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My mom nodded. “That’s a good plan.”
Soon Bliss and I were headed to my car while Mom and Missy walked to hers across the parking lot.
“I can’t wait until I can drive. Are you getting a new car? Maybe I can have this one?” my sister asked with barely veiled excitement.
“Bliss you won’t be sixteen for two years,” I lamented, unlocking the door with my fob, clicking it twice so that the passenger side would open at the same time.
“I can still learn!”
“It doesn’t make sense, Bliss. Mom and Dad will never agree to get you a car two years early. Do you even have a learner’s permit?” I opened my door and slid in.
“I’m getting one,” she said as she got into the passenger side.
“That’s a start.”
“But I want a new car so badly! I’ve been looking at the new Mercedes.”
My eyes widened behind my sunglasses. I pushed the start button to start my white Nissan Altima, with a wry grin. It had been a gift from my parents four years ago when I graduated high school. Before that I had an old Honda Civic. I mean, it was like ten years old when I got it, and it still ran well enough for my little brother to use. There was no way my parents would get Bliss a new car now and I doubted it would be a Mercedes, even at graduation. “Why not make it an Audi or Ferrari?” I asked sardonically. “Josh drives my old beater, Bliss. Give it up.”
“But Dad makes so much money!” Bliss almost wailed. “My friends are dripping in diamonds and designer clothes.”
“So? Are you naked or starving? You’re fine.” I rolled my eyes when she groaned.
My dad stopped playing professionally only last year when the head coach of his team retired, and they offered him the gig. Growing up, we did live in a very nice house, we traveled, we had everything we needed, but our parents’ placed expectations on us and spoiled us with love, not stuff. “Personally, I’m glad they are the way they are. Who wants to be a spoiled brat?”
“Ughhh!” Bliss moaned and threw her head back. “Of course, you’d say that.”
I laughed and backed out of the parking spot after waiting for a few cars behind me to clear. The going would be slow after a big event like this and so many fans flowing out at once. “Yep!” I agreed with a smile. “So sorry that you have such a rough life, Bliss. Are you spending the summer at the ranch?”
“Yes, but Josh and Mace are going to soccer camp so Uncle Ben said I can bring a friend, so I’m taking Brittney.”
“That will be fun.”
Dylan and I spent many happy summers at the Wyoming dude ranch that Dylan’s Uncle Ben and Aunt Marin owned. They put us to work every single day, but we loved every minute of it.
I was finally inching my way to the main road. It was a good thing that we were meeting an hour after the end of the game. A good thirty minutes had already passed just getting to the car and out of the stadium parking lot.
“Are you and Dylan still acting weird?” she asked astutely.
I lifted my right shoulder in a half shrug. “I’m not sure. It was awkward at Christmas three years ago.” We all went to Vail for a white Christmas and while it was fun, it wasn’t like spending the holidays at home.
“Well, yeah, you brought that douche home with you. What’d you expect?”
I grunted, turning onto the road that would lead us back into town and toward the restaurant. Traffic was still bumper-to-bumper, and it would be slow going. “Um, what are you talking about? Will was a nice guy and very smart!”
Bliss shook her head. “Very boring, you mean,” my sister said blandly. “And now Alan. He’s worse! Bleh! You sure know how to pick ‘em.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dylan always has some babe on his arm, so why would he care? I thought he’d be bringing home some girl, too. It’s not like that between us, anyway,” I protested. It was the first time in three years that he hadn’t had a different girlfriend on his arm.
“Okay, sure.” She was skeptical. “Now you barely mention Dylan. What happened between you two, anyway?”
“He was upset that I transferred out of Clemson. I mean, he got his dream, and I just wanted mine. You know why I want to be an oncologist, Bliss. It just happens sometimes. People grow apart over time.”
She studied me as I drove. I could almost feel her eyes on me. “Yeah, but you’re just now starting your internship at St. Jude, right?” she asked smartly. Bliss might be young, but she had a mature intuitiveness about her.
It was true, the internship was starting in the fall and though I’d volunteered there for the past three summers, the internship was beginning in the same month as medical school. “Yes, but I worked many hours as a volunteer these past three years and I’ll continue it when I can. It’s heartbreaking to see all these little kids suffering and after my experience, I just want to make a difference.”
She seemed to accept my explanation. “I can’t even think of you having cancer, Remi.”
