"More chance of the food ending up soggy," Mathias is quick to point out, although he's already made plans to sit far enough away from the waterfall so that their meals will go untouched by the spray. That is the sort of thing Mathias worries about, the kind of thing that will get under his skin and concern him for days before the actual date, perhaps because it's easier to worry about wet food than whether or not Veronica likes him.

"Is that on the same level as sand in the food?" he asks, finding a place he thinks is a good distance from the water. "Or is it less of a mood killer?"