“I’d rather hear your side of it. Your parents came home to find you gone?”
“Not only that, but they didn’t see Hayley at first either. It was terrible. They were frantic when they called me during the middle of the movie. And then, while I was rushing from the theater, they found her under the table. They were furious. I was grounded for months.”
“Well, I’d hope so. I’ll bet they never asked you to babysit again.”
“I’ll admit they made sure I’d grown up a little before putting me in charge of her again. Does that conclude the humiliation portion of this trip?”
“As it happens I’ve run out of stories—for now. I hope to glean more from your other relatives though.”
He groaned. “Come on, you have to give me something in return. Tell me at least one embarrassing story from your childhood. You owe it to me.”
“I guess it’s only fair. Let’s see, which one shall it be? There were plenty, I assure you.”
“It has to be legitimately embarrassing—something you wouldn’t ordinarily tell anyone.”
She thought a minute.
He glanced over and caught a grimace. “Tell me that one. The one you’re thinking about right now.”
“Aw, jeez. Not that one.”
“Let’s recap: bed-wetting, night-light, dating mortification, babysitting fiasco... It can’t be worse than mine, at least not collectively.”
She appeared to waffle. “You make a good point. All right, fine. But you can’t tell anyone.”
“I’d make you promise the same, but my family already knows all my dirty secrets. But yes, I promise. Lay it on me.”
She heaved a sigh. “Well, let me start by saying I sleepwalked as a child. A lot when I was younger, but I started growing out of it as I got older. When I was thirteen I went to a friend’s house for a sleepover. I was new to the school and Mackenzie was my first friend. That night I sleepwalked and was apparently trying to find the bathroom because I wandered into her baby sister’s room instead and I”—she covered her face—“I peed in her stroller.”
Laughter bubbled up inside. “I’m sorry, what was that? I thought you said—”
“Yes, yes, I peed in her stroller. Are you happy now? I can’t believe you made me tell you that.”
“Oh man,” he said through a chuckle.
“Of course, I didn’t remember it at all. But the next morning Mackenzie’s mom discovered the stinking, wet stroller, and my mom had ever so helpfully notified the woman that I occasionally sleepwalked. The entire family was present at breakfast when they put it all together.”
“You’re right, that is pretty bad.”
“Actually, it’s even worse than you’re thinking becauseMackenzie had this hot older brother on whom I had a huge crush, and of course he was present to witness my humiliation.”
He winced through the laughter. “Okay, you win. That’s awful.”
“She never invited me over again.”
“Go figure.”
She smacked him in the arm. “I was sleepwalking. I couldn’t help it and it was a very traumatic event.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop laughing now.”
“And a change of subject would be just great, thank you.”
“I’m not the one who brought up humiliating childhood moments.”
“I’ll accept full responsibility if you’ll allow me to shift topics and promise to never bring it up again.”
“Scout’s honor. I’ll even throw you a bone and change the subject with a confession of my own.”
