I pressed my hands against my eyes as tears threatened to well up again.A voice told me I was being silly.Bobby and I would have the house to ourselves once Millie and Keme were gone, which would be awesome.No more cleaning up after a teenage boy.No more arguments about the Xbox.No more walking in on the two of them in compromising situations.This was a good thing.Obviously.And it was good for them, too.Good for them to be independent and mature and start building a life together.
But, another part of me said, they’re my family.
“Dash?”Keme’s voice moved toward us from the dining room.
Fox squeezed my knee.
Drying my eyes on my tee, I cleared my throat and did a few quick sniffs.I’d just finished when Keme charged into the kitchen.
“Should we look at apartments that don’t have laundry in them?”he asked.“Millie says no, but my mom and I always just went to the laundromat.It’s not a big deal, right?”
He was still looking at his phone, but it was impossible to miss the excitement radiating off him.
The ache in my chest got bigger, but I found a smile.“Well,” I said, ignoring the faint scratchiness in my voice.“There are two schools of thought about that—”
Keme groaned.“Never mind, I’ll ask Bobby.”
“No, wait,” I said, sliding off the stool to follow him.“I’m the best at finding apartments.Just let me get my laptop!”
Skip to the End
1
“What is this so-called emergency?”I asked as I walked toward the van.The gravel shoulder of the road crunched underfoot.Ahead, Fox leaned out of the driver’s window of their van, watching me approach.They were parked on the shoulder of a tree-lined road, engine idling, and the mixture of exhaust and Fox’s mysterious air freshener—was it Dragon Musk?or Dragon Must?—had me on the brink of a sneeze.It was a beautiful summer day, which on the coast meant a sky like a child’s drawing: Crayola Blue, with a few fluffy white clouds.As I reached the window, I added, “And why can’t you call anybody else?I’m getting marriedtomorrow, Fox.I’m on high alert; there’s still a chance Bobby could escape.”
“I know you’re getting married.”Fox’s gaze was set somewhere between withering and disdainful.“I currently have a van full of decorations.So, unless you’d like to get married in desolation and squalor like—like some sort of medieval peasant, but without the dancing—” And then they must have come up with something better because they paused and delivered in an even more devastating tone, “Unless you want to get married like astraight, you’ll help me figure this out.”
To be fair, I didnotwant to get married like a straight.I got the impression there were alotof daddy-daughter dances.
But Fox wasn’t done yet.“And for your information, Ididcall someone else.I called Mr.Del Real, and he’s out of town.”
“Oh, okay, well—”
“Then I called Mrs.Del Real, butshe’sout of town too.”
“Right.I guess that makes sense.”
“Then I called Indira, but she didn’t pick up.I called Millie, but she’s busy with the flowers.I called Keme, but he was helping Millie.”
I crossed my arms.“I get the point—”
“Then I called Sergey, but he’s at work.I called that old goose Bruce, but he’s gone fishing.”
“I said I get—”
“I called the tourist bureau, and I called Bliss—she and Althea have a Suburban—and I even tried that lesbian bar I got thrown out of.”
“I said I get the—”
“And then I called Ryan and Paul, but they were busy playing video games with Keme.”
“I thought Keme was helping Millie!”And then the real horror set in: “You called Millie’s brothers before you called me?”
Fox gave a pointed sniff.“As you said, you’re busy.”
I wasn’t sure if I wassupposedto argue about this, or if this was one of those things I should let go.I settled for saying, “Okay, well, I’m here now.Do you want a ride back, or…”
“No, Dashiell.”They started at a dither and were quickly ramping it up toward a full-blown tizzy.“I do not want aride.I want you to change my tire.”
