The Homecoming Benefactor

14 | the drive

After the football game, which we lost, it was time to load up the cars and drive to Georgia. Originally, we were all going to ride together, but too many people joined in for that. Devi was bringing Bridget, Mattie invited two friends from her sorority, and I convinced Hazel to come, as she was just going to stay on campus for the break. I told her she deserves a vacation.

Nick and I decided to leave right after the halftime show instead of staying for the rest of the game to make sure we got to his house first. It was an hour and a half or so from Great Oak to Guyton, Nick's hometown. Most of the drive was simply staying on the interstate, which seemed simple enough, but we were afraid there could have been traffic from the holiday weekend.

"Do you need a coffee or anything before we get on the highway?" Nick put his truck in drive, sliding a pair of sunglasses on.

"No thank you," I replied. "I still feel like a wind up doll from that popsicle."

Nick drove an older Ford F-250, maybe from about ten or fifteen years ago. It was gray with a black leather interior. Hanging from his rear-view mirror was his graduation tassel from high school, an air freshener that smelled like coconuts, and a miniature picture of his family. We weren't officially an item yet, but I was curious about how he would explain me to them.

"By the way, we're actually staying in the house," Nick said as he turned onto Main Street. "I already told my parents, they're cool with it."

Well, I guess that answered my question, sort of. "What did you say to them?"

"Oh," he hesitated before speaking again. "They've known about you for a while. I didn't really have to say much."

"Wait, really?" I had no idea about that.

"Yeah, I wasn't kidding about what I said the other night," he drawled, putting one hand on my thigh. "I've waited a long time. You know, I've never actually brought a girl home except for school dances, so they're excited about it."

"They never met Danielle?" For context, Danielle was a girl he dated for several months in high school that ended up leaving him for some older guy who worked at a gas station.

"Oh, goodness, no!" Nick laughed and shook his head. "She was known around town for being... social. My mama would have beat me black and blue for bringing her around. She's never laid a finger on me, but she hates that whole family. Danielle's mama tried to get with my dad while my parents were dating in high school."

By now, we were on the interstate, flying past the other cars in the far left lane. Listening to Nick joke about his past was endearing in a way that made me want to capture the moment and put it in a scrapbook. From being friends the past few months, we knew a good deal about each other's lives, but I viewed him in a. different light now. As I watched him babble on about high school, I had to ask myself mentally, how did I not feel like this the whole time? It was like a blindfold had been removed from my eyes.

"Anyways," Nick sighed, turning to look at me. "They'll like you a lot more. They already do, on account that you're not from that family."

Eventually, we crossed the state line into Georgia. We had to get onto an interchange with another highway not long after. Since we hadn't hit any traffic, we made it to the area sooner than we anticipated.

"Do you want to take the long way? I could show you around," Nick offered, merging onto the new interstate.

I smiled and nodded. "Sure, why not?"

About fifteen minutes passed before we took an exit to Nick's hometown. Our first stop was a little country store with some gas pumps outside. Nick opened the door for me, like he always did, and we were greeted by a light gust of wind. The exterior of the building was unpainted wood covered in random road signs. When we walked inside, a wind chime shaped like an octopus was triggered by the opening of the door.