Page 42 of Here We Go Again
Chapter Thirteen
LOGAN
The Grand Canyon is cool shit.
She’d expected it to be one of those things that’s overhyped and overrated and ultimately disappointing, like theMona Lisaor the Colosseum or the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Not that Logan has everseenthose things herself, but she’s heard they don’t live up to the image in your head.
But now she’s here, standing on the edge of something so far beyond what she could imagine, and it’s the best kind of dopamine rush. The striations of rock look like the layers on a birthday cake. There’s beauty and majesty and newness. It feels so far from Vista Summit, from her daily drive from her dad’s house to the school, from her trees and her river and her sky. It feels like everything she used to dream about exploring as a kid.
It’s dope as fuck.
When the sun is done exposing the colorful depths of the canyon, they all agree to walk along the paved South Rim Trail, even Hale in her three-inch wedges and ridiculous midi-dress. Logan insists on stopping every few minutes to take selfies of the four of them, and Hale doesn’t even fight her on it. Joe is so content, hesings to himself as Hale pushes his wheelchair along. Odie tries to fight two elks in a field and has the best time of his life. It’s the first time that everyone on the trip truly seems at peace.
The sun heats up quickly, and they’re all drenched in sweat before 10 a.m. They have heat-protective booties for Odie, and Hale has enough sunscreen for everyone, but they still end up backtracking to the Yavapai Geological Museum just to get out of the heat for a bit. Joe reads all the informational posters aloud in his teacher voice, and Logan has never been so interested in rocks.
But once they’re outside again in the excruciating heat, Joe turns red and the bad kind of sweaty. For once, Logan decides to be the responsible one. “We should go back to the hotel,” Logan suggests as they attempt to huddle together in the shade.
“I agree with Logan,” Hale says. “It’s not safe out here for you. Or for this ridiculous dog.”
Joe sits up in his chair and lifts his chin. “I don’t need to go back to the hotel. I’m fine. Let’s take the bus out to Hopi Point.”
“I don’t think—” Hale tries, but Joe cuts her off with a sharp glare.
“We came all this way. We’re going to see as much of the Grand Canyon as we can.”
They board a bus that’s stuffed with other tourists, and thankfully, the driver doesn’t question Odie’s nonexistent service dog credentials. Joe is secured into a handicap spot, but Logan and Hale have to stand, Midwesterners in Zion National Park T-shirts crowding in on all sides. Logan reaches up for the handlebar, but there is nothing Hale-height to grab on to. So, without asking, Hale grabs on to Logan’s arm with both hands.
The shuttle bus runs the length of the South Rim, taking them along bumpy and windy roads that make Hale squeeze her eyes shut. It stops at scenic points along the way, and Joe insists they get off the bus at Maricopa Point and again at Powell, each entrance and exit from the bus grueling for everyone involved. They spendmost of the time standing in the direct sun waiting for the next bus to pick them up again, and by the time they reach Hopi Point, the sense of contentment has shriveled as badly as Hale’s new sunburn.
They buy soggy sandwiches and eight bottles of water from the gift shop at Hopi Point, then let Odie shotgun two whole bottles before he collapses in some shade. Hale takes one bite of her questionable tuna fish and gags.
She puts a hand over her mouth. “I don’t feel very well. I think I got motion sickness from the bus.”
Her fair skin is currently as red as the canyon rocks. “I think you might have heat stroke, actually,” Logan says, reaching over to press the back of her hand to Hale’s forehead.
Hale clicks her tongue in disagreement, but before she can say anything else, she drops her sandwich in the dirt, grips her stomach with both hands, and takes off in the direction of the public restrooms.
“I’m so sorry,” Joe says thirty minutes later when they’re back on the bus. Logan manages to get Hale a seat this time, and she hunches over with her head between her knees. “I was stubborn,” Joe continues. “I get so tired of being treated like I can’t do anything, that I didn’t consider what might be healthiest for everyone else.”
“It’s okay,” Hale says to the floor.
But it’s not okay. Hale throws up into the paper bag that held their bottles of water and has to get off the bus twice to use the bathroom. It takes almost two hours just to get back to the Gay Mobile, and by then Hale can barely walk.
Logan forces her to drink water, but it’s useless. She can’t keep anything down. Rosemary Hale—valedictorian, Teacher of the Year runner-up, Logan’s lifelong arch nemesis—is experiencing humiliating gastrointestinal failure, and Logan can’t even make fun of her for it because she looks so damn pitiful.
As soon as they’re back at the hotel, Hale locks herself in the bathroom, and Odie collapses in front of the blasting air conditioner.Logan fills him a huge bowl of water, then shifts to focusing on Joe. Inside Hale’s medical bag are a dozen pouches of electrolyte powder. She pours some into a bottle of water and hands him some pills.
“I don’t need to take that,” he argues. “I’m not in pain.”
“Joe.” Her pit-stains have pit-stains, and she has no patience for his proud bullshit. “Your entire body is being eaten alive by cancer and you just spent all day traipsing around in the desert when it’s 104 degrees outside. Don’t make me shove these drugs down your stubborn-ass throat.”
Joe takes the meds, drinks all the electrolyte water, and gets into bed like she demands. “I need to run to the market down the street to get some supplies for Hale. Are you going to be okay here by yourself for a bit?” Even as she asks, she’s already reaching for the car keys.
“See?” Joe says before she’s out the door. “I told you that you care too much about everything.”
Joe and Odie are both passed out when she gets back from the store. The bathroom door is still closed, any sound coming from inside muffled by a gentle fan.
Logan bangs on the door. “Hale, open up.”
