A dramatic pause. Tay lived for these.
“On the count of three, I want everyone to tell me what you absolutely must be mindful of. One, two, three?—”
Halfhearted murmurs rippled through the bus.
“Water…”
“Staying Hydrated.”
“Drinking…”
Tay’s unimpressed silence was louder than words. She crossed her arms, tilting her head in sheer disappointment. “That was pathetic.”
Beside Mrs. Grady, Babs cleared her throat. “Water, darling. The nectar of life!” she proclaimed, lifting her bottle as if she were making a toast.
Tay ignored her and tried again. “One more time, with feeling. One, two, three?—”
This time, the group rallied, albeit with a few exaggerated eye rolls.
“WATER!”
Tay nodded, satisfied. “Much better. I’ve only had two travelers die on me, and I’d really like to keep that number where it is.”
A shocked and heavy silence fell.
Then, from the front of the bus, Ed leaned into the aisle. “Three strikes and you’re out, huh?”
Without missing a beat, Tay shot back, “You got it, Ed. And honestly, I would rather not have to arrange transportation for another corpse. So much paperwork….” She clapped her hands. “So, let’s avoid that altogether, shall we? Hydrate or die-drate.”
I glanced down at my probably insufficient bottle of water and made a mental note to grab another one at lunch.
“After our Moab adventure, we’ll be heading back into Colorado, where we’ll be spending two nights in Grand Junction.”
A few people clapped. Someone in the back muttered something about “finally, a two-night stay,” like we’d been trekking through uncharted wilderness rather than riding in a climate-controlled tour bus.
I leaned slightly toward Noah, dropping my voice. “So…just the cat, then?”
“And two goldfish,” he said with a straight face.
I blinked. “Do they have names?”
“Plink and Jumbo.”
I grinned. “Nice.”
He sighed, long-suffering. “I think Jumbo’s overweight.”
I nearly choked on what was left of my water. “What?”
“He hogs all the food for himself, and then poor Plink hardly gets any. I can’t put Jumbo on a diet, because then Plink would shrivel up into nothing.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Wait, I thought fish just stopped eating when they were full.”
“That’s what I thought too,” he said, shaking his head. “Turns out Jumbo has no off switch.”
“Maybe you should separate them. Two tanks.”
“I’ve thought about it. I just don’t want them to be lonely.”
