"I get that, and what you mean by the moment. The satisfaction of it. It's like when I can see even one student's mind open up and suck in what I've been trying to feed them. It makes the hours when it feels like routine all worth it."
"I probably didn't give my teachers many of those moments. I just wanted to get through it and out where I could do what I wanted. I never saw them as creative entities. More like wardens. I was a crappy student."
"You were smart. Which cycles back to teenage obsession. But I'll just say I noticed you were smart."
"We didn't have any classes together. You were a couple years ahead of me, right? Oh, wait! You were student teacher in one of my English classes, weren't you?"
"Mr. Lowen's fifth period American Literature. Now please forget I said that."
"Not a chance. Now, I'm not running away, but I have to go. I have another shoot. Your sister's engagement portrait, in fact."
"I didn't realize you were getting to that so quickly."
"The doctor has the evening free, so we worked it out. But I need to go, get a sense of their place and the two of them together."
"I'll walk you to your car." He took out bills, tucked the ends under the saucer of his cup.
Before she could shrug into her jacket, he'd taken it to help her into it. He opened the door for her, stepped out with her into the breathless cold.
"I'm a block and a half down," she told him. "You don't have to walk me to my car. It's freezing out here."
"It's fine. I walked from my place anyway."
"You walked?"
"I don't live that far, so I walked."
"Right. You like to walk. Since we are," she said as they walked by cafes, restaurants, "I'll mention something that got bypassed due to the path our conversation took. Dr. Maguire? You got your PhD?"
"Last year, finally."
"Finally?"
"Since it was the major focus of my life for about ten years, 'finally' works for me. I started thinking thesis when I was an undergraduate." Which probably made him Mayor Nerd of Nerdville, he supposed. "Are you going to see me again? I know that was a non sequitur but it's buzzing around in my brain. So if the answer's no, I'd rather find out."
She said nothing until they'd reached the car, then studied him as she pulled out her keys. "I bet you have a pen and something to write on. I bet it's pretty handy."
He reached under his coat to the inside of his tweed jacket for a small notebook and pen.
With a nod, Mac took them, flipped to a blank page in the book. "This is my personal line, rather than my business line. Why don't you call me?"
"I can do that. An hour from now's probably too soon, isn't it?"
She laughed, put the notebook and pen back in his hand. "You certainly boost my ego, Carter."
She turned to open her door, but he beat her to it. Touched and amused, she got in, let him close the door behind her. She lowered her window. "Thanks for the coffee."
"You're welcome."
"Get out of the cold, Carter."
When she pulled away from the curb, he watched her car until the taillights disappeared. Then he doubled back toward the coffee shop and walked the frigid three blocks beyond it, to home.
THE BRIEF JANUARY BUSINESS LULL GAVE MAC TOO MUCH TIME on her hands. She knew she could use it to organize her files, to update her various web pages. To clean out the embarrassing mess that was her closet, or to catch up on neglected correspondence. She could use it to read a good book, or fat-ass in front of the TV and gorge on DVDs and popcorn.
But she couldn't settle, and so ended up plopping down on the loveseat in Parker's office.
"Working," Parker said without looking up.
"Contact the media! Parker's working."
Parker continued to tap her keyboard. "After this quick break, we're booked solid for months. Months, Mac. This is going to be our best year. Still, we've got two weeks wide open in August. I'm thinking about a summer's-end package, something that appeals to the smaller wedding. The put-it-together quickly style. We could really push that when we have our open house in March if it doesn't book before."
"Let's all go out."
"Hmm?"
"Let's go out. All four of us. Emma probably has a date, but we'll make her break it and destroy some poor guy none of us know. It'll be fun."
Parker stopped typing, swiveled her chair a few inches. "Go out where?"
"I don't care. The movies, a club. Drinking, dancing, whoring. Hell, let's rent a limo and go to New York and do it right."