After we finish eating, we head back to the car, and once again we’re stuck trying to figure out what to do. We still have all day. It’s not even nine o’clock yet.
“I chose the diner. Now it’s your turn to pick,” I say.
She scratches her head. “I have no idea.”
“I don’t believe that. You’re Emma Adler, for heaven’s sake. You had ideas from the second you were born.”
She smiles in a shy way. “I don’t know about that.”
“It’s true,” I say. “Close your eyes and tell me the first thing that pops into your mind.”
She slams her eyes shut and pinches her lips together as she thinks.
It’s a glimpse of her old self and how playful she was.
“I know,” she says.
“Oh, you do?”
A coy smirk coats her face. “Yeah.”
“Should I be worried?”
She pats the air. “Nah, you’ll be fine.”
I suck in a breath. “I don’t know. I think you’re a little too excited about whatever you chose.”
She sits up straighter and shakes her head. “It’s going to be fun.”
“Where to?”
She pulls out her phone and starts searching the map. When she finally finds what she’s looking for, she shows me the address. “I want to go to this thrift store.”
“A thrift store?” I can’t begin to guess what she’s doing, but I’m not about to argue when she seems this happy about it.
“Oh, yeah.” She bites at her smile and the sparkle that’s been missing in her eyes makes a reappearance.
I put the car in drive and then reach for her hand. For the briefest second I’m afraid she won’t let me hold hers again, but she doesn’t pull away. She lets it be like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
She gives me directions as I drive until we make it to a large thrift store a few blocks away.
As we walk in, we’re greeted by white fluorescent lights, colorful mismatched rows of clothes, and random household items.
I lean closer, whispering in her ear. “Are you going to tell me why we’re here?”
Her grin widens and she pulls me toward the clothes. “We’re going to play thrift roulette.”
She says it like I should know what that is, but I’ve neverheard of it.
We head to the men’s section where there are tons of shirts on either side, and when we reach the end of the row, she stops me. “Stand here.”
I do as I’m told.
She’s practically bouncing up and down from excitement. “I’ve wanted to do this forever, but Mallory refused.”
“Okay, now Iamworried.”
She laughs. “It’ll be worth it.”
