Chapter 14 #3
It was the kind of outfit that Julia would never think to put together herself—would never buy, not each piece individually or as part of a set—but that she still coveted, wishing she had the sense of style (or the stylist) required to create such an ensemble.
Her own getup of boyfriend jeans, white T-shirt, and old, formerly white Converse (and ankle boot) felt painfully juvenile in comparison, despite the fact that she probably had a good six or seven years on her resident celebrities.
Noah, for his part, looked like the perfect male counterpart to Katy.
Black-and-green flannel shirt underneath a camel-colored jacket, mocha-brown slacks tapered at the ankles, and running shoes that looked like the ones Julia’s dad used to wear but that she now knew cost ten times what he’d paid for them back then.
Even Ethan, with his hemmed slacks, the precisely ironed shirt, the messy yet coiffed perfection of his current hair style, appeared to fit in with the celebrities more than she did.
She supposed that was his job, after all.
And it was in line with the Ethan she’d known her whole life—perhaps not caring about fashion and hair so much, but always being a bit too mindful of the perceptions of others.
Wanting to keep up with their classmates, the trends, even the similarities of their home lives.
“So, we gonna catch a ride from this Norman guy?” Noah spoke up after a few too many moments of loaded silence from her, the person who had suggested not walking in the first place.
“Er, yeah, let me just go find—”
As if on cue, Norman turned the corner, hoe in hand, ambling around the side of the house.
She had no idea why he held the gardening tool as he walked away from the gardens rather than putting it in their sturdy and useful shed, but trying to find sense in the things Norman did was generally a useless endeavor.
“Oh, Norm,” Julia said with a smile, playing along despite the potential ruse.
“There you are. We were just talking about you.” He gave her an innocent look that she knew meant he’d heard every word.
“We were wondering if you could maybe give us a ride into town. I can’t exactly drive with this shackle on my leg, and the rest of our Ubering city folk don’t have a vehicle for us to take. ”
“I rented a car.” Ethan spoke up incredulously, gesturing to the side of the house. “You saw me pull up!”
“Nonsense.” Julia waved her hand in Ethan’s face dismissively, reveling in the storminess that clouded his eyes at being so summarily rebuffed. “We would never expect our guest to drive. Norman can take us all in his pickup truck, can’t you, Norm?”
Norman let out a low whistle, pushing the hoe slowly into the ground before leaning on it heavily as he considered.
“I mean, it might be a bit of a tight squeeze, but if anyone can do it, it’s old Sally, that’s for sure.”
“As much as we would love to meet”—Ethan’s words choked in his throat, dying out briefly before rekindling—“Sally, I think it makes more sense to take my car so we can all be comfortable and have our own, you know, seat belts.”
“No, let’s take the pickup!” Katy spoke up excitedly. “I want the full experience.”
Ethan turned to her incredulously. “I mean—you do realize we’re in New York state, right? What experience, exactly, are we going for here? This isn’t the bowels of Arkansas.”
Katy shrugged. “I just think it would be fun to all squeeze in and head to town. It’s only a short drive anyway, right? Five minutes or so?” She turned to Julia. “That’s what you said?”
Julia nodded with a shrug. “Yeah, it’s pretty close by car. We’d be there before you know it.”
“Will Maggie be coming with us?” The question was asked with an air of innocence so pronounced that Julia had to wonder if there was more to it than the picture of guilelessness Katy projected.
“Er, no,” she responded after a split second too long. “It’s just us. Maggie needs to go shopping for another meal for tomorrow.”
As well as tonight and the rest of the week, for that matter, Julia thought.
No one had told either of them that there was going to be a vegetarian in their midst for the duration of this trip, so they hadn’t had a chance to plan accordingly.
When she had asked about dietary restrictions on their arrival, it was mostly borne from politeness, as she had assumed Ethan would have relayed that sort of information to her beforehand. Clearly, she’d assumed wrong.
“Oh, okay.” Katy shrugged and started to make her way down.
Once again, the response was innocuous enough, but it still attached itself to Julia’s brain like a postdated reminder.
“Let me just bring her around the front.” Norman started to walk in the direction of the parking lot where employee vehicles were parked before he doubled back, mumbling to himself about putting his tools away.
Julia had, of course, held her tongue about taking her own car, which, while not a luxury vehicle by any means, could have certainly gotten them all into town, but it was fun to get Ethan all riled up.
Julia looked over at Ethan, who was barely suppressing a groan, and bit back her own smile.
Maybe this day wouldn’t be terrible after all.