“Have you never walked home from this far before?”

“Have you ever considered not jumping to conclusions?”

“I—”

“I can hail you a cab to send you home,” she offers, “or you can come with me to this pretty garden at the Kirk.”

“Sorry, where did you say you’re going? It’s fucking freezing and you want to spend more time outdoors?”

“Hall of Thaddeus. If you’re coming, you can keep an eye out for your soulmate.”

“What for?” I already found mine.

“Jude makes sculptures. He’s one of the few who would display his work there.”

God, why is it so hard to resist this woman? Wordlessly, I walk ahead of her to the cable car station.

“If his soulmate has any idea what he is,” Paula continues behind me, “that would be good place to look.”

As if reserved for us, a car meets us empty with open doors as soon as we reach the landing.

“And you expect to find them there?” I ask her as we take our seats. “At this hour?”

“No,” she replies as she pulls a folder out of her bag, “but I expect someone to go there.”

“Someone specific?”

“Anyone who can read.” She skims over the marked pages, removing the tapes as she goes. When she reaches the end, she flips the booklet and slides it across the table. “I’m sure you have a pen on you.”

“What’s this for?”

“To keep you occupied in case you don’t like the view.”

“But I love the townscape.”

“My point exactly.”

I sigh.  “This was Jo’s seat.”

“Well, she’s not here.”

“Do you have to say it like that?”

She rolls her eyes like she’s too cool to freakin’ apologize. “Look, at least you’ll see why she loved this side.”