The Rest of the Story(64)

“In your big house with your normal family,” she added, raising an eyebrow.

I made a face, just as over at the motel, Gordon came out of the office, shutting the door behind her. She had on shorts and an oversized Calvander’s tie-dye, just like mine, her short hair gathered back in an identical ponytail. When she saw me on the porch, she immediately started over.

“If I were you,” Trinity said, having observed this as well, “I’d enjoy it. You’ll notice nobody is wanting to emulate me right now.”

I smiled at her. “Pretty soon, you’ll have someone who loves you best, though.”

“Here’s hoping.” She put a hand on her belly. “I was so hard on my mom, though. Still am. With my luck, the payback is going to be brutal.”

She’d started saying this kind of thing a lot lately, as the due date got closer and she grew increasingly nervous. And a couple of weeks earlier, I might have privately agreed that maybe she didn’t have the most tender, motherly touch, though I never would have had the nerve to tell her to her face. Now, though, I’d caught enough glimpses of her good heart to know it was in there somewhere. A tough mom was better than none at all. Gordon and I, of all people, could vouch for that.

Now, sitting on Roo’s steps, I heard whistling. When I turned around, he was walking into the living room, in shorts and bare feet and a Blackwood T-shirt. “Hey,” he said. “How long have you been there?”

“Not long,” I told him, getting to my feet. “Got a second?”

“Sure.” He walked over, pushing open the screen door with a creak. “Come on in.”

I did, feeling strangely nervous by this formality, plus the fact it was just us. Since the night of Club Prom, we’d barely seen each other, a result of my increased work schedule and his beginning a (yes) sixth job. Or was it seventh?

“How’s work going?” I said, thinking this.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” he replied, gesturing for me to have a seat on the couch.

“The new one,” I told him. “What was it again?”

“Driving for RideFly,” he said.

“Is that like GetThere? A ride-sharing thing?”

“No, it’s an airport shuttle,” he said. “Fifty bucks round trip from Lake North or North Lake to the Bly County airport. Plus, you get a free water and some mints.”

“There’s an airport in Bly County?”

“And here you thought it was just a mecca for formal wear,” he said, picking up his phone from the table and sliding it into a pocket. “Yes, there is an airport. It’s about the size of a dentist’s waiting room, but it exists.”

“Wow,” I said. “I had no idea.”

“Don’t feel bad. Nobody I know has ever flown out of it,” he said, plopping down beside me. “It’s mostly Lake North people who have money, and there aren’t much of those unless there’s a big event going on. This weekend it’s a wedding. We’re scooping up the out-of-towners.”

“Sounds like you could do that in the Yum truck,” I said.

“Is that an ice cream joke?”

“Couldn’t resist,” I said, and he laughed. As he sat back, stretching his feet out to rest on the buckled trunk that functioned as a coffee table, I said, “You know, it’s funny you mention Lake North. I’m actually going there tomorrow.”

“Are you attending the Janney-Sipowicz wedding?” he asked. “Because if so, I’ve already met the father of the groom. He likes jokes that start with someone walking into a bar.”

“Sadly, no.” I took a breath. “I’m actually moving over there. My dad and his new wife and my grandma are all coming down and we’re staying at the Tides, together.”

“The Tides? That place is super fancy. When are you coming back to stay at Mimi’s?”

“I’m not.”

He raised his eyebrows. “What? You’re leaving for good?”

“I can still visit,” I said. “For two weeks, anyway. After that, we all go back to Lakeview.”

“Wow.” He reached up, running a hand through the back of his hair. Another tuft sprang to attention, sideways. “I thought you were here all summer.”

“Nope,” I said. “Really, I was only supposed to be here until now. The Lake North thing just sort of happened because our house and Nana’s are still under construction. So I guess I should be happy.”

“Are you?”

“No,” I answered, honestly. “I mean, a month ago I had no plans to come here. I didn’t even think about this place. Now that I have to leave, I can’t imagine not being here to help with Calvander’s and see the baby come.”

We were quiet for a second. Outside, on the water, I could hear a motorboat chugging by.

“So you came to say goodbye,” he said. He looked at me. “That sucks.”

Hearing this, I felt a pang I didn’t expect. “Not goodbye yet. First I have a favor to ask.”

“You want some complimentary RideFly mints? I’ve got a whole bag.”

“No.” I took a breath. “Bailey said your mom took a lot of pictures that week I was here, when I was a kid. Do you guys still have them?”