She’d said it was because when she was little, her family had worked at and lived behind an amusement park, and her bedroom was an arm’s length away from the tunnel portion of their biggest roller coaster. She’d heard people screaming every night and wanted to be out there joining in the fun.
I’d always thought it explained a lot about how difficult it was to get her to relax.
“No, I meant us entering Lemons. She would have been first in line to be on our team.”
“I know.” I had the proof on my phone. “Not Morgan though.”
“Not Morgan,” she agreed. “Although when they first started, she was so excited about it I was sure she’d join them. Orjoin me and start an all-girls’ team to smoke their lap times. Your sister is no slouch behind the wheel.”
She’d had a bit of a speeding problem in her teens, if I remembered correctly. “Why didn’t she?”
“It was supposed to be a race with his best friends. A wish fulfillment with the guys. She didn’t want to get in the way of that.” Bernie shrugged. “That’s marriage for you.”
I laughed at the expression on her face. “Still not a fan of the institution?”
“I mean, it’s fine for other people. I can tell Phoebe wants it. But after Yvonne’s experience? And Wade’s?” She sighed. “It only made me more thankful that I slipped that noose with the teenage dirtbag, aka sperm donor, before it was too late. We would have been miserable together, you know?”
I remembered her telling me all about the seventeen-year-old bad boy who’d skipped town when he found out she was pregnant. She’d thought she was in love with him, but as soon as she knew Phoebe was growing inside her, all she could think about was what a bad influence he’d be. When he left, she was genuinely relieved. If I recalled, so was everyone else.
“How are things with you and Morgan, August?”
I made a face. Things with us had been stilted and uncomfortable. My fault, I knew. But at least we were still talking. “We’re fine. How is Phoebe feeling about her mother wanting to race her way into granny history?”
“For your information, other grandmothers do it all the time. But yeah, Phoebe doesn’t appreciate my need for speed.” She perked up. “Which isn’t fair, when you think about it, since she participated in a Lemons event a few years ago. So did Morgan.”
“They did?” Why hadn’t I heard about this?
“They went on one of the rallies with Gene that first year.”
“A rally? Not a race?”
She nodded, her smile growing as she spoke. “The way shedescribed it made it sound like a blast. Basically, it was this hilarious scavenger hunt through New England. Just driving around like tourists and stopping for funny photos and activities.”
“That sounds more my speed.” Why hadn’t Mom wanted to go on a rally?
“We should do one together.” She was using that Wonder Woman grip of hers on my arm again. “August, we have to do it. With your big brain and my ability to talk my way out of tickets and into free desserts, we’d be unstoppable.”
I arched a skeptical brow. “How many tickets are we talking about here?”
“I can’t remember. That’s how many.” She rolled her eyes at me. “The next big rally is in March, so we’d need to borrow someone’s van or…Wade’s friend has a 1984 Crown Vic station wagon he wanted to sell. I could make that work.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t scoop that up when the team was looking for a car.” Thankful, but surprised.
She took out her cell phone and started texting. “I’m betting it costs a lot more than five hundred dollars.”
Was she buying our “rally car” right now? “Let’s get through this race first. If I survive it and I’m still here, we’ll do the rally. Deal?”
She looked up and stared holes through me, obviously trying to do some manifesting of her own. “You will survive and you’ll still be here. We’re doing it.”
I hadn’t meant to upset her. To be honest, I hadn’t liked saying it either.If I’m still here. “I guess we can’t let Phoebe and Morgan have all the fun, can we?”
Her lips curved. “No, we can’t.”
Phew. “Okay. Do you have any pointers before we go-kart our way into glory?”
She rubbed her hands together. “I do. I brought you herebecause I wanted you to get a feel for racing in a fun environment, to get used to the rhythm of the sharp turns and straightaways.”
“The rhythm?”
