The Fling

75

It was a straight shot down I-10 from LA to Palm Springs. We initially planned to leave early so that we could have an indulgent lunch before checking in at the resort, but the morning had been hectic. Abigail wasn't a relaxed traveler like me, which I knew from our two other trips. I swear she went over everything with her mom three times even though she'd printed out meticulous notes about the kids' schedules and activities. Between Tammy and Bert, the children would be well-cared for, so it caused an unnecessary delay, and she put me on edge with her heightened anxiety.

"You're mad at me," Abigail stated around ten minutes into our drive.

"Not mad, just a tiny bit frustrated that we're going to miss our lunch reservation."

"We could still make it on time. If it looks like we're going to be late, I'll call to see if they'll hold the table."

I sighed. "But then we have to rush through our meal." She didn't respond, opting instead to turn her head away from me and look out the window at the scenery whizzing by. This was not how I wanted our trip to start, so I let go of the steering wheel with my right hand and placed it on her bare thigh, stroking her smooth skin with my fingers. "We can always grab something fast. The guys and I hit up an incredible taco stand last year, and the birria was some of the best I've ever had."

She didn't turn to look at me, but she laid her hand on top of mine, intertwining our fingers, and with that gesture, I knew the tense moment had passed.

Before long, we entered the desert. There was something magical about this part of the United States, though I wasn't sure I'd want to live with the extreme temps and dry air year round. I'd been reading up on climate change recently and it was possible that areas like this would be uninhabitable within fifty years. Abigail and I talked about that as we drove east.

"Sometimes I feel completely defeated by our government and the people who deny that things are getting bad," she said sadly. "I try to do everything I can, but it's never going to be enough to make a difference."

"Trying is better than just giving up. I want to switch to an electric vehicle, and I'm going to have a consultant come by my house to teach me how to live a greener life."

"But what we do is a drop in the bucket. We need legislation that curbs the damage corporations are causing."

I nodded. "I wish I could vote here."

"Even if you can't, you can use your voice to get others to support the politicians you endorse."

In the past, I'd walked a pretty fine line between activism and becoming too political. My team didn't want me turning off fans who skewed conservative, but I was older and wiser now, and I needed to do what I felt was right. "As the big election approaches, I'll be more vocal."

She smiled at me. "That would be wonderful. Have you ever considered dual citizenship?"

"It's not that easy to get, and I'm fiercely loyal to Canada, so not really."

"And yet you live in the US most of the time," she pointed out.

"True. Wanna marry me so I can make the process of becoming a citizen easier?"

"That's such a romantic proposal! How on earth can I say no?"

My stomach did a flip. Marrying Abigail would be amazing, and even if she was being sarcastic, hearing her words shook me to the core. "I'm going to hold you to that." She didn't reply, so I took my eyes off the road and looked over at her, discovering a sad expression on my love's beautiful face. "Honey? You okay?"

"By this time next month, we'll either be broken up or we could be talking about marriage for real. It's completely crazy and utterly terrifying that the two paths are so different."