Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

“Yeah,” Lucien agreed.

I watched as Roger leaned against the Liberty, still looking down at the ground. “So I guess I’d better be going,” I said to Lucien.

“I guess so,” he agreed. “Want me to drive you over there?”

“It’s okay,” I said, getting out of the car. “It’s just down the hill. I’ll walk.” Lucien got out of the driver’s side and met me in front of the hood. “I know this is none of my business,” I said, the words coming a little haltingly. “But you should go on that trip with your father.”

He blinked, like this wasn’t what he had expected me to say. “The thing is—,” he started.

I shook my head, interrupting him. “Just do it,” I said. “It’ll make him happy. And because at some point, you might … might not be able to.” Lucien nodded, his expression more serious, and I knew he understood what I was saying. I looked at his face for another moment, making sure I’d remember it and realizing that I was going to miss this person I hadn’t even known this time yesterday. “Thank you for everything.”

“It was fun,” he said a little wistfully. He looked down at me and smiled. “You’re great. You know that, right?”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I just let out a little embarrassed laugh. “And you should keep making the animals,” I said. “Really. I’ll be mad if you don’t.”

“Well, we don’t want that,” Lucien said. And then, before I even had a chance to register that it was going to happen, he leaned down and kissed me.

It was quick; I only just had time to respond before he broke away and walked back to the driver’s side. “Stay in touch,” he called to me, and thinking of the fact that I’d put his cell number into my phone when he wrote it on the whiteboard, I nodded and waved as he started the car and backed it onto the main road. Possibly on his way to make something. Maybe another owl. But more likely, a replacement moose. I watched until there was only the dust the Jeep had left behind, then turned and headed down the hill, doing that stumble-run that was inevitable when trying to maneuver down steep hills.

Roger looked up as I jogged down the last part of the hill. “Where did you come from?”

I gestured to the top of the hill. “We were just looking around when we saw you….”

“Oh,” Roger said. “Yeah.” I looked at him, trying to see if I could register what the outcome of the conversation was, but his face was oddly blank. “Well,” he said after a moment, “ready to go?”

“I am,” I said. “Are you okay?”

Roger nodded. “You know,” he said, giving me the first smile of that morning, “I think I am.” I walked around to my side of the car, and just as I tried to open the door, I heard the beep of the doors being locked with the clicker. Sure enough, I couldn’t open the door.

“Roger,” I said. “Come on.”

“What?” he said, smiling at me across the hood. “Are you sure you don’t want to drive?” The emphasis he put on the last word let me know that he hadn’t forgotten what Lucien had said. And that I’d been right in thinking he wasn’t thrilled about it.

“No,” I said, trying not to laugh. “Let me in.”

“Okay,” he said, clicking the lock open and then clicking it closed again just as I lunged for the handle.

“Stop it!”

“What? Just because you’re not fast enough—” The stable door rolled open again, and Hadley stood there, looking at us. Judging from her expression, she had not been expecting to see me.

“Oh,” she said, looking from me to Roger.

“We were just going,” Roger said, beeping the car unlocked once again. I had a feeling it would stay open this time.

“Is this her?” Hadley asked, looking at me. I blinked at her, stunned. She and Roger had discussed me?

“Hello,” I said, not sure what the proper response to that question was. Yes? “I’m Amy—”

“You’re bothering the horses,” she said, interrupting me. “If you could just …”

“We’re leaving,” Roger said quietly.

“Yes, well,” she said, but didn’t seem to have anything to follow this. She gave me a long look, and I looked right back at her, glad once again for Bronwyn’s clothes and trying to remember to stand up straight. Then she turned sharply and headed back into the stable, the door rolling shut with a bang.

I got into the car quickly. Roger got in as well, and we buckled our seat belts in unison. “What happened?” I asked. “What did you say?”

Roger put the key in the ignition and looked over at me. “I told her good-bye,” he said. Then he started the car and put it in gear, and we headed out.

6

Life Savers

We both will be received in Graceland.

—Paul Simon

“But I thought you didn’t like Elvis,” Roger said as we drove down Interstate 65, backtracking, heading to Tennessee. It wasn’t too hot out yet, and we had all four windows down, the breeze tossing my ponytail and hopefully not pulling too much of my hair out.

“I love Elvis,” I said, thinking of all the lyrics that had just always been a part of my life, all the songs I’d known without even remembering learning them. I suddenly realized these few months were probably the longest I’d ever gone without listening to him.

“But you didn’t want to hear him,” Roger said, his brow furrowing as he glanced in his mirror and switched to the left-hand lane. “I remember. You put a moratorium on all things Elvis.”

“My father,” I said, taking a breath before I could get myself to say those words. It hit me that because it hurt so much to talk about him, I’d stopped talking about him altogether. Which suddenly seemed like the worst kind of betrayal. I had just been trying not to remember what had happened. But that didn’t mean that I had wanted to forget him. “He loved Elvis.”

“Oh,” Roger said, glancing at me.

I nodded and looked out the window. But to my surprise, I wasn’t done talking yet. And it felt like the talking might be okay. A little shakily, I continued. “We were supposed to go to Graceland in July. Charlie, my father, and me.”