Chapter 5 #2
“Savory to sweet, you neanderthal. Who eats sweet to savory?” I answer without thinking. My hands fly to my mouth. Oops.
“I do.” He winks. “But this time, we’ll do it your way.” He reaches for the pumpkin first. “On the count of three. Uno. Dos. Tres.”
Our forks slice through the adjoining edges of the pie like putty and I take a small bite. I taste it all, the nutmeg, the cinnamon, the pumpkin puree. It’s a symphony of flavors in my mouth.
“I don’t think I want to eat anything else. This is so good.” I groan, remembering why this dessert is my favorite.
“Then it’s yours.” Fernando scoots the plate closer to me. “You don’t have to sample the others, but it might be fun to.” He takes a sip of water. “I have to agree with you. This is one of the best pumpkin pies I’ve ever had. It’s light and tastes homemade.”
“You might even be able to get the recipe from them,” I tease.
“Maybe.”
We try each of the remaining pieces. Fernando declares he likes the mince best, with the Dutch apple coming in second. We ask the waitress to box up everything else while we sit and finish our favorites.
“So, Ava, I wanted to ask you earlier . . . I’m curious, why are you skipping your December clinic? Is it too much with Christmas?”
“No.” I set my fork down and sigh. “I’ve been talked into taking a vacation by my sister.”
“Vacation? That’s usually a good thing.” He cocks his head to the side. “You make it sound like a punishment. You clearly work hard. You deserve some time off.”
“A day or two, sure. But two weeks? That would be the longest stretch of time I’ve taken off in . . . let’s just say a long, long time.”
I flash back to the visits Dylan and I took to every bank in the Central Valley when we were ready to open the place.
There were only two institutions willing to offer a start-up loan to two vets who had only just graduated from veterinary school.
And only one that offered us an interest rate we could stomach.
We ended up taking it, but it didn’t cover everything. That’s where Brian came in. He gave us the best deal we could ever hope for—no interest. Brian’s generosity is what allowed us to pay off that bank loan in three years. And what allowed me to be able to buy Dylan’s share of the business.
Fernando’s large brown eyes take a moment to appraise me.
“I know I’m being silly. The person I’m planning to ask to fill in for me is a rock star. She has more experience than me. I shouldn’t be worried.”
“I think your fears are natural. It’s hard to give up control of something you’ve worked so hard for.”
I pick up my fork and shuffle a few crumbs around the plate. “The truth is, I don’t really want to go at all.”
“Then why are you? I’m sure your sister would understand.”
“Probably, but I know she’s right. A change of scenery is the best thing for me right now.
So much has been going on lately that I’m on the verge of burning out.
” I give Fernando a brief rundown of how Dylan and I started the clinic from the ground up as partners and how I recently acquired full ownership.
I gloss over the part about my love life crashing and burning.
“The transition is finished. There are still a few loose ends to tie up, but Vicki can handle them.”
“It sounds to me like you’ve made up your mind.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Huh . . . I guess I have.”
Fernando takes a long sip from his latte, then places his cup down and changes the topic. “Have you decided on where you’re going to spend your vacation?”
“A little,” I admit. “I’ve been thinking about a safari in South Africa, but for my first time outside the States, I think it’s too ambitious. So for now, I’m focused on somewhere in Europe.”
“That’s a smart choice.” He takes a bite of the apple pie. “Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve been to every country on the continent.”
“I forgot you said you used to travel a lot for work.” I take a bite and chew slowly. “Maybe I will pick your brain. If you were gonna recommend the best country for a travel novice to visit, what would it be?”
“That’s a trick question. Travel is personal.
Where you go depends on your interests and your comfort zone.
” He relaxes against the back of the booth.
“When I first started on the cruise ship, I’d get anxious whenever we arrived in a port city where I’d have to speak English. Which is most of Europe.” He laughs.
I blink a few times. “But your English is so good!”
“It is now, but it wasn’t when I was twenty.
” He shakes his head. “Learning basic English in school is one thing, but when you’re suddenly asked to use it around native English speakers, you realize how little you actually know.
Thankfully, being forced to use it nearly every day helped me learn fast.”
I sip my pumpkin latte and smack my lips together. Fernando has some good points to think about. I have some high school Spanish at my disposal, but I don’t want to worry about not being able to communicate with the locals. I’ll be nervous enough traveling solo.
“How about we do it this way: Off the top of your head, name three cities. Ready? Vamos.” He points to me.
“Um . . .” A catalog of images floods my mind. “Paris, Rome, London, and Barcelona.”
“That’s four,” he jokes.
“I know, but you put me on the spot.” I laugh nervously. I hadn’t meant for Barcelona to slip out. I don’t want him to think I’ve picked a city in Spain just because of him. Even though I have.
“If you choose any one of those four cities, you won’t be disappointed. They each have something for everyone.”
“Like what?”
“Hmm . . . in Paris, it’s definitely the food. There are three bakeries on the Rue Monge in the fifth arrondissement that have the fluffiest croissants, and in the sixth arrondissement near . . .”
As I sit here and listen to Fernando’s vivid descriptions, I start to daydream and picture myself eating and sightseeing my way through each locale.
“And in Barcelona there are just as many things to see and do, but if I were you, I’d consider spending time on Spain’s west coast, near cities like Granada and Toledo . . .”
He glows as he describes the architecture, the people, and all the other amazing things Spain has to offer. He clearly loves his home country. And his enthusiasm is rubbing off on me. Spain now sits at the top of my list. It looks like I’ll be booking my tickets as soon as I get home.