The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson

Author:Liz Lawson [Lawson, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2020-04-07T00:00:00+00:00

May’s gotten quiet, and I’m not sure what to do to lighten the mood. I pull the car into a parking lot and turn the engine off. She doesn’t react. She’s a million miles away—her hands are balled into tight fists and she’s staring straight ahead out the windshield, into the dark of the night.

I have no idea what to do, so I say in a voice that sounds way too loud and fake, “We’re here!”

She jumps and blinks a few times, coming back to the present. She looks around. “Um. Where the hell are we? I thought we were getting food?” It’s quiet outside the car, and the parking lot is deserted. If you squint, you can make out the dim silhouette of a playground in the distance.

Now that we’re here, my plan seems stupid. I thought it would be romantic, coming to a playground at night. Like something out of one of those ’80s movies I used to watch with my dad. I imagined me pushing her on a swing, her letting go of everything she’s been holding on to, us having this intense, deep conversation about life. It’s the sort of thing Rosa would have loved when we were together. Instead, looking out into the pitch-black night, seeing how quiet it is on the playground, how desolate, how dark, I realize my mistake. I’m trying my best not to make eye contact with May, because I’m totally embarrassed.

After a couple moments, she waves a hand in front of my face. “Hellooooo? Anyone in there? What are we doing here?”

I rub my forehead and glance over at her. “I thought it would be romantic,” I mumble.

A grin flits across May’s mouth. “You thought what would be romantic?”

“Uhhh…taking you to a playground at night? I thought maybe it would be different than just going to a diner and getting food. Like something out of a John Hughes movie.”

“Who?” May furrows her brow.

I rub the nape of my neck. “The director…? Never mind. I’m an idiot. I thought there’d be other people around, and, like, streetlamps or something. Instead it’s all dark and silent and empty….” I allow a smile. “It’s like a scene from the beginning of Law & Order, SVU.”

At that, May shrinks toward the window.

“No, no,” I backtrack. “I mean, just the setting—like, a dark park. Not that our night is going to go that direction…” She’s staring at me like I have eight heads. “Oh god, of course it’s not! I don’t even know why I said that.” Why can’t I just shut up? “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t be allowed to speak. Never mind. Please just ignore me. If you want to get a Lyft home from here, I get it.” I drop my head onto the steering wheel.

I hear a cough, and then May’s laughing. Full-body, tears-in-her-eyes laughing. She even snorts.

It’s awesome.

I start to snicker. “I know…I know. Really special of me, right? I thought this through super well.”

She wipes her eyes. “I mean, I appreciate the effort, but yeah, it’s a little creepy.

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