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“Certainly, small-town girl.” He replies with a little smile, and he leans against the back of the SUV. He looks like a fashion editorial print, but I give him about two minutes until he has pit stains, so I’m not overly jealous.
“Let me guess, you think I live in a lonely world?” I ask, catching onto his joke. Great, he is witty and hot, just like a Jane Austen hero.
“If the train actually stopped in this blip of a town, I bet you would take it anywhere.” He says as he looks around with disinterest. I shoot him a glare. Willow Springs isn’t much, but it is home.
“Are we gonna sing the chorus now?” I ask, raising my eyebrows and getting just a little sassy.
“Nah, I think I’ll leave the chorus for the road trip.” He chuckles.
“Then let me invite you inside.” I say, as I escort him up to the porch, where Lillibet waits, looking like the picture of Southern hospitality with her wide smile and floral dress. “This is my best friend, Lillibet Walker. Lilli, this is Will Whitmore, the writer.” I introduce.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Walker.” Will says with a mock southern drawl and playful smile, poking fun at my formal introduction. I narrow my eyes at him. He obviously doesn’t understand how things are done in the south.
“Pleasure to meet you as well, Will. I hope you enjoy your trip.” Lilli says, painting a pretty smile on her face, but her eyes have narrowed a bit too. Mockery and amusement at our southern accent and customs is a stale joke in Willow Springs, plus Lilli and I don’t even have accents. I can speak in one if I want, but most of the time I prefer not to.
“Not much to enjoy road tripping through the po-dunk towns of landlocked America, but I’ll give it my best.” Will replies casually, as if he hadn’t just insulted our way of life. I’m about to explain why po-dunk America matters when Lilli speaks.
“Oh, bless your heart.” She says saccharinely with a smile, but her words are all insult. From Will’s responding wide smile, I find it hard to tell if he understands her tone and loves riling us up or if he honestly thinks she is being kind.
Trying to avoid punching him before my dad even meets him, I open the front door and welcome him in. I’m a little self-conscious as I take him to the living room. Our home is a charming farmhouse that could grace the cover of any southern living magazine, but I’m sure it’s nothing like the sleek apartments in New York City. His face is completely impassive, so I do not know what he is thinking. I remind myself that I shouldn’t care what someone who chooses to live in a stack of shoebox apartments thinks about our home.
“Dad, Will arrived.” I call out as I settle on the couch. I hear water shutting off and the slam of a door and suddenly dad is striding into the room.
“Nice to meet you in person, Will. I’m David George.” Dad says as they shake hands. My dad shoots me a discreet glance, his brows raised, and I know he is surprised Will is so young too. That, and he probably finds my manners lacking. Will won’t notice because he is probably used to such poor manners in the city, but I’ve violated most every rule of the southern hospitality I’d been raised to give since he arrived.
“Nice to meet you as well, Mr. George. I’m excited about this trip.” Will greets politely, and I roll my eyes. Who is Mr. Manners now? I didn’t get such a polite greeting, but I’m hardly the star of this story, so what can I expect?
“You are either gonna kill that boy or kiss that boy by the end of summer.” Lilli whispers as she sits next to me on the couch.
“I’m leaning towards kill. Could he be any more condescending?” I comment, shooting him a glare.
“All city dwellers are like that. They think that because we don’t have a Starbucks on every corner that we are stupid, but they are the ones that pay thousands of dollars to share a shoebox with mice.” Lilli says, and I laugh before turning back into Dad’s conversation with Will.
“Well Will, is there anything we can get you before we get on the road?” My dad asks after they have finished exchanging pleasantries.
“If I could use your restroom, I’ll be good to go.” Will says, and my dad directs him to the bathroom.
“Well, I guess this is goodbye.” I turn to Lilli with a teary smile and wrap her in a hug. Like Sunny, she has been there for me every day since Mama died.
“Please, you will call me every night and text me along the way. It will be like I’m in the car with you.” She replies, hugging me back fiercely.
“Very true. Plus, I think you would kill Will faster than me.” I joke, pulling away from her.
“I’d probably kiss him quicker, too.” She adds, and I laugh as we walk arm in arm to the car.
When we reach the car, I give her one last hug before climbing in. I’m preparing my nest of pillows in the backseat as my dad fiddles with the radio. Will climbs into the passenger seat a couple minutes later and Dad says the typical dad thing, “Y’all ready to rock and roll?” Will and I both nod and I smile because that is the most Dad thing he has said in a while.
I study my house as we roll off our long driveway. I won’t be back home for over three months. Longer than I’ve ever been gone before. Even during college, I would return every couple of weekends.
Soon enough, we are on the road. I’m busy scrolling through Pinterest, and Will taps away on his tablet as my dad hums along to the radio. I’m beginning to think I over-hyped this road trip in my head. Luckily, we are only driving to a city several hours away today.
“Can I ask you several questions, David? I just want to get a good character profile for you.” Will asks as he pulls a laptop from his backpack.
“Yeah, sure.” Dad replies.
Will starts firing questions off rapid fire. He covers everything from my dad’s childhood to his first date. They talk about the diner and my mom. I’m surprised that he doesn’t really talk about the whole Susan debacle. He types up every answer though and continues typing after he is finished asking questions.
“Is it my turn for 20 questions now?” I ask, leaning forward to catch Will’s attention.
