“You may not be there yet. But I’m giving Bertha the shirt off my back. To tie in the window. She’s toast.” He glanced down. Leah’s chocolate fingerprints dotted the bottom of his white T.
“Sorry, not sorry. It’s not like you have clothes to spare.”
True story.
Leah popped the glove compartment in search of a few spare napkins, and the Canadian bill fluttered out onto her lap. She gasped, appearing delighted all over again…despite their predicament.
“I think finding Mrs. Horowitz’s vintage bill was a sign…that we need to recreate their honeymoon.”
Avi couldn’t resist, turning his expression from defiant to somewhat devilish, which prompted her to quickly add, “I mean the touristy part, not the…you know.”
“The accommodations, you mean? And not the…consummations?” He smirked. Goading her was fun. Making her cheeks turn that lovely shade of rose, even more fun.
“Clever…but I don’t think that word is meant to be plural. It’s an act.”
That word.She couldn’t even bring herself to fully commit to the banter.Didn’t she say earlier that she liked fun wordplay?
“You mean you’ve never had multiple…actsin one night?”
She ignored him. “I’m asking the interwebs right now.” She thumbed her phone, and not thirty seconds later did a swooping sound answer her back.
“That’s what I miss the most about not being connected,” Avi admitted. “Being able to satisfy even the most random minutia of knowledge.”
Leah was half listening, half preoccupied with her glowing screen, which was something Avi keenlydidn’tmiss. The not being fully present. “Uh huh…here, listen: “‘The nounconsummationcan be countable or uncountable. In more general, commonly used contexts, the plural form will also be –’ What’s so funny, Avi Wolfson?”
“I don’t know about you, but I usually go for the ‘uncountable’ kind.” Ah, there it was. The blush so deep he knew she had to be keenly aware of it, creeping up her neck.
“Point proved, let’s agree to disagree on grammar,” she bit her lip, eyes flashing. “I’m texting my dad to ask Mr. Horowitz where they stayed.”
Headlights swung and bumped in their direction, a truck slowly making its way toward them. “Hallelujah, here’s our tow. And…” Leah consulted her screen. “…There’s an Uber ten minutes away.”
After a long freaking day, it finally felt like things were falling into place. Their bellies were full and they were a little buzzed, plus now that Avi knew Leah was harboring Hanukkah rugelach across state lines? He was actually looking forward to the rest of the drive tomorrow.
Her attention was pulled back to her phone again.
“Yes! They stayed at the Bit O’ Honey motel.”
Bit O’ Honey.Avi pictured a heart-shaped Jacuzzi, coin-operated vibrating beds, and lots of mirrors. Forget the arcade and the pay phone this morning; they had truly entered the land that time forgot. “And by chance, it still exists?”
Leah raised her head from her phone in triumph. “I just booked two rooms.”
The tow truck rumbled up alongside them, a stencil on the truck door readingBIG AL’s Towingwith a local number on it.
“Triple-A?” Avi called out the driver’s side window to the guy behind the wheel.
“Yeah, they contract us local tows for minor roadside assistance prior to storms like this,” The guy said, consulting his phone. “I see you reported two flats?” His head swiveled to the right and back. “But no way in hell you’re Erik Tobin.”
Avi blinked, confused, throwing a quick look at Leah. She shrugged, looking equally flummoxed. And mutually guilty.
How were they busted? Surely there was no photo of Tobin in some AAA database. And no one had even asked to see a photo ID. How on earth did this guy know Tobin?
Laughing, Big Al leaned back so his passenger could be seen.
A young girl wearing a Santa hat that readLoreleiin sparkly cursive gaped at him.
“It is! Dad, it’s him!”
And…just when things were falling into place.
