Chapter 19 #2
Brennan and Callie take a bite, but I decline. “Maybe next time. I’m not hungry.” Instead I grab a fry off Gavin’s plate.
Gavin eyes me skeptically. “Not hungry, huh?” he teases.
“Everyone knows there’s a separate stomach for dessert.
” I dip the fry in my ice cream before eating it.
At first the three of them stare at me with unreadable expressions.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t be self-conscious about my quirks and habits.
But their reactions remind me that I’m not the trendsetter here that I was known to be in LA.
Fries with ice cream isn’t that weird, is it?
Maybe it’s not a universally enjoyed combination like peanut butter and jelly, but I’m pretty sure it’s a thing.
“You do that too?” Callie says.
“It’s the only way to eat ice cream,” Brennan says.
“Right?” I say, relieved that this is something we can agree on. “The sweet and salty combination always hits.”
“Actually, I eat it that way too,” Gavin says with an expression as surprised as I feel. Considering our different tastes in fashion, hair, and almost everything else, I wouldn’t have thought we’d have the same taste in food combinations.
“Great. You can help me eat the rest, since there’s no way I can finish it.” I shove my bowl toward the middle of the table.
“Same.” Gavin pushes his plate next to my sundae.
We take turns dipping fries into the ice cream for dessert.
This simple yet distinct common ground releases a tightness in my muscles, like letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in.
Somewhere in the transition from LA to Blaire, I lost track of who I was.
I guess it’s been a while since I’ve been able to just be me without worrying about anything else.
“I wonder who even came up with this combo in the first place,” Callie says, thinking aloud.
“It had to have been an accident, right? Like some fries fell into a bowl of ice cream or something?” Brennan grabs another fry and sweeps it across the melting ice cream.
“Seems plausible. More so than if someone just came up with the idea out of the blue. I mean, fries with ketchup make sense, but fries with ice cream?” Gavin shakes his head. “I don’t see it.”
“Sometimes accidents make the best inventions. Like, did you know the radio telescope was discovered by accident?” When Gavin and I stare at Callie with blank expressions, she continues.
“It’s true. When an engineer working at a phone company noticed static interference on the phone calls, he discovered it was radio waves coming from movement in the solar system. That’s how we got the radio telescope.”
Gavin and I share a look that says nerd alert.
“Callie knows everything about this place,” Brennan says, noticing our expressions.
“I do not,” Callie protests. “You know how the radio telescope was invented.”
“Yeah, because you told me!” He points a finger at her, laughing.
“I guess when your dad works at the observatory and your mom teaches at the local school, it’s bound to rub off on you,” Callie sheepishly admits.
I keep waiting for Gavin to chime in, but he doesn’t. There have been plenty of opportunities, and their relaxed banter should put him at ease. What’s his deal?
After we finish off the fries and ice cream, we pay the bill and head out of the cafe. As we’re walking, I lean into Gavin when Brennan and Callie are slightly ahead of us.
“Why aren’t you talking to Callie?” I hiss at Gavin.
“I knew we shouldn’t have asked Callie to come today. Every time I try to speak, it’s like the words keep getting caught in my throat.”
“Well, figure out how to get them un-caught soon, before you find yourself permanently in the friend zone.”
He rolls his eyes but doesn’t argue with me.
“Since I already gave Gavin a tour of the facilities last time, do you want to show Elena around while I take Gavin to the lab?” Brennan asks Callie in the lobby of the observatory.
Let’s be real, there isn’t any part of this observatory I’m interested in learning more about. I’m only here to make sure Gavin doesn’t botch things up with Callie. So splitting up is not an option.
“Why don’t you give me the CliffsNotes version of what I missed so we can stick together?” I suggest.
Gavin gives me a subtle glance, indicating that he knows what I’m doing, which is a good reminder for him. Because with the way he’s avoiding Callie—both in distance and in peripheral vision—he needs more than a reminder. He needs an intervention.
“The lab isn’t the most exciting place in the observatory, but it’s where the real action happens,” Brennan says while we wait for the elevator.
“The lab?” I raise a skeptical brow. “I’d have thought the telescope was the main attraction.”
“The radio telescope does have an important job of collecting the signals from space, but it sends the data directly to the lab,” Callie explains. “And the analysis is where the actual discoveries are made.”
“So you don’t need to get close to the telescope to use it?” Gavin asks.
“No, but we can give you a tour of it if you want,” Callie offers.
“How close can we get to the telescope?” I ask.
Brennan and Callie exchange a knowing look. “I think we can get pretty close, right, Callie?” Brennan asks.
“Yeah, I think I can arrange that,” Callie says, pulling out her phone.
“I thought those were banned or something,” I blurt. I haven’t seen my phone in weeks. I’m starting to forget what it looks like.
“We don’t normally get to use them, but today is a maintenance day,” Callie explains. “It’s when the telescope is temporarily shut down and not collecting data, so radio waves won’t interfere with it.”
“More importantly it means today is the perfect day to ask for a tour of the telescope,” Brennan adds as Callie steps away to make a call.
“Who’s she calling?” I ask.
“Her dad. He runs security here,” Brennan says. “It’s a good thing Callie joined us today, since he’s the only one who can give us the proper clearance.”
“It is a good thing Callie joined us,” I enunciate ever so slightly.
Gavin doesn’t acknowledge me, but the blush that blooms on his cheeks tells me he heard every word.