Page 134 of The Disasters of Dating
I hurry in the ladies room. “Do you need me to watch the stuff now?” I ask him.
He shakes his head. “No. Let’s get on the road. If we don’t hurry, we’re going to be stuck in traffic forever.
“So we’re going straight to your dad’s place?”
He shakes his head. “No. With how late our flight came in, we’re going to have to meet them at the fireworks.”
I frown. “But it’s only the 2nd. I thought the fireworks were on the 4th.”
He grins. “Yeah, some of the small towns do smaller shows in the days leading up to the 4th. Then the big one is in Boston on the Charles River.”
I grab hold of my suitcase handle and slightly wrestle it away from him.
“So we’re going to two different ones?” I ask. We used to go watch fireworks at Sugarhouse Park. But several years ago, they quit doing them. And we kind of quit along with them. Now it’s more about the BBQ’s and family time, so I’m kind of excited to see a real fireworks display. But two of them? If you’ve seen one, haven’t you seen them all? “If we’re going to see the display in Boston, do we need to see the smaller one? It feels a little redundant.”
His smile falters for a moment. “You don’t want to go? But my dad and brother are saving us places.”
From the look on his face, I backpedal. “Oh, I mean, I’m fine if we go. I didn’t want you to think we had to go for me.”
We get to the baggage claim and he looks at me. “I mean, I don’t want you to be miserable the whole time.” He swallows hard.
Apparently, these are very special fireworks… I nearly kick myself. Geez, Pops. These are probably a family tradition that they did when his mom was alive. Why did I have to make such a big deal about it?
“It sounds like a lot of fun. And we don’t have to worry about getting a crappy spot because your dad and Lowell are already there. It should be fun!” I smile extra big to show him that I’m on board. We’re great communicators, except when we’re not.
He leaves me standing there with our stuff while he jogs over to the carousel and grabs my checked suitcase. “Okay, let’s grab the rental car and be on our way.”
I nod. “Are we going all the way to Manchester? Or one of the smaller towns?”
“It’s not all the way to Manchester.” He says as he looks for a rentalcar and then drags my suitcase toward a blue crossover SUV. He stows all of our luggage and then opens my door for me.
Once he’s behind the wheel, he takes in a deep breath.
I reach over and touch his arm. He flinches. “Hey, relax,” I say. He’s been on edge all day. I’m not sure if it’s coming home or if it’s something else.
We’ve been driving for about an hour when he pulls off the interstate. “Do you need gas?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No. We’re going to watch the fireworks from the top of one of my dad’s office buildings.”
I smile. “Ooh. That sounds fun.” I look around. “Where are we?”
“Lawrence, Massachusetts,” Keaton parks the car in the parking garage. He comes around and opens my door, taking my hand in his. “Okay, you ready for this? It’s a smaller display than what we’ll see in Boston, but they usually have a lot more fun with them.”
I look at him from the corner of my eye. “How do you have ‘fun’ with fireworks?”
“They aren’t all your normal colorful bursts.” He looks straight ahead. “Sometimes they use pictures.”
I raise my brows. “Cool. I’m excited to see it.”
We take the elevator up to the roof and Shay, Evan, Keaton’s dad, Lowell, and Alix and her family are all here. I hadn’t realized this was a whole family thing. Inflatable chairs and big bean bags—likely for Alix’s kids—are scattered about the rooftop.
As we approach, everyone smiles and shouts out a greeting. Lowell points to the pizza boxes and baskets of garlic bread. There is also a cooler with individual salads and sodas.
“Hey, Lowell,” I say. “How’s law school?”
“Great,” he rolls his eyes. “Except for this really annoying girl.”
I raise a brow. “Do I sense a story there?”
