Page 12 of The Perils of Pretending
Max stares with furrowed brows at the silver ring with a flower encrusted in diamonds and green stones. “Are these real?”
Poppy shakes her head. “It’s cubic zirconium.”
“Umm, okay this is gorgeous and ridiculously sparkly.” I take it out of Poppy’s fingers, examining how pretty it is. “I thought it was real too.”
I’m not sure how Poppy came up with the idea that Max was going to need a women’s ring and how fast she obtained said ring, but we need to get to our gate. We don’t have time to question Poppy’s sanity. She definitely needs a talking-to. Between my mysterious bracelet and Max’s ring, Poppy is acting weirder than normal.
I hold the ring out to Max. “For you.”
“Thank you.” Max shoves the shiny object in the front pocket of his backpack. “I’m trusting you that I’ll need this,” he says to Poppy. “If not, I’ll return it on my trip back home.”
Poppy’s grin says she’s keeping a secret. “Okay.” She nods. “But you’ll use it. I’m sure of it.”
“I bet your grandma will love it,” Brody says, putting his packages of cashews on the counter.
Poppy’s eyes widen with slight alarm as she stares at Max. “Oh, it’s not for your grandma.”
We all share awkward glances.
How does Poppy know? She’s acting like she’s some wizard who uses tea leaves to see into the future.
Max’s brows pull together. “Huh?”
“Who else needs to check out?” Poppy says brightly, pretending we aren’t staring at her.
“I’m ready,” a customer behind us says.
“I’ll be right with you.” Poppy comes around the counter. “Hugs before you guys go.”
We take turns embracing Poppy and bid her farewell.
Mom and I stop by the bathroom and soon we’re at our gate. The newly renovated airport made the terminal a lot bigger and brighter. Large windows let in the early morning July sun. A white wave accent adorns the top half of the walls. Everything is shiny and clean.
A muffled voice calls over the speaker. “Welcome passengers to flight 395, with service to Seattle. At this time, we’d like to do our pre-boarding—”
I speak over the gate agent. “What zone are you in?”
Brody looks at his phone. “Two. What about you?”
“Four. Because I’m in the back of the plane.”
“You could have been in zone two with us if you’d agreed to come earlier.” Mom’s tone isn’t accusatory, it’s a statement of fact. One I’m well aware of, but we both know I didn’t want to be here. The only reason I am is because Mom retrieved my list in Dad’s desk once shefound out I inadvertently agreed to come and gave it to me as an incentive not to cancel.
Max looks at his ticket. “I’m also in zone four. Where are you sitting, Sadie?”
“Row thirty-six, seat E. I’m stuck in the back without reclining seats, in the middle seat, and I’m next to the stinky bathrooms. It’s a good thing this flight to Seattle is short. What about you?”
Max holds his phone out to me. Reading his seat assignment, my jaw pops open. He’s sitting in the window seat. Right next to me. He must have booked before me because the middle seat was my only option. “How did this happen?”
Max shrugs. “I wasn’t planning on visiting my grandparents, but Brody convinced me to fly out with you guys. There weren’t a lot of options that didn’t cost me my entire life savings.”
I turn to my brother. “Hey, do you want my seat so you and Max can sit together?” My question has nothing to do with Brody and everything to do with me wanting to get away from the bathroom and Max.
Brody slings his arm around my shoulders. “As much as I like Max, I’m going to pass. Be nice, will ya?”
I take a step forward, forcing Brody to drop his arm. “I’m always nice.”
Brody snorts out a laugh. “Right. Have a good flight, you two.”
