“Regardless, I am overruling you.”
But eventually, they found their new rhythm. As if on cue, her phone buzzed from Miguel with a new request: “Practice ending soon. Can you pick me up early? I’m starving!!!”
Elena smiled. She typed back: “On my way.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
ELENA
"Tickets?" Finn called from the kitchen.
"Front pocket of my bag," Elena replied, patting the compartment where she'd placed them the night before.
Finn appeared in the doorway with the pre-trip checklist he insisted on making. He looked oddly serious for someone wearing a Hawaiian shirt covered in pineapples.
"Sunscreen?" he asked, pen hovering over his color-coded list.
"Three bottles,” Elena responded quickly. Too quickly.
“You didn’t even check,” Finn said with a squint.
Elena made a show of unzipping the compartment that contained the sunscreen, then she placed each bottle on the table in a neat line for him to inspect. The display earned a nod from Finn as he checked that item off his list.
"ID's?" he continued.
"Front pocket of my carry-on," Elena answered, the exchange so familiar it felt choreographed.
"Xbox controller?" Miguel shouted from upstairs.
“I don’t think the hotel is gonna have an Xbox!” Finn shouted back as he shook his head.
“Don’t worry, I have one in my bag!”
Elena’s head fell into her hand. “There isn’t room for an Xbox in your suitcase!”
“It’s only six inches by six inches by twelve inches. It fits perfectly!”
“How do you even know—” A sigh escaped her mouth. “You’re not bringing a damn Xbox! And come down here before we all lose our voices!”
After a moment, the sound of footsteps came from the stairs. Miguel appeared in his own tropical shirt with a pair of sunglasses resting on his head. “Relax, Mom. This is supposed to be a vacation!”
Then he turned and scanned Finn, clearly judging the clipboard checklist. “How much time do we have anyway?”
"The plane is scheduled to depart in exactly five hours and twenty-two minutes," Finn replied. "Accounting for traffic patterns, security lines, and walking time to our gate, we are currently," he checked his watch, "two hours and eleven minutes ahead of schedule."
Miguel’s mouth fell open. “Twohours? What are we going to do, sit at the airport all day?”
Finn nodded. “That would be the optimal outcome. I am preparing for unforeseen delays. Traffic accidents, issues at security, gate changes. Anything could happen.”
"Right. What about an alien invasion?”
“In the event of an alien invasion, I will deliver us to the nearest underground bunker,” Finn responded quickly.
Miguel stared at Finn for a moment, trying to form acomeback. She watched him struggle. “Guess I’ll go sit and wait,” he said with a hint of irritation.
He grabbed his suitcase and went to sit in the living room.
He wasn’t irritated, not really. He and Finn were closer than ever these days. Miguel just wasn’t used to someone keeping up with him in an argument. No one could match him over an extended period. But every once in a while, Finn could counter him. And the result was always Oscar-level cinema.
