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Jules broke her most stringent rule, leaned in and pecked me on the cheek. I guess that was all I was going to get.
Whoa Jules! Now your dad is going to think we’re messing around!
Shut up Elliott!
More laughing.
Seriously though Jules, your outfit looks so nice on you.
Oh Elliott, get your head out of the gutter.
I’m not trying to be saucy with you. I mean it. You look incredibly beautiful.
Stop, you’re making me blush and that will make my dad want to read what we’ve been writing.
We both looked up and saw her dad’s eyes refocus from the rear-view back onto the road. Something told me it wouldn’t be a comfortable vacation for him. Poor guy. I promised myself I’d try to make it easier on him, to behave just a little more responsibly to ease his anxiety.
So, I can’t believe I haven’t asked you this yet, but who’s all going to be there?
I’d already met many of Jules’ family members from previous visits from them to Bramwell but there were a few I’d be meeting for the first time and although this would have scared a lot of guys my age and even older, it didn’t faze me in the slightest. I was comforted to know that while we would be living in Philadelphia she’d have some family nearby.
A lot of my cousins will be there, most you’ve never met before. Many aunts and uncles. I’m most excited for you to meet my aunt Isabel.
I’m looking forward to meeting all of them. I want this trip to go as smoothly as possible. I want to be invited to future visits. Got any suggestions?
Be wary of some of my cousins. They’re awesome, but they love to tease. My cousin Lizzy is the best, you’ll love her. Just stick close to me and you’ll be okay.
Oh that should be no problem whatsoever.
I threw a sneaky grin her way and we both laughed quietly.
“I need gas”, Jules’ dad said in a huff and slightly jerked the wheel toward the nearest exit.
We bumped heads.
“Ow! Dad!”
“Oops! Sorry kids!” he said with a slight smirk.
He was ornery, he must have been where Jules got it.
We stopped at a gas station in Greencastle and ate lunch at a little burger joint named Billy Miner’s. They had some of the best burgers I’d ever eaten in my entire life. It was an amazing town and every person we’d met there treated us as if we were family. I promised myself I’d go back again.
We finally got back onto the road and arrived in Mauch Chunk in record time. When Jules dragged me through the door I was overwhelmed by the amount of people despite the home being one of the largest I’d ever ever stepped foot in.
“No wonder everyone comes here,” I whispered. “This isn’t your grandmother’s den.”
I finally got where Jules’ eccentricities came from. We were at Jules’ aunt Isabel’s house. Isabel was her mom’s sister. She was smart and cool and had a young heart. As we toured her home, I found so many interesting art pieces hanging everywhere on her walls.
“They’re all local,” Isabel said, “except these.”
She pointed to an entire wall in her living room and it was very apparent that it was Jules’ handiwork. Seeing so many pieces together made me appreciate the incredible talent that Jules possessed. I also noticed something else. Four of the maybe fifteen paintings hanging on the walls were the ones we had sold online to fund our trip to London. I pointed to them and Jules just nodded.
“I got these online,” Isabel said smiling.
“I should have guessed,” said Jules. “They were sent to an office in downtown Philadelphia and I never put two and two together.”
Jules’ aunt Isabel was an attorney and must have had them delivered to her law office.
