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“Great!” Chris said. “I’ll take you to see Hanna and we’ll get you all signed up for tomorrow.”

Maye and Tracy followed Chris down the hall where they reunited with Hanna and let her know they’d be back for another day. Before he left, Chris hugged Tracy and then hugged Maye. Both of his arms wrapped around her and he gently swayed from side to side as they both squeezed each other tight.

“Take good care of these two,” Chris said to Hanna before he disappeared down the hallway.

“So,” Hanna said as she began to fill out some paperwork. “What are you up to the rest of the day?”

“Oh, probably some sight seeing,” Tracy said.

“I can give you some cool filming locations around the city, if you’re into that kind of thing,” Hanna said.

“Like, Christmas movie locations?” Tracy blurted out.

Hanna chuckled. “Yeah, Christmas movies, other types, too. Lots of movies film here.” She handed Tracy her phone. “Put your number in and I’ll text you some spots.”

As Maye and Tracy made their way back to Maye’s car, Tracy’s phone dinged.

“Hanna says to start at the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk,” Tracy read aloud. “Lots of filming locations down there. And you can visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. It has some cool stuff. And there are lots of places to eat.”

Tracy’s phone dinged several more times.

“Wow, Hanna means business,” Tracy said. “She created a whole itinerary for us.”

Maye was feeling pretty worn out at this point, and was secretly hoping to make a pit stop at the hotel for an afternoon cat nap. That seemed more and more unlikely with every new text message from Hanna.

“Why so quiet?” Tracy asked when they were back in the car.

“I’m just a little tired,” Maye said. “But I should be okay. Maybe we could stop for some caffeine?”

“I gotchu,” Tracy said as she typed on her phone. “I’ll find us a stop on our way to the Boardwalk.”

A few minutes later, Maye waited in a parking spot while Tracy ran into a convenience store. When she came out, Tracy was holding two thin, neon cans like the ones she had picked up at the start of their road trip. Maye and Tracy cheers’d and then chugged their energy drinks.

“Woo!” Tracy shouted as she crumpled her empty can.

Maye tried to keep up with her, but still had half of her drink left. “I can’t make a habit of this,” Maye said before tipping back the rest.

The next few hours were a charged blur of photos and reenactments in front of memorable buildings and landmarks. They walked from the Boardwalk to the Public Gardens where they crossed the garden’s upper bridge, a destination for love declarations and happily ever afters. Next, they drove to Peggy’s Cove to visit the picturesque lighthouse on the rocks. Finally, they headed back into the north end of Halifax to visit Hydrostone Market, the most perfect little small town main street, where every step felt like a walk-and-talk in a movie scene. By dinner time, the caffeine had long worn off and hunger had set in. Maye hadn’t heard her phone alert, but she had an unread text message from Chris.

Chris:

Hope you two had a lovely day bopping around HFX! If you’re looking for a nice place to eat, I can recommend a few places. The Canteen for a bright and lively environment, Salt + Ash Beach House has great views and a modern but casual vibe, but my favorite is probably Gahan House Harbourfront. More of a brew pub with high, vaulted ceilings with giant wooden beams. Love the fish and chips, love the burger.

“Fish and chips sounds so good right now,” Tracy said as she looked up the restaurant on her phone. “Oh heck yeah, this place looks incredible. Check it out.” Tracy flashed her phone screen at Maye.

“Ooh, yeah, that looks fun,” Maye said. “Let’s go right now.”

Maye:

We did so much walking today! Thanks for the recommendations. Gahan House looks amazing! We are heading there now.

When Maye and Tracy arrived at the restaurant, Maye put their name on the wait list for their party of two.

“Do you know how long the wait is?” she asked the hostess “We can sit at the bar if that’s faster.”

“Give me just one second, please,” the hostess responded, and then signaled to someone with a “Manager” tag on their shirt.

The manager looked down at something at the host station and then greeted them.