The First Drop Of Rain

Chapter Sixty Four

October

Halloween was around the corner, and naturally I was ecstatic. Gaia and I sat in her room avoiding our studying by discussing our costumes for the Halloween dance, having officially handed the torch over to the sophomores and freshmen. We were sprawled out on her bed, the purple comforter scrunching under our endless shifting to regain comfort. "So when is he supposed to get here?" I asked, not being able to get away from the excited yet nervous energy that radiated off of her.

Gaia looked up, surprised at the change of subject, but glad to talk about it. "He said he left a little late from the place he was camping in Montana, the hike went a little long, so early tomorrow morning?" She smiled with her shoulders scrunched up.

"How are you feeling?" I asked with a grin.

"A little nervous, to be completely honest." She sighed and rested her head in her hands. "It's been years since dad was actually home, and that's not to say it was bad when he was here, it's just that he's restless and Mom starts to feel restless too." It sounded frustrating from the outside of the equation, so I could only imagine what it felt like inside of it.

"I'm surprised your mom doesn't want to travel with him all the time." I rolled onto my side and stared at a picture of the three of them that hung in a collage of places she had been. Welcoming the continued distraction from the droning words printed on textbook pages.

"She told him she didn't want to keep uprooting me, so she settled here and they decided that after I graduated she would go back to traveling with him. In the meantime they gave me a home." The smile that grew while she talked about the arrangement made my heart melt. I had always heard her mother's stories about how they traveled before Gi was born, and then how they traveled while she was still little, but I had never been told what made her stop.

"I want to travel again too, and dad was talking about us going to visit his side in Italy over the summer, maybe just a week or two." Gi rolled over on her bed, staring up at the ceiling that had been painted with delicate roses and ivy. "Dad said he hasn't had time to visit Nonna in a few years and I haven't seen her since she was stateside when I was five."

"Wait! Can we do a sisterhood of the traveling pants moment?" I sat up excitedly, we had just watched the movie last night and the antics were still fresh in my mind.

A teasing grin spread on Gaia's face. "If you can find a pair of pants that magically fits your short ass legs and my majestic goddess ones- then yes."

"I get short ass and you get majestic goddess." I threw a look of mock hurt in her direction. "That's why you're the wicked witch under the house and I'm Glenda."

"No! I'm gonna be Princess Buttercup and you're gonna be Inigo Montoya." Gi rolled her eyes, acting as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"My fathers alive soooo... next option." I flipped the page in my textbook and raised my brow.

"Not all your fathers." My jaw dropped at the same moment that Gaia covered hers in horror. "WAIT, I'M SO SORRY! THAT JUST CAME OUT!" After a second of breathless silence I burst out laughing.

As Gi moved to sit up and I adjusted to allow her space, half of our study materials fell to the ground as we attempted to regain control of our laughter. Once the giggles died down I looked at her with very serious eyes and spoke. "Am I technically three quarters of the way to Batman?" I barely got the sentence out before giggling again.

Gaia shook her head and spoke through her laughter as well. "Tell your dad to quit his job. We can't have that become four quarters."

I threw my head back and gave a giant sigh. "Tried that one already, no go on that fly zone." I rolled my eyes in only slightly feigned annoyance.