Chapter 12
The Golden City
Fog enveloped much of San Francisco, swirling around the buildings, hiding the tops of the numerous bridges and skyscrapers from view. It was lucky for two figures that the fog was there, as they appeared with a loud bang on the top of their hotel. Kit clapped a hand over his eyes.
"Oh, god…"
Nita struggled hard not to laugh.
"Aye-yi-yi, Kit," she laughed. "Well, at least we're not swimming right now, or skydiving, for that matter."
Kit rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Sorry…working on it…"
He brought up the transport spell and altered a few syllables. Dropping it again, he offered up a brief prayer before grabbing Nita's hand and stepping on the circle.
This time, they managed to elegantly make their way to the front of the building- from a parking garage a mile away. Nita, clearly amused, told Kit as they walked, "Last time I let you do any spells…"
Kit gave her a light cuff on the back of the head, which Nita returned with gusto.
They didn't stop their little feud until they entered the hotel.
"Hi."
"Name please?"
"Christopher Rodriguez."
"Uh-huh. May I see your ID?"
Kit, having recently gotten his driver's license, almost beamed as he flipped his wallet open. When the receptionist was satisfied, he scanned Kit's MasterCard and tossed him the card keys.
"Nonsmoking, twin-bed Room 504. First number corresponds to the floor, so, fifth floor. Elevators are that way," he continued, pointing to Kit's right. Kit thanked the receptionist and dragged Nita up to their room. Nita plucked one of the keys out of Kit's pocket and opened their door. The moment the door closed behind them, their bags went down, their conversations skyrocketed.
"So, where to?" Kit inquired.
"I dunno, Kit. There's so much to do here… what time is it?"
Kit pointed to the digital clock on the dresser. 3:15.
"Oh. Um, Give me a minute…"
Nita slipped out of her shoes and slid them into a corner with her foot, then rooted around in the bedside dresser drawer.
"Uh…gimme one second…here."
She pulled out a map of the area, complete with the Tourist's Guide to San Francisco on the back.
"Umm…nothing happening until four. That's the next bus to the Exploratorium. And, Kit, what the heck is that?"
"Uhh…the Exploratorium…Oh, the Exploratirium. Uh, it's basically this huge, interactive science museum. Stuff like light refraction, optical illusions, gravity…"
"We're going."
"Oh… alright. So what do we do in the meantime?"
"What do you want to do?"
"Teaching you how to swim might be good."
"Oh, c'mon, Kit. That's just the kind way of saying 'C'mon Nita, let's go jump into the pool so I can dunk you as many times as I need to to get my point across."
"C'mon, Neets. It'll be fun!" Kit said brightly.
"Oh, fine," Nita muttered. "But you better not laugh."
She unzipped her claudication, pulled out her jet black one-piece swimsuit and bright blue beach towel, then went into the bathroom and changed. Kit pulled out his swim trunks and waited for Nita to come out, in the meantime trying to find a good place to eat dinner.
Nita finally came out, and Kit looked at her strangely.
"What?" she asked. She looked at herself in the wall mirror and grinned.
"Lost weight, didn't I?"
"Yeah."
She spun around and flicked her hair over her shoulders.
"C'mon, Kitster. We don't have all day, much as I'd like to."
Kit got the message. He hurried into the bathroom, changed, grabbed a towel, and joined Nita in the corridor.
"Alright," he whispered.
"Let's go."
They walked off down the hall: Kit to an evening of fun, Nita to her first swim lesson and doom.
450 miles South
San Diego, California.
Ethan looked around.
"This looks right. C'mon, Dairine. We've got to check in in five minutes…"
Dairine paced behind him.
"Well, let's go, then. And Ethan, you can call me Dari."
Ethan turned around and walked backwards, a hint of something in his voice. Dairine caught it as amusement.
"Alright…Dari."
She smiled wryly and said, "Ethan, watch the fire hydrant…"
He dodged it in time, then grabbed Dairine's hand.
"C'mon, Dari, I can see our place."
Dairine jogged alongside Ethan, surprisingly not saying anything.
They walked into the Surfside Inn right on time. It was small, but a very high-quality place. Ethan gave his high school ID, presented his check, and went on up to Room 251. Upon their entry into their room, Dairine burst. She instantly bombarded Ethan with a hundred questions at once without pausing for a breath.
"Areyouanabdaldoyouknowhowmuchpoweryouhavedoyouremembergoodoldmissghanidoyouknowmysisternitaorherboyfriendkitdoyouremmberwhathappenedintatlastbattle…"
She trailed off as Ethan held up his hands.
