Page 49 of Here We Go Again

“Ew. Why?”

“Because I’m short, and when I don’t wear heels, random strangers assume I’m a child.” Hale bristles. “Besides, I like the way they look.”

Logan considers this. “Okay, fair. But be honest. Were you comfortable wearing heels at the Grand Canyon?”

She makes her cat’s asshole face before she finally admits. “No.”

Logan continues rummaging through her things until she finally pulls out a pair of white sneakers that look like they’ve never been worn. “Ah-ha!”

Hale crosses her arms. “Those don’t match my dress.”

“Put them on.” Logan insists, making the shoes tap dance in the air. “Put them on, put them on, put them on.”

“Fine!” She snatches the shoes out of Logan’s hands.

Hale spends the whole day in Mesa Verde three-inches shorter than normal and far more comfortable.

“What are you doing?” Hale asks after a long, sweaty day exploring the stunning Pueblo communities built into rocks.

“Taking my Adderall.”

“But it’s four in the afternoon…”

“I know, but I forgot to take it this morning, and if I don’t take it now, I won’t be able to go eat dinner or brush my teeth or follow very basic instructions.”

Hale clicks her tongue. “Do you often forget to take your meds in the morning?”

“Hale, I often forget what I am doing when I am actively in the middle of doing it.”

“You could put a reminder on your phone. That’s what I do.”

“Yeah, I’ve thought about trying that.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“Because I have ADHD! Follow-through is not my jam.”

The next morning, while Logan’s loading their luggage back intothe van, her phone chirps with an unfamiliar notification. She pulls it out of her pocket to find a push notification for a reminder on her lock screen.TAKE YOUR MEDS, BOZO.

“Why are you grinning at your phone like a dope?” Joe asks.

She shoves her phone back into her pocket. “Nothing. I wasn’t. It was nothing.”

Joe scrunches his face. “Was it porn?”

“Yes, Joe. I was watching porn at seven in the morning in front of my former English teacher while packing a car.”

“Was it a text from a foxy lady?”

“Definitely not.”

Hale emerges from around the corner of the hotel with Odie’s leash in one hand and a full poop bag in the other. Today’s dress is some pink, frilly disaster, but she’s backlit by the early morning sun and the frills almost look like angel’s wings.

“Whoever she is,” Joe says in his wise and all-knowing voice, “be gentle with her.”

Logan looks away from Hale’s glow and reaches for her Adderall bottle. “There is no she.”

“Okay, Joseph. Where to next?” Logan asks when the car is loaded and she’s in the driver’s seat, properly medicated and ready to take the first shift.