Everything was fine.
In the distance, headlights blinked between the trees where a road wound up a hill, rising like a dark stain around the edges of the sky. Somewhere down there was Argentina, and on the other side, Paraguay, but here in the deepening night there were no borders and no boundaries, just the lap of water against the muddy banks.
They had piled five into a cab again with Chris, Jamie, and Lukas, Julia squished uncomfortably on Blake’s lap in the back seat over the bumpy roads that twisted and turned to the lake. The whole time he hadn’t known where to put his hands, until he basically sat on one and wedged the other between the seat and the door. At first it seemed weird—didn’t his arms belong around her? But then she’d decided his awkwardness around his friends was cute. And it was always good to have something in reserve that she could tease him about later, when they found a way to be alone again.
She warned herself that it was dangerous to see her and Blake this way, as a couple that would seek each other out when they could. But she couldn’t help it. Hadn’t Blake made it clear how much he wanted her? Shouldn’t she take in as much of him as she could?
They grabbed two tables, red plastic chairs angled close together on the sandy shore. Chris plunked down between Jamie and Lukas, talking about the view and how she’d heard this spot was a popular place for locals, away from the more energized bars in town. Naturally Julia parked herself next to Blake. He was being oddly quiet, but Julia told herself there was nothing wrong with being comfortable with silence. The rest of the group more than made up for it with their chatter.
She was wearing cut offs and a dark cranberry tank top loose around her hips, perfect for the night breeze coming over the water. The warm air and the hum of conversation washed over her in waves, reminding her that had she stayed by herself in São Paulo, she’d probably be curled up in that closet of a hotel room right now, reading about curriculum development and trying to convince herself she was happy “traveling” alone. She’d been at the falls for just over a day, and it still managed to surprise her that she was here.
“Don’t you feel lucky?” Chris asked, perusing one of the plastic menus left on the table. “Other people have jobs and mortgages and kids to worry about and we’re like, fuck it, let’s go sit by a lake and drink beer.”
“I live by Lake Michigan. I can sit by a lake and drink beer any time,” Julia said, kicking off her sandals and burying her toes in the sand. “But I guess bringing work there sort of defeats the purpose. Plus it’s completely iced over right now.”
“All the more reason to stay down here.”
“I like how Chris pretends she doesn’t have a job.” Jamie laughed as he signaled for the waiter, who was bringing another round of beer to a table by the shore.
“It’s on hold,” she said.
“Yeah, until we get back and pick up where we left off.”
Chris shook her head. “How can you say that? It’s like six months away doesn’t even affect you—you can’t wait to get back to early morning meetings and nothing in the fridge for dinner.”
“That’s why I’m a photographer,” Lukas said cheerfully, holding up the camera that was always around his neck. “Travel the world, make my own hours—”
“Be perpetually broke,” Jamie teased.
Lukas shrugged. “I’d rather have little money and spend it on this than a lot of money and be trapped by car payments and my dry cleaning bill.”
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Chris exclaimed, turning toward Jamie. “Don’t you like this way of life better?”
“This isn’t a way of life,” Jamie said. “It’s a long vacation. You know, a break from the real world.”
“This is real to whomever’s living it,” Chris protested. “It’s not like they don’t need real estate agents here. We could move to Rio. Or some gorgeous small town on the beach and I could sell land. Or we could run an inn! A little pousada—wouldn’t that be great?”
Jamie looked pleadingly at Blake. “Come on, you’re with me, right? Don’t you want to go home? I mean, not right now, obviously. But…eventually?”
Julia looked over at Blake, but she couldn’t figure out what he thought of the question. “I’m not looking for a life on the road,” he said carefully, and Jamie pounced on the affirmation.
“See? We can’t always keep moving, but some day we’ll save up enough again and take another vacation. Maybe India. Or Egypt, I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt. We could tour the rivers of the world.”
Even in the darkness Julia could see Lukas smirking, and although he was handsome, the expression didn’t sit well on his face. “I’ll try and meet up with you on your two-week holiday,” he said. Chris laughed. Jamie looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue.
“Well I for one am glad to have even a week,” Julia said quickly. “Not everyone is so lucky to get any time off, let alone can afford to travel.”
Chris may have wanted to protest that a week was nothing, but she couldn’t argue when everyone else was nodding. Inwardly Julia sighed, relieved that the prick of tension seemed to be dissipating. She may not have been easygoing like Jamie or adventurous like Blake or independent like Lukas or a laughing, carefree leader like Chris, but she knew how to smooth things over and help make people feel calm.
See? She smirked to herself. Leave it to her not to let bouts of wild sex in semi-public places with a gorgeous foreigner go to her head. She was still the same old sensible Julia, wanting everyone to get along. She could practically feel the force of Liz’s eye-roll from across the equator.
Jamie started a headcount for beers to signal to the waiter at the bar but Blake interrupted, saying, “A caipirinha for me.”
“A what?” Julia asked.
“I need something stronger,” he said, which didn’t exactly answer her question.
“Make it two,” Chris said.
“Three,” Lukas added, and Jamie pointed to Julia to see if she wanted to switch her order.
She thought of how she’d finished Blake’s pineapple juice that morning and decided that whatever he was having was worth a try. So far, saying yes to Blake had served her well.
Even if right now he was tracing circles on the plastic table with his fingernail, some unreadable expression on his face.
“What’s in it?” she asked him, touching his forearm to make him look at her.
“Cachaça, way too much sugar, and about as much lime.”
“What’s cachaça?” she asked.
Chris clutched her chest like she’d been hurt. “Nectar of the gods,” she said.
“Gift of Brazil,” Lukas spoke up. “The cheapest liquor money can buy.”
“It’ll fuck you up,” Jamie said drily, with a look at Chris that Julia didn’t miss.
“It’s sugarcane rum,” Blake finally explained. “Also known as fire water.”
“And you’re going to subject me to this?” Julia raised an eyebrow, feeling very much like the newbie at the table. The travel virgin, except for the fact that everything else she’d been doing so far on this trip was anything but virginal.
“It’s Brazil’s national drink. No trip here could be complete without it.”
“We may be underselling it,” Chris considered.
“Not the fucking you up part,” Jamie warned, rubbing his hand over his beard.
“I’ll try to keep my wits about me,” Julia laughed. “Count me in.”
“Five caipirinhas coming up,” Jamie said, and went to tell the waiter.
Julia wasn’t sure how he and Chris had found each other, since they were so different, but she could see why Blake liked him. His quiet charm helped soften the edges of Chris’s brashness, making the other woman easier to handle. Would the constellation of guests at the hostel have gravitated together if Chris hadn’t been around? Julia wondered if it was simply the nature of traveling that foreigners found each other wherever they stayed. But she had a feeling Chris liked the attention of people besides Jamie, if the way she bantered with Lukas like they were constantly sharing one long inside joke was any indication.