Dani and Nico looked around the house. They had just returned from the airport where they had seen Lindsey off to college. Dani sighed. "Wow, this place looks really empty without Lindsey here."
Nico gave her a quick hug. "Think about it this way: it's your turn to finally live a little now."
She looked at him strangely. He couldn't read her expression.
"Oh, I see." she said. "So those decades I spent with my family - celebrating holidays, going to the school plays, taking care of them when they were sick, creating family traditions - I guess I wasn't living then?" She gestured at the framed pictures on her wall. "I guess all of that was just nothing."
He knew he'd said the wrong thing, but something stung him about her response so he didn't backtrack entirely. "I didn't mean that, Dani. I just meant that, for example, you haven't traveled very much at all, and I thought you might like to do that now that you can really see something of the world."
"Yes, you're right, Nico. I spent most of my holidays at the beach or at Disney World, not in Greece or India or Morocco or... (she almost sputtered) Madagascar. Well, listen to me, Mr. World Traveler, I know you've been to a lot of places and you are soooo sophisticated. Well, you didn't visit them with the people you love, either, did you? Are you even still in contact with the people you saw these places with?"
Nico said, "Not most of the time, no."
Dani was like a shark who smelled blood. "I bet that you don't have a lot of pictures of these trips, either, do you?"
Nico shook his head.
Dani said, "So those glamorous trips that you took sound great and everything, but I'll take my weeks at the beach with the kids over them any day."
She turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen.
Nico said, "Dani..." to the empty room.
A few seconds later, she walked back in.
"Wow, that was really ugly, wasn't it?" She looked ashamed. "I'm sorry. What you said just struck a nerve."
Nico looked sad. "Yeah, same here."
She said, "The difference being that I knew what I said would hurt you and I still said it, while you didn't mean to hurt me. Can we try again?" She looked at him with a worried expression on her face.
Nico smiled at her. "Of course. And I should be more careful about the way I say things. I came across as dismissive, and I am sorry for that." He took a breath. "What I wanted to say was that I want us to start our journeys together."
She nodded. "I understand." She paused for a second, then smiled. "I have an idea. Let's choose a place neither of us has ever gone and start there. We'll just spin the globe and wherever we stop it, that's where we'll go."
He smiled fondly. "OK, Dani."
She looked at him earnestly. "Promise. We go there, wherever it is."
He nodded. "You have my word."
She hurried into the study and returned with the globe. "Let's do this." She spun the wheel, and then said, "You stop it."
He obliged, and then looked to see where his finger rested. "Mogadishu."
She looked at him tentatively. "In Somalia?"
He said, "Yes."
She said, "I'll look it up on Google. Give me a second."
He watched her as she skimmed the results.
She frowned as she read it aloud. "Regarded as the most lawless and dangerous city on earth as of 2013." She skimmed some more. "It says that drivers often use machine guns to negotiate through traffic jams."
Nico nodded. "It sounds exciting. What a great adventure."
Dani smiled weakly. "Uh...OK."
Nico said, "And I am trained in weapons, including semi-automatic ones, so we should be able to rent our own car and see the city without a guide. We'll get the real experience - not the tourist one."
Dani said, "I know we agreed that we'd go to the first place we stopped on...,"
Nico cut her off. "And that makes me love you even more. A lot of people would back out after they read that..." he glanced over her shoulder at the computer screen "Somalia is the home of the world's most ruthless and cutthroat pirates. But not you."
Dani turned and looked at him. "Fine. Let's do this thing."
He said, "We'll never forget our experience there, that's for sure. I'm sure we'll make lifelong friendships with our bodyguards, too."
Dani stopped, squinted, and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Dominic Careles. I know you are messing with me. We are not going to Mogadishu. I'm going to get the number of Jeannette's sister who owns a travel agency and ask her to come up with some real options."
Nico laughed. "I'm glad to hear that, Dani."
Dani smiled. "Mr. Dangerous lost his nerve?"
Nico said, "Not exactly. It's just that...I've already been there."
She was surprised for just a second, but then she shook her head. "And let me guess, you didn't take pictures."
He laughed. "No. But the UN fact-finding team I was providing security for did."
She put her hand on his cheek. "Careles, I think my idea of a vacation is very different than yours."
He said, "I think you'll be teaching me a thing or two in that department."