“No, I wouldn’t mind going other places,” I said. “I just can’t imagine it. I’ve always been here, except for one week. In high school, we took a trip to Washington, DC.”
“What would your family do without you?”
That was the problem, wasn’t it?
“I’m a little worried about the rent on this one,” he said, squinting as he looked through the window at an apartment building. Then he looked up at the sky. “It’s getting late.”
“Do you have a curfew? It’s getting darker because it’s winter and the sun sets early here. Summer days are so long, it’s like they never end.”
“I can’t wait.” He sat back in his seat but didn’t drive us away. “How many more are on the list?”
I checked. “Two. Do you actually need to get back and sleep or something? What time are you leaving tomorrow?”
“As soon as it gets light. Let’s visit the other places.”
We did, but by the time we returned to his new home of the hotel, the shadows had lengthened a lot. Shane drove us even more slowly than usual into the parking lot and stopped next to my car, and then I watched as he breathed out and slouched back against his seat.
“We’re here,” he announced.
“Yes, thank goodness we made it before seven o’clock. What do you think? Could you live in any of those places?”
“My standards are low. You saw my last house,” he pointed out and I nodded. It had been a pit. “The problem is money. I’m really trying to save.”
“You have a long time before you retire, a lot of years.”
“Yeah.” He sounded unconvinced. “Maybe the third one…I don’t know.”
“Think about it. I can help you move in when you get back from Ohio,” I told him, and started to get out.
“Hey, Molly,” he said.
I stopped with the door handle pulled back. “What?”
“Thanks for helping me today. It was nice that you came over.”
I thought of how he’d let me cry in this truck and blow my nose into his T-shirt. “Sure. I was glad to do it.”
“I’ll send you pictures of Columbus. It will be like you’re visiting there yourself.”
“I’ll look forward to that, for sure,” I answered and he smiled.
“I’ll see you soon.”
It sounded a little like a question.
“Yes, you will,” I answered. I would look forward to seeing him, too.
Chapter 5
“Go!” I yelled, or something like that. I was just making noise but so were the other people in the stands around me. The Junior Woodsmen were close to the end zone and driving, and it was really exciting.
Winter was finally coming to a close, and the warming weather and the fact that they’d won a lot of games had attracted a big crowd today. Their increased popularity had given me an idea. “We should hand out coupons. Like, if they win, we could give away a free fountain drink with a burger purchase,” I had told my mom. She had looked toward the kitchen, where my dad was crashing things around and hadn’t heard us. She’d nodded and mouthed the words “do it.”
I had come to the game and found a few people tailgating who had been happy to get my coupon. So had other fans when they’d arrived and many of them had expressed that they hadn’t even known about our restaurant, so this was great publicity.
Then I’d stayed. I would have to leave soon, but my sister was at Walter’s today and was supposed to have been working, too. We would see how much she accomplished but I grudgingly gave her credit for getting up, getting dressed, and getting into the car without anyone resorting to physical force.
I had been so surprised by her actions that I’d stared at her after she’d sat in the passenger seat next to me. “What are you doing?” I had asked.
