Page 76 of People We Meet on Vacation

“You’d think with all the rich people vacationing here they’d have money to just air-condition the whole place.”

“First stop: city council, to pitch that bomb-ass idea.”

“Have you considered building adome, Councilwoman?” he says dryly as we plod down the steps.

“Hey, that one guy did it in that one Stephen King novel,” I say.

“I’ll probably leave that out of the pitch.”

“I have good ideas.” I try again to give him the puppy face as we’re crossing the parking lot, and he laughs and shoves my face away.

“You’re not good at that,” he says.

“Your severe reaction would suggest otherwise.”

“You legitimately look like you’re shitting.”

“That’s not my shitting face,” I say. “This is.” I strike a Marilyn Monroe pose, legs wide, one hand braced against my thigh, the other covering my open mouth.

“That’s nice,” he says. “You should put that on your blog.” Quickly, stealthily, he whips his phone out and snaps a picture.

“Hey!”

“Maybe a toilet paper company will endorse you,” he suggests.

“That’s not bad,” I say. “I like the way you think.”

“I have good ideas,” he parrots, and unlocks the door for me, then circles to the driver’s seat as I get in and take a deep whiff of the perma-weed smell.

“Thank you for never making me drive,” I say as he gets in, hissing at the feel of the hot seat, and clicks his seat belt.

“Thank you for hating driving and allowing me to have some modicum of control over my life in this vast and unpredictable universe.”

I wink at him. “No prob.”

He laughs.

Weirdly, he seems more relaxed than he has this whole trip. Or maybe it’s just that I’m being more insistently normal and chatty,and this really was the key to a successful, old-school Poppy and Alex summer trip all along.

“So are you going to tell me where we’re going, or should I just aim for the sun and go?”

“Neither,” I say. “I’ll navigate.”

Even driving full speed with all the windows down, it feels like we’re standing in front of an open furnace, its blasts racing through our hair and clothes. Today’s heat makes yesterday’s look like the first day of spring.

We are going to be spending alotof time outdoors today, and I make a mental note to buy enormous water bottles the first chance we get.

“This next left,” I say, and when the sign appears ahead, I cry, “Ta-da!”

“The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens,” Alex reads.

“One of the top ten best zoos in the world,” I say.

“Well,we’llbe the judge of that,” he replies.

“Yeah, and if they think we’re going to go easy on them just because we’re delusional from heat exhaustion, they’ve got another think coming.”

“But if they sell milkshakes, I’m inclined to leave them a largely positive review,” Alex says quickly under his breath, and turns the car off.

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