Page 14 of Catch Me
Trav:I have to ask you something
Roman:Ok
Trav:When’s the last time you laughed?
Roman:Idk
Well, this was fun.
I sent a quick text to Pete to see if he had an answer about the calendar. I should’ve followed up earlier, but I was forgetful. Now, I felt bad about it.
I thought he texted me back, but it was Roman again.
Roman:Tbh the gov plant thing made me laugh
Trav:Out loud?
Roman:Seems irrelevant
I chuckled, then read the new message from Pete. It made me perk up. After draining the rest of my smoothie, I stuck my tongue out and decided I definitely needed more fruit in it. Or a bucket of sugar.
Trav:Do you have plans this weekend?
It took a while for him to respond. He kept typing, then stopping. It was a simple question. At least, I thought so.
Roman:No plans. Why?
Trav:They like the art idea. I think it’d be easier for everyone if you talked to him in person and ironed out the details
Roman:You want me to fly there?
Trav:You could walk, but I think flying sounds less tedious
Where are you at?
Roman:Home
Trav:Okay, that’s cool, but where would you be flying out from?
Roman:Oh. Sorry. Chicago
This was taking too long. I was going to wear a path in my floor from all of my pacing, so I hit call.
“Hey,” he answered, sounding more nervous than the situation called for.
“Hey back. Would you rather fly out on Friday or Saturday? I hate getting off a plane the same day I have to do something, but that might just be me.”
He was silent for a solid minute. “I feel like we could do a meeting over the phone or video or something, but if you think it’d be better in person...I’ll look at the flights and see. A red-eye is probably cheapest.”
“Oh, I’m an idiot for not being clearer. I was going to pay for it.”
“Uh . . . Why?”
“Because it’d be dumb for you to spend a big chunk of what you’ll make just to fly here. And you might need to do it a couple times since I assume you can only do this on weekends, plus the guys’ schedules might be a mess and all that.”
“Sorry, I’m confused. That sounds like a bad deal for you.”
I leaned against the counter to stop myself from walking around. “I told you; I like supporting indie artists. The idea is really cool, and it’ll be a good opportunity for you.”
