Page 80 of Joey

“I’m gonna take the second one. You can have the first. The hotel is gonna drive your car over here tomorrow. They didn’t have time today, but—”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t really need it. But… I get the closest to the house?” I ask. Because it seems like prime real estate.

“So you can bring in all those groceries.” He laughs.

“Fuck that. I’m using the secret passage dumbwaiter.”

“That thing looks like it’s more hassle than it’s worth.”

“And creepy as fuck. I mean, I didn’t want to say anything yesterday because Mr. Burkhart was so damn excited about it. But I don’t know, man. I’m not sure we should look too hard at that thing.”

“We don’t even know where the secret passages are,” Joey says.

“I’m sure Wald will have a digital map of them in no time.”

Joey laughs. “Oh, you have no idea how true that is. But you’re gonna find out.” He reaches for my hand and holds it. “Thank you.”

“Fuck. Are you kidding me? Thank you.”

“No, really. You’re helping me out. Not many women would do this for a total stranger. Or… do it for the right reasons and not for the money.”

I smile at that. “My reasons are right, aren’t they?”

He nods. “Come on, all the new memories are waiting to be made.”

“We should take a picture at the front door,” I say. “Then we can post it today.” I consider that. “No, like right now! People do that, right?”

“I think they do,” Joey says. “Wait, wait, wait! We should do a video!”

“We should do all of that!” I say.

And we do. We shoot the video of Joey opening the door. We take a selfie on the front porch. We even video ourselves walking around the house looking at people’s shit that is now ours.

We’re upstairs in one of the bedrooms looking out on the back yard when we hear a honk.

“Wald,” I say.

We go back downstairs and find him and Huck already coming up the porch carrying boxes.

“We don’t have much,” Wald says. “Didn’t even fill up the whole truck. Which way to my room?”

Joey and I look at each other and shrug.

“There’s two upstairs, but they’re kids’ rooms,” Joey says. “So probably one of the two downstairs.”

“Gotcha. Come and show me the secret passageways,” Wald calls, heading down the stairs.

Joey follows him down and then I notice Huck is staring at me. He sets the boxes down just inside the doorway. “What?” I ask. “Oh, are you looking at my ring? It’s too big. Is it too big?” I hold my hand out so he can see it.

Huck glances at it and then walks over to me and takes my hand. “It’s very pretty. Do you think it’s too big?”

“A little bit,” I admit. “But I really like it.”

“Then who cares?”

“Right,” I say, smiling up at him.

“Hey…” he says.