JENNIE

"Wisconsin!" Karen says loudly, clapping her hands together, then pointing at a passing truck.

I can't help but laugh at Lisa's horrified expression. "Oh my fucking God," she huffs, laying her head back on the seat.

"Would you stop? She's having fun," I scold her.

"Texas!" Jisoo calls out.

"Just open the door, and I'll jump out here," Lisa adds.

"So dramatic," I tease and look over at her. "So she plays the license-plate game? I'd think you could relate—you and your friends seem awful fond of silly games, too, like Truth or Dare."

Before Lisa can say something smart back, Karen exclaims, "We're so excited for you two to see the boat and the cabin!"

I look over at her. "Cabin?" I ask.

"Yeah, we have a small cabin on the water there. I think you'll like it, Jennie," she says.

I'm so relieved to find that I won't have to sleep on the boat, like I'd assumed.

"I'm hoping the sun stays out—this weather is nice for February. It's even better in the summer. Maybe we can all come back?" Marco asks, looking in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah," Jisoo and I answer in unison.

Lisa rolls her eyes. Apparently she's going to stick to her pouty, childlike persona for the remainder of the drive.

"Do you have everything ready for Seattle, Jennie?" Marco asks. "I spoke with Christian yesterday, and he's really looking forward to you coming."

I feel Lisa's eyes on me, but I'm not going to let that stop me. "I plan to start packing when we get back, but I've already enrolled in my classes at the new campus," I tell him.

"That campus is nothing compared to mine," Marco teases, and Karen laughs. "No, it really is a nice campus. If you have any trouble, let me know."

I smile, happy to have him on my side. "Thank you, I will."

"Come to think of it," he goes on, "we're getting a new professor from the Seattle campus next week. He's replacing one of our religion professors."

"Oh, which one?" Jisoo asks, looking at me with a raised brow.

"Song, the young one." Marco looks in the rearview mirror again. "He's your professor right now, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is," Jisoo answers.

"I don't remember where he's going, but I think he's transferring out," Marco says.

"Good thing," Jisoo remarks under her breath, but I catch it and smile at her. Neither one of us really likes Professor Song's style and lack of academic rigor. Though I did enjoy the journaling he had us do.

Karen's voice is soft, and it slides between my thoughts. "Do the two of you have a place already?"

"No. I had an apartment, or so I thought, but the woman seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. It was perfect, too, right in my budget and close to the office," I tell her.

Lisa shifts a little beside me, and I want to add that she isn't joining me in Seattle, but I'm hoping to use this trip to convince her otherwise, so I stay quiet.

"You know, Jennie, I have a few friends in Seattle. I can see about getting you a place before Monday, if you'd like," Marco offers.

"No," Lisa says quickly.

I look over at her. "Actually, I would like that," I say and meet Marco's reflected gaze. "Otherwise I'll be spending a fortune staying at a hotel until I can find a place."

Lisa waves her dad off. "It's fine. I'm sure Sandra will call her back."

That's strange, I think and look at her. "How'd you know her name?" I ask.

"What?" She blinks a couple of times. "You've only said it one hundred times."

"Oh," I say, and she spreads her hand across my thigh, squeezing gently.

"Well, just let me know if you want me to call anyone," Marco offers again.

AFTER ANOTHER TWENTY MINUTES or so, Karen looks back at us, excitement bursting through her expression. "So how about I Spy?"

Jisoo's lips turn up into a vibrant smile. "Yeah, Lisa, how about I Spy?"

Lisa leans against me, her head on my shoulder, and her arm wraps around me. "I'm good. I mean, it sounds wonderful, but it's nap time for me. I'm sure Jennie and Jisoo would love to play."

Despite her mocking the game, the public intimacy warms me and makes me smile. I remember a time when Lisa would only hold my hand under the dinner table at her father's house, and now she doesn't seem fazed to be holding me in front of her family.

"Okay! I'll go first," Karen says. "I spy with my little eye . . . something . . . blue!" she squeals.

Lisa chuckles lightly, against me. "Marco's shirt," she whispers and nuzzles further into me.

"The navigation screen?" Jisoo guesses.

"No,"

"Marco's shirt?" I ask.

"Yes! Jennie, it's your turn now."

Lisa pinches me a little in acknowledgment, but I'm focused on Karen's massive smile. She's having way too much fun with these cheesy games, but she's too sweet for me to not to play along.

"Okay, I spy something"—I look down at Lisa—"black."

"Lisa's soul!" Jisoo shouts, and I laugh.

Lisa opens one eye and sticks up a middle finger at her stepsister.

"You're right!" I exclaim, giggling.

"Well then, the lot of you can shut up so me and my black soul can get some sleep," she says, eyes closed.

