Time Between Us (19 page)

I’m glad we’re not in a hurry, because it takes forty-five minutes for the tow truck to get here, two minutes to get the car door open, and twenty minutes for Bennett to sign the paperwork and get the guy to stop making fun of him. But once we’re in the car driving toward Emma’s, I think we both feel a little giddy.

He just did something he’d never done before, and I got to be there for it. I know Bennett’s still waiting for the dark hands of time to snatch us up and throw us back where we belong, but I can’t help being caught up in the moment. If my stomach hurt, I didn’t even notice.

“Hey, how’s your head?” I ask.

Bennett rubs it with his fingertips. “Fine, actually. I didn’t even think about that.”

“Maybe it
is
the adrenaline, like you thought.”

We pull up to Emma’s house and find the Saab sitting in the driveway. No broken glass. No broken taillights. No dents. No blood. “She’s here! She’s okay!” I bound out of the car and run to the door. When Emma opens it, I throw my arms around her.

She’s wearing a bathrobe and slippers, her hair’s up high in a ponytail, and she doesn’t have a stitch of makeup on—which is perfect, because this way I can see her skin, smooth and unblemished, free of road rash and deep purple bruises. She shrieks when she notices Bennett standing behind me on the porch.

“Bloody hell!” She pulls away from me and tightens her robe. “What are you doing here?”

I don’t know how to answer her. I was so caught up in the do-over, I hadn’t planned what to do when we got here. “Well…” I begin. I point back to Bennett, who is looking down and playing with a button on his coat. “We have a date today. And I know you and Justin have a date today, so we thought we could, you know, combine our dates.”

“Combine our dates?”

“Yeah. We thought it would be fun!”

“Fun?”

I look at Bennett. “Would you give us a minute alone?” He nods and returns to his car, which buys me a few seconds to improvise. I turn back to her. “I’m a little nervous, Em. I don’t know, I just feel like everything would be better if you were there. You and Justin.”

“You don’t need me to—”

“I do! Please. Let’s just go together. It’ll be fun,” I repeat.

“Fine. Justin’s coming here first; we’ll be at the coffeehouse by eleven. Meet us there.” She starts to close the door.

I look back at the Saab in the driveway, and know that no matter what happens today, it has to stay parked right where it is.

I stick my foot in the door so it can’t shut. “Let’s let Bennett drive. His car’s nice and roomy.” Nice and roomy? When did my mom get here? I take my foot back out of the door and start down the front steps. “We’ll pick you up in an hour and a half,” I call behind me. “Justin can meet us there.”

I practically skip down the driveway, thinking about how healthy she looks. When I catch Bennett watching me through the windshield, I think he looks a bit proud of himself.

Emma walks into the coffeehouse to meet Justin while Bennett and I wait in the car, and when she points at us through the window, we both give a little wave. Justin looks confused by our presence, but, like Emma, perfectly healthy and unblemished otherwise. No neck brace. No cuts. And as he walks to the car, he looks strong, not at all like someone who was in a T-bone collision.

“Keep cool,” Bennett reminds me. And that’s enough to keep me from jumping out and running to hug Justin.

“So,” Bennett says when everyone’s buckled in, “we don’t want to change your plans. What were you going to do today?”

Justin replies, “We were going to check out this record store in the city.”

Emma adds, “I thought we’d go to the Art Institute.”

“Perfect,” Bennett says. “Music and art it is.” I turn toward the backseat to shoot the two of them an enthusiastic grin, and I catch them exchanging awkward glances.

By the time I’ve turned to face the front again, Bennett’s pulling up near the elevated train station. “Okay if we take the El?’”

“The El?” Emma asks.

“Yeah. It’s better for the environment.”

“The environment?” Emma asks skeptically as she scrunches up her nose at the train tracks and the grimy-looking staircase that leads to them. “No, really, let’s drive. It’s so much easier. I know all the great parking places.”

“This will be more fun,” Bennett says, and he gets out of the car and shuts the door behind him before she has a chance to say anything else. The rest of us get out, and I grab his hand and laugh under my breath. I’ve never seen Emma get “Emma’d” before.

We start the day at Reckless Records, deemed by Justin the most amazing music store of all time. First, we all take off in separate directions. Then we reconnect as the couples we are. And even, once, as the couples we aren’t: Justin and me, looking through the ska titles, and Bennett and Emma chatting about the bands in the Classic Rock section.

“Hey,” Justin says in a whisper. He looks around to be sure we are out of earshot of the others. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you”—he gestures across the room—“about Emma and me. I don’t like keeping secrets from you, but…it just seemed a little…weird. But I’ve known you my whole life, and…I should have told you.” I smile, remembering when he spoke almost the exact same words in the hospital cafeteria.

