Shift by Jennifer Bradbury Read Free Book Online

escaped the clip that held the rest of it up. With the other hand he loosened the tie she had made him wear for the occasion. “Adventure’s good for a couple of young men.” He gave us both a smile. “Don’t you think this trip is a pretty good way to spend a summer, Coggans?”
    For a moment I panicked. It struck me that if Win’s parents actually talked long enough to my mom and dad, they’d all four figure out that no one had actually granted us permission.
    “Oh,” Win’s father said, “I suppose it’s all right.” He turned to Win. “Just get it out of your system so you can come back and get serious about your life.”
    My parents didn’t say anything, though my dad looked like he had just eaten a rotten peanut.
    “Will do, Dad,” Win said evenly. “Will do.”
    Win’s mother’s cell rang again, and within moments she was yelling at her travel agent. “What do you mean Air Italia only has coach tickets left for the Milan flight? Check the other airlines!”
    The salads arrived and were set before us. I dumped the carafe of ranch dressing over mine and dove in, glad for a reason not to talk.
    Win’s father placed his napkin in his lap and reached for his fork. His mother said something into her phone and pulled it away for a moment. “She’s got a ticket. For tomorrow afternoon. But that means I have to catch the early connection out of Charleston to make it. Can you drop me?” she said to her husband.
    “What time? I tee off at nine,” he said.
    “You’ll make it.”
    Then they looked at Win. “What time are you leaving?” his mother asked.
    He looked quickly at me, then at my mom and dad. “Eight, probably.” Win and I hadn’t discussed our departure time at all. “I can just stay at Chris’s tonight. My stuff’s already there anyway.”
    “But you’ll miss the big send-off,” my mother said to his parents.
    Mrs. Coggans pretended not to hear her. “You’re sure you don’t mind, Winston? This is really important to Mommy,” she said, flashing a perfect smile. “If I grab this flight, your aunt Claire and I will have a whole extra day in Rome to recover before we sail for Capri.”
    “It’s fine,” Win said.
    “But—” my mother began before Win cut her off.
    “Really,” he said, adding as he looked across the table at Mom, “no big deal.”
    Win’s mother turned back to her phone and ordered the agent to buy the ticket. His father descended on his salad.
    And that was the best Win might hope for in the emotional good-bye department. Their embraces of him in the parking lot after dinner seemed forced. Win’s mother did look like she might tear up a bit as she held him, but then her phone rang again and she wandered away toward their car.
    “See you soon,” his father said, shaking his hand.
    Win nodded. “Yeah. Soon.”
    His father held the grip a little longer, reaching out with his other hand and placing it on Win’s shoulder. “You’ll be careful. And you can call me if you need something,” he said.
    Win nodded. “Yeah.”
    “I meant what I said earlier, though,” his father said, his tone hardening as he dropped his hand and stepped back.
    “I know,” Win said, sneaking a hand up to his face to wipe at his nose as his father turned away.
    We all stood in the lot and watched them drive off. Finally my father shook his head and unlocked the car. “You guys need to get home and get some rest,” he said. “Big day tomorrow.” Win and I climbed in the backseat and got lost in the details of preparing to go.
    At home my folks parked in the driveway and left us in the garage to finish our packing.
    “Nice dinner, huh?” Win said finally.
    “Painless enough, I guess,” I said.
    We busied ourselves with the careful packing of our panniers. The pile of stuff grew smaller as we found more ways to make it fit, checking each item off a list I’d made as we worked.
    “Where’s your sleeping bag?” I asked Win as I searched the floor of the