Page 23 of Stops Along the Way
I do some quick mental math. If we cover nine hours each day, plus the extra time for traffic and rest stops and food, how early do we need to leave to make sure we’re not driving after dark?
Also, should I explain that we don’t want to drive after dark? And why?
Amelia isn’t overthinking. With a friendly smirk, she says, “Could you wake up early enough for maybe…eight?”
“Oof.” Grady puts a hand to his chest. “Let’s split the difference and say nine?”
“Agreed,” my sister says with a shrug.
“Can I grab you anything to drink?” Grady offers us, gesturing to the open mini fridge behind him, but Camila is already stepping back into the hallway.
“No, thanks.” Amelia turns to me. “Text if you need anything.”
“Yeah,” I say, more confidently than I feel, as my sister disappears with her friend down the hall.
“They can’t stay?” Grady asks.
“They’ll be back later.” I figure that’s a less complicated answer.
“Cool, cool. Don’t forget to grab something to eat.” Grady gestures toward the pizza before stepping away to greet some more of his guests.
Declan hands me a paper towel, and I reach to take a slice, our arms brushing together as we turn toward the boxes. “Hey, little sibs, what do you think?” Declan says to me in a joking tone.
“Oh, didn’t you get the memo?” I tell him. “We don’t make the plans. That’s an older-sibling privilege.”
Grady’s already at the door but turns around mid-conversation to call back to me, “Great to meet you, Iris. Dex told me a little about the board game you were working on. I’ll want to pick your brain about that tomorrow.”
“Oh, sure,” I say, the part that jumps out at me the most being that Declan was telling his brother something about me.
I’m a little intimidated by the growing number of college students crowding this dorm, and I’m finding it tricky to tell what Declan is saying in all the noise, especially between bites of pizza. “What was that?” I ask, staring at his lips.
“Can you not hear me?” he asks, and then nods to the empty common room that’s right across the hall. I lead the way, and we take the rest of our pizza over to eat on the couch.
Declan must fall into the category of people who’ve known me long enough to have seen my older, more visible hearing aids, but he’s also someone I’ve never actually discussed them with. “This is better, right?” he asks.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” I say, which is usually my answer whether it is or not. “Thanks.”
“Of course.”
“We can go back whenever.”
Declan shakes his head. “I’m good here. It was getting to be a lot over there.”
“Your brother is quite the social butterfly,” I observe, staring back across the hall as Grady is clasping hands with even more attendees.
“Like he’s constantly running for office, even when there’s no election in sight,” Declan says.
I chuckle at his joke but then struggle to come up with another response because my biggest instinct right now is to somehow clarify that whole text situation. But better yet, I’m just going to completely ignore that Declan saw that message from Amelia. It was a simple matter of sibling teasing. He understands that. There’s absolutely no reason to bring it up or to think he’s even thinking about it.
He nods toward Kermit. “I’ve never seen you wear that sweatshirt before.”
What’s a Muppet if not a conversation starter? I’m grateful. “You like it? My sister stole it, but now it’s been rightfully returned.”
“Gotta hate it when that happens.”
“Somehow I don’t see you and your brother regularly swapping clothes.”
He chuckles. “Nah, can’t say I have that problem. But I can still empathize.”