“That’s okay, Justin. Emma told me. It’s good. I’m happy for you guys.”

He bumps me with his shoulder. “Cool. Thanks. In that case, can you give us a little time alone at some point? Your boy Bennett’s making me nervous, and I’m forgetting all my best material. I have some good jokes lined up. Oh, and what do you think of this sweater?”

I stand on my tiptoes and muss his hair. “It’s perfect.” Justin smiles, and I watch his freckles disappear as the flush takes over.

We spend the rest of the afternoon browsing through shops. We eat lunch in a crowded restaurant. We make sure that by two p.m.—the time of the accident—we’re in the safest location Bennett can think of: the third floor of the Art Institute. The hour comes and goes. We take the El back to the Evanston station and pile into Bennett’s car again, and because no one’s ready to go home yet, we drive to the closest theater and decide to see whatever movie is playing next. It turns out to be
While You Were Sleeping
, which wouldn’t have been my first choice, given that it centers on the story of a man who falls onto the El tracks and spends weeks in a coma.

It’s ten o’clock when Bennett pulls in to my driveway: Two hours later than it was the last time we returned from our date. For a moment, I hesitate, picturing Mom and Dad inside, sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for me so they can break the news about Justin.

“Will you come in with me? Just to be sure—you know—it’s all different.”

He nods, and we walk into the house. It’s quiet. I can tell right away that Mom and Dad aren’t at the table, and I let out a sigh of relief. Bennett follows me as I lead him through the dark kitchen and toward the sound coming from the living room. When we turn the corner, we find my parents, dressed in sweats and cuddled up on the couch, watching a movie. There’s a fire going in the fireplace.

“Hi,” they say in unison. Mom shoots Dad a knowing smile that seems meant for my benefit.

“I see you told her about the car,” I say to Dad. I smile and look over at Bennett. He hides his eyes behind his hand.

“Are you sure you can make it here for dinner on Tuesday, Bennett?” Mom looks up at him wearing her huge smile—her nurse smile—and Bennett melts like everyone else does when she puts it on. “Because, you know, we’d be happy to drive over and get you if that’s easier.” She looks at Dad again. “We know how complicated it can all be with the keys, gearshifts, locks…” She laughs, and I can’t help joining in. Dad buries his face in her shoulder and cracks up.

“Not one of my finer moments.” Bennett’s still hiding behind his hand. He slides it down to reveal his eyes and laughs along with the rest of us.

“It’s okay. We like that around here, Bennett,” Dad says. “Now we have something we’ll never let you live down.”

Bennett looks at the three of us and smiles. “Awesome.”

And for the first time since we began the second version of our day date, Bennett looks like he’s starting to relax and accept what I knew was true at 8:08 this morning. Our do-over has been a success. Emma and Justin are safe. Nothing bad has happened. And Bennett can do a lot more than he thought he could.

“I’ve had the most incredible week!” Señor Argotta announces after the bell rings and we’ve all taken our seats. Bennett and I look at each other and grin. I’m not sure what made Argotta’s week so “incredible,” but I’m pretty sure we can top it.

“I’ve had the unique opportunity to travel through Mexico on twenty different routes. It was exhilarating! All of them were just fantastic!” He paces around the room, and we stare at him with rapt attention. “But three trips,” he continues, “three trips stood out. I’d like to share these with you and see if I can get your help deciding who should go home today with this.” He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a folded strip of paper. “A five-hundred-dollar travel voucher.” He snaps it taut a few times and sticks it on the whiteboard with a magnet.

I turn around to steal another quick glance at Bennett. At first, I thought working with him on our travel plans would be cheating, but all it took was a smile and a latte to convince me otherwise. On Sunday afternoon, the day after we completed our successful do-over, Bennett showed up for my shift at the bookstore and we sat in our spot on the floor, pulling books from the shelves and reading descriptions aloud. And four hours later, we had mapped two circuitous routes, each different enough to keep Señor Argotta from thinking we’d collaborated, and overlapping only once, in the little beach town of La Paz.

Now, Señor Argotta flips the light off and the projector on, and the screen lights up with a colorful map of Mexico. The route is highlighted in yellow marker, and each destination is marked with circled letters that correspond to points in the written itineraries. This isn’t my map. Or Bennett’s.

“This first plan comes courtesy of Courtney Breslin.” The highlighted route circles the perimeter of the country, avoiding the interior entirely. “You can tell from this plan that this unusually long winter has caught up with Señorita Breslin. She’s after some serious beach time.”

