waiting for me to be situated before shutting it slowly to secure me. He rounds the hood of the truck and climbs in next to me.
“Are you hungry?” he asks.
“I am.”
“Me too. I had no time for lunch today, so you’ll have to excuse me if I look like a starved animal at the dinner table.”
I laugh. “You’re already forgiven.”
He heads onto the interstate. Once we’re driving for a few minutes I figure someone better know where I’m going and who I’m with. I pull out my phone and text my mom.
Me: I’m on a date with a guy named Lou and he drives a red pick-up truck. He’s a carpenter from Anchorage and we’re going to dinner.
The three dots appear right away.
Mom: Okay, license plate would be nice next time. LOL
Lou glances over.
I shut off the screen and shove my phone back inside my purse. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m sure that being a doctor, you’re on call a lot.”
We talk about the differences between my job in New York compared to here. I find out Lou is actually from a smaller town up north, and to him, Anchorage is a big city. He’s been here since he graduated high school and has no desire to go back.
As we continue heading south, we pass a sign saying Lake Starlight - 5 Miles. A knot forms in my stomach.
“Where are we headed?” I ask.
He never takes his eyes off the road. “Lake Starlight. Have you been there before?”
I laugh. “It’s where I grew up.”
He glances over. “I figured you came here for your residency. I didn’t realize you grew up here.”
I recall all the things I told him the night we had a drink together. I was ambiguous about my past. Probably because I stopped telling people I was from Alaska when I was in New York. They all asked the same questions about moose, dark winters and sunny summers, crab, and the cold weather. At first, I would negate all their assumptions that we live in igloos and hunt for our food, but after a while, talking about all the great things Alaska has to offer made me sad because I missed it. But I didn’t know how to come back without causing strife.
“Yeah, I lived here until I left for college.”
“That’s crazy. I have a buddy from here. I’m actually taking you to his brother’s restaurant. I’ve had his food a few times at family get-togethers and he’s mad talented.”
My gut churns. I glance at his back window. There it is. How did I not notice that earlier? “Lou?”
“Yeah?”
“You said you’re a carpenter.”
“Yeah. Remind me to tell you about this house I’m doing with this beautiful stained glass—”
“And this is your truck?” I glance around the interior.
He nods. “Yeah.” Glancing over when we get to the stoplight, his forehead wrinkles. “Why?”
“What’s with the firefighter sticker?”
He smiles but tries to stop himself. “Yeah, well… I was kind of keeping that to myself because you know how women are with firefighters.”
“How is that?”
“Obsessive. Some of them date us just so they can say they’re dating one. But I was gonna tell you tonight. Next week I’m taking some paramedic shifts and you’d probably see me around the hospital anyway.”
There’s so much I want to say right now. I’m upset that he held back information that’s important for reasons he has no idea of. So instead of addressing his lack of transparency, I focus on the most important thing at the moment—finding out if it even matters.
“Who is your friend from Lake Starlight?” I close my eyes.
There’s no way this is happening. They must work at different engine companies. Surely there’s another brother duo who lives in Lake Starlight where one’s a firefighter and one owns a restaurant. It has to be someone else’s brother besides Kingston’s brother Rome, who owns Terra and Mare. This cannot happen twice in my lifetime. It just can’t.
“Kingston Bailey. You know him?”
My throat closes and I cough, even though I knew in my gut it was him.
“Oh shit, were you guys, like, enemies or something? He’s pretty cool now but kind of conceited. Is that how he was when you knew him? Is that why you don’t like him?” Lou rambles on while I wrap my head around the news, pushing away the assumption Lou has that we don’t like each other when it’s always been the complete opposite.
“We went to high school together. We were… close friends.”
“Oh shit, did you guys date?” His eyes are wide