Weather Girl(53)

I excuse myself to use the bathroom, dreading the feat of engineering that is unbuttoning my jeans with one arm in a sling. On my way there, I spy a familiar blond head at a two-top across the diner.

My first instinct is to swing by and say hello. But when her tablemate comes into view, I’m so startled I have to rush into the bathroom for fear of letting out an audible gasp. I don’t trust my eyes or my brain until I reenter the dining room, slowly, slowly. Because that is Torrance Hale, and the man she’s sitting across from, her hand on his forearm, is not Seth.

I stumble my way back to our table, where the view is more obscured but feels about a thousand times safer. The guy looks about Torrance’s age, maybe a bit younger, with overly styled brown hair and a silver hoop in one ear. They’re dressed casually, which of course for Torrance still means flawless lipstick and a sweater that probably cost more than a month of my rent. Sure, he could be a relative . . . but the way she’s leaning forward, giggling at something he’s saying is decidedly date-like.

“You all right?” Javier asks. “You look a little spooked.”

“Fine,” I choke out, spilling water down the front of my shirt.

It seemed like Torrance and Seth were getting along. I don’t think I imagined that. And not just getting along—actually enjoying each other’s company. The conversation on the retreat, that lack of passive-aggressive signs in the newsroom, the yacht . . .

Maybe the truth is that we’ve never had control over them at all.





18




FORECAST:

Look to the sky for a dazzling natural phenomenon; temperatures reach all-time highs toward the evening

“FAIR WARNING,” I say when Russell picks me up for our first official date the following Saturday in an aging Subaru, “this is going to be extremely nerdy.”

“Good.” He leans over to kiss me, and I’m thinking it will be a peck hello, but it’s deeper, longer than I imagine, one hand sliding into my hair. It’s midmorning, and I can still smell the clean citrus of his soap. “I feel like I need to ease back into this. We can’t go rock climbing or ax throwing right away.”

“You did a lot of ax throwing five years ago?”

His mouth pulls into a crooked smile I want to bite right off his face. “Guess you’ll never know.” When he starts the car, the Hadestown soundtrack starts playing. “Elodie was messing around with my phone. My Spotify is show tunes and only show tunes.”

“A hero.”

I put our destination into Google Maps but I won’t let him see where we’re going. This week, we’ve stolen kisses in the Dugout or in the kitchen when no one else is there, but they always end too soon. We’re not hiding it, necessarily, but I think we’re reluctant to go public before we’ve had the chance to discuss what it means. And now that we’re finally on a date, I’m determined to make it the best first date I can.

“Technically,” Russell says as we head toward I-5 from my Ravenna neighborhood, “we’ve already been on a date. It was just Torrance and Seth’s.”

I groan. “Let’s leave them at work today.”

Fifteen minutes later, Google Maps lets us know we’ve reached Discovery Park.

“Wait,” Russell says as he pulls into one of the last parking spots. I picked this place because I was hoping it wouldn’t be as crowded as some of the other parks, but perhaps I’ve underestimated the general public’s interest in weather phenomena. Which does make the meteorologist in me happy, so I can’t be too upset about it. “Is this the solar eclipse?”

“You got me.”

We’ve been reporting on it all week, including the best spots to watch. It’s always one of the coolest things to see people get excited about. While solar eclipses happen a few times a year, the path of totality can be pretty limited. Total eclipses themselves are quite rare, and this one is only a partial eclipse.

With my right arm, I reach into my bag and produce two pairs of solar eclipse glasses I ordered online. “We’re going to want these. Since you’re not supposed to look directly at the sun, which I usually think is a given, but based on what I’ve seen on KSEA’s social media, apparently it isn’t.”

We head toward the park, the sky already beginning to darken. It won’t get as dark as it would during a total eclipse, since the moon is passing between the sun and the earth but will only cover part of the sun. Sun, moon, and earth won’t be perfectly aligned. Even so, eye protection is a must.

“The wild thing about an eclipse,” I say, twirling the end of my eclipse glasses, “is that it lasts for such a short time. So people will sometimes trek all this way, even camp out for a couple days, just for two minutes.” I pause and flash him a grin. “And it’s totally worth it.”

“Have you ever done it, camped out somewhere for an eclipse?”

“Nope, but I’ve always wanted to. There’s a lunar eclipse next year when Portland will be in the path of totality. Also, you can tell me to shut up if you just want to enjoy it. I’ll understand.”

“Are you kidding? You let me ramble plenty about hockey.” He drapes an arm over my shoulders, careful not to jostle my sling. I’m a little chilly in a floral midi dress and jean jacket, complete with a bumblebee brooch, but I wasn’t about to bother with tights again. Not with Russell involved. “Besides, eclipses are fascinating. I’m ashamed to admit I don’t know very much about them.”