“Wow. How big are they?”

“Those probably have a wingspan of four, maybe five feet. They’re short-nosed fruit bats. The Bogor Botanical Museum has a skeleton of one with a seven-foot wingspan. I can show you if you like.”

“Cool.”

She kept watching them for a few minutes and then looked at me with a smile. It was the first time I noticed how long and delicate her eyelashes were.

“They’re beautiful, Rick, thanks.”

We watched the sky for fifteen minutes as camp after camp flew over our heads. They were en route to the rich, fresh fruits of the untouched Indonesian jungles just outside Bogor proper.

“I’d better get back before my dad has a cow.” Lori finally broke the magical silence. As she left, her hand brushed up against mine, and she let it linger for a moment.

It was then, and there, I decided I was going to like Lori—even if she was a girl.