Page 2 of Hang the Moon
Her grip slipped and her hand lurched out to save her phone before it clattered to the tile floor. Her screen already had a decent-sized crack across it, a fine spiderwebbing that rendered the bottom left corner ineffective no matter how hard she pressed or swiped. “Why the hell would I be in Istanbul?”
Darcy huffed. “You told me to guess, I guessed.”
Annie squawked sharply, doing her best impression of a buzzer. The man beside her looked at her funny. “Wrong! Try again.”
Behind the counter, the barista with the lilac-colored lob passed Annie her latte with another wink. Annie mouthed, “Thank you,”and snagged her drink, taking a sip while Darcy deliberated. The coffee hit the back of her tongue, sweet, but not quite sweet enough to combat the extra shot of espresso. Annie wrinkled her nose and popped the plastic lid with her thumb before snagging some sugar off the bar. She dumped the entire packet into her cup and gave the drink a quick stir with her straw so the granules would dissolve.
“Northern Hemisphere?”
“No cheating.”
Darcy scoffed softly. “Come on. At least tell me if I’m on the right continent.”
“Are you asking if I’m in Asia or Europe? It could be either, you know.”
She was 99 percent certain Darcy called her a smart-ass through a poorly muffled cough. “Annie.”
“I’m not in Asia or Europe. There.”
“Are you at home?”
Home.If Darcy meant Annie’s apartment in Philadelphia, the one she was almost never at, the answer was a big fat no. Not that Philadelphia felt much like home these days.
“I’m not in Philadelphia. I’m in Starbucks.”
“Oh gee, that really helps narrow it down.”
And Darcy calledhera smart-ass. Annie rolled her eyes. “I’d tell you which Starbucks, but I’m not sure that would help. I’m still in the airport.”
With perfect timing, a voice announced over the loudspeaker, “Flight two twenty-three departing from SeaTac for Portland.”
Annie grinned at the choked-off sound Darcy made.
“You’re inSeattle?”
“Surprise!”
“I’m—I mean—you’re here and—why?”
Annie cringed. “Yeesh, Darce. Do I need a reason beyond wanting to visit my best friend? My best friend whom I haven’t seen in...” She quickly did the math and cringed harder. “Over a year?”
It was the longest they’d gone without seeing each other since they became best friends in fifth grade.
“No, no, of course not. I just wish you would’ve told me...”
Annie juggled her drink, carry-on, purse, and phone as she stepped aside, clearing room for the customers still awaiting their beverages. “That would defeat the whole point of it being a surprise.”
Darcy exhaled loudly, her breath turning to static over the line. “Right, Annie...”
Darcy didn’t sound nearly as excited to see her as she was to see Darcy.
She set the drink aside before adjusting her hold on her phone. “Yes?”
“I’m not in Seattle. I’m in Canada. On vacation.”
Annie palmed her face with her now free hand. “You? Take a vacation?” She huffed out a laugh. “Wonders never cease.”
Better Darcy discovered a work-life balance sooner rather than later, but did it have to happennow? Talk about terrible timing.
