Page 29 of Stops Along the Way
Declan nods politely while Grady steps closer to ask, “Huh, I was gonna say, what are those? I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“They’re telescopic lenses,” she explains, pointing to the components at the center. “To see certain things zoomed in because of my vision loss.”
“That’s interesting,” Declan says.
“Can I try them on?” Grady asks. “Sorry, you probably get that question all the time.”
Amelia shakes her head. “Uh, I don’t want to stretch them or anything.”
“Then I definitely shouldn’t try them on. I have been told that I have a big head,” Grady says proudly. He leans forward to look at the lenses in Amelia’s hands. “We should get some for Pops,” he says before explaining, “Our grandpa has his trusty binoculars that he brings when he goes out for most anything.”
Amelia puts them back in the case and slides them into the sunglasses compartment in the car before we head toward the restroom.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I tell her as we wash our hands in front of the mirror.
“We’re going to be driving with them for this long, might as well rip off the Band-Aid. It was easy enough.”
“Yeah, you did a good job.”
She rolls her eyes. “Ooh, thank you…”
“Just saying.”
We emerge outside again, where Grady is doing a few unsteady lunges up and down the path through the trees. Declan is around the corner at the little vending machine hut.
“Do you want any candy?” I ask Amelia.
“No, that’s fine. I’ll try calling Mom and Dad.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
As I step away, Grady jogs over to chat with Amelia. An old lady walks past them on her way inside the building and says something that makes them both erupt with laughter.
“What was that?” I ask, approaching Declan, curious if he overheard.
He’s staring back at our siblings with an amused expression. “She said they make a very cute couple.”
“Oh.” I laugh, because Amelia seems to revile Grady.
Declan points to the machine. “Want to split some chocolate? A3?”
“Looks good to me.”
We silently watch the machine dispense the bar, which he retrieves and hands me. “We can divide it later?”
“Sure, thanks.” I wave it back in the direction of the cars.“Well, I should, um, go see if Amelia called our parents. And maybe you should get in a lap or two…” I tease, gesturing toward his brother, who is now sprinting up and down the path.
At first, I doubt Declan is going to, but he shouts after Grady, “Race you!” then disappears down the path in the opposite direction, with a significant head start, but his brother wastes no time trying to catch up.
I walk over to Amelia, who’s meandered down the sidewalk and is standing about a driveway’s length away from the car, texting something on her phone. “Hey,” I say, startling her.
“Iris?” Her eyes go wide.
“Uh, yeah?” But she isn’t in a goofy mood. Now she seems genuinely afraid. “What’s up?” I ask.
“If you’re there…who’s in our car?” She points to the sedan, where I realize someone is sitting in the passenger seat.
At first, I stand behind my older sister, grabbing onto her arm. There’s someone in our car. Who seems to be sitting there, not really doing anything. This person must have gotten in while I was distracted at the vending machine. Except that doesn’t explainwhythey’re in our vehicle. They’re not hiding in the back or messing around with anything.
