I nod in agreement. I only see them once every few months and I get the same lecture every time.
“Well, at least you broke the cycle,” she says with a grin. “Maybe that was the key. I just need to run away too.”
“You realize you don’t have to run like I did, right? As a twenty-six-year-old woman, you should be able to tell your parents you’re moving without them getting all bent out of shape about it. Do you want to leave San Francisco?”
Her bracelets bangle together as though she’s shrugging. “I thought I loved San Francisco, until I saw that little Main Street, and all those tattooed men. I could see myself owning a little organic tea shop on that strip. We could have lunch and share recipes. We could sit and look at the mountains from a comfortable distance,” she laughs.
“You say it’s about me, but I know you just want to open that tea shop so you can play with those little bowls and grinders. You forget that I watched you fall asleep to those videos for years when we were kids. You might want to consider also serving, you know, coffee in a place like that. I’m not sure you’ll sell much tea to the clientele up here.”
“Truthfully, none of my dreams matter. I’ve followed our parents’ lead all my life and if I changed it all right now, where would that leave them?” She twists toward me. “Why did you run? How’d you get the nerve?”
I glance toward her quickly. Her eyes are wide and hungry. I’ve never seen this side of her before. Usually, she’s incredibly careful and any plan I’ve come up with is called insane and immediately dismissed.
“Umm… I don’t know. I told them I wanted to be a firefighter, and they said I was crazy… so I had to do it even more. I made some contacts online, placed a few calls, and then bam, I was a firefighter.” I look at her reassuringly. “You’re forgetting that you're much stronger than you think. You could talk to them. You could tell them what you want from your life. You’re—”
“I’m not. I don’t have it in me like you do. You were strong to leave. You’re an adventurer! You moved on a whim, you have all these cool friends, you live in these wild mountains, and you’re fighting fires. You’re a complete badass! I’m jealous of all of it. I literally have dinner with my parents five nights a week because I don’t know how to say no. I’m a mess, trust me.”
Now would be a good time to tell the truth of exactly how meek I really am, but as I suck in a deep breath to speak, Brianna points toward a truck parked on the side of the road.
“Is that your guy from earlier?” She leans forward and squints her eyes into the distance. “It’s him. Why is he pulled over?” Her voice constricts. “I told you camping was bad news. We should turn around. This is like every scary movie I’ve ever seen. He’s going to try some shit and we’re going to be dead and buried on the side of this mountain. Mom will kill me!”
I look toward Brianna, trying to comprehend the ridiculousness of her statement. “If he wanted to mess with us, he could’ve in town. He’s just—”
The tall, handsome stranger looks toward us and waves, his bright smile shining once again.
Every cell in my brain tells me to keep driving, but my foot hits the brake like it knows better. This is becoming a pattern with this man.