Everybody around the table is giving me a look that clearly saysstop being a poor sport.
"If you're going to write down what I said"—I point back at my chest—"then you have to write down what Kerrigan said, too."
"The difference between me and you," Kerrigan starts, tapping the end of my nose, "is that I don't care. And you do."
"Fine." I extend an arm. "Write it down. Write it all down."
Grandma smiles. "It's good to have you in the Road Kraken, Cecily. We've been missing you."
"I'm sure you're the only one," I say, peeking at Rainbow's letters. There's no helping this woman. I hope she's better at being a death doula than she is at spelling or vocabulary.
"I'm happy you're here," my mom says.
"Me too," Kerrigan adds.
"Same," Rainbow says.
I give the still-an-interloper a look. "I am," she insists. "Your grandmother's energy is much more peaceful when you're around."
"You can feel her energy?"
"I see it," Rainbow corrects, fully serious. "As an aura. Your brother is restless nearly all the time, he is very blue. Your husband is green. He is loving and compassionate. Very nurturing."
This gives me pause. Dom is all those things. "For the record, I think this is horseshit. But do me."
"You and Duke have made it clear you don't care for my work," Rainbow says, not a hint of hurt feelings in her tone. "People like you often don't."
"People like me? What does that mean?"
"Those with a red aura. You're very intense and passionate."
"Ding ding ding," Grandma says, miming the ringing of a bell.
I exaggerate a sigh. "First the vagina carnelian, now the aura. What's next?"
Rainbow presses her palms on the table like she's going to stand up. "Let me get my sound bowls."
"No," everyone shouts in unison, arms extended to stop her.
Mom flips open the binder to the back, finger sliding down the paper until she finds what she's looking for and taps it twice. "No sound bowls in an enclosed space."
Everyone laughs. Everyone but me.
I would not trade traveling alone with Dom in Bernice for anything, but I wouldn't mind understanding these inside jokes.
"I bet you're looking forward to this afternoon," I say to Rainbow. "The binder says we're spending time in Sedona with vortexes, aura readings, and crystal stores."
"I lived in Sedona for a long time," Rainbow answers. "It'll be nice to be back, but what I'm really looking forward to is the glamping tonight."
"Speaking of," Kerrigan says. "How muchcampingis a part ofglamping? Because I'm too delicate for tents and such."
I snort. "Delicate? Or bougie?"
Grandma says, "You'll be pleasantly surprised, but if I think you're being an entitled brat, I'll have them move you to the woods away from everyone else."
"Nature's corner," I say, nudging Kerrigan. "You face away from everyone. And we confiscate your phone so you can't watch the Moose-cam."
Kerrigan sticks her tongue out at me.
