Five Twenty-Eight

31.

Australia was warmer, in the way that comfort engulfed Elisa as soon as she stepped off the plane.

The time difference was brutal, but not nearly as brutal as the exhaustion that came with flying, which helped the adjustment to time zones quick enough to pop them both up bright and early the next morning for breakfast.

"When we're done we have to go to the Coal Loader— My mum- My mom used to pack us a picnic and we'd sit on the ground next to the railing so we could be as close to the water as possible and-" She trailed off, clearing her throat, "Wh-what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Oliver smirked, carefully twirling the fork in his hand. "Your mum-"

"Stop," She sighed, throwing her head back, "I did not say that-"

"You did. For the second time this morning— I also got a solid 'Good morning!' when we were leaving the hotel," He told her, exaggerating the accent that was slowly but surely overcoming her.

She knitted her eyebrows together, leaning away from the table to cross her arms over her chest.

He tilted his head at her, reaching across the table to grab her elbow. "It's cute," He said slowly, "So cute— I adore you."

Elisa took a deep breath, slowly uncrossing her arms to grab his. "I was thinking after that we could go to Wendy's Secret Garden," She told him, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear, "It's on the way back to the hotel."

"You know these parts better than I do," He shrugged, "I trust you."

"I hope so," She smiled, moving back to her food.

When they were finished eating, they walked laps around the Coal Loader before they took a car to Wendy's Secret Garden.

Oliver draped his arm across Elisa's shoulders, listening to her closely as they carefully shuffled their way through the garden.

"She didn't ask but no one told her to stop either," She told him in a low voice, reaching up to tangle their fingers together, "She just wanted to do something, you know?"

"I do," He nodded, carefully following her down a path. "It's beautiful here, El."

She smiled to herself, squeezing his hand tighter. "I was sitting down here when my mom gave me my acceptance letter to Westmount," She glanced up at him before she let go of his hand, slowly moving to sit down on the ground in front of him.

He stared down at her with a wide smile on his face, jamming his hands into his pockets as she continued to blab.

"I was reading When You Are Engulfed in Flames— David Sedaris, beautiful book," She sighed dreamily, leaning her back against the statue behind her, "I had been here almost an hour, we were waiting for visiting hours at the prison and my mom ran out to grab us lunch."

"She came back with this paper bag from this awesome bakery down the street, and she holds out this envelope— The first of five— And she says: If you got in, we celebrate with the cupcake. If you didn't, we eat our feelings until the next letter comes," She told him, then stretched her hands out like she was taking the bag and the envelope from her mother's hands, just like she did over five years ago. "I almost went to France, but that cupcake really sealed the deal— She bought me another one after I decided, when we came back down to tell my dad."

Oliver moved to sit beside her, shoving aside the ache that came with getting dirt on his pants, and looped his arm through hers. "I'm glad you didn't go to France," He told her, smiling weakly.

She smiled right back, wider, then leaned closer to rest her temple on his shoulder. She fluttered her eyes shut, inhaling deeply to bring in the fresh smell of nature, then let it out slowly to let them linger in peaceful silence. "Do you think we're soulmates?" She asked after a moment, when she opened her eyes again, reaching across herself to grab at his fingers.