Stretching, I stand up from the couch and the book I was reading drops to the floor. Hopefully none of the pages are bent. Tonya will kill me if they are. If there’s one thing she values as much as her family, it’s her books.
Uncle Jason is pulling his arms out of the sleeves of his jacket trying not to let any water drip on the floor. “Well, we were going to surprise you. Lucia even picked up cupcakes to celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?” It’s not my birthday, and I don’t think there’s any sort of special holiday today. Knowing them it’s probably for a promotion Jason received. They celebrate every little thing, it’s comical.
“Your new to you car,” Lucia announces like she’s a game show host.
“Wait, what? I already have a car.” Maybe I’m still asleep and I didn’t hear her correctly.
“About that,” Jason steps in. “I talked to your dad yesterday, and they were going to bring it down next weekend.”
“But…” I prompt.
He clears his throat. “But it wouldn’t pass inspection and he said it wasn’t safe to drive it this far.”
“I love my car, though.” And I do. It was old, and not in the best condition. It was mine, though. I bought it and paid for it with my own money. It was my baby.
“We know you do, sweetie,” Lucia wraps an arm around me. “Right now, they have it parked until you decide what you want to do with it. In the meantime, we’re giving you Jason’s old car. That’s where we were today, finalizing the paperwork on a new car for him.”
“He didn’t have to get a new car so that I could have his old one. That’s not fair to the two of you.” Inside I’m freaking out. Why would they do something so kind and generous? It’s weird. Seriously, who does that?
“We know we didn’t have to.” Lucia rolls her eyes. “We wanted to. You’re going to have places you want to go when we aren’t available. And if you get a job, now you have a way to get there.” Shrugging she continues, “Besides, Jason has been talking about a new car for months now. Why not kill two birds with one stone?”
“I guess,” I drawl out. “But as soon as I get a job, I’m going to pay the insurance on it. You aren’t going to foot the bill for that. And I’ll also give you money to pay for the car.” My aunt begins shaking her head at the last addition. “I will slip it into your purse if I have to.”
“Fine,” she mumbles. “Be difficult about it.”
Motioning for Uncle Jason to join us, I pull the both of them into a group hug. “Thank you so much. It means a lot to me that you’re consistently looking out for my well-being. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”
“We know, Melly.” Jason pats my head the way he used to when I was a kid. “Now, let’s go eat those cupcakes. I’ve been eyeing them the entire way home.” This man is always thinking with his stomach.
* * *
The power is finally back on. It only took over four hours for it to happen. Lucia and Jason tried to keep me busy, except playing board games by candlelight gets old. Especially when they are super competitive and the games became about them. That might offend some people, but not me. It gave me the perfect excuse to slink off to my room and charge my phone.
So much has happened today. Between the new car, well new to me, and agreeing to dinner with Randall, my mind is reeling. I still can’t believe my aunt and uncle were prepared to just give me a car. If that doesn’t show how kind they can be, I don’t know what will.
The display on my phone comes to life, finally having enough battery to do something on it. No messages. I didn’t expect any, but I haven’t talked to Tonya all day and she usually sends me some sort of meme to tell me how her day is going.
Opening up the text messages, I fire off a text that’s sure to have her freaking out. Whether it will be good or bad will remain to be seen.
Amelia: I’m going out to dinner with Randall.
Tonya: What!
Not even a second after my cousin’s text comes through, my phone rings. “You cannot send a text like that without some kind of background information,” she shrieks.
“Has anyone ever told you that you are overly nosy?” I laugh.
“No. Because I only butt in when I feel it’s necessary.”
Tonya’s old bed is incredibly comfortable. Lying in it makes this conversation with her much more enjoyable because I know she’s going to have a lot to say. “Which is all the time,” I mutter into the pillow.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.” Grinning I fluff my pillow until it’s the perfect shape. “Besides, I was going to tell you, in the text message. That is before you called taking away the opportunity.”
“Did you honestly think I would do anything different?” Tonya scoffs.