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Hudson
Driving west of the city, I headed toward the lakeshore. “I thought we could pick-up something to eat then head over to the drive-in. Does that sound okay?”
She nodded slowly.
“I promise I didn’t plan that so we’d be alone in a car and I could be an octopus on you. I just thought… Well we could talk without an audience and it might be more comfortable. We can do something…”
Her hand covered mine, a pulse seeming to zing through me at the simple touch.
It’s okay, she signed.
“Okay, just so you know, you’re on deck once we park. Since I’m driving, I’ll give you the Hudson Ferrazzi run down.” I glanced over and she gave me a small nod, but her matching smile told me she was good with my plan. Mostly anyway. I couldn’t be sure if it was hearing about me or telling me about herself. I guessed the latter.
“So, hmm… I don’t do this often. I’m twenty-four and I work at the Brewery—but you know that, since you saw me there. I’ve either worked in the front or done stuff in the back for as long as I can remember. And when I wasn’t doing stuff for my dad, I got sent over to the event center to do stuff there. My uncle owns that, but the whole thing—all the businesses are part of one conglomerate. It’s confusing. Separate but the same—if you stick around, you’ll eventually understand it. But that’s not about me.”
My fingers tapped on the steering wheel. “I’m the youngest of four. My older sister is the one with the flower shop. And I have two older brothers. I’m sure you’ll meet them soon. They and my cousins are always in my business. Always. I hope that’s not going to be a problem because I can try to keep them in check but that’s almost impossible. My family doesn’t really getboundaries. Even my mom and dad. And my aunts and uncles, come to think of it.”
I heard a funny sniffing sound from Sparrow, and when I glanced over, she was laughing. The hand not over her mouth circled, telling me to go on.
“Oh, you think that’s funny. Just wait.”
Honestly, I couldn’t wait until she met my family. Something about Sparrow had me thinking ahead with her. My mind couldn’t stop spinning possibilities since I saw her and lightning seemed to strike me. Hell, I’d even told my friend Armie about her when he’d joined me for a run this morning. And that was something because I’d learned to keep my shit to myself at a very young age, lest it be dissected by committee.
“I want to college locally, closer to the lakeshore, at Michigan Valley U, but I lived on campus for the first couple years. Kinda…dumb, I guess, since I drove into work a couple days a week anyway. When I was a junior, I got my own place in Rockford.” I slid a glance at her. “Don’t be impressed. My parents paid for it, and I’m repaying the loan to them. They did that for all four of us. Anyway…” I shrugged. “I got my degree in business with a minor in advertising. I was actually only a couple credits away from a double major. Just internships.”
I glanced over again as I exited the highway. “Are you bored yet?”
She made that laughing-sniff sound again and shook her head.
“It might take a little longer, but do you care if we order curbside from Applebee’s or Red Robin or something?”
Sparrow shook her head again, and I navigated toward the first restaurant. And parked near the pickup spaces so we could order then wait. Pulling up the restaurant app, I handed it over to Sparrow. “Order anything you want—including dessert and a drink. It’ll be a long movie.”
Once she ordered, she handed the phone back to me and I placed my burger and drink order then paid. I dropped the cell in my cup holder and turned to look at her. “I like burgers and fries but I don’t like fast food. I know…weird, huh?”
She shook her head once more.
“Okay… you’re turn. Tell me everything.”
Her face scrunched as she thought and I saw a shadow pass over her eyes before she blinked it away.
“How about… How old are you? I guess that’s a place to start,” I prompted.
She pulled her small beat-up notebook from her purse and set it on her lap, a pen clipped to the coils.
Twenty-two,she signed.
“Have you lived in the area long?” I wasn’t great at small talk, but I wanted to know everything about her.
She indicated no.I’ve only lived here for four years.
While we waited, I found out she had no family in the area, which made me want to get her roped into mine even more.
“Spiderman or Iron Man?”
Sparrow blinked at me.Depends on which Spiderman. Because Tom Holland… Duh.
I grinned.
