“That sounds great.” I offered back with a low wattage grin.
“We'll check in and settle a few things in the RV and then we can join you.” Myers added.
“Perfection!”
Gerald chuckled to himself at his wife's jovial reaction. “It's just down the block here.” He pointed down the line of RVs and tents that we'd joined, gesturing toward a huge fire pit in the center of the grassy lawn that already had a few people and chairs gathering by it. “Just pull up a chair whenever you guys are ready.”
“Will do.” I stated. “Thanks so much for the warm welcome.”
Darlene giggled inwardly, sounding so saccharine and much younger than she actually was. “See you soon!”
As Darlene and Gerald departed, I gave my sister a sideways glance as we continued to watch them recede from view.
“That was...quite the introduction into the Phoebe townspeople.” Myers scoffed with a wide beam of a smile.
“Yeah...let's just check in and get the RV set up before we steel ourselves for more Geralds and Darlenes.”
Laughing at my statement, Myers led the way to the little building where we needed to register our previously discussed lot. We wasted no time in checking in and making sure we were clear to stay as long as we'd determined when we'd called beforehand as well as getting the a-okay to get the hookups for electric, water, and sewage ready for the RV.
I helped my sister with the hookups and then we both decided to just take a shower in order to eliminate the grime we'd accumulated from the all day drive. It wasn't until it was my turn in the cramped RV shower that my thoughts began to turn.
Since we'd started this journey across the country back in January, I never would have imagined we'd actually stick to it the way we had. We'd told our parents the plan to travel across America in an RV over the holidays, and while they'd been supportive in the end, we'd gotten some pushback from them. Myers was a few years younger than me, so they weren't as hard on her for dropping everything and wanting to travel. She didn't have an established job like I did, since she had just graduatedfrom grad school with a degree in mortuary science, so she'd been living at home.
Me on the other hand? I'd been working at my soul sucking insurance job for the past six years after graduating with a BA in creative writing with nothing to show for it. So when my sister had brought up the adventure of a lifetime, I'd decided to quit my dead-end job and finally pursue my dream of being a writer. I'd never thought I could make it happen because being a writer wasn't the most lucrative of careers to choose, but it's what I'd always done in my spare time even while working at the insurance company. And after a breakup with my ex-girlfriend, once Myers had proposed the adventure, I'd finally decided to pull the plug on delaying my dreams and decided to actively try and make them a reality.
I swiftly made my way out of the shower and dressed before joining Myers in the living area. The best part of the particular RV we'd purchased was the fact that we each had a room with a queen sized bed. Both of us weren't willing to sacrifice too much space and privacy when we had set out to spend most of the year traveling by our chosen motor home. Standing before my sister as she moseyed on her phone from the dinette booth. I took a seat on the couch across from the booth.
As I ran a hand through my damp brown waves, I felt a vibrating gaze from my sister. When we locked eyes, her mouth slipped in the beginnings of a conversation.
“Hey, before we go, are you good?”
“Why wouldn't I be?”
Nerves throbbed around Myers' reaction to my investigative recoil. “I know it's been a long day, but I remembered that it's her birthday.” She didn't need to add Jenna's name for me to know that she was the one being referenced. “I just wanted to check in with you about it.”
I sighed inwardly. I appreciated my sister's apprehension and awareness, but Jenna and I had broken up over a year ago. The fact that it was her birthday today didn't even cross my mind until now. But I didn't want Myers to feel bad about checking on me, so I steeled my gut reaction of wanting to sigh and tell her she was being too cautious over the situation. She was my sister, my best friend, and I knew she was just doing her sibling duty of making sure I was good.
“Honestly, I forgot it was even her birthday.” I told her with a head tilt. “But I'm good. Thanks for asking.”
She watched me for a couple more seconds after I answered, assessing the truth in my words. When she didn't find any fallacies, she smiled. “Alright, good.”
I stood, sighing deeply but adding a smile to my face. “Bonfire time, I guess.”
“Ready to meet more eccentric locals?” Myers smirked.
I just nodded. “Let's see what other kinds of people Phoebe has to offer.”
Chapter 2
Night wrapped around us quickly,the sun descending behind the lower mountains. Myers and I made our way over to the central bonfire that was taking place between two of the major lines of designated lots. There wasn't as many people as I'd first suspected when Darlene and Gerald had invited us, satiating both mine and my sister's apprehensions.
There were five people in their folding chairs surrounding the already roaring fire including our new neighbors. With our own folding chairs slung over our respective shoulders, we approached with steeled reservations and tempered grins.
“Y’all, these are the new neighbors that parked right next to us I was telling you about!” Darlene said as soon as we breached the circle, finding enough room to place our folding chairs. We busied ourselves with opening our chairs and managed to sit down before we were being introduced. There was a seat right next to me on the right that was empty, but I could see a human rummaging through a cooler from across the fire.
Darlene gestured to her left. “You both already met Gerald.” She beamed and her husband was quick to mirror his wife's actions. Then her hand made a flourish through the air as she indicated to her right.
The man sitting to Darlene's right was an Orb, one of the creatures that had blended with society after their existence was unveiled to the world. He had ocean blue and brown skin, a landscape of beautiful vitiligo. His hair was a fun shade of teal that matched his eyes perfectly. The splotches of blue around his neck looked more intentional. I wasn't sure what species of Orb he was, but he was fairly handsome regardless.
