Page 55 of Should the Sky Fall

“Yes, please.”

Dawson chuckles and they make their way to the front desk. After a bunch of paperwork is signed and even more is handed to them, they walk to Dawson’s car. He wonders if Cal will recognize it, if it will stir anything up, but Cal gives no indication of his memory being jogged as Dawson helps him into the passenger seat and adjusts the seatbelt so it doesn’t press on his wounds.

“Are you hungry? Have you had breakfast today?” Dawson asks, turning on the ignition.

“Yes. But I could eat.” He licks his lips. “Do we have anything sweet at home?”

Dawson stares at him, then laughs. “You weren’t kidding about the cravings.”

Cal makes a miserable sound. “No. And they only ever gave me dessert with lunch.”

Dawson grins at the petulant tone. “Nothing at home. But,” he adds as Cal’s expression falls, “I know just the place.”

Chapter 12

“Oh,shit,”Dawsonsaysas he takes another right turn.

“What’s wrong?”

“The only decent parking is further down the road.” He looks at Cal apologetically. “Are you okay to walk? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. I usually just walk here because we live so close.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Cal says. “I’ve been doing my exercises. I should be fine to walk for at least twenty minutes. Unless it’s uphill.”

Dawson is visibly relieved. “Okay, that’s fine. It’s, like, five minutes. Maybe longer if you need to go slowly. No hills.”

“Then it’s fine.”

A few minutes later, Dawson’s parking the car next to a line of others overlooking the beach.

“Where are we?” Cal asks, eyes glued to the golden shore and waves breaking against it.

Dawson turns off the engine and unbuckles his seatbelt. “Nobby Beach. It’s small, but it’s one of my favorites.”

They exit the car, and Cal sucks in a lungful of fresh air, smelling salt and something else.

“It’s beautiful. Do we live here?”, he asks. Dawson said they’re close-by.

“A little further north on Mermaid Beach. It’s literally a fifteen-minute walk, that’s why I don’t bother driving. Plus, I love beach walks and running.”

They live like this? At the beach, having access to this place whenever they want? What a paradise, especially after being shut away in a room without windows and the smell of antiseptic for almost two weeks.

“Come on, this way.”

“Where are we going?” Cal asks as he falls into step with him. Or to be precise, as Dawson matches Cal’s pace.

“It’s a cafe. One of my favorite places on earth. The guys running it are wonderful. And they write little messages for you on the cups. Sometimes it’s just a motivational quote, but they do personalized messages too. When I first found the place I thought they have, like, a bunch of them and they just rotate them between people. But in the three years I’ve been going there I’ve never got the same message twice.”

“That sounds nice,” Cal says, enchanted by the way Dawson’s face transforms when he talks about something he loves. His face is so expressive and full of life. He’s been smiling more lately, that demure aura that was around him in the first few days after Cal woke up almost gone.

A few minutes later, Dawson stops, pointing at the store in front of them. “We’re here.”

Craning his neck, Cal surveys the exterior of the place. As with most of the shops they’ve passed, the cafe has large windows with a clear view inside. Due to the sun reflecting on the glass he can’t make out too much, but he can see tables lined along the windows, some of them occupied with people sipping their drinks.

“Lost and Ground?” he reads the banner, giving Dawson a confused look.

Dawson laughs, lifting a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Zeke’s idea. He’s a bit weird, and his sense of humor is a tad morbid. You’ll love him. And Gabe.” He pushes the door open. “Come on in.”

Once Cal steps inside, a bitter scent hits his nose. He smelled something similar in the hospital when he wandered around during his walks, but this is way more pronounced. As they walk further into the shop, the scent changes, bitterness mingling with something sweet that has Cal taking in a greedy lungful. Whatever it is, it smells divine.