She stood as she listened, then came over to kiss him, signaling that she'd only be another minute. "Well, tell him I said congratulations and that we'll talk soon. I know, right? Definitely happy hour worthy. Okay, love you, too. Bye!"
She ended the call, then moved into the kitchen to fill her mug.
"One of your LA friends?" he asked.
"Lydia," she said, her back to him. "She moved to LA after undergrad and is doing really well. And she told me that another friend of ours just got his first producing credit."
"And you told them about your job, I hope."
"Yeah," she said, her voice a little hollow. "That's actually why I called her. I know it's late there, but with the time difference, I knew she'd still be up."
He frowned, not certain why, but feeling like there was something off in her voice. "She must know the studio," he said. "I mean, with projects from both Griffin and Beverly Martin on their dance card, you're going to work for a real competitor."
"I know." She finally turn around, then rubbed her face, looking tired. "It's just been a long, weird day, and I miss her. There was a group of us that did drin
ks every Friday night. Call it late night melancholy. Actually," she said, "don't call it anything at all. Because I'm going to shake off this mood."
A ball of worry had settled in his gut, but he was determined to shake that off, too. So he didn't ask her for more details. All he said was, "you're in luck. I know just how to do that. Get dressed," he added, his eyes skimming over the tiny tank top and sleep shorts that he loved seeing her in. "I want to show you something."
"What? Outside?"
Since she was already tugging her jeans back on, he didn't bother answering. He just waited for her to finish, then led the way to the door.
"It's almost three in the morning," she pointed out as they descended in the elevator. "Where are we going?"
"Not far," he promised. He'd called the car service again, and the limo was right on time, the driver standing by the door ready to hold it open for Mina.
"Good evening," he said as they both slipped inside, and Cam was pleased to see the driver hadn't forgotten a thing.
As the driver shut the door, Cam took one of the freshly poured Mimosas and handed it to Mina. "To long nights and wonderful company," he said.
She still looked baffled, but she smiled broadly, then clinked her glass against his. "I'll drink to that." She took a sip, then nodded at the two small canvas bags on the floor. They were both zipped shut with no logo. "Are those for us?"
"Yup."
"Can I open one?"
"Nope."
"Cam!"
He laughed, amused by her confusion. Soon enough she'd have her answer, and in fact, they'd barely been in the car for five minutes when the driver pulled over at the designated spot on Baylor Street at the edge of downtown, just below the old castle. "Come on," Cam said, grabbing his bag and urging Mina to pick up hers.
"Graffiti Park!" She looked around, delighted. "Do you know I've never been here?"
"Me neither," Cam admitted, but he knew about it. Most Austinites did. Officially called the Hope Outdoor Gallery, Graffiti Park consisted of the concrete remnants of old buildings at the bottom of a hill. An urban contrast to the medieval-style castle that graced the hilltop, one of the earliest buildings in Austin, and which Cam had been in once as a kid when the then-owners had turned it into a haunted house for Halloween.
For years, the slabs had stood stark white, like bones rotting in the sun. Then after a South-by-Southwest event in 2011, it was opened to muralists. After that, it evolved as a venue for taggers, with the graffiti being periodically whitewashed so that folks could start over.
Now, it was completely covered by layer upon layer of art on top of art. And Cam intended to add one more layer.
"They're about to demolish it," he said. "I'm not sure exactly when, but I read that the city council voted on it, and it's going to be torn down, and maybe part of it relocated out by the airport." He shrugged. "I guess the folks in the neighborhood don't like the crowds it draws."
"Too bad," she said. "It's pretty cool."
They started climbing until they found a slab with mostly solid colors. Mina opened her bag, found a can of white paint, and sprayed, Mina & Cam Were Here, then proceeded to spray smiley faces and little stick figures.
They both sprayed goofy images for a while, demonstrating their complete lack of artistic skill, until finally Cam took her hand and pulled her to one side. "This," he said, then very carefully sprayed Mina + Cam 4ever inside a large, red heart.