Page 24 of No Such Thing as Serendipity
She motioned up with her thumb.
“Just tell me how long it is.”
“I don’t know. It ranged from seven and a half and as long as twelve.”
“What the hell, so Six Mile Creek might be double the length? What kind of false advertisement is that?”
Emma pointed at me. “Don’t you dare say a word when we get to the resort. No snarky comments.”
“Tell me our destination, and I might be persuaded,” I said in my most charming voice.
“Don’t forget, I’m making all your choices, so I’m thinking you have little negotiating power.”
No way would I give Emma the satisfaction of a response, but I still stuck out my bottom lip.
“Fine, I’ll tell you. Only so you’ll regurgitate your obnoxious reactions before we get there.”
“Oh, this should be good.”
“Blissful Breeze Sanctuary.”
I practically spit out the drink of water I’d just taken. “You’re joking. It sounds like a place for homeless pets.”
“Unhoused.”
“It’s a place for unhoused pets?”
“No!”
I had been screwing with her, but my hope for this place plummeted with a name like Blissful Breeze Sanctuary.They needed to hire a better marketer.
“Go ahead,” Emma said. “Get it out of your system.”
I put my fingertips against my forehead as if I was thinking. “Let’s see if I have this straight.” I glanced over at her to ensure she was watching my theatrics before I shifted my gaze back to the road. “You’re scrolling the internet looking for an ideal place for our vacation, and the name Blissful Breeze Sanctuarypops up. And you think, gosh, why don’t I check it out? What is wrong with you?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“And how was it?”
“It was serendipity.”
I refused to be sucked into her talk of serendipity, so I said, “I’m surprised it’s still in business with a name like that.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest.
I drove, saying nothing as I filtered through my possible responses.
“Ya know,” Emma said, interrupting my thoughts. “You’re pretty judgy today. First, that cute bookstore and now this.”
The GPS interrupted, telling me to merge onto Route 113. I gunned the truck onto the ramp. Maybe my driving would distract Emma from chastising me.
It worked. She held up her hands, mimicking a roller-coaster ride, and let out a squeal. I couldn’t help but laugh at her antics. My chest warmed. I needed to enjoy my time with Emma. Monthly sister time wasn’t enough. We used to have so much fun together when we were kids.
In the spirit of trying harder, I raised one arm and called out, “Wee!”
At first, Emma shot me a wide-eyed look before she joined me with her ownwee.
The farther we drove out of Madison, the more trees dotted the road until we traveled through a forest. It might not have been a forest, but still, more trees than I was used to seeing in the city.
