Page 45 of The Sun and the Moon
I discovered in my traverse of the Wikipedia page about the Two of Cups that the card doesn’t have to represent romantic connections, but it can be about any kind of connection. Even business. And with us partnering up, I feel like that’s the natural non-lie lie to go with. I just hope she buys it.
I swing my duffel over my shoulder and turn, only to find Dad standing there, now holding Chicken, a pleading look on his face.
“What’s up?” I question, nervous at the way his face contorts.
“Got room for this gent?” he asks. My eyes drop to Chicken, whose tongue sticks out from the space between his first canine and his front tooth. He’s missing a couple of little teeth there, and sometimes his tongue sneaks out unbidden.
“Why are you asking it like it’s a huge favor?”
“You know how Chicken’s bladder is now,” he says. Chicken needs to pee every half hour, like clockwork.
“He’s just like a girl,” I quip. “But I’m riding with Cadence, so it’s up to her.” I can already tell where the question will end up, though.Cadence the Animal Whisperer. Ranger Girl will surely want the pee machine in her presence, window down so he can bite the wind all the way.
But Dad isn’t focusing on that part. He’s looking at me with a curious, goofy gaze.
“Why are you being weird?” I start walking, hoping it will shake him from this state.
“Just glad to see you two are getting to know each other,” he says. “Moira’s missed having her around here—maybe you could put in a good word for her coming to visit more often.”
“Dad, we barely know each other. Why would she listen to what I have to say?” I ask, lowering my voice as we’re getting closer to where Cadence is standing near Moira.
“You can be very convincing when you want to be,” he says, and I don’t miss the slight innuendo in his tone. I stop in my tracks, tossing him a glare, which he sidesteps to peck me on the cheek. “Just think about it.” He rushes off before I can say more, moving toward Cadence, who takes Chicken from his hands so fast it’s almost comical.
She lifts Chicken up to nuzzle him cheek to cheek.
My heart skips a beat. Unpermitted but not unwanted.
Chapter Nineteen
Cadence
Sydney’s laugh is like a sunbeam. Warm and glowing, golden, somewhere safe to curl up and nap. When it appears because of something you’ve said, it’s hard not to feel like you could do anything. Emboldened with energy, alive with purpose. I feel silly and overdramatic as the thought takes shape, but at least she doesn’t know I’m thinking it.
“Dad has never invited me on a tour,” she says, her laughter dying down. Her smile clings to her face. “Now I know why.”
“I didn’t even know people still kept photos in their wallets,” I reply. I had told her about how fast he whipped out pics of her when he heard there was another pilot on board the tour car. He was retired, with a daughter Sydney’s age, and Rick was in a mood to show off. “The guy looked like he was about to choke when your dad said you were the youngest female pilot in your fleet.”
“Bragging rights,” she says, clearly just as impressed with herself as her father is.
“This guy’s daughter is a dental hygienist,” I reply.
“Important work for sure,” she counters.
“True, but no one likes going to the dentist,” I finish.
“I actually find it relaxing. And mine still gives me a lollipop when I leave cavity-free.” She grins to show me her cavity-less pearly whites.
“I always thought it was weird the dentist gives candy out. Like, do they care about teeth or not? Pick a side.” She laughs again, shorter and sharper, but just as warm.
I had to bring the mood up after I filled her in on the weird text chain between Rick and Greg—who I learned from her is also a retired pilot (LA is lousy with them), one of Rick’s old buddies, and will be in Solvang this weekend. At least we know we now have another angle to our sleuthing.
Chicken pops up from the spot on Sydney’s lap where he’s been curled in a ball since the drive started, wrapped in a baby blanket covered in ducks and clouds.
“Uh-oh,” Sydney says, running her palm over Chicken’s head and down the length of his spine. Her eyes flick up to the road and she grabs her phone.
“Pee break time?” I ask.
“You made it almost a whole hour, buddy,” she says in a baby voice. Chicken turns a groggy gaze on Sydney and licks her right on the tip of her nose. The affection is gentle and sweet, like you’d expect from two bonded best friends.
