“Do you have anything in mind?”
“I can think of a few things we could check out.”
“Ooh. Are you—Wait.” She turns her head and frowns. “Are you about to suggest hiking?”
“I cannot believe we’re hiking.”She grimaces as she hops over the thick undergrowth that has taken over the pathway. Sunlight splinters through the trees around us. “We better have some more fun before you leave, Ethanol Tedious Carson.”
“You know I’m coming back, Barbie—I don’t know your middle name—Ho.”
“I don’t have a middle name.” I glance over and catch the soft, secret smile touching her lips. “And you’re not coming back until a year from now.” Before I can interject, she forges on. “But… I’m… uh… willing to give long distance a shot if it’s just a year apart, max.”
My crooked grin only grows. “I’m willing to give long distance a shot, too, if I can visit a cute marine biologist during holidays, certain weekends where I’ll even take a Friday off, and birthdays.”
Her eyes go wide and bright as an unbridled beam settles across her face. “Let me know if you’re invited to next year’s conference. I’ll try to clear my schedule around then, so we can play hooky again.”
“Oh. Funny you should mention that,” I say. “Did you know?—”
My phone starts buzzing, and we exchange glances while I retrieve it.
“That’s not Ed firing you for ditching the conference, is it?” Barbie whispers.
“It’s Lara.”
I answer the video call and get a good glimpse of my sister’s forehead and curly hair as she gripes, “Your instructions are terrible. How do you turn on the A/C?”
“There are step-by-step?—”
“I followed them, but it’s not turning on.” The screen changes. Her phone is angled toward the thermostat where I’ve taped a laminated index card with thorough instructions beside the device. “Help me before Mom complains again?—”
“I’m not the only one complaining,” Mom announces in Spanish, and the camera cuts to her face. “But it’s getting warm, and JoJo has been panting nonstop.”
“Just press that button,” I say.
My sister clicks her tongue. “There are many buttons, dumbass.”
Barbie snorts, smothering her laughter with her palm. My narrowed gaze darts toward her for a split second. Her little goose honk slips free, and she claps her other hand across her face. I break into a grin.
“What the hell was that?” Lara asks.
“It’s just Barbie?—”
“Barbie? As insweet and funny and I’m in?—”
“Press that button over there, on the bottom right corner,” I interject, but Lara’s no longer interested in the thermostat. The screen has switched back to her wide-eyed face.
“Where are you?” she exhales. “I thought you were just hiking one of Dad’s favorite trails—When did you leave?”
“What’s going on?” Mom asks.
“Ethan’s inCalifornia,” Lara gasps. “WithBarbie.”
Mom’s head appears in the frame. “I want to see who this Barbie is,” she declares. “The things your sister told me about her terrify me.”
I stifle a groan. “You’re going to scare her away,” I reply in Spanish, mimicking her tone.
She makes an offended noise. “This is like you, Ethan. Always keeping things from me. Why must I always be the last to know about my son’s life?”
“Yeah, Ethan,” Lara teases. “Why do you do this to her?”
