“I’m not saying you have to have your whole life pinned down, but you want to be going in a general direction. I haven’t seen that with you.” She smoothed down some of his hair in the back that liked to stick up. “Your classes have been all over the place. You can’t make a career out of drinking with your friends at the pub and fixing things around your dear old mum’shouse.”
“Did you know there are a billion people who lack access to cleanwater?”
“That’s my son. Always caring about others. You can get involved with a charity on the side. Uncle George’s company does a day of communityservice.”
Eamonn nodded and acted respectfully, even though she was starting to sound like Rafe’sparents.
“You’re the first one in our family to go to university. You’ve been given this amazing gift. I just want you to make the most ofit.”
She kissed him and gave him a tight hug. He remembered the days when she’d completely envelop him with her arms. Now that was his job. “This was a great surprise.” She peeked out the door. “I likehim.”
Eamonn’s stomach twisted into a knot. “He’s a goodmate.”
“Well, if he ever decides to be more, I would not be opposed tothat.”
Rafe
Rafe remembered traveling to Las Vegas years ago with his parents. All he saw out of his plane window was desert. Desert, desert, and then boom! Las Vegas. Here, it was countryside, countryside boom! Stonehenge. It was like the rocks appeared out of nowhere. Rafe didn’t believe that aliens were responsible for building Stonehenge, but if that turned out to be the truth, he wouldn’t beshocked.
“They’re a lot bigger than I remember.” Eamonn followed a few steps behind Rafe. He craned his neck up at the truly gargantuan rocks. Not even he could resist the awe ofStonehenge.
“Just try to imagine men thousands of years ago carrying these rocks hundreds of kilometers and placing them in this exact spot. The primitive engineering required to build this, and the sheer strength. It’sunreal.”
“Or maybe it wasaliens.”
Rafe shot him a look. They walked around the monument. It was roped off, so notouching.
“Did you know that the design of the stones lines up to the winter and summer solstices, and that because of the high burial rate around here, the civilization that built Stonehenge could’ve used it as a graveyard or place to honor the dead?” Eamonn scrolled on hisphone.
“Are you just quoting fromWikipedia?”
“I’m giving you a guidedtour.”
They made another loop around Stonehenge, this time with Eamonn as guide. He botched half of the terminology, but Rafe still managed to learn something new, shockingly. And as long as he kept talking in that raspy British accent of his, Rafe had nocomplaints.
* * *
“How does it feel?”Eamonn asked in the car on the way back toGuildford.
“It’s just weird. I’m in the driver’s seat on the left side of the road.” Rafe kept thinking they were going to crash, or he was in a nightmare where he was trying to drive but he didn’t have a steering wheel. He gripped his seatbelt with bothhands.
But at the same time, there was something incredibly exciting and freeing. It was like he was breaking the lawlegally.
“Can Itry?”
“You want to drive?” Eamonnasked.
“This seems like the perfect opportunity.” Rafe nodded his head at the open highway that lay before them. “I have alicense.”
“A license that dictates you drive on the right side of the road.” Eamonn glanced at Rafe, who wasn’t going to give up soeasily.
“Five minutes. Under the speedlimit.”
Eamonn quirked an eyebrow. “Deal.”
He pulled to the side of the road. They switched seats. The driver setup was mostly the same as Rafe’s car back home. It was just about getting over the fact he was in the passenger seat while no longer being in the passenger seat. Eamonn held onto the strap above the window. At least some things were constant between American and Britishdriving.
Rafe pulled onto the road.Okay. I’m doing it. I’m driving the Britishway.
