“They miss each other. Apparently, they’ve been planning it for months. They wanted to surprise us.” I pulled my stack of flash cards from my back pocket and held them up. “Plus, I told you, I have my college interview thing.”
“That’s a weekend trip, not a three-week, multi-stop, bring-two-families-together-who-haven’t-seen-each-other-in-years kind of thing.”
“It’s just another good excuse to do it now. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Truuue…” Willow crawled over to my bookshelf in the corner and started running her finger along the spines of books, pulling several out as she did and setting them aside.
“Why did you saytruelike that?”
“That’s how I saytrue.”
“That was a suspicioustrue.” I pocketed my cards again. “Speaking of my college tour and interview, what do you think of this outfit?” I grabbed the hanger from my closet that held the pencil skirt, button-down, and blazer my mom had bought me the week before.
“Are you applying to be their librarian? Or maybe just run the school?”
“I’m serious, what do you think?”
“I think no wannabe video game animator I know would ever wear that.”
“How many do you know?”
“Just you. And you don’t wear that.”
I laid the outfit flat across the contents of my suitcase. “You want me to wear a T-shirt and leggings to the interview?”
“Yes, yourSuper Mario Bros.Princess Peach shirt would be perfect.”
I didn’t even wear that to school. Besides, this was an interview. I needed to be professional, show I was serious. “Maybe Dean Collins hatesSuper Mario.Maybe she’s more aStreet Fighterfan. I can’t create controversy from the very first impression.”
She rolled her whole head to show she disagreed, then pointed to the stack of books she had created. “Can I borrow these while you’re gone?”
“Yes.”
“Cool.” She stood and slid the books into her bag by the door. “And you were right about mytrue.It was suspicious.”
“I know. So talk.”
She looked in the mirror above my dresser and patted her dark curls. Willow was beautiful, dark brown skin, full lips, intense eyes, and curves for days. “I just think that there’s probably another reason for this sudden RV trip that doesn’t include husbands.”
“You consider something that took at least six months to plan ‘sudden’?”
“They told you two weeks ago.”
“That’s what a surprise is,” I said. “And I’ve heard about this plan pretty much my whole life. It was always supposed to be husbandless. Believe me, my dad is not offended. He’s been on plenty of RV trips.”
“You’re probably right. You know me, always suspicious. But prepare yourself for some big news in the next three weeks, just in case this trip has some hidden agenda.”
“Like what?” I asked, my brain suddenly creating possibilities at her suggestion.
“As long as they don’t tell you that you’re moving to Ohio to join your ex–best friend, I’ll be okay.”
“You’llbe okay?”
“Yes.”
I picked a stuffed animal off my bed and threw it at her.
She caught it and studied the embroidered eyes of Donkey Kong. “Maybe take him to the interview?” She turned him to face me. “Is he the one that climbed a building to save that woman in distress?” She chucked him toward my bed, and he landed perfectly in my suitcase.