Back on Track

Chapter 4

Louisa's POV

We hit Chicago the next day.

It was always going to be a stop along the way – all those times we'd talked about the trip on hours-long video calls, mapping out our route to the opposite coast, Chicago had been near top of the list of the places we wanted to see. Neither of us had been before, even though I had the slightly more valid excuse of living on the wrong side of the Atlantic. New York had felt like home, but I'd always wanted to get out and explore more of the country. And this was my chance.

We'd booked a hostel using the free Wi-Fi back at our last hotel, so all we had to do was punch the address into Kinsley's phone and the built-in GPS did the rest. Some would probably argue that took the fun out of road-tripping, but once we hit the city's busy inner streets neither of us could regret the decision. Kinsley navigated the roads with an apprehensive expression and tighter-than-usual grip on the wheel, but after forty minutes of driving, we made it to our destination.

And we were both starving.

"First things first," I said, once we'd got into the seventh-floor dorm room and dumped our bags on our respective beds, "we need food."

Kinsley nodded. "I like your way of thinking."

"And we're in Chicago," I said, gesturing out of the window to my left. "How hard can it be to find a place to eat?"

The answer, as it turned out, was surprisingly. The problem wasn't a shortage of places; in fact, all we had to do was step out of the entrance of the hostel and we were faced with at least six places in our immediate view. A steakhouse, sushi bar, Italian restaurant, Indian buffet... and all within twenty feet of each other. The difficulty came in deciding what we actually wanted to eat.

Down on the street, Kinsley looked over at me. "Craving anything?"

"More like everything," I said, scanning the street around us. It seemed like every time I turned my head, more places came into view. "At this point, I'm just craving food in general."

"You being indecisive?" She quirked an amused eyebrow. "Now I know things are serious."

"Yeah, I know," I said, smiling. "Your choice. Pick anywhere you fancy."

We started walking, heading down the street and taking a couple of turns just to check out our surroundings. Opening up dozens more choices wasn't really doing much to help the indecisiveness, but keeping moving at least felt like we were achieving something. Eventually, a few streets over, Kinsley's pace slowed and I noticed she was looking in the direction of a building opposite.

"Hey," she began, "this one looks good. How about Thai?"

I followed her gaze, and mine landed upon the front of the same restaurant. It seemed like a break of class in a long line of takeout pizza and chicken, slightly dimmed windows tucked under a blue awning. I could vaguely make out tables inside, each covered by pristine white tablecloths. There was only one word that sprung to mind.

"Yeah," I said, "it looks... fancy."

"Don't you think we deserve it after two days of takeout?" she said, smiling over her shoulder. "Let's go for it. Come on."

Seconds later, my arm was being tugged, and we were crossing the street to head for the door. I didn't say anything, but I couldn't help thinking of the thin wad of notes tucked into my purse, and how one meal here had the potential to make a real dent. The flights alone had taken a lot of saving, and then there was all the extra spending I'd had to account for along the way. I had cash, but waitressing was hardly the world's best-paid job, and even a cross-country road trip had to have its budget limits.