“I was thinking we should do a quick house tour first, so we can see what needs to be done,” I said.
“I haven’t touched your old room,” my dad replied. “Maybe start there?”
“Deal,” I said with a nod. “Noah was hoping to go swimming…”
“Oh, I’ll go with him. I used to be a summer lifeguard a million years ago,” Candace said. “You folks worry about packing.”
I waited until she met my eyes. “Thank you, Candace. I appreciate it.”
We shared a brief moment of connection that seemed to signify a shift between us. Teammates, not adversaries.
I walked a stunned-silent Nina through the house until we got to my old room. I leaned against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow.
“Prepare to enter another dimension,” I joked.
“Lots of sexy lady posters hanging everywhere?”
I laughed at her. “You think I put tape on the walls? Heavens no, my mom would never allow that sort of thing. But my room is definitely a time capsule.”
I pushed open the door and let the nostalgia wash over me.
“Wow,” Nina breathed as she walked in. “It’s huge. Andbold!”
The thick horizontal stripes of navy and white screamed “preppy,” which was very much my vibe when I was young. I’dnever met a popped collar I didn’t like until surf culture took hold of me. But at that point, my room was such a comfortable oasis for me that I didn’t want to change a thing.
Nina took her time exploring the space, looking closer at the trophies and knickknacks lining my bookshelves.
“I guess youarea surfer,” she said as she pointed to a collection of mini boards handcrafted in wood that my father had brought back from a trip to New Zealand.
“These days it’s more past tense, but yeah. Me and my brothers did plenty of time on the water.”
I glanced around the room and felt the familiar tug of melancholy I had anytime I thought about selling the house. I was standing in my past, and the passage of time had polished away the ups and downs of youth so that I only remembered the good stuff.
It made the thought of saying goodbye that much more painful.
“Hey, are you okay?” Nina asked. She moved closer to me, her brow furrowed.
“Yeah,” I answered quickly. “Memories, you know?”
“I guess,” she said. “I wasn’t lucky enough to live in one spot for long enough to get attached. But I can imagine how tough this is. Sorting through your childhood and all.”
I opted to change the subject.
“Yeah, like this priceless memory.” I pulled a Hamburglar figurine from the top shelf.
Nina laughed. “Looks like that was in a place of honor. What’s the story there?”
“Brotherly warfare. Our mom didn’t allow us to eat junk food, so to us, going to McDonald’s was about the best thing in the world. One time we were running errands with Dad, and he let us get Happy Meals, and I swear to you, the three of us thought we were in heaven.”
She snorted. “I can imagine that.”
I held up the figurine. “I can’t remember which one of us got this guy in their box, but for some reason we all wanted him. So for years, we’d sneak into each other’s rooms to steal it. The challenge was keeping it in a spot where it was hidden enough that the other two couldn’t find it, but obvious enough that the thief could enjoy it. Sort of like a lower-stakesThomas Crown Affair, with that priceless painting hidden in plain sight in his kitchen.”
Her mouth twisted into a smile. “And you were the final boss, since he’s on your shelf.”
“I guess so,” I laughed. “I actually forgot about it.”
“I like picturing you in here. It’s definitely not your current aesthetic, but I get it.” She walked over to the window seat. “This is where you’d stare outside and daydream about your crushes.”
