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Aunt Frankie laughed and fished her car keys out of her tote. “Come on, Ms. UV-Ray-Battle-Ready. Let me whisk you away to my bungalow before you turn to ashes in thesun.”
Lilac caught Beach Bum Benji lowering his phone from his ear and pointing it in her direction, something like mischievousness on his expression as he snapped a pic of the “scenery” behind her. She shoved the bottle of sunscreen back into her bag and fell in step behind her aunt, no longer caring much whether or not she was protected from thesunlight.
Chapter Three
Lilac had had exactlytwenty-five minutes to enjoy the jam-packed and colorful views of sunny Orlando before she’d arrived at her aunt’s house, and then she’d spent the whole evening catching up with her aunt and learning just a little more about Earl Stevenson, the guy Aunt Frankie had met through his wife, Tara, who had a yoga class with Frankie. Gavin had made her laugh with a side-by-side photo of his new digs, one of a window overlooking Lake Michigan and the other of a pile of clothes on the ground in front of a closed door. Apparently, his new roommates had beenin flagrante delictowhen he’d moved in and hadn’t exactly rolled out the welcomemat.
They’d been texting about it all night, going off the group text into a private conversation. Even now, in the passenger side of Aunt Frankie’s car on Tuesday morning, Lilac texted toGavin.
Morning. I know you’re probably getting ready for work. (Me too. No rest for the wicked, right?) Good luck! You’ll beamazing.
She put the phone back on her lap, not really expecting him to text back, before taking in the sights around her. They’d left residential territory for the most part and were now smack-dab in tourist city. Souvenir shops full of Disney and Tildy merchandise you could pick up anywhere else in the world—or maybe you couldn’t, maybe they weren’t exactly licensed goods—tried to outdo each other with the lowest prices and restaurants from the fast food staples to the “dessert restaurant” claiming it was better than sex all competed for her attention. There were palm trees crammed in small strips dividing traffic or between lots on occasion, but for the most part, the town made use of every available inch ofland.
She hadn’t often spent time out here, outside of all the theme parks, when she’d come before. True, they’d always met up with Aunt Frankie—either at a park or at her house—but they’d never lingered outside the gates forlong.
Lilac’s phone buzzed as Aunt Frankie continued to explain the best route to the park. “This is where you’d turn to go to Disney,” she said. “And we already passed Universal. But for Tildy World, you’ll want to make sure you get over in time to merge onto this road here.” Aunt Frankie bit her lip as she looked over her shoulder and alarmingly kind of forced her way into an already-forming line of cars. They got honked at in return and Lilac winced, checking her phone for themessage.
You, too, Li. Watch out, Ms. Tildy Tapir. Lilac Townsend is here to rock yourworld!
Lilac smiled and Aunt Frankie cranked up the A/C. Lilac had only had a few hours to sort through all her things at her parents’ house, but she’d made sure to leave the winter wear she’d stocked up on for life in Minnesota behind. That had left just a few lightweight blouses and dress pants to manage in the Florida heat and she’d only packed a couple of each in her carry-on. Aunt Frankie had helped her steam out the wrinkles the night before. Now she was wishing she’d left the blazer behind, as she could feel the sweat soak through three layers of clothes, if you counted the bra—and she always counted on that thing to hold up all that heft she carried in the front—and that was despite spending virtually all of her time since waking in air conditioning. She didn’t remember sweating like a pig whenever she’d visited as a tourist, either, but she’d worn mostly sundresses and shorts and tank tops. Whose bright idea was it to require formal attire from staff forced to toil in a place that reached steaming-vegetablestemperatures?
So did your roommates ever at least say hi?typedLilac.
She stared out the window at the sky, still bright even with her sunglasses on and the car visordown.
Yeah, typed Gavin.Sort of. They came out of their rooms with bedheads and a guy who’d given one of them head overnight, all four of them acting like I had done them a great disservice by daring to walk around and turning on the coffee maker thismorning.
You told me Ryder was bald. How did he havebedhead?
He didn’t. I just thought it sounded good with my setup. Situational humor and allthat.
Fail,typed Lilac.That’s about as bad as dorky dad jokes. Gavin has got no comedygame.
Always back to Daddy with you, isn’tit?
Lilac grimaced.Anyway… Enough about the sex lives of those who are getting some right now.She frowned. She didn’t remember the last time she’d gotten some. It couldn’t have beenthatlong ago. There was that cute Omega Beta Chi boy she’d done on occasion throughout her time at school. He had to have been the last. But man, that had been back in early April. Had she really been so focused on the end of the school year that she’d “neglected” to take care of thoseneeds?
And Brielle had always insinuated thatLilacwas the one batting off guys with a stick. True, Brielle didn’t always draw the eyes of guys when standing next to her—the brunette was definitely beautiful, just not as curvy or as approachable—but she’d seen that little minx with a drink or two in her, her inhibitions flown. She had always been the aggressor with that creepy ex of hers, always the one asking for the booty call. And it was hard to outdo a guy like that when it came tolibido.
Did I tell you there is, in fact, a Mrs.Earl?
Poor woman, wrote Gavin, as if he knew a thing about theman.
“Lilac, not to sound like your mother—my god, I don’t want to sound likemymother—but are you paying attention? Rodney told me we have to get you a car and charge it to him, but I wanted to bring you the first week or so to make sure you know theway.”
Like a student caught with her phone out, Lilac jumped in her seat, sending a quickTTYLbefore shoving the phone back into her purse. “Right,” she said. “Sorry.”
She stared at the highway sign, trying to commit it to memory. Sure, she’d be able to GPS the best route, but she did appreciate having Aunt Frankie free to guide her. Frankie had her inheritance and probably some kind of funds keeping her afloat, but she occupied her time crafting jewelry and selling it on Etsy. Lilac doubted she made enough that way to support her lifestyle, but it was what made her happy, and with the inheritance, that hadn’t really been a concern. Lilac wondered if she’d be one of the few in her family to work a traditional job for more than a couple of years, if she’d ever make enough to afford to support herself without reaching into those investment accounts and incurring fees and paying taxes that she didn’t fully understand on thewithdrawals.
Still, it felt good to have that there as a backup. Good to be without the student loans that Brielle, Gavin, and even Pembroke bitched about. Just a fresh, clean start and all the world ahead ofher.
“There it is,” said Aunt Frankie. “Little Lilac’s favorite place onEarth.”
As Tildy’s cheerful grin and waving blue-gloved hand poked out above the “Welcome to Tildy World, Turn Here!” sign, Lilac’s heart fluttered, and she felt for all the world like a wide-eyed, innocent childagain.
* * *
“Ah-one and ah-two,wave your hands and make your dreams cometrue!”
