“We can leave a little later if that’s better for you. I was originally planning to have dinner with Nancy, but she rescheduled on me. I’m not meeting with her until breakfast tomorrow, so as long as we make it to Rochester tonight, we’re fine.”
“Okay, it would actually be amazing if I could keep my tenandmy eleven this morning. Those are the most important showings I have scheduled this weekend. So I’ll be back to your house around one?”
Marin reached out and gripped her hand. “Take your time. I really appreciate this.”
“I know you do, and I’m happy to do it. We’ll have a fun road trip adventure.”
Marin smiled, looking excited for the first time since Charlotte had arrived at her front door. “Yes, we will.”
Marin still felt a little bit guilty that Charlotte had rescheduled her weekend appointments for her, but she couldn’t deny she was glad to have her along for the trip. Charlotte drove, chatting energetically and singing along with the radio while Marin reclined in the passenger seat with a gel pack wrapped around her thigh.
“Your turn,” Charlotte announced. They’d been playing car games to pass the time, and right now they were playing a modified version of truth or dare that basically just involved sharing truths.
“Your first kiss,” Marin said, looking over at her.
“Dylan Cranston in tenth grade. It was gross.” Charlotte scrunched her nose. “He stuck his tongue in my mouth, and there was way too much spit involved. I didn’t kiss anyone again for like a year after that.”
Marin laughed. “‘Gross’ pretty much sums up all my high school kissing experiences.”
“Well, you were kissing the wrong gender.”
“I didn’t know that yet, though,” Marin said.
“Whendidyou know?” Charlotte asked.
“College, probably. I had a few crushes that I tried really hard to convince myself were women I admired, but deep down, I think I knew. I just didn’t want to admit it, not even to myself. I knew my parents would be disappointed, that they might even disown me if I was gay. I felt as if I’d be making life so much harder for myself if I ‘chose that lifestyle,’ which was of course bullshit because it’s not achoice. My denial led to me being stuck for way too long in a marriage I never truly wanted.”
“I’m sorry,” Charlotte said. “I hate that society puts so much pressure on us to fit in and conform to other people’s ideas of who we should be. And I hate that homophobia is still so prevalent, but here you are, being all loud and proud in spite of it. I think you’re incredibly badass, Marin Easterly.”
Marin chuckled. “So badass I’m basically flat on my back while you drive me to my sister’s house.”
“For the hundredth time, you areextremely badassfor surviving what you did, and I have nothing but respect for how you’ve rebuilt your life and all the risks you’re taking. Driving to Rochester to come out to your conservative older sister who’s probably not going to take it well? Brave as fuck.”
“Thank you.” Marin swallowed over the lump in her throat. “Okay, your turn.”
“Let’s see.” Charlotte glanced at her with a smile. She had on sunglasses, her blond hair was loose over her shoulders, and she was so gorgeous, she took Marin’s breath away. “Dream vacation?”
“Goodness, I don’t know.” Marin turned to look out the window. “I was so focused on getting divorced and starting my new life, I haven’t given much thought to vacations.”
“I hear you. I haven’t taken many fancy vacations, either, mostly just ski trips or weekends at a local beach, but it’s fun to think about, right? Like, if money and time off and all those other logistics weren’t an issue, where would you want to go?”
“Hmm.” Marin wasn’t playing coy. She honestly had no idea. “I suppose a tropical beach sounds nice. That clear blue water? I’d love to see it, and sit in one of those fancy chairs with an umbrella so I don’t burn. Maybe I’d like to go snorkeling and see the fish up close.” Now that she was picturing it, the ideas kept coming. “Or scuba diving? Do you think that’s too hard? I want to see a coral reef and pretty fish, maybe even a shark, if it’s not the man-eating kind.”
“A shark, hmm?” Charlotte smiled, but it seemed somewhat fragile.
“You look upset. Was it something I said?”
Charlotte huffed, then shook her head. “No, I was just thinking about what Bev said about my mom wanting to go to a tropical island and how she might not come back.”
“Shit, that was insensitive of me. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. It just shook me up. It made me realize that deep down, I assumed my mom was gone.” Charlotte drew in a sharp breath. “I feel terrible admitting this, but somehow imagining her on a tropical island somewhere, happily living her life without me? That feels ... worse.” Her voice faded out on that last word.
“I can see how it would.” Marin reached over and gripped her hand where it rested on the steering wheel. “But if that’s what she did, hopefully she had a reason for it.”
“The worst part is that I’ll probably never know.” Charlotte sighed, and it carried a sadness that made Marin’s breath catch. “I’m talking to a PI who specializes in finding people who’ve disappeared on purpose, but he’s really expensive, and I don’t know how likely it is that he could track her down after all this time ... if that’s really what she did.”
“I truly hope you find the answers you need.”
