Walt raised an eyebrow at Carter, āYou have two weeks, thatās not āquite a bit of time,āā He said, using air quotes before shaking his head and looking at the coffee pot and then back to Carter, āBut we can go to Lush today. I have a list of the good stuff and the bad stuff on my phone, but we canāt go until after coffee.ā Walt set his mug down next to him on the counter, one that Shelby had made for him in art class when she was in second grade. It had a rendition of one of Keith Haringās untitled pieces from 1982 that sparked quite a controversy in the class.
āOh yeah, dinnerās gonna be great. I got us reservations at this new restaurant nearby that took forever to book and they just got finalized today,ā Walt said, before he quickly looked over at Carter, eyes widening, āOh shit, I have back up reservations if you need some. I didnāt know if mine would go through so if you want them, theyāre yours. Theyāre for the sushi place Bushi that Sadie likes. I dunno if Ziaās into it. Also, you can hide your gifts in my room if you need to. Or shove it in the Duat, thatās where Iām keeping my stuff,ā Walt offered.
Once the coffee maker beeped to notify them it was done, Walt pulled the almond milk out of the fridge that had his name written on it in big, block letters. He took the coffee pot out and poured himself and Carter mugs, adding almond milk to his and offering the carton to Carter, āWant some? After this and I get dressed we can head out to the mall.ā
āNo no, I meant quite a bit of time to come up with something different for her birthday since Iāll just use it what I was gonna do then for now.ā It wasnāt all he had planned on doing, just the final bit of icing on the cake, nothing too challenging to replace.Ā āAnd donāt worry, Iām not going anywhere until after coffee, either.ā He was barely even alive until after coffee.
āReally? Dude yeah, that would be awesome.ā He had taken Zia out for sushi once, and she had originally doubted him when he said raw fish could be good, it was one of the few moments that Carter could proudly say he was right. The only reason Carter hadnāt gone back yet was because of how quickly it could empty his wallet. He also just enjoyed exploring the variety New York City had to offer; while he and his dad had traveled around a lot, it was unsurprisingly hard to find good Italian or Thai food when they spent weeks at a time on dig sites that were, more often that not, in the middle of nowhere.Ā āThatās actually a really smart idea. I doubt sheād think to look there, and she wouldnāt know what to look for, anyway.ā
āSure, thanks.ā He added just a splash. Logically, he knew that diluting the coffee wouldnāt diminish the effects of the caffeine, but that didnāt mean he was going to stop drinking his coffee as close to black as he could stand it.