Jamie and Lukas came back to the table, engrossed in some debate about the merits of São Paulo versus Rio de Janeiro while Chris peeled off toward the bar to order another round. Julia felt something unclench within her when she realized that they weren’t really fighting about anything and that Jamie and Lukas seemed to get along fine. Maybe that stuff she thought she’d observed earlier was all in her head. She was always worried about relationships falling apart. She was probably looking for trouble when everything was fine.
Like she was looking for trouble with Blake, when now he was smiling and laughing along with the rest of them. She had to admit that she hardly knew him well enough to guess what was running through his mind.
“You have to appreciate the architecture of the skyscraper city,” Lukas was saying.
“I’m not saying I don’t, but how is it unlike so many other cities?” Jamie said.
“That’s what I thought when I was there,” Julia spoke up. “Like, okay. I’m in another city. Now what?”
Lukas shook his head like she’d told him she didn’t like music, or dancing, or anything remotely fun.
“You were in São Paulo before this?” Blake asked. Julia explained how she’d flown into the city before heading to the falls, selectively editing out the overwhelming loneliness and all the time she’d spent reading in her hotel room. Further proof that no matter what they shared when they were naked, they barely knew each other.
“So what did you do while you were there?” Lukas asked.
She shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know. Walked around, went to a history museum, went to some parks and a really big garden.”
“I’m with Jamie. Rio is where it’s at,” Blake said.
“I’m not saying Rio doesn’t have its merits,” Lukas interjected. “Just that it’s a completely different kind of city—one that has to be evaluated on its own aesthetic terms.”
“It’s fucking gorgeous, there’s a million things to do, you take three steps in any direction and you’re either in the mountains or at the beach. Plus you have the culture, entertainment, nightlife, and activities of any major metropolitan area, without the congestion of skyscrapers like you have in São Paulo. What’s not to love?” Jamie said.
“Who, you mean me?” Chris asked, sliding into the empty seat next to him.
“It’s stiff competition between you and Rio,” Jamie teased.
“Oh. Well, I know when I’m definitely beat. Are you sure we can’t make it there for New Year’s?”
“If we have to wind up in Chile, shouldn’t we head there from here, instead of going another twelve hours east just to come back again?”
“I know, I know. So practical,” she grumbled. “Are you going?”
Lukas shrugged. “I want to head north to the Pantanal for some wildlife shots. The whole region is supposed to be completely different from the Amazon. Because it’s so open, you can really see everything.”
“You do wildlife photography?” Julia asked.
“Not specifically, but since I’m so close it’d be a shame to miss it. I can go up to the Pantanal and then who knows. I’d like to go to Paraguay and then Bolivia. Maybe up to Ecuador and over to the Galapagos if I can afford it, or else wind back down south through Chile and Argentina, like you said. But I’m open—no time limit except for when the funds run out, but hopefully the photographs will cover that.”
“Wherever the winds lead,” Chris said.
“Our flight’s out of Santiago, so that’s where we have to wind up,” Jamie reminded her.
“Ugh, I hate planning.” Chris rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, well. Somebody’s got to do it.”
The waiter arrived with another round of caipirinhas and plates of food Chris had ordered at the bar. It was nice of her to take care of everything, but Julia couldn’t help feeling like that was such a Chris thing to do, taking charge and making everyone’s decisions—even what they’d have to eat.
Still, the food was good, and she’d ordered enough for everyone to share. A whole fried red snapper, plus plantains and more yucca to pick at. Plates of rice and beans and sautéed greens. There was shrimp in something fermented and salty and a grain that everyone sprinkled over all the food. Julia dug into a little of everything, remembering how when she’d been by herself, she’d hardly known what to order even when she could figure out some place to go.
“So I guess no one’s heading to Rio for New Year’s,” Chris moped, picking up the conversation where they’d left off.
“What’s so special about New Year’s in Rio?” Julia asked, flaking the fish off the bone.
“Fucking everything.” Chris shook the ice in her glass. “Millions of people go to Copacabana beach and party until dawn. Fireworks, music, dancing, champagne on the beach—the works. If you can’t be there during Carnival, then that’s the time to do it.”
“If you really want to go, we’ll go,” Jamie said, always accommodating.
“No, we have to get to our flight in Santiago.” Chris sighed in a way that said she wasn’t quite as agreeable as the words made it seem. But Jamie ignored the dig.
“What about you?” he asked Blake. “You still heading south?”
Julia bit her lip, waiting to hear how Blake would respond. What exactly were his plans, anyway? She saw him glance over and she raised her eyebrows as if to say, How should I know what you’re doing?
“That’s the idea,” Blake said with forced casualness, and even though Julia knew that was what he was going to say, it still dug into her somewhere deep inside.
She could tell Chris was trying not to laugh. She’d already given him a hard time about not following through with his plans. For all that Chris didn’t seem to keep her mouth shut, at least she knew the few times when it was better to step back. Instead of teasing Blake, she asked Julia about her plans.
Julia was surprised at the question. That she could do something hadn’t really occurred to her. At least not until she’d opened up the guidebook to the photo of the waterfalls and decided to take fate into her own hands.
She’d thought she’d stay here for as long as her time with Blake allowed it, and then she’d turn around and head back to São Paulo. But the truth was, she wasn’t really thinking ahead. The past twenty-four hours had been such a blissful dream, it was hard to remember that in a few short days, she would have to wake up and fly back to Chicago, where her real life was lying in wait.
“I don’t really have any plans,” she said slowly, eyeing Blake to see how he’d react. “I fly out of São Paulo really late on the first.”
“Really late?” Chris said, slathering her plate of fish with a tangy green sauce. “That totally gives you enough time to do Rio and hop a bus between the cities for your flight.”
Julia felt herself freeze. The way Chris said she could do Rio made it feel like the city was just something to cross off on a list. But wasn’t she right? Couldn’t Julia go there, if she chose? Couldn’t she go anywhere she wanted?
“You can’t be down here and not see Rio,” Blake said. “Imagine you planned the trip that way all along. São Paulo to Iguaçu to Rio, then back for your flight. It’s not so crazy, right?”
The way he said it did make it sound less wild than if she were hopping a last-minute bus with no plans. Chris might not have thought anything of making sudden changes, but Blake seemed to understand her hesitation. He was a planner, too, even if he disregarded it sometimes.
But hanging out in Rio by herself? She didn’t want it to be another disappointment, like São Paulo had been. And she couldn’t go into this leg of the journey hoping to meet new people; she felt like she’d tapped out her karma on that point.
And besides, she didn’t want to meet anyone else now that she’d met Blake.
But maybe he was telling her something. Making new plans, creating an itinerary that would land her back in São Paulo in time for her flight… Could he actually be offering to—