I’ve considered college being a period where people between the ages of eighteen to twenty-two are tied down within confinement and surrounded by displays of inappropriate behavior.
“Neon-pink polka dots. Can I take a guess ...” Bradley says, watching my bags tumble onto the moving belt. I love pink, but it might be the only girly thing about me. So, Bradley has always used the pinkness against me.
“Good guess,” I tell him. “At least my underwear isn’t hanging out the side of my bag like that poor schmuck down there.” I look down the row to see who claimed the bag, but of course, the man who has the peek-a-boo suitcase is standing right beside us, and I just made his situation a touch worse.
The man looks over at me while tucking his belongings back between the zipper fly. “It happens to everyone at some point,” he says.
“It sure does,” I tell him, smiling my heart out, so he knows I was only kidding.
“You never change,” Bradley utters with a parental sigh.
Bradley removes my bags from the belt, then lifts each one to inspect it for damage. If one of them were damaged, we would be in the claims office, filing a report. That’s how Bradley operates.
“We’re good. Kat and her sisters are waiting for us at the Starbucks across the street. Her sisters had earlier flights, and I didn’t want to make them all wait around here for hours, so we took them for lunch and showed them a couple of tourist spots. They seem like nice girls, though.” I take it he hasn’t met them before today. At least I’m not the only one in the dark.
“Oh, good.” Why does this feel like the oddest setup? “Are they normal?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bradley asks, jerking his head back, taking offense to my question.
“Like, what do they do? Did the girls just graduate too? Are they twins or something?”
“Yeah, they’re identical twins, and they just graduated from Virginia Tech. They both got job offers in Savannah, which is just about twenty minutes from where you’ll be living. I don’t think they start work for a few weeks though, so you’ll have time to bond.”
“They both got job offers?” I question. “What do they do?”
“One of them is a research sociologist, and the other is a marketing assistant for a production company.”
“I guess they like research,” I say.
“It’s cute,” Bradley counters.
“What does Katarina—Kat do for a living?” I should know this. I’ve spoken to Bradley more than enough times throughout the last year that I should know something about his fiancée.
“She’s also in marketing research.”
Ah, yes, it’s a family affair.
“You are just full of surprises.”
“Speaking of which, you didn’t give me a chance to tell you more about the development you’ll be living in.”
“You said it wasn’t in an alley, and that’s good enough for me.”
Bradley’s lips screw into an odd smile. “Okay then, I guess you can see for yourself. You read through the lease agreement forms carefully, right?”
“Yes, Bradley. You sound like Dad, and that’s not a good thing.”
“Thank you,” he says, his voice deepening with authority. “Do you have any questions at all?”
I tap my finger against my chin as if I am thinking. “Yes, actually. Is there mold in the apartment? Not that I care if there is, but it sounds like something you’re expecting me to ask.”
“No, there isn’t mold, and you should care because that can cause health issues.”
“Is it haunted?”
“No,” he sighs.
“Then we’re good, big bro.” I slap my hand against his chest, and we head out of the airport.
