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“How has your visit been so far?” Lando asked, trying to make conversation so they weren’t all awkwardly sitting together and saying nothing.
The mother smiled, her eyes lighting up. “It’s been wonderful.”
Her mood seemed so out of tune with that of her kids, but they were teenage girls, so Lando could have been off the mark when it came to reading them. She wasn’t that far away from being their age, but her teenage years had been filled with drugs, sex, and alcohol.
“That’s good,” Lando mumbled. Her visit hadn’t beenwonderful, but then again, she was there for work, not to play and relax. The girls were still focused on their phones, doing who knew what on them.
Lando glanced out the window to see if Diane was still there. Perhaps she could use that as an excuse to get out of talking nicely with people she didn’t know. Diane stood by the railing but wasn’t looking out at the landscape. Instead, she stared through the window. For a moment, Lando thought Diane was looking at her, but on second glance, she realized Diane’s gaze slid farther to her left, right where the mother sat, staring back.
Oh.Lando flickered her gaze a few more times between the two of them and sighed heavily. Now she understood why they were there, and by her estimation, it was a damn good thing Violet hadn’t figured it out yet.
Lando stood up and said nothing as she stalked out of the den and up the stairs to her shared bedroom. Violet was on the computer as expected. Lando would play interception as best as she could, because she did not want to witness that fallout or be anywhere in the vicinity when it happened.
She grabbed Eli’s old camera and flipped through some of the photos she had taken while sitting on her side of the bed. She said nothing to Violet as they existed in each other’s presence. Eventually, Lando stretched her back and glanced over to find Violet staring blankly at her screen, obviously not computing any of the information.
“What photo editing software does Diane use?” Lando asked, trying to keep the conversation professional and also useful.
Violet turned slowly and looked Lando up and down. “Why?”
“So I can try it out if it’s cheap enough.” She held up the camera. “I’m going to have to do something with these before we leave here, and while I can put them on my computer for safe keeping, I don’t have much to do with them after the fact.”
Violet frowned. “She uses Photoshop, but it can be expensive. She’s not very proficient with it, either, so I wouldn’t be asking her for advice on how to use it.”
Lando couldn’t decide if that was Violet’s jealousy talking or if what she said was true—or both.It could be both.Lando bit her tongue. “Is there any cheaper software you’d recommend? I can’t exactly use the school’s photo lab anymore.”
Shrugging, Violet changed the map on her screen. “There are a few programs if you wanted, but I have Photoshop on here if you wanted to play with it.”
“No offense, but do you ever let anyone touch that computer other than yourself?”
Violet’s look was sharp. “No one’s asked before.”
“Oh.” Lando pressed her lips hard together. “Well, I’d appreciate it if I could, at least until I can save up enough to get some kind of editing program.”
Violet didn’t answer, and Lando knew they were back to silence and being withdrawn. She didn’t like seeing Violet like this, the weight of the world in sadness settled into Violet’s shoulders, and it shifted the entire mood of the team. Lando leaned in and pointed at the computer screen.
“Is that one headed our way?”
“What?”
“The storm.” Lando raised an eyebrow at Violet in confusion. Violet was never someone who missed a storm, no matter how small, but to see her so distracted was unnerving.
Violet blinked, focusing her eyes and staring at the computer screen. “Oh, yes.”
“Are we going to it?”
“If we can convince the princess.”
Lando nearly pouted. Prying Diane away from her current interest didn’t seem like it was going to be easy, but three days without a storm was weighing on all of them. They needed to get out and have the thrill of an adventure. Perhaps that could put them back together as a team in ways staying in close confines couldn’t.
“Is there no way to not give her a choice?”
“I…I don’t know.” Violet sounded a million miles away.
“You know her better than I do, but I can’t imagine we’re getting anything done staying here.” Lando wanted to amend that statement because at least one person was getting things done, but she was not going to be the one to shatter that wall for Violet.
“Let’s see how long we have and where we need to go first.” Studying the computer and talking it through, they figured they had about thirty minutes until they needed to leave if they were going to hit it. It’d be an hour drive north, but the storm looked seriously promising for some kind of tornado activity.
The five days of nothing was grating on Lando’s nerves, so she knew she was pushing to go, but that was why they were there, wasn’t it? She knew it was at least why she was there, why she’d been hired and even applied for the internship to begin with.
