Chapter 25
Fritters and cheese
Alex
When Amelia pulls up next to us with coffee and breakfast Wednesday morning, Lizzie jumps out of the front seat and moves into the back seat.
“What the hell are you doing, Bean?” Amelia hands me the tray of coffees and a pastry bag through the window while scowling at my daughter.
“You’re driving today. What pastries did you get?”
“The fuck I am. This tourist bullshit was your idea. You do the driving, I sit in the back picking music and drinking coffee.”
I put our drinks in the cup holders and pass Lizzie hers before opening the bag to find three cherry fritters. I try to catch Amelia’s gaze, but she pointedly ignores me.
“I already picked some music, so driving’s all that’s left for you to do.”
“You’re such a pain in my ass.” Amelia walks around the car and drops into the driver’s seat with a huff and an eye roll so hard that it looks painful.
“We’ll get there faster if you drive,” Lizzie insists.
“That’s because you’re afraid to pass anyone on the two-lane highway even when there’s a designated passing lane.” Amelia adjusts the seat a little closer to the steering wheel and pulls out of the driveway.
“It’s scary, Min. Give me a three-lane freeway any day of the week.”
“Chicken shit.”
“Be nice or I’m eating your fritter.”
Amelia glares at Lizzie in the rearview mirror. “I will leave your ass at the beach.”
“I like the beach,” Lizzie says with a shrug.
“Bean, why is your gas light on?”
“Oh, it came on a few minutes before we got home last night.”
“I’m not pumping gas for you,” Amelia claims.
“Think we can make it to Oregon before running out, so someone else can do it?” Lizzie wonders.
“Oh my god, I’ll pump the damn gas.” I shake my head and laugh at the two of them.
“Do you even know how to do that, city boy?” Amelia asks me without looking my way.
“It’s been a minute, but I’m sure I can figure it out.”
And I do. As I’m filling up, Lizzie hops out of the back seat.
“Grabbing snacks for the road. Want anything?”
“I just ate a fritter,” I laugh.
Lizzie stares at me. “So?”
“I’m good, kiddo.”
She shrugs and runs inside.
When the tank is full, I get back in the car. Amelia starts it up and pulls around to the side of the building.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Fucking with Bean,” she says with a shrug. She stares out the windshield toward the doors and sips her coffee.
“We really do need to talk, Amelia.”
“We’re not doing it today in this car.”
“Well, no, obviously not. But soon. Before the wedding.”
“We’ll see,” she huffs.
“I miss you. I miss us.” Nothing feels right when she’s pissed at me.
She closes her eyes for a couple of seconds, taking a deep breath.
“We’re not doing this now, Alex. Bean’s wedding is in four days. I’ve worked hard to keep Tiffany and Stephanie from ruining it, and I’ll be damned if we let our bullshit fuck with her day,” she declares.
Lizzie walks out of the store and gets halfway back to where we were originally parked before she notices we’re not there. She spins around to look for us before stomping over and throwing open the back door.
“You. Suck.”
“That’s for all the goddamned gum wall selfies you sent me yesterday.”
Lizzie grins. “Worth it. That was funny shit. So was this. It’s been a long time since you pulled that move. I wasn’t expecting it. Well played, Minnie Sinclair. Well played.”
“Thank you. Now buckle up and hand me my fucking Bottle Caps.”
Amelia is a better driver than Lizzie, which is ironic since she’s been living in New York for years and doesn’t drive there.
We eat ice cream at the cheese factory before buying a ridiculous amount of cheese that we pack into a cooler.
Then, we drive north, stopping at Haystack Rock and exploring a few coastal towns.
Amelia shrieks with glee when she sees five different bunnies in Cannon Beach.
It’s so strange to see a black and white rabbit eating dandelions in someone’s front yard, but her joy makes me smile.
I send a few pictures of Lizzie and Amelia to Katie to keep her from harassing me, which doesn’t work because she blows my phone up all day.
But Amelia still hardly acknowledges me. I can’t seem to chip away at the wall between us.