Everyone in the room laughs.

“At first glance, this looks like she’s missing out on a lot of the country. But I chose this one because—even though she selects a few high-tourist destinations—she also found some wonderful secret beach gems.” He tapes her map to the whiteboard at the front of the room. “Let’s call this one
Hora de Playa
.”

When he clicks the button on his remote again, my map appears. I feel my shoulders tense up. “Señorita Greene has a little of both—some beaches, some ruins—but it’s well-paced. Too often, people plan a trip and try to cover too much ground. They’re trying so hard to be sure they don’t miss anything that they overschedule themselves. In my opinion, that’s how you miss out on all the good parts of a country. I like all three of the trips I chose because they don’t try to get everything in. They all save time for surprises. Spontaneous decisions. Señorita Greene’s trip is aggressive, but she’s left room for mystery! For impulsiveness!” He walks to the front of the room. “I call this one
La Aventura
!”

Atrevida.
He left out the daring part, so I add under my breath:
“La Aventura Atrevida.”

“Our final travel plan is from Señor Camarian.” Alex and I steal a glance at each other at the same moment, and we both look surprised. “Señor Camarian is interested in archaeology and Mayan culture. He avoids the tourist spots altogether. He flies into Cancún, but gets out as quickly as possible. He is the only person who found one of my favorite spots, the Kohunlich ruins, which show more of the influence of Mexico’s neighbors in Belize.” He turns to Alex. “Go there at dusk, when the howler monkeys come out. It’s eerie. And
fantastico
.” He walks to the front of the room again and tapes Alex’s map to the whiteboard. “
El Camino Menos Viajado.
” The Road Less Traveled.

He walks over and switches on the light. “I have to tell you, I enjoyed my side of this assignment. You found some places that I’ve always loved, and others that I’d never even heard of. I was extremely impressed, and now, my friends, I am terribly homesick.” He sighs, smiles again, and says, “So, do you want to know who won?”

I already know. Alex has clearly won. I don’t have monkeys, howler or otherwise.

Argotta paces back and forth across the front of the room, letting the tension build. “These were all great trips, but there was one that was the best-paced, most well-rounded plan. If I were going to see the country for the first time, it would be the trip I would choose.” He walks to the whiteboard and gestures dramatically in front of the three maps. “And the winner is,” he says, pulling my map off the wall and holding it up high, “
La Aventura
.”

The class claps as the bell rings.

I walk to Argotta’s desk to collect my winnings. Bennett walks past me and tells me he’ll meet me in the hall.

“
Muchas gracias
, Señor Argotta,” I say as he gives me the voucher. I can’t tell which of us looks prouder.

“You deserve it.” He looks at me with an earnest expression. Then he holds his finger up and gestures with his head toward the room, as if he has more to say but can’t speak openly until the rest of the students are gone. I start to fidget as I picture Bennett standing outside the door, waiting for me.

“Señorita, as you probably know, I run the summer exchange program,” he says when we’re finally alone. I nod. “Well, this year, we had more families participate than usual, but we didn’t get as many applications as we typically do. I know it’s rather late notice, but there’s still a spot.” When I don’t reply, he fills the silence: “If you’re interested.”

I haven’t even considered my summer plans. Come to think of it, since Bennett arrived, I haven’t considered much beyond the current day.

Argotta opens his desk drawer, pulls out a shiny yellow folder, and hands it to me. “It’s a really fantastic opportunity. You’d get to spend ten weeks in Mexico with a wonderful host family. Here, take this and talk it over with your parents.”

I take the folder. A few months ago, I would have considered this the opportunity of a lifetime, but now, with the ability to see any location in the world, a single one doesn’t sound quite so appealing. “Thank you. I’m really honored that you’d consider me.” I unzip my overstuffed backpack and push the folder down into it. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good. The family knows they might not be getting a student, but we need to give them some time to prepare either way, so just get the paperwork back to me as soon as you can—end of May at the very latest. I’m not expecting any more applications at this point, so if you think you’d like to take the spot, it’s yours.”

“Okay. Thanks again.” I race toward the door, and when I round the corner, Bennett throws his arm over my shoulder.

“You did it!” He smiles and pulls me to him as we start down the hall. I lose my balance in a good way. “So, where are you going with that ticket?”

“Mexico, of course. It would be a shame to waste a perfect, well-paced trip that allows time for surprises.” I mimic Argotta’s accent and look up at him with a flirty smirk. “I happen to like surprises.”

“Yeah,” Bennett says, “I’ve heard that about you.”