Page 81 of No Place Like You

“Congratulations,” the driver mutters, offering a smile with his lifelessly spoken words.

“I’m going to have a real job,” I gasp. “I don’t have to find work at a shitty retail job or a coffee house. I don’t have tofindwork, period.”

I ignore the confused look on the driver’s face and instead stare at my phone screen. My fingers immediately find Dexter’s contact, hovering over the call icon.

I want to tell him. FaceTime him with a wide grin, bursting with excitement from the news. He’s the first person I thought to call. Not my mom or Nat or even Annabelle. It’s Dexter. But I shouldn’t be calling him with every piece of good news like he holds that level of significance in my life. Because there is no more Dexter and Lucy. We let the idea of us go outside of the airport terminal, with our luggage gripped in our hands and those silent goodbyes whispered through sad smiles and a long, drawn out kiss.

“We’re here.”

I look up to see the cab has stopped in front of the hotel entrance. The cab driver is already at the trunk, hefting my luggage onto the ground as an attendant at the hotel takes it from him. I pay the driver, making sure to leave a good tip after he was the first one to hear my good news, now somewhat less enjoyable with no one really to share it with.

“Lucy!” I turn to see Nat hurtling toward me, her arms outstretched and the widest smile on her face. “You’re here!”

Her feet finally stop when she collides into my body, making me stumble a step back. When Nat’s arms circle me tighter, I swoop a little lower to embrace her. Something in my throat constricts, making me realize how much I’ve missed not only Nat but my entire family. Over her head, I see my parents and Hayden walk toward us, though at a moreleisurely pace.

“I missed you so much!” Nat says, pulling away from me.

I finally have a chance to greet my parents already waiting on the sidelines. My mom steps forward first. Her reddish copper hair, natural and one absolutely none of us inherited, sweeps with the breeze, as does her Hawaiian dress littered with palm leaves and hibiscuses.

“Hi, baby,” she croons, pulling me into a long hug. She cradles my face in her hands, and she does a once-over. Like she’s checking me for any bumps or bruises or new and sudden employment opportunities I might be keeping from her. “You’re okay?”

I study her face, paying attention to the fine lines that have now joined the excess of freckles over her glowing skin. Her bright green eyes shine at me with genuine concern for her youngest child as she eagerly waits for my answer. “I’m good, Mom.”

She doesn’t pry any further, and the stress and frustration that’s built up over the months from her persistence and overbearance softens, replacing it all with the warmth flooding my heart now that I’m surrounded by family. “Oh, it’s so good to see all my girls in the same place.”

“It’s good to see you too.”

When she lets me go, it’s my dad’s turn. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, baby girl.” He towers over me by a good six inches, probably where I get my height from considering my mom and Nat are basically miniature next to me. His shirt matches the patterns on my mom’s dress, and I realize they most likely have a few matching outfits in their suitcases. Probably one with a bright birds of paradise print too.

“How’s my little chicken nugget?” he asks, his bushy mustache and eyebrows, no longer jet black like they’ve always been but now leaning more toward salt-and-pepper territory, twitching with his warm smile.

“Not so much a nugget anymore,” I say, resting my chin on his shoulder while tilting up on my tiptoes. “More like a chicken strip.”

Nat tugs at my hand, ripping my luggage from it and handing it off to Hayden.

“Hey, Lucy,” he calls with a salute-like wave.

I barely get to wave back before Nat swivels me on my feet and nudges me toward the lobby. “I’ll take you up to our room,” she explains. “Hayden’s is just down the hall from ours.”

“You guys are so weird,” I say, peeking over my shoulder to see my parents and Hayden following behind us. “You know Mom and Dad already know you two have sex. This whole ‘bad wedding juju’ isn’t fooling anyone.”

She smacks my arm, and I flinch. “It’s not just because of that,” she hisses. “We want our wedding night to be special.”

I mouth a silentwhatever, refraining from holding my thumb and index fingers together to form aW.

“Plus, it’ll give me a chance to hang out with you,” she adds as we reach the elevator. She turns around to face our little group, with Hayden still dragging my luggage and the matching outfits on my parents causing a weird magic eye effect. “I’m going to get Lucy settled in. We’ll meet downstairs at the lobby for dinner in about an hour?” she announces, reaching for my luggage from Hayden.

Hayden nods, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his phone. “Sure,” he answers. “Dexter just texted me. He should be pulling up in a bit.”

Right, Dexter.

“Perfect,” Nat answers. “Wow, you two should’ve just taken a cab together from the airport.”

My breath hitches in my throat. “Heh,” I laugh nervously. “Yeah, that would’ve been convenient.”

We part with no further mention of Dexter’s and my travel plans aligning a little too coincidentally. My parents walk off in the direction of the gift shop for the antacids my dad desperately needs if he wants to enjoyhis steak tonight, and Hayden plants a quick peck on Nat’s temple before he turns toward the entrance again, tapping away on his phone. “Carmen and David are already here. They’re taking a nap since they took the red-eye in this morning.”

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