“Because I wracked up a ton of student debt and then ended up in a job that doesn’t make a ton of money.” Another shrug. “It’s okay; it’s my choice. I could choose another, better paying job if I wanted to. And I’ve tried. It just turned out that I was really bad at everything else. So...I collect maps instead, and daydream. And milk my memories of that one semester I did in Rome over twenty years ago. And watch a lot of YouTube. It’s almost as good as plane tickets. God, I am talking a lot for barely being awake. Do you want coffee or something? Or should we be making out? I can definitely brush my teeth if you’re up for that. I’m up for that. For the record.”

I snuggled further into the pillow. I found myself dangerously close to wanting to know everything. About the other jobs they’d had. About their semester in Rome. About all the places they wanted to go. I would listen to it all.

I also was up for making out. But no.

The night was almost over.

The sun was creeping higher into the sky. Real life Lily had things to do today, to prepare for the work week.

So instead I asked the most innocuous of all the questions in my brain.

“What do you watch on YouTube?”

“You seriously want to know?”

And even though their voice was incredulous, the look on their face was so eager. Like I had asked the right question. It was adorable, and my heart almost cracked in two.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Well, in that case.” They grinned. “Lily. I watch so much.”

I reached over the side of the bed to grab my phone from the pocket of my jeans.

“There are a million travel vlogs, obviously,” I said, clicking on the red and white app. “And seriously, the museums of the world are doing amazing work on the Internet these days. But,” I clicked through my subscription list, “what I’ve been really into lately? Are the trains.”

“The trains,” Lily repeated, a hint of a smile in her voice. I looked over at her, just to double check that I wasn’t going too hardcore nerd here, that the tone of her voice was affectionate and not a thin veil for oh-my-god-shut-up-and-let-me-fall-back-asleep. Which I wouldn’t be opposed to either, honestly. I had no idea what time it was, but I was exhausted.

But even through my dazed semi-consciousness, I was a bit exhilarated from talking about my life with Lily at Whatever Unknown Hour of the Morning. It felt a bit like when I was a mere youth in college, and would spit out my best papers at 3am. Or maybe the papers actually weren’t that great, but I definitely had some great conversations at 3am with my friends.