Page 33 of Stops Along the Way
“Yeah, he’s a good guy.” Declan taps the steering wheel.
“It’s strange, I don’t think Roy and I have played against each other lately.”
“Oh, really?” Declan goes quiet, a flush rising on his cheeks. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Anticipation courses through me, because I have a sneaking suspicion of where this is going. “What’d you do?”
“His parents are big on curfew for school nights. And you were running late sometimes—well, most times—this year. If he was your assigned partner and you weren’t there right at the start when tables were assigned, we’d trade.”
“You arranged it ’cause you wanted to play againstme.” I enjoy watching him squirm in his seat.
“I wanted Roy to get home before curfew,” he says, struggling to keep a straight face. “If he got grounded, we couldn’t go fishing.”
“That makes sense.” The smile is still plastered to my face.
“And, um, what else?” He scratches his elbow, glancing back out the rearview mirror. “This summer we’re selling the house, so that will take a lot of work, getting everything sorted through and packed up, though a lot of stuff is probably going to sit in storage for a while until it all gets figured out.”
I panic that he could be going somewhere far away and I’ll never see him again, that this new familiarity with Declan could slip through my fingers as easily as it started these last few days—all before I remember that we’ve already established we’re going to the same college.
“Why are you moving?”
“Well, my parents are. Basically, it’s time to get out of that house. I’m not sure where they’ll end up.”
I wish he’d give a few more details, but I don’t want to pry. “Wow, that’s open-ended.”
“It’s strange moving out before leaving for college. Like, I’ll never be able to revisit that part of my childhood again. My life will always be divided into a before and after.” He presses his lips together, puffing out his cheeks with air. “I have no idea where I’ll spend the holiday breaks. I can table that problem until Thanksgiving.”
“That’s a lot of change at once,” I agree.
“Yeah…I’ll wait and see how it goes.”
“That does seem to be your preferred approach to life.”
He shrugs. “Sometimes it’s the best choice, all things considered.”
“So, like, are your parents going to move really far away?”
“Something like that.” He doesn’t clarify, and I decide not to press.
“Well, I guess you could be invited to Thanksgiving at my place, if you don’t have other plans.”
“Really?” Declan stares right at me with an intrigued smile that makes my heart burst.
“Watch the road!” I say, waving away his gaze when I can no longer bear it. “It’s like your brother said earlier: I’ll need someone to split the drive back home for breaks,” I tease. “It’s only fair that that deal come with some turkey.”
.....
At lunchtimewe stop at this quirky little 1950s diner that Amelia found while searching for dining options at our upcoming exits. It’s out of place among the typical gas stations and golden arches that seem to be at every single highway intersection. Even among all this empty space, the parking lot is a tight squeeze, as though not paved for the size of modern vehicles. Declan has to pull the SUV through into a narrow spot near the dumpsters.
Inside, we take a seat at an empty booth with blue-and-red swirl posts while a few truckers eat at the counter next to dishes of pie slices. There’s a QR code on a folded piece of cardstock in the center of the table, but a middle-aged waitress walks over and gestures for us to ignore that, plopping down wide plastic-covered menus and filling four cups of water. “Give me a shout when you know what you want,” she says, returning behind the counter.
Grady barely consults the menu before he’s found exactly what he wants. “Club sandwich,” he says, nodding toward Declan.
Declan shrugs. “I think I’ll do a burger.”
Amelia pulls out her phone to use the magnifying app, scanning it over the menu’s text. I take my time, as well, even though I’ve already zoned in on the French toast. “You like grilled cheese,” I suggest.
Her interest is piqued. “They have that?” She scans over the bottom left-hand corner and finds it. “I’ll get that.”
