U-haul Conversation

Kyle sat down to drink his coffee giving Gemma another hour's rest before he had to wake her up for the two day trip to Colorado he was about to take. The one where he would be riding with his sister just to be leaving her in a strange place. 

As he sat drinking his coffee and he could hear his parents in the bedroom. He knew this was rough on his mom, but he could hear the cracks in his dad's voice as they got ready, making sure they had the money they would give Gemma when they left her and confirming the hotel reservations were set.

Kyle knew, as did his father, that Dee always had their travel plans set to the exact minute every time they went somewhere. If Dad got off schedule, Mom didn’t let up until he figured out how to get back on track. It had given Don a love-hate relationship with vacations because of Dee’s perfectly laid plans.

Kyle stepped outside as the sun began to rise, finding his sister exactly where he’d left her. He walked to the pool lounge and gave her shoulder a firm shake. "Wake up, Gemma," he commanded. When she tried to swat his hand away, he didn’t budge. "I’m counting to five. If you aren’t on your feet by then, I’m dumping you right into the pool."

Gemma sat bolt upright, yanked the hood back from her face, and shot him a sharp look. "Kyle," she warned, "you wouldn’t dare."

He just smirked, gesturing toward her with his coffee mug. "Test me," he challenged, reaching down to tilt the edge of the lounge.

"You’re such an ass, Kyle," she muttered, though a small smile tugged at her lips. She kicked the blanket off, swung her legs over the side of the chair, and let out a long stretch that seemed to make every bone in her body pop.

Kyle gave a small shrug. "I’ve been called worse," he admitted. He checked the time against the morning sky before looking back at her. "We need to get moving shortly. Do you want to take one last look inside and see if there"s anything you forgot?"

Gemma tried to sound cheerful as she looked up at the house she grew up in. "I think I have everything. If I go back in, I'm sure I'll find something I forgot. And then something else. And then—hey, maybe I'll just stay here."

Kyle shook his head. "Yeah, and give Mr. Debuke a reason to say, 'I worked so hard to get you into that program, and you want to stay in Oklahoma?'"

She could practically hear his lecture ringing in her ears. "Gemma Marie Havley, do you have any idea how much work I put into that application? I had to get my glasses updated three times just from reading over your drafts."

Kyle snorted. "If I squinted, I could see him standing here.".

"I always got the 'Havley boy's sister' treatment," Gemma laughed. "Every time I aced a paper, the teachers would joke about which one of us was actually adopted."

Kyle grinned and shot back, "Whatever, Gemmy Bear. Half the teachers I had either quit the profession or transferred schools entirely once they were done dealing with me."

Kyle and Gemma climbed into the cab of the U-Haul, while Don and Dee trailed them in the minivan, to make sure Kyle had a way home once the job was done. As they merged onto the interstate, Gemma pressed her forehead against the glass, whispering a soft farewell to the only home she'd ever known.

Silence filled the cab, broken only by the steady hum of tires against the pavement, until Kyle eventually spoke up. "Tony sent a text earlier," he remarked, his focus remaining on the road ahead. "He mentioned he left something for you tucked under your seat."

Gemma leaned down and searched the floor until her fingers brushed against a small package . When she pulled it from under the seat, she discovered a strawberry-flavored vape—her favorite—wrapped up in a note written in Tony's familiar handwriting.:

"Strawberry will always be my favorite everything because of you."

After carefully folding the message and slipping it into her hoodie pocket, she took a long draw from the vape and exhaled the vapor toward the window.

Kyle cast a glance her way. "You’re aware that stuff isn’t exactly legal in every state we’re passing through, right?"

Gemma let out an eye roll. "Then don’t go giving the cops a reason to pull us over. They won’t know if you don’t show 'em. Easy-peasy."

Kyle let out a soft chuckle. He glanced her way, "Since when is Tony playing the schoolboy, leaving you presents and little love letters? What’s the big secret in the note?"

Gemma just stared him down. "It’s my letter, Kyle. So, nope I’m not telling."

 "Not telling? What is this, kindergarten?" Kyle snorted, shaking his head at her comment.

"Pretty much," she replied, a small grin tugging at her lips. She took another long pull from the vape, watching the familiar landscape blur past. The knot in her chest loosened just a little knowing Tony had thought about her before she left.

Kyle let out a soft chuckle, his grin widening even further. "Fair enough. But are you ever going to tell me why you're practically swimming in Tony's sweatshirt? I've never seen a soul so much as touch that thing, let alone wear it."

Gemma gave a small shrug, pulling the familiar fabric closer around her. "I don't know, Kyle. He saw me shivering by the pool and just slipped it over my head before he left."

"I call bullshit," Kyle snorted. "What’s really happening between the two of you?"

"We're just friends, Kyle," she insisted, inhaling another sweet cloud of strawberry vapor.

"Right. And I’m about to sell the bar and join a monastery."

Gemma flashed him a grin. "Brown’s definitely your color, but I’m not sure you have the head shape for the bald look."

Kyle shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Man, you’re really riding high today," he remarked. "Those nerves are finally starting to eat at you, aren’t they?"

"Maybe just a bit. I mean, jeez, Kyle—I'm leaving Florence behind. This is the only spot where everyone actually knows who I am, and now I'm heading somewhere where I'm a total stranger. What did you expect?"

Kyle gave another shrug, eyes fixed on the road. "I mean, you're starting a whole new adventure. It's just part of growing up."

"If I wanted a lecture on reaching maturity, I would have just sat in the minivan with Mom and Dad," Gemma retorted. "I understand that everyone expects us to leave the nest—or at least move a few miles down the road. But look at you; you're handling things just fine."

"I only made it because Tony and I happened to catch old man Johnson right when he was unloading the bar," Kyle said, eyes locked on the highway. "Before that, I was just some grease monkey fixing bike motors in that garage I sleep above—which, for the record, is still technically Mom and Dad's place."

"Maybe so, but it's not like you're forced to stay," Gemma countered, shifting in the oversized sweatshirt. "You could find your own spot if you really wanted to. You're just sticking around because it makes things simpler for them, and honestly, you're not exactly in a rush to leave."

Kyle offered a brief side-eye as he gripped the steering wheel. "Listen, Gem, I know I'm doing alright. Not many twenty-four-year-olds have their own business. But Tony and I got lucky—that bar didn't just appear out of thin air. We took a massive gamble and buried ourselves in debt to make KT Spirits happen."

"But it worked, didn't it?" she countered. "You took a run-down hole-in-the-wall and turned it into the only place worth visiting in this town. I just don't see why I can't start my life right here, right now."

“Look, Gemma, I’m not looking to fight with you all the way to Colorado. Just last month, you couldn’t wait to get going.”

She let out a soft sigh , her eyes still fixed on the passing scenery. “I know, but that was before everything felt so real. I’ve done a lot of thinking since then.”

“Just wait, Gemmy Bear. Once you settle in, you’re going to see how tiny Florence really is. After you get a real look at the world, you might find you don’t even miss this place.” Kyle sighed. “You won’t even want to come back.”

"I don't know why you'd say that. I barely know how to function outside Florence, Kyle," she argued, shifting in the passenger seat. "There isn't a chance in hell I'm staying away for good." Just the thought of never coming back made panic tighten slowly in her chest.

"Gemma, give me some credit here. I'm your big brother—the one who's always looking out for you. Do you really think I'd lead you into a mess?"

Gemma let out a soft laugh. "Only about half the time since I was born."