Ellie snorted again, still wearing the ridiculous hat as we drove toward the motel for the night. In thick, uneven Sharpie were the words:Needs attention like oxygenscrawled across the front. It bobbed with every bump in the road.
“I’m never taking this off,” she declared proudly, adjusting it on her head. “This is a core memory now.”
Seeing her like this—laughing, light—meant more than I could say. She was hurting, still carrying the weight of everything that had happened, and yet she was smiling. Glowing. It felt like a privilege to witness. Still, I couldn’t forget the image of her showing up on my porch, red-eyed and broken. I’d promised her I wouldn’t push… not yet. This trip was abouther. Showing her she wasn’t alone, that with time, healing would be possible. That I was here, and I always would be.
We pulled into the motel just as the sun began to dip low in the sky. It was simple, nothing fancy. A row of rooms stretched across two levels, framed by blooming pink flowers in neatly kept beds. The neon vacancy sign buzzed quietly above the office.
I’d booked two rooms, assuming Ellie would want space. We agreed that she planned the fun, and I handled the logistics. So far, it worked for us.
We grabbed our bags from the back of my truck and made our way inside, the bell over the lobby door chiming as we stepped in. A petite woman with a swinging blond bob looked up and beamed like we’d just made her day.
“Welcome!” she sang, clapping her hands. “You two are my first guests today! If I were handing out prizes for that, you’d win something big!”
“What would we win?” Ellie asked, leaning onto the counter, her voice light with curiosity.
The woman paused, tapping her chin with her pen. “Hmm. I’ll need more time to come up with something, but it would be… magnificent.”
Ellie gave me a sideways glance and let out a soft laugh under her breath.
The woman typed away on the old desktop, squinting at the screen. Then she looked up at me. Then back to the screen. Then up again. Finally, she lit up with recognition.
“You must be Logan Walker,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “And this must be…” She turned her attention to Ellie and broke into a laugh. “Ellie! With the silly hat! Don’t tell me that roadside diner off Interstate 10 got you too?”
Ellie and I shared a look, then nodded in unison.
“Happens all the time,” the woman said, grabbing two key cards and sliding them into paper sleeves.
“What gave away who we were?” I asked.
“Logan Walker feels like a manly name and he is definitely that. And…” she pointed at me. “You don’t peg me as a,” she glanced down at her computer, “Geoff, Richard, or a Ferdinan, so.”
I put my hands up in a mock surrender.
“You’re in room 210,” she told me, and then handed the second card to Ellie. “And this beautiful woman is in 211.”
Ellie’s smile faltered just slightly. Her brows knit together as she glanced down at the card in her hand, lips parting like she was about to say something but thought better of it.
I reached for my key while watching her carefully.
“Everything okay?” I asked gently.
She tucked the card into her palm and looked up with a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. Something was bothering her, and I wasn’t sure if it was the motel or me.
“Oh, by the way,” the woman behind the counter said, her voice brightening as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “our local bar is offering free line dancing classes tonight. I highly suggest you two go. It’s a great time, usually packed with people passing through. Not much else to do around here.” She gestured, her hands moving rapidly to show us the directions. “It’s walking distance. Just head outside, make a right, then take your first left. You can’t miss it.”
“That sounds awesome,” Ellie said with a grin. “Thank you.”
We said our goodbyes and stepped back into the warm summer evening, slowly making our way up the outdoor stairs to the second floor where our rooms were.
I stayed quiet, unsure whether the shift in her expression earlier meant something or if I was just imagining things. I’d overthink it later. For now, I’d play it cool.
When we reached our doors, Ellie paused and turned to me, a teasing sparkle in her eye.
“We’retotallygoing to that line dancing,” she said. “So get ready. Two hours. I need a nap and a shower.”
A shower did sound good. After a full day on the road and that wild diner experience, washing off the travel grime was necessary.
“You got it,” I replied with a casual wink.
