It is Labor Day weekend, with the Taste of Madison happening at the Madison Capitol square. Denver is waiting for me where he'd said he would, sweat underneath his white shirt. He smiles big when his eyes meet mine, and I do the same.

The many tents around the square serve all types of food. The smell of meat mixed with Asian food, burger, and fries fill all corners of the square among the crowd that slowly walk as they try the different options. I don't even know what direction we are going, but my stomach starts to beg something from there.

"What do you feel like eating?" his hands brush on my arm, and I feel the electricity throughout my body.

"I love Italian."

"Here," he points to the tent where people are getting pasta. 

"I'd like linguini with alfredo sauce," I say.

"Sure. I'm more like a pesto sauce type of guy."

 We order our dishes with a glass of white wine. The smell of white sauce and the spices make my mouth water. With a plastic fork, I bring the linguini soaked in the white sauce to my mouth. Then, I sip my wine. Divine. 

"I love Thai food, too," Denver tells me as he eats his pesto pasta. I'd never tried many different things, maybe because I'm vegetarian, and I keep assuming there aren't many options for me, even though this isn't true. It is just a myth I created into my mind.  My father took me, Jessa, and Jason to a Chinese buffet near our house. I liked the pasta with soy sauce, but I wouldn't say I liked the smell of raw seafood. 

"What about some empanadas now?" Denver offers. I hadn't realized how fast I ate my pasta. Denver's pesto is still inside his plate, and he is about to finish in a bit.

"That sounds good."

Denver shows me the colored food cart with a man frying a few empanadas. It smells delicious. The man in his forties smiles at Denver when we approach the window, "Hi, bro. What's up? Which ones are you getting today?"

"Plantains."

"How many?"

"Two."

The man places two empanadas on a bowl with a few napkins and handles it to Denver. "New girl?" He looks down at me with a grin.

"I wish." Denver smiles back when he says the words, and I remember I'd seen this movie playing before with him last week. 

 "You have good taste. Plantains are awesome." The man affirms.

"She is vegetarian."

"That's the way to go." The man collects the fresh empanadas from the fryer and places them on a plastic bowl with a napkin. "Here," he says. 

 Denver and I find a place in the corner where he handles me one empanada.

"It is great," I tell in surprise after giving the first bite despiting of the empanada practically burned my tongue. I see the smoke coming from inside, and I wait. I take a swallow of whatever is left of my wine to alleviate the burn and then wait another minute before giving another bite. 

"I've been eating those forever." 

We eat in silence as I love the taste of sweet plantains inside the soft dough. When we finish it, I throw Denver and my plastic wares into the garbage can along with our bowls and used napkins.

"Dessert?"

"Oh, I can't resist that." All the food without meat seems delicious on people's plates, and they smell so good, but unfortunately, I don't seem to find more space inside my stomach. So, I will stick with the dessert.

We go back to the Italian tent where we began our journey, and I don't mind there is a huge line for the tiramisu. Every step Denver gives in. He seems to know someone in this city. People enjoy chatting with him, and I am surprised at how I barely know a single soul. Meggie, who used to be my only friend, is now gone. 

After getting our tiramisu slices, We head toward a band playing rock in one of the streets. Some folks sit on the sidewalk listening to the band while others dance like crazy, banging their heads up and down with the guitar sound. I'm not a fan of rock or heavy metal, but just having this walk with Denver makes me feel a lot better after my incident with Maroney yesterday. 

"Look." I show Denver one of the guys jumping. He is holding a motorcycle helmet with one of his hands. "Isn't that guy from the tubing trip? The one who drinks pure vodka from the bottle?"

"Yes, that's Dan. He seems to be drunk again," Denver affirms, small laughing escaping from his lips. Next, Denver places his hands over mine, but I slowly push them away. 

"I think Dan is too busy to realize we are here," He says. 

"Why does he drink too much?"

Denver shakes his head, "I don't know. I think he's always been that way as long as I can remember. His peers can act as crazy as he does. What else would you like to go?" he seems to want to change the subject. 

"I don't know. Just walk, I guess."

"Lake?"

I grin, "You really like the lake, don't you?" I ask him, remembering the first time I'd met him in that Bunker bar. He'd invited me for a walk in the lake after a few hours he's met me.

"That's the place that brings me peace of mind. So, I will say yes to your question. I really like the lake." Maroney and Denver are similar, except that Maroney uses the lake for fishing and Denver for his meditation. Both seem to find their own ways of escaping from something. It seems that we all have our ghosts. 