"Whoa, whoa. One question at a time. So…first one?"
"Are you an abdal?"
"I think so. Judging by my power ratings, I guess I could be considered that…" He laughed. "Next question.
"Remember good ole Miss Ghani?"
"Oh yeah. She was always telling you that you would be the brightest kid on earth…and that you had to learn get along with me…"
Dairine laughed.
"We hated each other so much…"
"Yeah. I remember one time, we had to work together on a painting…what a mess."
"Are you kidding? That was a work of art…"
They laughed together, then, as Ethan's hearty chuckles subsided, Dairine accidentally blurted out what was on her mind.
"Have you ever kissed a girl?"
Ethan looked at her.
"Uh…can't say I have. Why?"
Dairine shut her mouth before she could do anything else to her pride, face redder than an overripe tomato.
"Why?" Ethan asked again.
Dairine hung her head.
"I…I…was…wondering. If you…would…" Dairine couldn't bring herself t finish the sentence. Stared at the ground until Ethan touched her arm. She looked at him for a tenth of a second before flicking her gaze back to the ground.
"Huh?" she asked.
"You want me to kiss you?"
She was silent, suddenly wanting to go and hide from Ethan's soft eyes.
Ethan lifted her chin so they were staring right at each other, then leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
450 miles north
San Francisco, California
"C'mon, Neets. You've got freestyle and backstroke down, you should be able to do the Butterfly…"
"What purpose other than making huge waves does doing the Butterfly serve?"
Kit rolled his eyes. He slipped into the water and tread water by Nita.
"Fine. In that case, I bet you can't catch me."
Nita grinned. "You're on."
She lunged at him. He dodged nimbly and laughed. "C'mon, Neets. You're slower than I am!"
She grabbed him by the waist and dunked him.
Laughing, she said as he came up sputtering, "Slower, maybe. Stronger, oh yes."
He suddenly twisted his body and swept her off her feet... literally. She gave a short scream as she felt her feet come out from underneath her, and she fell into Kit's arms. He quickly kissed her forehead, then accidentally dropped her in the water. He bit his lip to keep from laughing as Nita sat bolt upright, slicking water out of her eyes.
"Kiiiit!" she yelled.
"Sorry, Neets…" Kit apologized.
His eyes widened as he saw Nita flying at him in a headlong tackle.
" OH no oh no oh no…YAUGH…."
Splash.
Water sprayed ten feet in the air as they fell over backward, Nita pummeling every inch of Kit's back playfully.
"Oop, sorry Kit…"
He gingerly got up and out of the pool, putting his arm around Nita as she stepped up beside him.
"Alright, alright. Call it even. Let's get going."
Nita wiped her hair out of her eyes again.
"Uh…what time is it?"
Kit shrugged.
"I dunno. We can check, and if we have time, maybe we can go get a car…"
Nita grinned.
"That's more like it."
She slipped her hand into his as they dropped their Pool Passes into the return box and went up to their room. They changed leisurely, noticing it was only 3:16, and Kit hurriedly found the location of a nearby Volvo dealership for Nita, and a Subaru/Chevrolet dealership next door for him. Nita wrote out the coordinates for the alley separating the two, then said the activation syllable, grabbed Kit's hand, and disappeared with a clap of air.
"Thirty-three."
"Miss, I simply can't take the price down any further."
The moustached salesman looked rather helpless.
"Yes, I know you've been against the Lone One and all that, I know you know two of the most prominent Seniors in America, but I simply can't. Thirty-six is my final offer."
Nita hovered on the edge of buying, then sighed.
"I don't know. Maybe I'll go buy a Subaru…"
"Thirty three is it!"
Nita chanced half a smile.
"Alright."
"Deal?"
"It's done."
Kit paced around a shining new C5 Corvette, contemplating whether to buy it for a mere, oh, $70,000. He grimaced at this last figure. Shook his head, and turned to his guide/salesperson.
"What was your figure on the Blazer?"
"$29,000, sir."
"Uh…no."
"Well, then, you're looking for a reliable SUV?"
"No, sir, I'm looking for a car that's a comfortable wagon, reliable, and a company to be trusted. The Outback is the closest one I can find, but it doesn't meet what I'd hoped for."
"Well, sir, we don't have that kind of car. But maybe I can interest you in a smaller sedan?"
"Sir, you don't seem to understand. I need a wagon."
"I realize that, sir, but there are other alternatives than that."
Kit sighed.
"I apologize, sir. I think I'll just browse for a while."
The salesperson stalked cooly off as Kit crossed the street to the Volvo dealer to meet Nita.