Chapter 28
I DON’T REMEMBER WHAT TIME HENRY AND I crept up to the apartment and ended up falling asleep in the bunk beds, but I bumped my head on the ceiling when I jolted awake at eight.
“Ouch,” Henry mumbled in my ear. We were like two sardines in the top bunk, but neither of us cared. “That didn’t sound fun.”
Henry threw back the covers with determination, but before we could burst out of the narrow bunk room, he pulled me in for a kiss that made me forget the world for a heartbeat.
“Okay, what’s first?” Isa asked a minute later. She was dressed and sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee. She shot us a look. “James and I are helping bring this home.”
“The Merry Maids are coming at noon, but we need to get rid of all the garbage,” I said, willing myself not to blush.
Hopefully she and James hadn’t heard anything downstairs last night.
“Every can is overflowing, and we have all the used kegs…” A solution sparked.
“Our neighbors are away, but every May they rent a dumpster for spring-cleaning.”
“Oh, I love a good dumpster,” James said, emerging from the bedroom. “The only problem is that it’s June.”
I bit the inside of my cheek.
“We’ll try anyway,” Isa said with an encouraging smile. “And if it’s gone, I bet your school has a dumpster?”
“Behind the cafeteria,” Henry said, and five minutes later, we were stuffing as much garbage as possible into Isa’s Mini Cooper. The black plastic bags were heavy, and I cringed at the liquid swishing around in them.
If one breaks, I thought, I will pay to have her car detailed.
No one had emerged from my house yet—I hated that they didn’t need to check out until noon—but Henry and I didn’t hesitate scouring the yard for leftover party detritus.
We collected cups, bent paper plates, Twinkie halves, and even a bra and a used condom.
It made me gag. Henry used an oven mitt from Fair Winds II to pick the condom up.
James and Isa returned from their trash run earlier than expected; they confirmed that a dumpster was still sitting in my neighbors’ driveway, and I helped load up the car again. Who knew how many trips they would need to make?
Around nine-thirty, I got a text from Lana: Is the kitchen stocked for breakfast?
No, I said. I hadn’t gone grocery shopping on purpose, not wanting them to feel too at home. But Rise I raced to the laundry room to find that the stain had not surrendered to the Shout.
It was now a faint pink, but still there.
Close enough!
I flipped the cushion and fit it back into place on the couch. “It looks totally normal,” Isa assured me, at the same time James shouted, “Audrey, their royal majesties have arrived!”
“Shit, okay.” I made eye contact with Isa. My pulse was pounding. “Do I look anxious?” I swallowed. “Or guilty?”
“No,” she lied, which somehow calmed me down.
I took a deep breath when the front door opened. “Hey there!” I heard James call. “You guys still drunk?”
Classic James Barbour.
Isa sighed and shook her head. “He’s such a clown.”
Together we headed into the foyer, and when I saw my parents—looking fresh-faced despite their eight-hour flight—my heart swelled. I didn’t think I’d ever been so happy to see them. “Mom!” I shouted, and basically threw myself into her arms.
She smelled like her favorite Burberry perfume and her go-to hand sanitizer. “Audrey!” She laughed and hugged me. “Missed us, did you?”
“Oh, desperately,” I said dryly, even though nothing had ever been truer. It felt like a serious weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Managing a huge house took a lot of work.
“James and Isa weren’t good company?” my dad joked.
“We don’t have the same taste in TV shows,” James said smoothly, then offered to go to Rise & Grind to get coffee for everyone. Aunt Monica and Uncle Jeff had to be exhausted, right?
“Tell me about your trip,” I said once we got the luggage inside and James and Isa left on their caffeine run. “How was the weather? What was your favorite vineyard? How are Marc and Stacy Gallant?”
(I remembered their names this time.)