Night slipped into morning, damp and still. Streams of mist billowed into the narrow alley carrying the smell of an evening rain. Juliet balconies dripped with condensation. The water rolled along wrought iron rails, plummeting four stories to puddles pooling between cobblestones. Black lanterns dotted the stone facades and raindrops clunked against their metal, the sound thundering in the hushed dawn. Nick wrote an email to Noelle, sitting in his bed. He listed all the famous sites he had visited over the previous few days, attaching pictures of the National Palace’s promenade, Las Ramblas bustling streets, and the kaleidoscopic Mercado de la Boqueria, a side-stop he made to purchase coffee and fruit. He wrote how he wanted to visit Camp Nou and La Sagrada Familia, but how he wouldn’t visit the Barcelona zoo without her, hoping that one day they could visit it together. He sent the email like all the others, expecting no reply. He gathered his things for a day of sightseeing when his phone buzzed. The text read: Why did the cow jump over the moon?

Nick dropped everything and typed quickly, I don’t know, why?

I have no idea. Your daughter’s asking.

Ohhh, Nick chuckled to himself. Because the farmer’s hands were cold.

Did you quit your job?

Yes.

A gray bubble appeared as Deb wrote her reply. The bubble vanished.

Nick waited, staring at his phone.