with my family. And not just through a screen someone can easily turn off. But instead, tomorrow, I’ll continue my drive to Portugal. Another town, another festival, another day, oceans away from the only person I really want to be around right now.
As I eat the steak I ordered for dinner, I think about how I can take care of the things I need to do in the shortest amount of time. I have a plan, but I think I need to revise it. When I get back to my room, I open my laptop and research other Christmas markets.
“Okay, what markets open earliest?” I mutter to myself, tapping away on my laptop. My intention was to attend the major markets that start in late November, covering the classic markets in Germany and Austria. My research shows me that there are markets in Manchester, England and Edinburgh, Scotland that start earlier in November. I could cover those, and then there are three in eastern France and western Germany opening within a few days of each other a little later in November. I could finish what I need to do and make it home in time for Thanksgiving. I imagine Daphne’s surprise if I showed up weeks early.
Chuckling to myself, I shake my head. Mari has me pegged. I am a planner.