36. Epilogue
Epilogue
“Seventeen hundred miles,” Mom says, looking up from the atlas she’s making me study spread across the van hood. We have this whole road trip plotted on a navigation app, but she insisted on having it “analog” too, and somehow we need to fit her Rand McNally Road Atlas—a book roughly the size of our kitchen table—in this minivan with the five of us.
“It would be deeply satisfying if it were 1,776 miles,” Leila says, shutting the back of Mom’s new Toyota. It magically appeared in Robert’s repair shop within a week of him learning about our road trip. He says he plans to use it as a courtesy shuttle when we’re done with our adventure, but it’s just another one of his sly ways of spoiling Mom since she rarely lets him do it directly. Her shiny diamond engagement ring is one of those exceptions.
“1,776 miles? That’s random,” Mia says, then her face clears. “Oh, because Philadelphia and independence.” She disappears into the van.
“Ding ding ding,” Cassidy says. “And I’m sure Philly will be nice, but let’s hear it for the city that is the true star of this trip—”
“New York City,” I say loud enough for Mia to hear me inside the car.
“Cooperstown,” Cassidy and Mia say at the same time. That’s where the baseball Hall of Fame is, and they’re both dying to see it.
“Tragic,” Leila says, climbing into the van. “Imagine getting that excited about baseball when we get to spend three days in Manhattan.”
I got into NYU, but I’m leaning more toward CU Boulder. I won’t lie and say that Gabe doesn’t weigh into that decision big-time. We spent last summer together, but when he goes back to school, we see each other two weekends a month and on school breaks. Except this one. This spring break is my college tour road trip.
It would be great to attend the same school with Gabe and Mia. But Boulder is also appealing because the insane cost of NYU is not. I need to see it for myself and decide if I vibe with it the way I’ve always dreamed I would.
“I’m more excited for Philadelphia than New York,” Cassidy says. “How are you two feeling about it?” Her gaze flits from me to Leila in the van back to me.
“Fine,” Leila says, shrugging. “Mostly I’m excited to see Max.”
Max Lombard, our brother.
And his dad, our sperm donor.
Leila has stayed in touch with Max. She understands the whole little brother thing way better than Seth or I do, although we chat with Max sometimes too. But when Erin Lombard found out from Leila that I’d come to San Diego and David had ignored me, she was furious. With David .
So she’s been working on him, and now we’re going to visit the Lombards at David’s invitation.
“Fine?” Cassidy repeats after Leila. “Remember when Kendall almost burned her whole life down to meet that guy?”
I flip her off and Mom pretends not to see me do it.
Cassidy grins. “What about you, Kendall? You also just ‘fine’?” Her tone is curious, not judgy. That’s a thing I’ve learned about Cassidy over the last year. She’s decisive and bossy and nosy, but never judgy.
“Yeah, fine,” I agree. “I mean, it’ll be nice to get to know him, I guess. But honestly, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything anymore.”
I study each of them, Mom as she leans across the driver’s seat, trying to fit the atlas between it and the console, Mia as she stakes out the far back seat with the pillows set up just the way she and I like them, Cassidy on the sidewalk beside me with her sensible ponytail and bag full of everyone’s favorite snacks, Leila settling into her middle seat like she has all the time in the world and nowhere she’d rather spend it.
I lean into the van to meet Leila’s eyes. “I’m glad you could get the time off work for this.”
Leila twists to fling her arms around Mia from behind. “Me too, sis,” she says, squeezing so tight that Mia squeaks.
Cassidy drapes her arm over my shoulders. “Me too, sis,” she says with a light hug.
Mom starts the van and rolls down her window, cranking the radio volume at the same time. A Motown voice as smooth as velvet sings about loving it when we’re cruising together.
“It’s a sign,” she calls over the music. “Let’s get this sister trip on the road.”
I climb in with my three sisters as a text comes in from Seth wishing us good luck on our way to see Max who is waiting for us to come and play.
“Got everything we need?” Mom asks when I click my seatbelt in place.
I glance around the van again and smile. “Yes.”
I really do have everything.