Page 1 of Alice & Meg: Summer Vacation
Tuesday
Meg
“Lo!”I hollered as I squatted next to our loaded-down motorcycle, pawing through the saddlebag like it had eaten my favorite tank top and refused to give it back.“Grab the seventy proof!”
There was a beat of silence from inside the house, then Lo’s voice echoed out, “What?”
I didn’t even bother looking up.“The seventy proof!”I called again, louder this time.“We’re gonna need it!”
“Babe,” he shouted back, “what the hell do you need seventy proof for?”
I finally stood and turned around to see him standing in the doorway, one hand on the doorframe and the other holding the keys.
“When it gets hot,” I said, pointing to the sky, “we’re gonna need it.”
“The seventy proof?”he asked again, like I hadn’t just said it twice already.
“Yes, Lo.The seventy proof.”
He raised his eyebrows and gave me a look, then nodded.“You got it, babe.”
He disappeared back into the house, muttering something I didn’t catch, and I turned back to the saddlebag to zip it shut.I patted the top like it was a good girl and heard the door lock click, then the porch creak beneath Lo’s boots.
“Here,” he said.I turned to see him holding out a familiar mason jar.“It’s eighty proof.We don’t have seventy.”
I blinked at the jar, then at him.“Why do you have the moonshine?”
“Because you asked for it, Meg.”He looked down at the jar.“We don’t have anything else close to seventy proof.”
I took the jar from him and stared at it like it was going to make sense if I looked long enough.“Is this going to protect me from the sun?”
Lo looked at me like I’d grown a second head.“No, babe.It’s gonna get you drunk off your ass, and then I’m going to have to carry you back to the motel room.”
Honestly, that was likely to happen at least once this trip, but I didn’t think we needed to bring our own moonshine for it.
“I wanted the seventy proofsunscreen, Lo.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.“SPF, Meg.”He opened one eye.“Sunscreen is SPF, not proof.”
“Oh,” I drawled, then nodded.“Yeah, I meant seventy SPF.”I handed the jar back.“You can put that back in the house and grab the seventy SPF sunscreen.”
Lo took the jar, still shaking his head as he trudged back up the steps.I leaned against the bike, tipped my head back to the brightening sky, and smiled.
We were really doing this.One whole week.Falls City, here we come.
Cyn and Rigid, along with Reva and Hero, were all meeting us here, riding up together on their bikes.Greta and Bear were bringing up the rear in Bear’s Bronco, stuffed to the brim with everything we couldn’t pack on our bikes.
In just a couple hours, we were all going to be together in Falls City.Vacation mode officially activated.
The door clicked shut again, and I looked up to see Lo locking it behind him, sunscreen bottle in hand.
“Seventy SPF,” he said and tossed it to me.
“You’re a good man,” I grinned and shoved it into the saddlebag.
As he stepped off the porch, I heard the familiar rumble of bikes.Cyn on the back of Rigid’s.Reva perched behind Hero.And Greta and Bear’s Bronco pulled up behind them.
They cut their engines, and I raised a hand.“Right on time!”