We finally get out of the crowd, and I find Madison's streets a lot more peaceful. The wind blows my hair, drying my sweat underneath my shirt.

"I'm glad classes are starting this week. Are you?" he asks. 

"I'm a little bit nervous, though," I confess, bumping into a bride and a groom taking pictures by a professional photographer and his huge camera. "Sorry," I say, a hint of embarrassment in my expression when I see them looking at me. The bride smiles. "That's fine."

I feel relieved as I walk away. "Don't worry. I am worst that way." Denver confesses when we are a little bit farther. 

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously. His smile takes me by surprise. He is not laughing or making fun of me like other people used to do my entire life. 

"I have ADD."

I stop just when we are about to cross the street that will lead us to the lake. 

"Oh, what's is that exactly?" I'd heard about ADHD, but I'm not that familiar with the expression and feel bad for not understanding any mental health conditions. 

"Attention Deficit Disorder."

"Tell me more. I don't seem to realize any problem with you."

"You'll realize with time, though." What does he know I will realize with time? Are we going to see each other again? 

"I think things have gotten worse since my sister left. She was the one managing my life," he continues.

"Do you miss her?"

Denver nods, "Yes, I do. But she is here for this weekend. I was with her just before I met you. You know, moving stuff from New York here is a lot of work. She rented a place just around the corner." he smiles. 

"That's good she is back. It might get easy on you again."

"Oh, not really. I'm a grown-up now, but I'm fine, though."

"What is the most difficult thing for you?"

"Multi-task, I guess. Remember everything at once. My mind races like one thousand miles per hour, but my body can't catch up with my brain. I tend to forget things once in a while, and I get super stressed."

Does Maroney have ADD, too? He always seemed to forget or arrive late when we had a date without calling me back. 

"You didn't forget about me today." I remind Denver.

Denver shows his white teeth with his wide smile,  "I'd never forgotten about you. Ever." He admits. He places his arms on the top of mine, and this time I don't move away.  I let his hands touch my arm."It is just that I feel I'm driving through some foggy weather, not sure where I'm going." 

"I feel the same way many times, too, Denver. You're not alone."

"Yes, but because you are a millennial." he admits, "Not because you have ADD."

"So, should I worry about myself then? I mean, when I can't get through the day because I'm too overwhelmed? Do you know that I tend to place stick notes all over my fridge? My roommate goes crazy about it. Even though he doesn't verbalize it all the time, I sense he is annoyed by that."

"It could be that he is, but that's who you are. And if he can't accept that, then he is not your real friend. You're allowed to make mistakes. But it is when you have an Attention Deficit that sometimes it feels like the world is against you. My brain never shuts up, but I never give up. How could I?"

"You should never give up. I had a friend who used to tell me that."

"Not your friend anymore?"

"Life happens. People come and go. It is normal." I say as I gaze at the lake in a long distance. "But the most important thing is that my friend told me what I needed to hear at the moment. So, every time I am down, I think about his words.

"Not, it is not normal. You can have people who last for as long as you want. Real people stay."

Apparently not that one. I think.

"Are you talking about Meggie? She is still with Mike, by the way."

"No, I'm not talking about her. I didn't know her that long."

 "I figure. Her friends never last. And Mike will soon leave her. That's who he is. She'll come back to you."

I think for a moment. Should I ever forgive her for the things she'd said?

"Do what you need to do and do the things you enjoy the most."

"There aren't many things I enjoy doing or know how to do it well. You know, you have your music. I enjoy writing, but this is not something I would give my soul to."

"There is always something hidden inside of ourselves. I took the time to realize many things about myself. Music doesn't bring any money, but do you know the best artists in the world failed numerous times before becoming successful? Think about Thomas Edison. How many times did he attempt to invent the light bulb? I think over 10,000 times. The best authors had been rejected more than one hundred times by literary agents every day. It is scary, I know."

"But I am not like them."

"You can be the champion of the world."

We arrive at James Park and sit down on the bench. This is the same bench I sunbathe almost every time I have a day off.  

"I write sometimes. Just write, plain and simple." I confess. I don't tell that to many people.

Denver leans over me, kissing me before I can say anything else. His lips touch mine so hard that I don't have time to push him away this time. His breathing is warm, and I don't have time to think clearly because the boy with dark eyes had caught me off guard. I sense his heart beating over my chest and the blood flowing through my veins. His arms wrap around my waist, and all I know is that I don't want to stop at this moment. 

Not here, not now. 

Yes, we can be the champion of the world.