Page 36

Chapter 36

Grace

I cheered when James and I found them; Ev made a grand ta-da gesture toward the Tesla. “Oh my god, thank god!” I raced over to assess the car, where Isa preened on the hood, jokingly batting her eyelashes. I smiled and flipped her the bird. “Not abruise, not a dent, nothing. Not even pigeon poop!”

Then I basically collapsed into Ev’s arms, relieved. “Whoa there,” he said. “Stay with me.”

“I am never driving that car again,” I vowed into his shoulder.

He laughed and zapped my waist, sparking me into a standing position. “What do you mean? Aren’t we chauffeuring it home?”

“Bite your tongue,” I murmured, then took my own advice. Now that we’d found the Tesla, it was time for goodbyes. Ev and I’d take the Subaru while James and Isa would be in the Tesla. We needed to hustle home so I could be back in bed bysix.

James and Ev fist-bumped before executing the classic dude-hug; they even agreed to hang out soon. Then I watched Isa stretch up to kiss Ev’s cheek. “ Mwah! ” she said for sound effects. “I’ll see you soon, Everett.”

“You better, Isabel,” he replied. “Best friends spend almost every minute together, and according to my watch”—he tapped its face—“we are way behind schedule.”

“Hey,” I said, “what about—”

“You?” Isa cut in, smiling brightly. She looked happier than I’d seen her in ages. Because of James, no doubt, but I also saw this glimmer in her eyes that only Ev gave her. “What about you ? Is that what you were going to say?”

Surprised, all I did was nod. Somehow, in this dingy highway underpass, Isa was shining like the mirrored crystalline room in the art museum.

“Grace Barbour, you’re my hero,” she said.

“What?” I blinked. “ I’m your hero?” I gestured over to James. “That’s your hero, Isa. Without him, we’d be at the police station filing a report for a stolen car. I’m not…”

“Yes, you are, Grace,” Ev said, catching my eye. “Not all heroes wear capes.”

Isa took my hands. “If you hadn’t lied about needing a ride to school this morning, none of this would’ve happened. Everett and I wouldn’t have finally fixed our friendship, and I wouldn’t have gotten up the guts to tell you about J.” She squeezed my fingers. “I fought to have an ordinary day, but you made it an extraordinary one that I’ll never forget.” She hugged me. “I love you, G.”

I hugged her back, hard. “I love you, too, Isa. I love you so much—”

Someone snapped their fingers. “Okay!” James said cheerfully. “Again with the love! We understand the love ! The love you two have for each other is endless!” He hummed a romantic tune, then gave us a stone-faced look. “But can we please save it for a more appropriate time?” He opened the Subaru’s driver door for me. “Because if I were you, I’d rather get home before my parents start wondering about my whereabouts.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” I nodded. “But first, let’s remember today. It was a lot of things, but like Isa said, it was pretty extraordinary.” I sighed happily. “So, if everyone would please—”

“We are not joining hands,” James deadpanned. “I’m sorry, but no.”

“Hilarious!” I said. “I was actually going to ask everyone to please look around—”

“At this grimy, almost-definitely diseased parking lot?” Isa asked, skeptical.

“Excellent point,” Ev said. “How about everyone close their eyes and imagine something?”

We did as told (I peeked to make sure). “Now, what do you all see?” I asked.

“The LOVE statue,” Isa answered. “It’s snowing. Grace is hanging off the L and James off the O.”

Seven, I thought, warmth in my heart.

“The philharmonic,” James spoke. “Tchaikovsky. I pretended to help conduct.”

Nine, I remembered.

Ev was quiet, so I went next. “Penn’s Landing,” I said. “We’re ice-skating. I accidentally spilled my hot chocolate all over Isa after attempting a pirouette.”

Eleven, I knew.

We waited for Ev.

“Citizens Bank Park,” I soon heard him say. “Tailgating before the Mets-Phillies game. James and Isa DJ-ing, Grace is playing cornhole with my mom, I’m prepping the burgers…” He chuckled a little. “And Dad keeps swearing because he can’t get the grill to light!”

Thirteen, I thought.

James, who’d technically been ten, twelve, and fourteen, pointed out the obvious: “None of those memories are from today.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Isa responded tenderly. “We were together then, just like we’re together now.”