Page 108 of Wish You Faith

“Good. We get to go to church together again.”

“Your mom invited us to spend the weekend at her house. That’s where we went this morning after landing. I showered and changed before I came to see you at your office.”

Evan was listening so intently to Rosie talking that they missed their turn at Union Street. “No worries. We could keep walking and make a left at Pike Street.”

“Same distance probably.”

“Not much difference. We need the exercise.”

“This city reminds me of Atlanta,” Rosie said.

“Do downtown Atlanta sidewalks smell?” Evan didn’t want to go into details about why he said that.

“Actually, most of them don’t. However, Atlanta is a driving city, so I usually drive and park. I probably don’t smell the sidewalks as much, you know?”

“We walk a lot in Seattle.”

Rosie nodded. “I think it’s healthier to walk, to be honest. In Savannah, I drive a lot.”

“I know.” Evan remembered the days they carpooled. “I miss Savannah and I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” She wrapped her arm around his waist, and he put his arm around her shoulders.

They walked down Pike Street to the harbor.

“It’s going to be an uphill walk when we return to your office,” Rosie remarked. “The decline toward the bay right now is not steep, but I can feel it.”

“Maybe our sight is affecting our feeling because we can clearly see that we’re going toward water, which is at sea level. Does that make our mind automatically think we should be walking on a downward slope?”

“Maybe you have a point. Then again, back in Savannah, it’s all flat. Driving to the river, there isn’t any difference.”

They walked a bit, and the sky cleared.

“It doesn’t always clear,” Evan said. “Maybe you can come back again in the warmer seasons like July.”

“Will you still be here in July or will you be with me in Savannah?” Rosie flashed a smile.

Her eyes sparkled in the daylight. Those gray eyes which had first caught Evan’s attention. He wondered if their children would have gray eyes too, or whether those genes were recessive, being so rare and all.

Wait a second.

Children?

He caught himself. It was a good thing that Rosie couldn’t read his mind. Evan didn’t want to scare her with where his thoughts could go.

“Want to see the flowers first or shall we look for food first?” Evan asked.

“Food.”

“Are you very hungry? What would you like to eat?” Evan felt like a gentleman, asking his lady what she wanted to eat instead of making any decision for her.

“I don’t have any food allergy that I know of, so I can eat pretty much anything. Since we’re on the coast again, I suppose there’s plenty of fresh seafood. I can go for that. Or I can also go for a good steak, though I don’t usually eat that for lunch. I’m cutting back on bread, but I always make room for sourdough.” Rosie laughed. “Why don’t you surprise me? I’m so happy to be with you today that I’ll eat anything—unless it’s bizarre.”

They stopped at the entrance of Pike Place Market.

Evan didn’t know what overcame him, but he just wanted to hug Rosie. Perhaps it was because he’d had a hard time at work, and Rosie was his respite.

At the same time, he didn’t want to overwhelm Rosie. Putting his arm over her shoulders was enough, wasn’t it?

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