MANIFEST DESTINY
They were eating at a Red Lobster, and he was scanning a letter he had grabbed from his mailbox before picking her up. “Situation’s so different at my place,” he said. “My parents are boringly sane.” His bib was clean while Kathie’s had butter smears. The froth was still on their root beers.
“Who’s that from?” she asked.
“Mike Finn,” he said. “You remember Mike? He left town several months back. He’s in Frisco now. Says I should head on out. There’s so much going on.”
“And will you?”
He could see disappointment in the corners of her eyes, though she continued brandishing a lobster claw.
“We could, you know,” he said, “We could go on the road together, like the hippies.”
“I don’t think…”she started to say.
“I could fly us out for a week and we could scope out the place. If we like it, we could move there.”
By the time they finished their meal, a decision had been made, a decision based on not enough information, a decision that could change both of their lives, but in his heart Ned felt it was a decision made to fall in line with a fate that had been planned for them long before that afternoon.
“Who’s that from?” she asked.
“Mike Finn,” he said. “You remember Mike? He left town several months back. He’s in Frisco now. Says I should head on out. There’s so much going on.”
“And will you?”
He could see disappointment in the corners of her eyes, though she continued brandishing a lobster claw.
“We could, you know,” he said, “We could go on the road together, like the hippies.”
“I don’t think…”she started to say.
“I could fly us out for a week and we could scope out the place. If we like it, we could move there.”
By the time they finished their meal, a decision had been made, a decision based on not enough information, a decision that could change both of their lives, but in his heart Ned felt it was a decision made to fall in line with a fate that had been planned for them long before that afternoon.