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If it was one thing I knew growing up, it’s that men plus hunger usually equals irritation. A lesson learned from my dad and his many grumpy bits.
    “I’ll have two M tacos, please.” George handed back the menus.
    “And how about you?” she said, eyeing me next.
    “What’s an M taco?” I asked.
    “It’s really just a potato and egg taco with a slice of bacon,” Sarah explained. “It’s really good. Soft and crunchy at the same time.”
    “Oh okay, then I’ll have one of those—and a cup of some rice pudding.”
    “Coolness! Let me go turn in the order, and if you need anything else just call me.”
    “So Rini, how are ya’ liking Austin so far?” George asked, with elbows on the table as he leant in.
    “Lots and lots of trees,” I laughed and took a sip of my tea. “Cel wasn’t kidding about Austin having a lot of scenery,” I laughed. “But the actual city is beautiful. New York City-ish—without all the lights, billboards, crowds, and taxi drivers honking and yelling ‘Get outta the way, I’m tryn’a drive here!’”I tried my best to do a New York accent, but I ended up failing. I’d never been to the Big Apple, but I’d imagined it was sorta like the movies. I mean—not as dramatic, but to an extent. Hey, it had to be based on something, right? Lily told me that there was a reason you only see Time Square and a few other streets in shows or movies. It’s because that’s all there is. Just that one area. The rest is just apartments and other smaller things. But she says it’s worth seeing, and that you nearly lose your breath at night when all the signs are lit up.
    George laughed. “Yeah, when Celeste moved up here with me she got lost on the first day. This Austin born boy had to go save her. I found her parked on the side of the road off the freeway, crying.”
    I felt a foot fly by my leg and hit George in his shin.
    “ Ow!” he scowled. “What was that for?”
    “She didn’t have to know that , George,” Celeste childishly folded her arms, mirroring the snobby little boy a few tables down that I’d regretted being nice to. “Rini, did you know that George was scared of commitment?” she said getting redemption. Well, trying to at least.
    “Hey! I married you, didn’t I?” George countered.
    “All right, who had the M taco and a side of rice pudding?” Sarah asked, acting as if she didn’t hear their little fight. She was standing with the plate in the palm of her hand.
    “I did” I raised my hand.
    “Well, that sure was fast,” George said, changing the subject.
    I entered the car first, bouncing my way to the middle seat again once we were done eating and paid.
    The car roared and shook when the ignition started, scaring a flock of birds out of nearby trees. “Where to now?” I asked George.
    “We’re going to take you for a tour of the capitol,” he replied, looking at me through the rearview mirror again. “All Texans should see it at some point in time. Then we’re going to show you some other parts of town.”
    “Sounds fun,” I lied. Sounds boring. Where’s that mall Celeste mentioned?
    Celeste and George stayed quiet and mad throughout the whole tour of the massive building that was the Texas State Capitol, which I came to learn was the seventh largest building in the world in 1888. I thought it was funny watching him move next to her, only to have her inch farther away. Or try to reach for her hands and instead watch her fold them in her arms. In a bicker over something so small. I didn’t care if Celeste cried and got lost on her first day in a big city. Although, I’ll admit that I did crack a smile back at the restaurant, but it wasn’t a big deal. It happens. There’s only two things that cause attitude changes like that, hormones and love. And right now she was going through both, so I tried to distance myself as much as I could from being within her throwing distance.
    The tour guide could not have had a more monotonous and boring