“It’s a good thing you took my advice and finally shaved. You were getting pretty scraggly. But I have to say, it didn’t really work. You still lookmiserable.”
“Well, I am,” I said. “But what the fuck can I do about it? It’s going to take some time for me to get over Georgina if I ever do. Until then, I’m leaning into it.” Opal moved around in the backseat, then stuck her cold nose against my ear. I reached back to pet her. “Anyway, I miss the beard. It kept mewarm.”
Justin looked thoughtful as he peered out the windshield. I braced myself for whatever words of supposed wisdom he thought himself qualified to impart, but instead he just said, “You can’t pull off a beard.Sorry.”
“If you don’t put the car in drive within the next five seconds, Opal and I are gettingout.”
“So you can go upstairs and wallow some more?” He shook his head. “Let me pose you ascenario.”
Here we go. I sighed, wondering if Opal was swift enough to make a break for it with me, or if she’d hold meback.
“Just because I rented a car for the Hamptons doesn’t mean we have to go there,” he said. “There somewhere else you’d rather spend theweekend?”
“The gym. My couch with Opal. Satan’s asshole. Literally anywhereelse.”
Justin chuckled in his knowing way, and it told me all I needed to know. He had something up his sleeve. “Think, Quinn. We can goanywhereelse within drivingdistance.”
Ah. I got it. This wasn’t the first time he’d hinted at taking a trip. “We’re not going toBoston.”
“Why not? I hear Massachusetts is lovely this time of year. Not to mention you might get your life backthere.”
A life I hadn’t even had a hold on before it’d slipped through my fingers. I’d refrained many times from calling up Georgina or driving out to see her new place. At first, I’d been too angry, but once that’d worn off, I’d stayed where I was because it wasn’t fair to either of us. No matter how much I missed her, unless she was coming back or I was going there, what was the point of making things harder? I only knew she was in Boston at all since she and Justin had kept intouch.
“I’m serious,” Justin said when I didn’t respond. “Why can’t we go? I know you’ve been thinking about it. You’re not pissed at her anymore—you understand why she had to go. And your sister told me you’ve been asking about theproperty.”
“You talk to mysister?”
“All the time, man. We’re in a virtual book clubtogether.”
“Fuck.” I closed my eyes and dropped the back of my head against the headrest. “You’re like the chick in that movieSingle WhiteFemale.”
“I know.” Justin unzipped his jacket and showed me his t-shirt, which read,I put the hot inpsychotic.
I rolled my eyes, trying not give him the satisfaction of alaugh.
“I’m your best friend,” he said, all joking gone from his voice. “And as much as I want you in New York, I think Georgina’s right. I think Libby’s right. And I think you feel the same. You’ve put this off too long.” He raised the volume on the radio. “So unless you’re able to convince me a hundred percent that you’re not ready to go home, that’s where I’m takingyou.”
Home. Home was not an unkempt house that was probably in disarray. It wasn’t Massachusetts or even Eastie. It was Georgina. Bruno. Opal. The family I’d been too stubborn—and yeah, scared—to allow myself. “I’m not showing up on Georgina’sdoorstep.”
“We’re not going there for Georgina,” he said, opening the console. “We’re going to see thehouse.”
“What about yourparty?”
“Let’s say you owe me one Swiss girl.” Justin opened a map of the northeast and pointed to a circle he’d made, the sneaky bastard. I let my eyes wander over the familiar neighborhood in EastBoston.
Home.
Four hours,a couple Big Macs, and a stop for fuel and Dunkin’s later, Justin pulled up to the fence surrounding my mom’s house. From the passenger’s side window, I took in the small, two-story Colonial, less imposing than I remembered, even though I’d only been there last year. Despite dead grass and patches of dirt, a row of flowers wrapped along the little porch, and the front door had a fresh coat of brown paint. Libby and Aaron must’ve been keeping an eye on theplace.
I got out of the car and Opal followed, running over to sniff along the line of a rickety wood picket fence. As she lifted a leg, I checked the mailbox. Libby was getting the remnants of Mom’s mail, but there were a couple pieces of junk addressed to Adina Quintanilla. This was what remained. I took a deep breath, creasing a glossy card for window washing in mygrip.
“So this is it,” Justin said, coming around the car. He handed me mycoat.
I put it on, having forgotten the cold for a moment. “It’s not much,” I said, shoving the flyers in my pocket. “Two-bedroom, three if you count the curtain divider Libby installed when we weretwelve.”
Justin turned around. “Neighborhood looks like it’schanging.”
Mom’s house was in better shape than I’d thought it’d be, but it was still one of the more rundown places on the block. A few had been renovated, others were dated but maintained, and some were up for sale. “It’s a good time to sell,” Isaid.