We ignore her and continue, and only a few minutes later Lisa's breathing turns heavy and she begins to snore lightly into my neck. She mumbles for a moment before sliding down, putting her head on my lap and bringing her other arm around my waist. Jisoo seems to take that as a cue and lies across the middle seat, joining Lisa in sleep. Even Karen times out and ends up falling asleep.

I enjoy the silence as I stare out the window, watching the lush scenery shoot past us.

"We're getting close, only a few more miles," Marco says to the car, to nobody in particular.

I nod in acknowledgment and run my fingers through Lisa's soft hair. Her eyelids flutter lightly under my touch, but she doesn't wake up. I trail my fingers down her back, slowly, taking in the view of her sleeping so peacefully, her arms wrapped tightly around my body.

Soon we turn onto a small street, the entirety of it lined with large pine trees. Silently, I watch out the window as we turn onto another street and round a corner, bringing the coast into view with sudden immediacy. It's beautiful.

Glittering blue water meets the shoreline, creating a gorgeous contrast. The grass is brown, though, dead from a harsher-than-normal Washington winter. I can't imagine how beautiful this place must be in the summer.

"Here we are," Marco says, pulling into a long driveway.

I look toward the front of the car and see a large wooden cabin. Clearly, the Manobans' definition of "small cabin" is very different from mine. The one I'm looking at is two stories tall, made entirely of dark cherrywood, and has a white-trimmed porch wrapping around the ground floor.

"Lisa, wake up." I run my index finger over her jawline.

Her eyes open, and she blinks rapidly, confused for a moment, then she sits up and wipes her eyes with her knuckles.

"Honey, we're here," Marco says to his wife, and she lifts up her head, followed by her daughter.

Still a little dazed, Lisa carries our bags inside, where Marco shows her to the room we're staying in. I follow Karen into the kitchen while Jisoo takes her bags to her room as well.

The cathedral-style ceiling in the living room is repeated in the kitchen on a smaller scale. It takes me a moment to figure out what's so peculiar about this room, but then I see that the kitchen here is a smaller, yet equally elegant version of the Manobans' kitchen at home.

"This place is beautiful," I say to Karen. "Thank you for inviting us."

"Thank you, dear. It's nice to finally have company in it." She smiles and opens the refrigerator. "We love having the two of you here. I'd never have thought that Lisa would come along on a family trip. I know it's a short one, but this means the world to Marco," she says, speaking softly to ensure I'm the only one to hear.

"I'm glad she came along, too, I think she'll enjoy herself." I say the words hoping that once they're out there in the air, they'll come true.

Karen turns and grabs my hand warmly. "I sure will miss you when you go to Seattle. I haven't had much time with Lisa, but I'll miss her, too."

"I'll still be around. It's only a couple hours away," I assure her. And myself, really.

I'm going to miss her and Marco. And I can't even allow my mind to wander into thoughts of Jisoo's looming departure. Even though I'm leaving for Seattle before she leaves for New York, I'm not ready for her to be so far away. Being in Seattle, I'll still be in the same state at least. But New York is far, so far.

"I hope so. With Jisoo gone, too, I'm afraid I'll be lost. I've been a mother for nearly twenty years . . ." She begins to tear up. "I'm sorry, I'm just so proud of her." She dabs at her eyes with her fingers, stopping the tears, and looks around the kitchen, like she'll find a task that will stop this feeling she's having. "Maybe the three of you can run to the store down the road while Marco gets the boat ready."

"Yeah, of course we can," I say as the three of them enter the room.

Lisa comes up behind me. "I left the bags on the bed for you to unpack. I know I'd do it wrong."

"Thank you," I say, grateful that she didn't even try. She likes to shove things haphazardly into dresser drawers, and it drives me mad. "I told Karen we'd go to the store for her while your father gets the boat ready."

"Okay." She shrugs.

"You, too." I turn to Jisoo, who nods.

"Jisoo knows where it is; it's just down the road. You can walk or take the car. The keys are hanging by the door," Marco says as we head out.

The weather is forgiving today, and the sun makes it feel much warmer than it should be this early in the year. The sky is a clear blue. I can hear the waves crashing and smell the salt in the air each time the wind blows. We decide to walk down to the small store at the end of the street, and I'm comfortable in jeans and a short-sleeved shirt.

"This place is so nice, it feels like we're in our own world," I say to Lisa and Jisoo.

"We are in our own world. No one bothers to come to the beach in fucking February," Lisa comments.

"Well, I think it's nice," I say, ignoring her attitude.

"Anyway"—Jisoo looks at Lisa, who is kicking at the rocks as we walk down the gravel road—"Yeri has an audition for a small production this week."

"Really?" I say. "That's so great!"

"Yeah, she's really excited. I hope she gets the part."

"Didn't she just start school, though? Why would they give the part to an amateur?" Lisa's voice is calm, wondering.

