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“Yeah, but it’s not so bad, right? You fell asleep almost as soon as we got in the air.”
She smiles. “Yeah, I guess. Still can’t wait to step on solid ground again.”
“Soon,” I murmur. I know I shouldn’t. I’ve noticed that she’s still pulling away from me, but I ignore my gut and say the words anyway. “About us, I thought we could talk.”
She lowers her lashes. “On a plane full of people?”
I swallow and nod. “I see your point, but we need to talk.”
“Trev, I need a friend. Can you be that for now?”
“For now, yes, I can be that.”
Her eyes light up and she straightens in her seat. “Good, because Pook wanted to play cards with you on this trip. It was in her journal. You cheated her last time and she was determined to kick your butt. I packed cards to do just that.”
I stifle a laugh so I don’t disturb everyone else on the flight. “You’re on,” I say and pull down the table for us to play.
She pulls a fresh deck of cards from her backpack at her feet. When I see they’re Uno cards, I smile broader. This could get heated.
I think of the last time I played Brooke. She had accused me of cheating. I hadn’t, but she didn’t want to accept defeat. I think fondly of the memory.
“No funny business, mister. I’m watching you,” Lynn warns.
She narrows her eyes at me, but that pretty smile is on her lips. It’s not as bright or large as I’m used to, but it’s still there.
“Show me what you got, Babycakes.”
That does the trick. Her smile lights her entire face as I call her by the nickname her grandmother gave her. We all shortened it to Cakes, but Nanna gave her the name when she was a tiny little thing in her kitchen wanting to bake. Lynn tilts her head at me.
“You know, I went to see her before we left,” she says.
“How is she?”
“She’s moving. That big old house is too much for her. She’sdownsizing,” she says, making air quotes.
“Who downsizes in Texas?” I chuckle.
“I know, right? She’s literally going from like five thousand square feet to thirty-five hundred,” she giggles. “The floor plan actually makes the place look bigger.”
“I bet.”
Her smile turns sad. “She gave me some things of Brooke’s to take with us. Things to leave her mark. A few pictures and a lock of hair she had placed in a locket.”
“I brought the bracelets and, don’t laugh, but I found one of her socks in my room.”
Lynn bursts into laughter and covers her mouth with her hand. Her eyes shine with mirth. I hold back my own laughter, knowing what she’s most likely laughing at.
“Why did she always have to kick off her shoes and socks? No matter where she went, she’d end up barefoot,” Lynn giggles quietly.
“That’s how you knew she was comfortable with wherever she was.”
“Very true. She was always grumbling about losing her socks. She’d come to borrow mine when she would get low on them.” Her lips start to tremble and she wipes a tear.
We both fall silent. Lynn begins to deal the cards. I’m lost in my own thoughts when her voice pulls my attention again.
“Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
