Gus wasn't quite sure how to take Tonia's blind faith that his dreams would come true. She had a sort of optimism that he had never managed to have. A lot of things went wrong in his life, and they'd made him grumpy. His parents' messy divorce, his escape-artist playboy father, a family business to run that he'd never really cared for. Gus didn't make a lot of plans. He didn't have a lot of dreams, because he didn't have time for them. He'd never met someone who believed in them so faithfully as Tonia.
"It would be nice," he said, nodding. "That little road trip I had was a good thing. I got to visit my mom in Florida. Before that, I hadn't seen her in years." He found himself laughing when she laughed, which was strange. Usually his laugh was the contagious one. "I don't know you're not an awful cook," he replied, walking next to her as they passed through a crosswalk. "But I love to eat, so you won't usually hear me complain."