Page 190 (1/2)

I look down at Finley as ait for our Uber, and it hits ton, her red hair blowing in a summer breeze She’s been ripped off thehemisphere…because of me She’s here with me

I introduced her as irlfriend What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Hey…ith htly with my elbow When she blinks atand hold my hand out for hers

“What are you doing?”

“Just ith me”

I can tell she doesn’t want to hold h mine Then wraps her hand aroundThat h

“Have you gone quite ht there’s a car called?”

“No” I stop and cancel it There’s a fountain right between these two clusters of shops I lead her over to it Get her to sit down on the bench “Would it bother you to wait right here for ”

“It can be the first step in et outpoint

“I’ll be right back, okay?”

She smiles “I’m not worried”

Three doors down, there’s this little jewelry store alked by earlier I get some looks when I walk in, but I don’t know if it’s because I’s The woman who comes over to help me is older, and she looks kind of fancy in a dress; I’ that means she’s not a baseball fan

I tell her that I need a ring and ask about the January birthstone It’s red I don’t want it to be red

“Does she have a favorite stone?” the woman asks

I s “I don’t really know”