Chapter 5

I smile as I fold back the letter. I can’t hold in an excited giggle at the thought to see my aunt in less than two months. I grab my phone, dialing my mom to tell her the good news about her sister. After a couple of rings, she picks up.

“Hey, Sophie! Is everything okay?’’ Dad asks on the other end of the line. I’m a little surprised that he picked up mom’s phone.

“I’m okay. Is mom there?’’

“Oh, yeah, she’s driving. Let me put you on speaker phone.’’

“Sophie! I’m so happy you called!’’ I laugh at how desperate she sounds. Mom and I were always close, and we hardly ever fought.

“I’m fine mom, though we did get into some kind of situation...’’

“Do you want us to come get you?’’ Dad asks, cutting me off.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Marc. I’m sure she doesn’t want us meddling in her affairs.’’ My mom chimes in with a smile in her voice. “Though, if you do need us to come, we will be there.’’ She adds seriously, making me chuckle.

“Stop worrying, you guys! The bus broke down, so were spending the night in this cute hotel paid for by the company.’’

“Wow, lucky you!’’ Mom exclaims, though I can hear dad grumbling about the bus breaking down part. “You’re not too upset to be missing beach days in Virginia?’’

“No, I actually quite like the little town we’re in. I don’t know why, I have a good feeling about this.’’

“Well, we did teach you to trust your guts...’’ dad admits begrudgingly. “So as soon as you get a bad feeling, call us and we’ll be on our way!’’

I laugh, just imagining dad driving miles over the speed limit to come and rescue me.

“I promise I will! But I called to let you know what aunt Aria wrote to me.’’ I say, and I hear mom’s excited squeal. “She should be back by the end of July.’’

“That is some good news!’’ Mom says and I can hear just how happy she is. Her sister and she were almost as close as we were. “Thanks for letting us know! We have to hang up now so we don’t miss our appointment, but call back if you need anything.’’

“I will! Love you guys.’’

“Love you!’’ they respond in unison before hanging up. I wonder what appointment has them both not at work on a Monday, but figure that if it is important, they’ll tell me eventually.

Another knock resonates on the wooden door of my room, so I open up to find a box on the ground, identical to the one in front of Alice’s room and in the cart a maid is pushing to next door. I thank her and pick up what I assume is lunch. Both Alice and Nick open their door at the same time.

“Do you guys want to go eat outside?’’ she asks. “I really don’t want to spend the day in the hotel...’’

We both agree and head out. We end up sitting right outside of the hotel and eating on a picnic table.

“Did Grant seem weird when he came by your rooms?’’ I mention before taking a bite of salad. “And like, why did he only give us a fifteen minutes notice to cancel our meal?’’

“He wasn’t weird with me.’’ Nick counters.

“It’s probably because of me.’’ Alice admits with a smirk.

“Oh no, what did you do again?’’ I ask, wondering if this is what Nick had warned me about. Had she already done something stupid?

“I did nothing wrong!’’ She exclaimed dramatically. “I simply invited him into my room. Then into my bed. Then into my...’’

“Oh, my god, stop!’’ I scream, blocking my ears and laughing out loud. “You did not sleep with our bus driver!’’

“Oh, I can guaranty we weren’t sleeping!’’ She teases with a serious face. Still, her eyes are lit by a playful flame.

“You are 100% crazy,’’ Nick says in disbelief. “Can I ask why?’’

“Well, I didn’t want to be bored all day!’’

I laugh again, but feel a little uncomfortable. Alice is very sexually liberated and doesn’t mind telling us all about her intimate adventure. Nick is about to comment again when we all get a notification: we have finally received the email from the bus company.

It basically offers partial reimbursement for taking the first bus as well as a rebate on our next purchase or full refund to take the next available bus, up to a week later.

“Sick! We get half our money back for losing a day in Virginia?’’ Nick is thrilled, but I can’t help but wonder about the second option.

“Shouldn’t we just wait for the second bus?’’ I ask. “It’s a cute town, and that way, we have an almost free vacation on the beach...’’

“Are you crazy?’’ Alice complains. “Who in their right mind would chose to stay in the middle of nowhere?’’

Nick agrees with her and they carry on talking about their plans for when they arrive in Virginia. But I can’t help but feel like I should stay here. I can’t help but feel the pull in my stomach.