When I walk into Hailey’s house an hour later, I smile at my family who have come together to say goodbye to her. She has no idea I’m leaving with her, so we say goodbye while she sheds tears, and I tell her I love her. I nod at Blake, right before I walk out to go back home for one last time.
The Uber picks me up right on time, helping me pack my two pieces of luggage. I text Blake I’m on my way.
We pull up right when Hailey pulls away from hugging Blake. “You came back to say goodbye,” she says, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Pfft,” I blow out, smiling. “As if I would let you leave without me,” I say, going to the trunk to help the Uber driver.
“What is this?” she asks me as Blake grabs my luggage and puts it in the backseat.
“This is me and you taking on the world,” I tell her, smiling as I wipe tears from my own eyes.
“You can’t come with me; you have a job here,” she tells me as Blake laughs, and she turns to glare at him.
“No, I had a job here. Now, I have a job there.” She just blinks at me. “I left my job, but good news, I got one in town. It’s a family practice. No gunshot victims and no stabbings, so it will be a walk in the park.”
“You’re coming with me?” she asks me, shocked.
“Of course, I’m coming with you.” I roll my eyes at her.
“B-but,” she stutters, “but we had a goodbye dinner last night.”
“Well, it was a free meal. How would we not?” I tell her as I grab my last bag from the Uber. “So what do you say, should we start our new adventure?”
She smiles at us then looks down at her feet nervously. “I have to lock up the house. Um, if it’s okay, I’d like to do this on my own.” We don’t move from the street as we watch her walk inside the house and say goodbye to her memories. Blake leans against the back of the car.
“You guys going to be okay?” he asks, and I lean next to him.
“I think so, but it all depends on her.” I shrug my shoulders. “She decides she wants to come back, we come back.”
“What about your job?” He looks over. I shrug my shoulders again. “Will you tell her about Samantha?”
“Yes.” I rest my head back. “When she’s ready.” We look up when she comes out of the house with tears streaking her face. I rub her arms while she gives Blake the keys to her house. “Good thing I’m coming. Who else would drive?” I tell her and walk to the car to give them the chance to say goodbye.
She climbs into the car, buckling up, and leans her head on the window looking outside. “Isn’t this just like Thelma and Louise?” I ask, and she laughs.
“Can we do it without the whole driving off the cliff or shooting Brad Pitt?” she asks me as I pull up the Waze traffic app and follow the directions.
“I say we still shoot Brad Pitt but don’t die either. I mean, imagine if one of us survived without the other.” I shake my head as she leans her head on the cold window. “I’d come back and haunt you. Just saying.” She laughs and closes her eyes as I proceed to the directions. We don’t talk much. Both of us finding out we start back at work in four days. Hailey is a web designer, so she will be working from home.
After four hours of driving, we stop to get gas and use the bathroom. Hailey grabs some food for us, and we get back on the road for the rest of the journey. Having both windows down allows the country air to settle in with us as the mountains in the distance get closer. We turn off the interstate at our exit, the full trees lining the street on both sides, and we follow the directions, turning once to go down Main Street.
Passing over a little bridge, we watch the creek on both sides, the water flowing down. Once we get off the bridge, I see every single shop has the American flag hanging outside. As we slowly roll down the street, I look at all the shops. The sidewalk consists of tiny red blocks. The bank sits right next to the post office. I see two cop cars parked right in front of the police station.
A guitar hanging outside the fourth building makes me know it’s a bar.
“I think everyone knows everyone,” Hailey comments as she looks at her side of the street. “We should take a walk tomorrow night,” she says as I turn left in the front of the pharmacy, which just has the mortar and pestle on it. We pass the courthouse, or at least it’s what I think it is because it has courthouse written in the middle of it.