CHAPTER 97: ROBIN (3)

When they got to the front of the line, Robin said, "Oh, my god, this is so awesome. I haven’t had fish tacos since I was in Port Solis. And your truck looks amazing! Are you gonna be here for long, or are you moving around?"

"Thank you! I love it too. I have a deal with the parking lot owner, so I’m here for at least the next three months."

"Awesome! Now I can have fish tacos for lunch every day!"

"Do you surf?" asked Jack.

"I did until I lost my foot in a car accident. I was saving up to start a restaurant, but after the accident I only had enough to buy this truck. And the Port Solis market is kinda saturated. I figured I’d try my luck up her in Stetle."

For a moment, he was tempted to invest in her dream, to offer to fund her restaurant.

But if he offered to help every pretty girl he met, he’d eventually go broke.

There was no way her restaurant could make him even a fraction of what he already had, and she wasn’t attractive enough for him to want her "gratitude," so he rejected the idea.

"Sorry to hear about your foot. But glad to hear you’re still able to pursue your dream."

"Thank you. If this goes well, I may still be able to open my own restaurant. Now, before the rest of the line starts complaining, what’ll you have?"

Jack wasn’t sure what was good, so he let robin order for the both of them. Once their order was ready, they claimed one of the tables distributed to the side of the food truck. They were stomach height for him and chest height for Robin.

Inside the rectangular card paper tray were three soft shelled tacos, each filled with chunks of halibut, mango salsa, and red unions.

When he took his first bite, his mouth filled with the flavors of savory, tender halibut, sweet mango, and zesty red onions. It wasn’t just surprisingly good; it was amazing.

As they ate, they chatted about classes and plans.

He learned that Robin had been fascinated with robots since she was old enough to walk and she was pursuing a degree in robotics.

When her mom was diagnosed with cancer, she had tried to promise her mom that she would dedicate her life to finding a cure for cancer, but her mom had made her promise to stick with her dream of robotics.

They were walking back towards the University after eating when Jack said, "I think I know what it was that made me think we could connect."

"Oh?"

"My parents died when I was ten, and you lost your mom, so I think I felt in you the same sense of loss I felt."

At the time he had asked her out, Fran had not yet been diagnosed with cancer.

"Oh no. That’s horrible. Did you have to go live with your grandparents, too?"

"No. My parents were orphans, no known next of kin, so I got stuck in the foster care system. I was eventually adopted by Fran and Jacob and it was great until they also died. The worst was watching Fran slowly lose her fight against cancer."

She had grabbed his hand as soon as they started walking back to classes and when she heard his latest revelation; she pulled him to a stop and grabbed him in a tight hug.

He was surprised by her reaction. He had expected a ’that’s horrible’ or ’I’m sorry to hear that’, but not a hug.

When he looked down, he saw that she was crying.

Not sure what to do, but remembering the times Madison had hugged him like this, he reached out and hugged her back. As soon as he did, she hugged him even tighter and let out quiet, little shuddering sobs.

At some point, he realized his face was wet, and the world around him was blurry.

Not caring about what passers-by might think, he just closed his eyes and gently stroked Robin’s hair. Eventually, her breathing steadied, and he felt her tilt her head up to look at him.

He opened his eyes to look down, and the look on her face almost broke him.

She knew what he was feeling, what it was like to watch someone you love slowly die. And her look of understanding, of compassion, it nearly broke him.

He had been channeling Jacob’s stoic fortitude and even when he hiked to Lake Valhalla to deliver Fran’s ashes; he had not let himself think too deeply about it, not wanting to, or even ready to, process his loss.

And yet, with one look, a girl he barely knew had touched a part of him he thought he’d lock away.

When she saw the look on his face, she pulled back, looked around and then started pulling him towards a nearby hotel while saying, "Come on, I think we can afford to miss a few classes."

Unlike what typically happens when a couple gets a hotel room in the middle of the day, they spent several hours sharing their own personal experiences and much tissue paper was used... for tears.

After sharing the hard and painful parts of their experiences, they also shared some of the more humorous, if dark, anecdotes that only people in their experience would understand.

When the conversation wound down, she looked a question at him. He knew what she was asking, but just smiled and shook his head. She nodded. Then they got up, washed their faces, and checked out of the room.

As they walked through the lobby and out the door, the hotel staff gave each other knowing looks, oblivious to the fact that Jack and Robin had engaged in an entirely different and more personally meaningful sort of release.

When they reached the quad, they stopped and turned to face each other.

"Thursday?" she asked.

"Yep," he replied. Then he gave her a kiss before saying with a smile, "Maybe next time we’ll make it to the restaurant."

Then he turned and headed for his Land cruiser. His last class for the day was less than half done, but he didn’t feel like entering late, so he decided to just head back to the hotel room he shared with Miranda.