“Of course I can walk.”
He’d never been so grateful for her stiff upper lip. Or for an excuse to jet. “I’ll call you,” he told Brian over his shoulder.
It was a lie, and it felt like shit.
Brian smiled. “You do that.”
A few minutes later, he and Rosemary fetched up at the food cart and Kal ushered her into in a plastic chair. “What’s the matter with me?” she asked.
“I think you’re having a panic attack.”
“No.”
“You ever had one before?”
“Not that I remember.”
“Then you wouldn’t know.” He’d had a few, after the earthquake. After he gave up on his dreams.
Kal went up to the vendor and bought food with money from her wallet. He set a plate of fried dumplings in front of her, arranged in a
circle around a small bowl of sauce.
“I know,” he said, “dumplings again. You’re going to think I’m trying to seduce you, but these are fried momo with mashed potatoes, and you, my friend, need to get some sugar to your brain before you pass out on me. This guy’s momo are the best.”
Rosemary picked up a dumpling. She dipped it in the sauce. Kal ate an entire momo in the time it took Rosemary to swallow the first bite. She accepted the bottle of beer he proffered, drank half of it, and closed her eyes. “I think I’m crashing.”
“You’re okay. Drink a little more.”
She finished the bottle, then looked at him. “I’m sorry. Let me buy another one.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll catch up on the flight later.”
“Do we need to get to the airport?”
“We’ve got a few hours yet. So, you been to Kathmandu before?” Keep her talking. Distract yourself.
“On the way in.”
“Any other times?”
“No.”
“Some of my first memories from when I was a kid are from here. You know how you have memories of being a kid but you don’t know if they’re really memories or stories someone told you?”
“Sure.”
“It’s like that. I can remember a garden with a lot of flowers, and this time we went to the monkey temple and one of the monkeys tried to bite me.”
“They say they have rabies.”
“They do say that. I guess I dodged a bullet. Did you go to any of the temples when you were here before?”
“I didn’t have time.”
“You’d like them.” Kal tried to think of another question that would keep her talking, keep himself from thinking, but she beat him to the punch.
“Who was that man you were talking to?”