Now, as they sat opposite from one another on the “L,” Derek remained silent about what was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. “Derek?”

“Yes, babe?”

“Is everything okay?”

“Mm-hmm.”

His eyes never left his phone. “Where are you right now?”

“Mm?”

“Derek,” Antonia said louder.

His head snapped up. “Yeah?”

Antonia’s face warmed with embarrassment. “I’m trying to talk to you.”

Derek flashed her the smile that attracted her a year ago in a sports bar. His dimples creased at both cheeks, extinguishing her flare of anger. It was difficult to stay frustrated at him when he gave her that smile. She suspected he knew that. “And I’m listening, Toni.” He put on a show of slipping his phone in his suit jacket and holding up his empty hands. “See? It’s gone.”

“Who have you been texting all evening?”

His smile was stuck in place. “Kevin sent me some files for a new account and I wanted to look them over.”

Antonia nodded. Her frustration eventually faded, but her loneliness remained. She needed this train to go faster. The small window of time she had alone with him, before dinner, made her desire something more meaningful. She missed being intimate with him. Antonia flashed him her own smile. “We’ve got about an hour before we see your folks.”

“Yep,” he said checking his large gold-faced watch. “That gives me enough time to shower and change.”

Antonia frowned. That wasn’t what she had in mind. What would Augusta do? It was the question she asked whenever she found herself in a pickle. Augusta was the intrepid young heroine of her novel, who always kept her shit together. Augusta would know why she hadn’t slept with her boyfriend in a month. Oh lord, has it been a month? Antonia quickly did the math in her head. You don’t slow-down in sex a month before your wedding, do you? “I was thinking we could make a little time for us,” she blurted out just as the train slowed to a stop.

Derek gathered his briefcase and stood, offering her his hand. “What was that?”

“Some time for us,” she said again in a whisper. She could have sworn that his body tensed as they stepped off the train.

“Oh, babe, we’ll see,” he said. “I need to get ready for Mom and Dad.”

Antonia squeezed his hand. “I’m not asking for a long passionate night,” she said forcing a chuckle. “You know, a quickie or something?”

“Is something wrong?” he asked, guiding her from the platform. She walked fast to keep up with his long stride. Derek was nearly a foot taller than her and much more active. Every time she walked with him, it was like she was chasing him to stay underfoot. The symbolism didn’t escape her notice. Augusta would not chase her boyfriend down Roosevelt St. Her gutsy heroine wouldn’t go straight from work in her rumpled business attire to meet with her boyfriend’s parents at an incredibly fancy restaurant. Antonia never got the chance to touch up her makeup or smooth out her curls. She was running; trotting behind Derek as he led them back to his apartment. Never mind Augusta, if Antonia’s mother were watching this scene, she’d say: “I told you so.”