As awkward as this trip has already been, it’s a relief having Reid with me. Simply knowing he’s here puts me at ease. I can’t even imagine how scary being on the side of an abandoned Wyoming road would be right now if I were alone.
Finishing my skincare, I brush out my hair and let it fall across my shoulders. It’s blonder than usual from spending so much time outside, and I love it. I’ve always been dirty blonde—emphasis on the dirty.
Aster, my twin, has the same shade naturally, but she gets hers highlighted just about every other week. As much as I judge her for the maintenance, it does look good. Mine always resembles the bottom of a creek bed. Now it’s like the bottom of a creek bed on an exceptionally sunny day.
There was a brief period, during high school, where I attempted to dye my hair too. I wanted my mom to play with my strands and compliment me just like she did with Aster. But it never did happen. No matter how hard I try, they always prefer Aster. It seems like most people feel that way.
My new outfit is almost identical to what I had on before. A butter yellow flannel with deep green accents, black biker shorts, a white tank top, and my go-to driving shoes—Ugg Tasman slippers. It’s a combination that works, so I simply repeat it over and over again in various color combinations. Layers are needed in the mountains. It’s hot as hell right now, but it’s bound to be chilly by nightfall.
Sliding the bathroom pocket door open, I step out, braiding my hair. Reid is staring at me wide-eyed as he says, “I’m making grilled cheeses.”
He’s paying more attention to me than the hot pan. Thedistinct smell of burning fills the van. I’ll have to smell that for the rest of the week.
I loop my hair tie around the ends of my hair and thump Reid on his shoulder. “I think you’re burning the grilled cheese.”
Reid scrambles to peel the melting cheddar from the cast iron. “Oh. Shit.”
Steam and smoke dance around inside of Willa. I cough as I move to open one of the windows. Reid works on plating the sandwiches, and I notice that he takes the more burnt one for himself. How thoughtful of him.
My stomach grumbles right on cue.
Reid’s voice startles me as I set the wood plank across the storage bench so that we can actually sit down to eat. He looks at me seriously. “Why don’t you ever leave it down?”
His question kind of shocks me. Why does he care what I do with my hair? I ignore him and continue setting up the miniature dining table that also happens to double as my bed.
“It looks pretty when it’s down,” he starts, clutching the back of his neck. “Well, it looks pretty when it’s braided too.”
I want him to keep going, to hear what else he finds pretty about me, but I don’t have that confidence. Instead, I grab a paper plate and my grilled cheese out of his hand. If I stuff my face, then I don’t have to reply to him.
He finally sits down, and I can feel his elbow almost touching my own. We don’t have a choice but to sit this close to each other. Willa is spacious, but at the end of the day, she’s still a van. It feels so domestic sitting like this, almost like we’re living together. I guess we are, in a roundabout way.
“Thanks for making lunch.”
His mouth is so full of cheese I can barely hear him. “It’s the least I could do after the incident.” He waggles his eyebrows as he says it.
I’m sure we’ll end up having a million more ‘incidents’ before this road trip is over. The grilled cheese is truly divine. It helps me forgive him for getting us off track so early on in the trip.
I offer him a halfhearted compliment. “This is really good.”
He bows. “Thank you Adelaide. May I bother you for a spot of coffee?”
“Oh, so now you appreciate the espresso machine?”
Reid had insisted we could get by on instant coffee, but I was insistent that we needed a way to make decent lattes.
“Yes, Addie. You were right once again. Are you happy?”
“I am in fact.” A proud smile covers my face.
He grabs my dish and starts cleaning up from lunch. If he wasn’t with me I’d have to do all of this alone. We’ve already fallen into such natural roles out here, and we’ve only been gone for a few hours. He’s clanging forks and spoons around in the sink while I work on the lattes.
I scoured the internet for the tiniest espresso machine. It works pretty well, but it does take an age to heat up. It takes so long that Reid is done cleaning by the time it finally begins to whir. I shift back and forth, biting my lip as I wait for the pull to be extracted.
Reid is up in the driver’s seat checking who knows what. For someone who doesn’t seem to care about his own vehicle, he sure is obsessed with mine.
There isn’t much ice to spare. There’s a tiny ice tray in my mini freezer, but it’s only enough for about one drink per day. Reid is damn lucky I’m kind—I sacrifice all of it for him. Now my water will be lukewarm until we find a semi-populated area with a full service gas station. I’ll make him pump the gas and empty the trash as penance.
“Here you go.”
