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“Yeah, could we not do that?” Travis added.
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes,” I said. “You don’t want to think about Mommy Marley, then don’t present the idea.”
“I would argue that it’s you who doesn’t want to think about Mommy Marley,” Travis asserted.
“You’re both wrong—it’s actually Lana,” Marley said.
“Oh, fuck. Shit. You’re right.” Travis stiffened in his seat. “Better change the subject.”
I wound up being glad that Travis and Jack were with us as we boarded the plane in our respective seats. They were back in economy somewhere, but I’d sprung for first-class seats for me and Marley because limited legroom made me want to die. Also, something about flying always made me hungry, and first class had unlimited snacks.
Marley seemed in good spirits as we settled into our seats. In fact, she looked adorably excited.
“What are you all chipper about?” I asked, smiling as I stowed our carry-on bags in the overhead bin.
“I’ve never flown first class before,” she said. “These seats are so comfortable. And look!” She pulled out a plastic bag from the pouch in front of her that held a blanket, an eye mask, and a set of earbuds. “They gave us free stuff.”
I chuckled as I shut the overhead compartment good and tight, checking to ensure it wouldn’t bust open. “I mean, technically,” I said as I sat next to her, “we did pay for those courtesy items.”
“Yeah, but we don’t have to pay more on the flight, you know? It’s more like you paid for the bigger seats, and they threw in extra stuff.”
“Ah, I see. It’s an incentive.”
“That’s right,” she said, cracking open the plastic bag and unfurling a small fleece blanket. I turned on the air conditioning to get a bit of airflow, then popped a stick of gum into my mouth. I offered the pack to Marley. “For the ear-popping,” I explained when she frowned at me.
“Oh.” She giggled. “I was worried you were trying to tell me my breath stinks.”
“Considering the events of last night—or this morning—I think it’s safe to say I’m willing to tolerate any number of things about your breath without putting up a fuss.” I winked.
“God, you’re so dirty sometimes, you know that?” she said as she popped the gum into her mouth.
Not long after, the flight took off, and we settled into the pleasant boredom of the two-hour flight to Savannah, Georgia. Marley, despite her excitement over the free sleeping gear, spent most of the flight staring out the window at the sea of fluffy clouds. I mostly spent my time watching her and engaging with her each time she pointed out a particularly pretty one still splashed in pinkish light from the early morning.
We began our descent just as I started to get antsy about being confined in a tin can with wings. Landing didn’t feel much better; at that point, it was all about getting our bags from the carousel, managing the logistics of our rental cars, and finally, getting to the pack lands. I always hated these parts of traveling—the hurry and bustle and stress of everything working out at exactly the right time, dealing with crowds of other grumpy travelers, the inevitability of something going wrong.
Still, as we got off our flight and waited for Jack and Travis, I couldn’t feel too stressed. Not with Marley in such a decent mood beside me.
“I thought you’d be more nervous,” I said to her as I smoothed my disheveled hair. “You seem perfectly at ease, though.”
“I am nervous,” she admitted. “But I trust you to protect me. I also don’t think your grandfather would invite us all to come if he thought I could get hurt. And at the end of the day, it’s not Curt or Wyatt we have to worry about, you know?”
I nodded and heaved a sigh. “Very true. That was an entirely different ball game.”
When Travis and Jack joined us, things became a blur of pulling up reservation emails, looking for our luggage, and debating on whether we should eat lunch now or wait until we got to the pack lands. We decided to wait, too nervous to conceive of eating a heavy meal, especially when we had an hour’s drive ahead of us. When we finally got into the rental cars—Travis and Jack in one, and Marley and me in the other—my skin was humming with nerves.
Marley seemed to sense my unease as we pulled onto the interstate. “You okay?” she asked.
“Uh…I don’t know. I’ve got something going on,” I said. “Chest feels tight, and stomach is twisting.”
“You’re anxious.” She reached over to pat my thigh reassuringly. “It’s understandable. This is kind of an important trip, and your dad psyched us out right before we left.”
“Yeah, he sure fucking did,” I said. “I was worried he’d freak you out.”
“I mean, I am really nervous. I don’t want to be ostracized or second-guessed, but I’ve also spent the last three months being ostracized and second-guessed, so it’s something I’m starting to get used to. Especially with the help of my therapist.”
I nodded, eyes on the road as I forced myself to take a long, slow breath. “I’m less worried about people being shitty to you and more worried about some hotshot getting the wrong idea and trying to claim you.”
“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned that,” she said. “The claiming thing. What exactly is that?”
