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“I wish I had room for you at my place,” Reagan said.
“It’s okay, you guys are making me feel like some weird homeless person.”
“You’re not homeless yet,” Darcy said. “But I definitely will kick Cruz out before I let that happen to you. He drank all my juice boxes!”
They all laughed as Darcy relayed more of her brother’s irritating habits. By the time the night was over and she was ready to go, Rhomi felt better. Her friends were positive influences and weren’t going to let her wallow in her worries. She didn’t have a job right now, but she’d find one, she was sure of it.
She just had to trust that something good was around the corner.
* * *
“So, I have tickets to the aviary,” Reagan said on the phone Sunday morning.
“The what now?” Rhomi asked. She folded her jeans and set them on the closet shelf.
“The aviary, at the Amazing Adventures Safari Park. I was going to take my little cousins, but my aunt called and said they were coming down with something and she didn’t want to get anyone else sick. So now I’m sitting on tickets. I want you and Darcy to come with me. We’ll walk around, see some birds and whatnot, eat junk food. It’ll be awesome.”
“Sounds fun,” Rhomi said.
“Cool, I’ll pick you up in an hour. I’ll call Darcy.”
“Perfect, see you in a bit.”
Rhomi hummed as she finished putting her laundry away. She hadn’t been to the park since she was little. Her only real memory of it was her dad being so happy he got a close parking spot and her mom letting her get a souvenir mug that had a bunch of animals on it.
By the time Reagan and Darcy picked her up, Rhomi was ready for another fun girls’ day.
“Any luck with job listings today?” Reagan asked.
“Nah. Weekends are weird. My dad said Sunday was always the biggest day for new jobs, but with online listings, it varies from day to day.”
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you,” Darcy said.
Rhomi looked over her shoulder. “Thanks.”
While Reagan drove to the park, they discussed everything that they hadn’t gotten to the day before, from their last time at the park to their hopes for the future.
“Well, I want to meet Mr. Right, of course,” Darcy said, leaning forward and resting her head on Reagan’s seat.
“Maybe you’ll meet him today,” Rhomi said.
“That would be cool. What if we all met our Mr. Rights today?” Darcy asked.
“I don’t want to settle down right now,” Reagan said, “but I wouldn’t mind some time with Mr. Right Now.”
They reached the park and got into a long line of cars waiting to enter the lot. It was sunny and just a touch on the cool side, and Rhomi was glad she had her long-sleeved shirt just in case.
They parked and followed the crowd through the front gates, which were wrought iron and had wild animal silhouettes on them. “Do you need a map?” a young woman asked as she scanned the ticket Reagan had given her.
“Yes, please. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Enjoy.”
As they walked into the park, something inside Rhomi stirred. She froze and looked around, wondering what was making her so curious. Her gaze zeroed in on a small building several yards ahead.
“Rhome? What’s going on with you? I looked around and you were gone,” Darcy said, walking over to her.
“I’m going to check out that building,” she said.