"Lisa . . ."

"They would give her the part because regardless of her being an amateur or not, she's an excellent dancer and has been studying ballet her entire life," Jisoo fires back.

Lisa holds up her hands comically. "Don't get testy, I'm just saying."

But Jisoo defends her love. "Well, don't, she's talented, and she's going to get the part."

Lisa rolls her eyes. "Okay . . . damn."

"It's nice that you support her." I smile at Jisoo in an attempt to break up the tension brewing between her and Lisa.

"I'll always support her, no matter what she does. That's why I'm moving all the way to New York." Jisoo looks at Lisa, and Lisa's jaw tenses.

"So this is how this trip is going to be, then? The two of you fucking ganging up on me? Count me fucking out, then. I didn't even want to come on this shit anyway." Lisa spits.

The three of us stop walking, and Jisoo and I both turn to Lisa. I'm thinking about how to calm her down, when Jisoo suddenly says, "Well, then you shouldn't have come. We'd all have a better time without you and your sour attitude anyway."

My eyes widen at Jisoo's harsh remark, and I feel the urge to defend Lisa, but I stay quiet. Besides, Jisoo's right, mostly. Lisa shouldn't make it her goal to ruin our trip by having an attitude for no good reason.

"Excuse me? You're the one with a fucking 'attitude,' because I said your girlfriend was an amateur."

"No, you started being a jerk in the car," Jisoo says.

"Yeah—because your mum wouldn't stop singing along to every fucking song on the radio and yelling state names"—Lisa's voice rises precipitously—"while I was trying to enjoy the scenery."

I step between them as Lisa tries to move toward Jisoo. Jisoo takes a deep breath and stares at Lisa, challenging her. "My mom is trying to make sure we all have a nice time!"

"Well, then maybe she should—"

"Stop it, you guys. You can't fight like this the entire time we're here. No one will be able to stand it, so please just stop," I beg, not wanting to take sides between my best friend and my girlfriend.

They look at each other for a few more tense moments. I nearly laugh at the way they behave like sisters despite the fact that they try so hard not to.

"Okay." Jisoo says finally, and sighs.

"Fine," Lisa huffs.

The rest of our walk is silent, aside from Lisa's boots kicking at the rocks and Jisoo's soft humming. The calm after the storm . . . or before it.

Or just between them, I suppose.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO wear on the boat?" I ask Jisoo as we walk up the driveway to the cabin.

"Shorts, I think. It's warm right now, but I'll probably bring a sweatsuit."

"Oh." I wish it was warmer so I could wear a swimsuit. I don't even own one, but the idea of shopping for one with Lisa makes me smile.

I can picture her, saying crude and perverted things; she'd probably end up in the dressing room with me.

I don't think I'd stop her.

I need to stop thinking these types of things, especially while Jisoo is talking about the weather, and I should at least appear to be listening.

"The boat is insane, it's so big," Jisoo says.

"Oh . . ." I cringe. Now that we're closer to the boat ride, my nerves are beginning to take over.

Jisoo and I go into the kitchen to unpack the groceries, and Lisa heads into the bedroom without a word.

Jisoo looks over her shoulder to where her stepsister disappeared to. "She's pretty sensitive when it comes to talking about Seattle. She still hasn't agreed to go, has she?"

I look around the room to be sure no one can hear us. "No, not exactly," I say and chew on my bottom lip in embarrassment.

"I don't get it," Jisoo says, looking through the bags. "What's so bad about Seattle that she won't go with you? Does she have some sort of history there?"

"No . . . well, not that I know of . . ." I start to say, but then Lisa's letter comes to mind. I don't remember her mentioning any hardships she'd gone through in Seattle. Could she have left them out?

I don't think so. And I hope not. I'm not ready for any more surprises.

"Well, there has to be a reason, because she can't even go to the bathroom without you, so I can't imagine her being okay with you moving away without her. I thought she'd do anything to keep you close to her . . . literally anything," Jisoo says with emphasis.

"Me, too." I sigh, not knowing why Lisa has to be so stubborn. "And she does go to the bathroom without me. Sometimes," I joke.

Jisoo laughs along. "Barely; she probably installed a hidden camera on your shirt to keep track of you."

"Cameras aren't my thing. I'm more of a tracking-device type of guy." Lisa's voice makes me jump, and I look over to find her leaning in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Thanks for helping prove my point," Jisoo says, but Lisa chuckles, shaking her head. She seems to be in a better mood, thank goodness.

"Where is this boat? I'm bored listening to you two talk shit about me."

"We weren't, we were joking," I tell her and walk over to hug her where she's standing.

"It's fine, I do the same when you're not around," she says in a mocking tone, although I can't help but detect a hint of seriousness behind the words.