“Hey, yourself. Where have you been?” Ade settled on the sofa bed in her living room.
“Barcelona. I’m about to hit a bar in the old town. It’s gorgeous here; you’d love it.”
“Would I?”
“Well, maybe not.” Steph laughed. “It’s brash, loud, and proud of itself.Ilove it.”
Ade grinned. She realized how much she missed her twin sister now she was staring her right in the face. “Have you been to anyGaudi stuff?”
“There’s a ton of Gaudi shit in Barcelona. I’ve been everywhere, Ade. My feet are hurting so much from pounding these streets. The metro is unreal. The cars and bikes blast their horns every few seconds. But it’s pretty incredible. The Sagrada Familiais a real beauty. I wish you were here with me. How are things there?”
“It’s all good.” Ade knew she should give her more. “I’ve settled in at the lab. The students are finding their way through their schedules without much fuss.”
Steph beamed. “That sounds awesome. I’m really pleased for you, Ady-baby. Have you made any friends yet?”
Ade wriggled under her scrutiny. “I have a student called Greg who wants to come to the lab more often.”
“Well, he sounds pretty dedicated.” Steph sat on the edge of her bed. “How about anyone else? You seen any more of your boss? What was her name? Sylvia?”
“Sylvie.” Ade couldn’t help her lips from twitching into a smile.
“She seemed really friendly when we met.”
“I saw her at work on Monday. We had a good conversation. She’s easy to talk to.”
Steph smiled broadly. “Fantastic. It’s good to make friends.”
“I saw her at the beach too,” Ade said.
“Oh, you did? Well, maybe you should see if she wants to go out sometime, show you some more of the town?”
“Maybe.” Ade’s tummy fluttered at the thought.
“You know, I heard from Dad and Pops last night.”
“No, I didn’t know that,” Ade said.
“Well, we talked about them coming over for Thanksgiving.”
Ade couldn’t really think that far ahead. She braced herself for the onslaught of information that Steph was about to throw her way. Eventually, as was her playbook in these situations, she’d ask for an email to remind her what was happening.
“They arrive the week before, and they’ve booked a hotel nearby. I’ll come back so I can help prepare everything. They’rereally looking forward to seeing us. Pops is beside himself.”
Ade pictured her pops and how his beard scratched against her cheek. “He messaged me earlier this week. Asked me what I was eating.”
Steph laughed. “He worries.”
“And Dad?”
“More worried about when I’m getting back to my internship.”
Ade groaned. At least Steph had a trajectory for her nursing career. “Well, it gives him a break from talking about what a disappointment I’m turning out to be.”
“He’s never said that, Ade.”
“He said ‘you can’t spend all your time hiding in the lab, Adelaide. You’ll need a real job sooner or later.’”
Steph huffed. “He’s just anxious for us to make something of our lives. Anyway, you’ve got him off your back for a whole year while you’re in France. That’s gotta be a good thing.”
