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“Ah, well, not the kind you’re talking about, no, but it’s customer service oriented, so I’m sure plenty of people think we’re the devil.”

Arianna resumed eating, satisfied enough with that answer.

Elle, however, continued to study her from across their bistro table. “Do you have any time off coming up?”

“Eh? Suppose so. I haven’t thought about it. We did just hit the six-month mark of Royal Asia’s lifespan, so I guess I could start asking to use my vacation days. Why?” Arianna perked up, leafy greens in her mouth. “Do you have some big plan up your sleeve?”

“It’s weird, we spend all this time together in two separate countries, but we haven’t actually gone somewhere together. As a couple.” Elle completely abandoned all interest in her lunch and folded her hands over her plate. “Name one place you’ve always wanted to visit but haven’t had the chance. Maybe we can make it happen.”

Put on the spot like that, Arianna didn’t know whether to swallow her bite or simply stare at Elle with a mouthful of food.

She swallowed. “Seattle.”

Elle’s eyes widened. “What? Why? You serious? Is it because I live there?”

“No. Suppose that plays a small part.” Arianna crossed her utensils on her plate and matched her girlfriend’s posture. The thin sleeves of her sweater threatened to slide off her shoulders, but she fixed them before the high-powered air conditioning froze her half to death. The extremely humid Singaporean summers were no joke, but that was outside. Women like Arianna knew how to avoid it, and that was by hiding inside… and bringing sweaters to wear! “I’ve always wanted to visit Seattle. Some people here romanticize that part of America, you know. It’s up there with Los Angeles, which I have visited… many, many times.”

“Suppose your work never took you to Seattle?”

“No, I don’t think so. If it did, it was a very long time ago and I didn’t have the chance to explore. I’m a lot better at that now. Going out on my own and doing whatever I want like a confident tourist.”

“What’s the most interesting place you’ve ever had a layover?”

“Oh, that’s easy! Definitely Reykjavik!”

Elle laughed again. “My goodness, I’ve only had three-hour layovers there on my way to Europe. I’ve never been able to go out and explore.”

“Because you’re not flight crew.”

“You’re right. I’m not. But I know a lot about the airline industry and how it works.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

Elle ignored that hot bit of sarcasm. “I used to work for Delta.”

Now, that was something Arianna had not anticipated. “You’re kidding.”

Elle shook her head. “I worked for the regional center in Seattle but it still took me all over the place for meetings, conferences, you name it.”

“What did you do?”

“Admin. I’ve never worked on a plane, but I’ve done plenty of things behind the scenes.”

“What’s the most interesting place Delta ever sent you?”

“Delta specifically? Oh, that’s easy,” she said, mimicking Arianna. “Oklahoma City.”

Arianna rolled her eyes. “You’re silly.”

“Says the woman who wants to take time off to go to Seattle.”

“So I could stay with you, obviously.”

“The whole point was to pick a place we could get a room together. Like Hawaii. Or maybe Cancun. Bali?”

“I bet Seattle is lovely in the summer.”

“It’s still a good bit overcast now. Sometimes it rains when you’re having a parade.”