After hours in the heat traveling in a car that has a tendency to overheat, the arctic temperatures consuming her body causing goose bumps on her dark skin were a God-send. Carmen dropped her bag and stretched out her arms in a dramatic fashion.
As if the joyous cries from her mouth didn't express her relief. She was home. It took no time to register that this was a different home, though that was to be expected. Carmen was too tired to notice the difference and crashed on the furniture that was a couch by day, bed by night. She closed her eyes and settled down to take a nice long coma. As luck would have it, her cell phone began to vibrate and emit the latest top 40 hit. She snapped up and flipped open her thin, pink rectangle of a phone.

"BEE!" she squealed.

"CARMA!"

"Lena's?"

"In 20 minutes."

"I'll be right there."

Forty-five minutes later, Carmen pulled up in the Kaligaris' driveway. Bee clamored into the car before it had completely stopped. She had been there tapping her toe impatiently before Carmen's arrival. She squealed and flung open the door. She jumped in and flung her arms around Carmen. The car jerked as Carmen's foot slid around on the brake due to the spare blonde hanging around her neck.

After the car came to a full stop, Lena crept into the backseat. After about 5 minutes of more squeals and hugs, Carmen backed out of the drive-way and continued on.

"God, I'm glad I called you when I did, or we would have stranded poor Tibby at the train station."

Carmen smirked, "Well, it's a good thing Lena texted me Tibby's arrival time so I knew I would have time to make myself not smell."

Bridget looked back at Lena who had an innocent look plastered on her face.

"What?"

Bridget stuck her tongue out at Lena and laughed.

"So, Carma, how are you?" Lena asked this question with an unusual tenderness in her voice. Bridget looked at Carmen with troubled eyes, ones that she, herself, had seen so many times in her life. It surprised her that she was the one looking through them instead of being analyzed by them. Troubled turned to worry in Bridget's eyes as she saw a trace of pain flicker across Carmen's face. The worry spread across her own face as Carmen's hands slipped on the wheel slightly and Bridget was thrown against the door.

"Oh, God, Carma, I'm sorry. I didn't think..."

"No, no. Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

Lena knew the symptoms of pining and heartbreak more than anyone. She knew about the much needed denial. She figured denial would lead to acceptance, though it never did. Lena thought she knew about this better than anyone, but one look at Carmen's face convinced her that she was sure Carmen was living in the tragic kingdom.

It was strange, Carmen's break-up with Win. Details had been uncharacteristically withheld. She claimed it was just a normal break up. They weren't meant to be and things had just faded over time. She claimed she was fine a little too often for someone who was fine. Her friends could see through her lies and, furthermore, knew the cause had to be something tragic if it kept her quiet for the first time in her life.

The three girls sat in silence in the car. It was as if tiny dust clouds had hijacked the atmosphere and they couldn't speak or see each other. As they neared the station, the dust settled slightly, but the remaining particles hindered any conversation. It had seemed fortunate enough that Tibby's father had volunteered to bring back all but most of her stuff before her finals, allowing for the girls to scoop her up in theatrical fashion. As they awkwardly trudged into the station, Bridget was beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea. Absentmindedly lost in thought, she kept walking. Unable to multitask, Bridget tripped over Lena's large feet and smacked her arm on a trashcan on her way down. The fleeting moment of gracefulness temporarily cleared the air. Lena and Carmen helped hoist Bee to her feet and they continued to Tibby's platform.

---------------------

Tibby struggled with the heavy sack over her shoulder. She bounced on her toes in an uncharacteristic moment of eagerness. She couldn't wait to see her friends. Her knees jittered as the train slowly jolted to a stop. Unprepared for the rocky arrival, Tibby was thrown off balance and had to regain her step. She looked around and realized she wasn't the only unprepared one. The second the doors opened, she bolted from the car and sprinted down the platform. She saw a tall blonde girl ahead and slowed to a walk. She could recognize that hair anywhere. It took a second for the crowd to disperse slightly before they saw her. In the blink of an eye, three girls ran and unabashedly crashed into Tibby. Ignoring the stares and mocking comments, the four girls squealed and hugged in Bridget picked up Tibby's bag and started for the car, "C'mon, let's go!" she called.

Tibby looked at her friends suspiciously, "Where are we going?"

Carmen looked at Tibby coyly, "Oh, you'll see."

Tibby avoided Carmen's eyes, "Oh. Great."

---------------------

With the return of people to the car, the dust was stirred again. Silence was among the girls. So much had happened that year, many things unspoken. Many things that had to be shared, but were probably best not to share. For the first time in years, all four girls were here to stay for the summer, even Bridget. She was only leaving for 3 separate weeks to coach the summer camp at Brown, a college soccer custom. It was up to the months of summer to clean the dust out of the air, perhaps with the assistance of the Traveling Pants.