Chapter 4

A couple weeks later I was chatting on the phone with Carlotta. Our conversations were becoming more frequent and relaxed, and I wasn't too surprised when Carlotta mentioned she was going to give Isabelle a tour of the national monuments in Santiago, and asked if I'd like to come along. Of course I said yes.

We spent the whole day touring the capitol. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday in mid August, mid-winter but cool, not cold. The sculptures and architectures were very interesting.

And Isabelle was a delight. I was amazed by her intelligence. She was shy of me at first, walking on her mother's right side while I was on Carlotta's left. Isabelle burst into a smile though when she found I could speak English, and she was soon walking between the two of us. As we came to a traffic light, she scooted around and took my left hand to cross, and after we crossed the street she wasn't too interested in letting go. Carlotta was a little surprised at this, but pleased, and after a moment she also offered me her hand to hold.

And that's how we spent the day, walking around the Plaza de Armas with everybody holding hands and me in the middle. Isabelle was super inquisitive, asking questions about everything. Near the end of the day, a brief rain shower moved through, and as the sun returned we saw a rainbow above the Iglesia Catedral. Isabelle kept asking me for a detailed explanation for how rainbows worked, and then she stunned me by rejecting my explanation.

"You're right," I said. "That was the explanation children get in primary school, how sunlight passes through water droplets and gets bent into separate colors. If you really try to think it through though, it doesn't work. The rainbow is too organized to be described by such a simple model. The way it really works is described in a model called Q.E.D."

Isabelle nodded for a moment, and then looked up at me, her face a deep puzzle. "Q.E.D.?"

I smiled. "Quantum Electro Dynamics. The only way to understand how a rainbow can work the way it does is too realize, in the time between the light hitting an electron in the water droplet, high above our heads, until the time the light is in your eye, well... In the time in between, the light is nowhere at all."

Isabelle clapped her hands and nodded. "Magic! I knew it was magic!" Carlotta just looked at me thoughtfully.

"Well," I said, "Kind of. Quantum magic, magic for real. Not the potions and spells kind. That's just fun make-believe stories."

"Oh, I know," said Isabelle, rising up on her toes and trying to talk in the deeper voice of an adult. I couldn't help but smile. She wouldn't be six until October. "Will you teach me?"

I gulped. "About quantum magic? Well... We could try. It would take a lot of time."

Isabelle stared at me, a deep offer of friendship in her eyes. "I don't mind."

We stopped by a café for a light dinner, and then I drove them back to their home. It was an older house in a middle class neighborhood. Isabelle told me she lived there with her mom and aunt and uncle, three teenage cousins, and both her aunt's parents. I nodded. The house looked small for nine people, but Isabelle seemed quite happy to be home. It was time to say our goodbyes at the doorstep. I could tell Carlotta was quite willing for me to kiss her, if we could get a bit of privacy, but Isabelle didn't want to leave.

Finally Isabelle's aunt Amata came out and introduced herself. An older woman, I gather Carlotta's brother Emilio is at least ten years older than Carlotta. Amata was very pleasant. We chatted for a moment, and then she pulled Isabelle inside.

Carlotta turned to me and smiled. "Ah, alone at last..." She came up and stood very near. "Thank you Gary, for a perfect day."

I nodded. We looked in each other's eyes for a moment, and then I leaned over. Carlotta closed her eyes and tilted her head up. We shared our first kiss. Carlotta took a deep breath and sighed. "I'll call you soon?"

I nodded and smiled and we said goodbye. As I walked off I turned around and saw Isabelle winking at me from a window.