‘That’s hardly the point, is it?’she’d countered. ‘Iknow, I could get my own car. I just don’t see why you don’t want one. It’s… weird, okay? I mean, bikes are for small kids,’she’d pouted.
‘Did you know that outside the US it’s not considered standard to own your own car as a teen? And did you knowthat in many European cities, biking is the preferred mode of transportation? In Denmark alone, 25% of all trips under three miles are done on bikes. It’s much better for the environment and it keeps you fit. It’s much more cost-efficient and you don’t need to worry about parking, either. Most US cities have massive parking issues.’He knew what he was doing. Of course he did. Whenever he started bombarding McKenzie with random facts, that little nerve under her right eye started twitching and her eyes glazed over.
‘Ugh,’she’d groaned. ‘You’re giving me a headache and it’s not even nine yet.’She’d almost perfected her teen eye roll by now, yet Finn didn’t understand why she even bothered, because it had zero effect on him. He was immune to methods like that. A dazzling smile from Cara, on the other hand, and he would agree to just about anything. ‘You’re lucky you’re so damn cute, Finn Kennedy. And such a nice guy, too.’Her features had softened as she’d brushed a hand through his windswept blond hair. ‘Sooo fucking cute,’ she’d groaned, rising on her feet, kissing him noisily with amwah. He couldn’t help smiling against her strawberry-flavored lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground. Yeah, when McKenzie pulled out all her teen girl charm, she was one of his favorite girls, coming in as a secure third right behind his mom and Cara.
On the weekends when he didn’t have a track competition and McKenzie was with her girlfriends, Cara would go with him on her pink Barbie bike. They would ride out to North Jetty Beach, each with a pair of binoculars swinging around their necks. Whale watching was their favorite pastime. You could spot gray whales all year round off the coast of Oregon, although mid-December to mid-January was the best month to watch thousands of whales traveling south to the warmer waters of Mexico. Late March was pretty awesome, too, when the gray whales returned to travel north along the shore of Oregon andall the way up to Alaska. Summer was the best, though. No question about it. Around two hundred whales would remain in the coastal waters of Oregon during those months to feed and it never got old watching the magnificent ocean creatures as they moved effortlessly around the clear blue waters.
‘When I become a pilot, Cara, I’ll take you flying high up in the sky. Then we’ll follow the whales all the way to Alaska to make sure that they get there safely. It’ll be a long trip, so we gotta bring loads of sandwiches.’
Even though he was sixteen, he still loved daydreaming like this, pretending that a future as a pilot lay mapped out in front of him, although it was becoming increasingly more unlikely with his worsening eyesight.
‘I’m real great at making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Finnie.’
‘I know you are. You make the best—but don’t tell Dad that,’he’d grinned.
‘I won’t, Finnie. Pinky promise.’She’d nodded solemnly, holding out her small pinky for him to squeeze, before continuing.‘Can we go to Mexico, too? You know, on the way back?’
‘Of course we can, sis. We can go anywhere you wanna go.’
‘Cool,’she’d murmured, her eyes all dreamy and far away.‘I always wanted to get a real Mexican piñata.’
‘We’ll get one. We’ll get anything you want. Even one of them big sombreros, you know? One of them big hats.’
‘Yeah.’She’d clasped her chubby hands in front of her chest as she looked out toward the sea.‘I want one of those, too. A pink one.’
‘Pink it is.’Finn had squinted through the binoculars. When they went whale watching, he wore contact lenses instead of glasses. Made it easier to use the binoculars even though his eyes would tire quicker. After a short pause where they both got lostin the beauty of the sea, patiently waiting for the whales, Cara tugged at his left sleeve.
‘What doyouwant, Finn?’
‘Whatcha mean?’he’d asked, lost in his thoughts about flying high in the sky above a school of colorful fish.
‘What do you wanna get in Mexico?’Searching his mind, he came up blank. It wasn’t like Finn to ask for anything, which always caused some level of frustration to his parents around Christmas and his birthday. Usually, they would end up giving him yet another model airplane or a book about the U.S. Air Force.
‘Hmmm, I don’t know…’he’d whispered.‘I guess I already have everything I need.’
‘That’s a lame answer, Finnie.’Cara had looked at him, a semi-annoyed expression on her face.‘I don’t like it when I get things and you don’t.’He’d failed to bite back a grin. She was so damn cute, his sister.
‘Okay, then I’ll get something.’He’d nodded. He never wanted to be the reason for Cara to not feel anything but good about herself. So, if it could prevent her from feeling bad, he would get something.‘What do you think I should get?’he’d asked.
‘Maybe you should get a sombrero, too,’she’d rushed out eagerly.‘Then we can both wear them when we go to the beach with Mom and Dad.’
‘Yeah, I’d like that.’He’d nodded, relieved that Cara was all innocent smiles again. A familiar warmth had pooled in his stomach, his feet planted securely beneath him in the sand, Cara’s small hand clasped in his. On days like these, when everything seemed right and warm and bright, he could almost forget that he wasn’t a real Kennedy. Almost.
‘Look, Finnie! Here they come!’Cara’s shrill voice had torn through the roar of the ocean waves. As she’d pointed towards the horizon, he’d followed the direction of her finger. Andyes, there they were, and for the next hour or two, everything else had faded into the background, and there was only Cara’s hand in his, his heart beating excitedly in his chest, and the magnificent spectacle in front of him.‘Here they come!’
“Here we go,” his dad’s voice brought him back from whale watching, his mom’s fond eyes taking him and Cara in as they sat tangled together in the back like so many nights before. Nights he would always treasure, hoarding them in his memory along with all the other tiny little moments that made up his life now.
Chapter Seven
Hank
Now
“So, you give him half a cup in the morning and one in the evening around six. He’s allowed to have two snacks but as many carrots as he wants. If you give him more than two snacks, you gotta give him less kibble in the evening and never…”
Hank was starting to zone out, Henry’s words bleeding into a monotonousblah blah blah.They’d been going through the infamous list that Colton had warned him about yesterday for what seemed like hours, but couldn’t be more than thirty minutes. He knew the veterinarian was somewhat of a control freak, but it wasn’t as if Hank was a kid or anything. He did know how to feed himself, so how hard could it be to look after Louisfor a few days? Sure, he’d never had a dog, but it wasn’t exactly rocket science.
He looked down at Louis, who regarded him with… pity? Yeah, it looked like pity. He shrugged back at the pup, who started wagging his tail energetically. Hank tried to communicate with the dog using his eyes only, but it wasn’t exactly as easy as Louis made it look.As soon as your daddies get the hell outta here, I’ll bring out the good stuff.As in I-picked-up-a-month’s-supply-of-snacks-at-the-grocery-store. Together with the two large steaks he’d picked up at Vern’s this morning, they were in for a hedonistic weekend of limitless indulgence, watching hockey and stuffing themselves.
