“Do you listen to podcasts?” Wren asks him.
“Not really. I’ve tried a couple, but I can’t get into them.” His voice is closer than hers, which tracks with the heavy arm resting against my lower legs.
Wren snorts. “What, like sports bro podcasts?”
“Not only sports. I listened to a couple general health ones too.”
“I’m going to send you some to try. How do you feel about true crime?”
“I feel like…I don’t want it to happen to me.”
“Obviously, but that’s what makes them so good.”
I can’t resist stretching my arms and legs out and when I do, Travis says, “I think she’s finally awake.”
My lips curve as I let my lashes flutter open. Travis and Wren are both looking at me.
“Morning, creeps.”
Travis’s mouth hitches up on one side and his arm stays resting on my leg over the blanket.
“What time is it?”
“Almost nine.” Wren sticks out her bottom lip because her flight is only a few hours away.
“No.” I close my eyes again and shake my head into the pillow. This weekend has been so nice seeing her and hanging out. I don’t know when we’ll be able to do it again, but it won’t be soon enough. “You can’t go.”
“I know. I don’t want to either,” she says.
But we get up and get ready anyway. She and Travis continue chattering on about the most random of topics, like celebrity couples and reality dating shows. Listening to them fills my heart with so much joy.
“Can you come visit next summer?” Wren asks on the way to the airport. Travis is driving and I’m in the passenger seat, angled to see my sister in the back seat.
“I hope so, but I’m not sure yet.”
“Hopefully I’ll have a new roommate by then.”
“What’s wrong with your roommate?” Travis asks.
“Don’t ask,” I tell him.
“Too late,” Wren says.
“Do I need to pull some sort of big brother smackdown?” he asks.
“Yes!” Wren exclaims at the same time I say, “No.”
When Travis pulls up to the curb at the airport, my throat is thick with emotion.
“Thanks for everything,” she tells him, reaching over the seat to hug him around the neck. “Talk soon!”
“Bye, Wren. Safe travels,” he calls after her.
I get out of the SUV, and we stand on the sidewalk a foot away. People are unloading and heading into the airport all around us.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving already,” I say. “It feels like you just got here.”
“I know. I wish I could stay longer, but Grandma only has two days in her schedule for me.”
