Page 9 of The Hitchhiker in Panama
“But even my cheap meals are delicious,” Marcella countered.
“Of course. I have more refined tastes than my brother and even I know your meals are delicious.”
“Lila, are you on another boat?” Marcella asked me.
“Well, technically, yes. One of the boats,Silver Lining, has been letting me stay on board while I look for a boat to transit. I stayed in the hotel for two nights, but I have to save my money. I’m planning to backpack in South America for a few months after this.”
Marcella asked me a few questions about my backpacking plans. It was hard to concentrate on her—Eivind was watching me. When our eyes met, his lips gave the cutest little quirk, the corners flicking up in pleasure.
Another person came out of the boat, interrupting a story about Brazil. This woman had dishwater-blond hair and a petite build. She loosely put a hand on Jonas’s head and pulled him in to kiss his hair. Eivind’s eyebrows shot up.
“Darling, please make room.”
Jonas motioned to me. I slid down the seat further and he followed, while the new woman sat in the corner by the door.
Jonas leaned back a bit. “Lila, this is Elayna.”
Elayna gave me a limp handshake. “Enchanté. Americans know this word, no?”
“Oh, I’m not American. I’m Australian.”
“Oi! No worries, mate!” Eivind teased me with another wink.
I laid it on hard. “Blimey, that right there’s quite the accent. You sound like you’re about to pop open a stubby and wrestle a kangaroo.”
Eivind laughed. “What is a stubby?”
“Why, a stubby is something you pick up from the bottle-o along with your grog so you can get smashed.”
Eivind laughed harder while Jonas looked slightly horrified. “Is that English?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, but I’ll take it easy on you.”
Jonas eyed me. “You do sound fairly American.”
“Yeah, nah, I’m Aussie, but I don’t have a very strong accent.”
Jonas looked more confused. “Yes, no?”
“What?”
“You said ‘yeah, nah,’ you are from Australia,” Jonas explained.
I blushed. “Oops. Yeah, that’s complicated to explain. It’s, like, yeah, I know I don’t have much of an Aussie accent, but no, in fact, I am not from America.”
Jonas stared at me.
“Yeah, not many non-Aussies understand it either,” I added.
Awkward silence.
“So, Elayna,” I said, changing the topic, “how long have you been on the boat?”
“I have been on the boat since early November.” Her thick French accent made herh’s disappear.
“Elayna found us by walking the docks in the Canaries,” Jonas said, “like you are doing here.”
“Oh?” I said. “You went to the Canaries to find a boat to join?”
