We got out of the Jeep and walked into the bowling alley. I had never been there before. We’d never been big on bowling in my family. Come to think of it, we weren’t big on much of anything anymore.
The entrance area was dimly lit, while bright fluorescent lights illuminated the wood-paneled lanes. There were only three people bowling: a man and a woman together at a lane toward the far end of the room, and, midway down, a man in a FedEx uniform.
“I bet he’s on his lunch break,” Sam whispered, elbowing me gently in the side. I giggled as the FedEx guy bowled a strike and jumped up and down a few times in apparent glee.
The deep ping of the balls hitting pins punctuated the background music piped from various old-looking speakers around the room. There was a counter near the door with lots of bowling shoes lined up behind it, and another counter farther down with a couple of beer and soda taps, a popcorn machine, and a little warmer rotating some decidedly stale-looking hot dogs. I decided I wasn’t hungry.
“Let me introduce you to my aunt,” Sam said, reaching for my hand. A dark-haired woman was walking out from a door near the concession area. “Donna!” Sam called. She squinted toward the doorway and grinned.
“Hey, kiddo!” she said. It sounded funny to hear Sam called kiddo. His aunt’s enthusiasm was electric, though, and I could feel myself smiling at her even before she reached us. She was about five feet eight with cropped hair, a few freckles across the bridge of her nose, and clear green eyes that matched Sam’s.
She reached us quickly and gave Sam a hug. Then she extended a hand to me. “You must be Lacey,” she said. “Sam’s told me about you.”
I blushed, wondering what he’d said—and when. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for letting us use your bowling alley.”
“Of course!” she said. She glanced around, then looked back at me. “Where is everybody?”
Sam answered before I could. “They should be here in a few minutes. And if they don’t show up, Lacey and I will bowl.”
Donna smiled at us again. “Sounds fun! Help yourselves to bowling shoes. Sam, you know the drill,” she said. “Can I get you anything from the concession stand? A hot dog, maybe?”
“No thanks,” Sam and I both chorused immediately. We exchanged glances and tried not to laugh. Donna looked bewildered.
“Okay, then,” she said. “Have fun! I’ll be back to check on you guys in a bit. Sam, you know where everything is when your other friends show up.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Nice to meet you, Lacey,” she said before walking away.
“She seems nice,” I said to Sam as we turned toward the wall of bowling shoes.
“She’s the best. She and my uncle are a ton of fun. Our family Trivial Pursuit matches are pretty fierce.”
I suddenly wished that I had an aunt like that. Or another family member—any family member—who wasn’t full of sympathetic looks. My uncle Paul and his wife, Sherry, came around from time to time, but Aunt Sherry was always casting sad glances my way, and Uncle Paul didn’t seem to know how to talk to any of us anymore.
Sam led me over to the shoes and asked me for my size. A moment later, he pulled out a pair of pink and white shoes that were slightly scuffed at the toes. They were pretty silly-looking.
“Trust me,” Sam said, reading my expression, “no one looks good in bowling shoes.”
Just then, the front door opened, pouring a large sliver of bright sunshine into the bowling alley. I was relieved to see Kelsi and Mindy standing there, blinking into the darkness.
As Sam was helping Kelsi and Mindy pick out bowling shoes, Cody arrived, eyes downcast. As the five of us were heading toward the lanes, the door opened again, and Logan walked in, tailed a few steps behind by a sullen-looking Sydney.
Relief washed over me again, along with an unfamiliar sense of gratitude for my brother, who didn’t look at me as he walked quickly toward the shoe counter.
“Hey, man,” Sam said to my brother as he walked over to the shoe counter. “Hey, Syd.”
They both nodded, but neither of them said anything. Typical. Too cool to talk to anyone. But, I had to give Logan credit for being here. And, I supposed, I had to grudgingly give Sydney a little credit too, even if she didn’t belong here. But clearly, she and Logan were a package deal.
After everyone was fitted, we headed to the lanes and picked two adjoining ones on the right. Donna came over and asked us if we wanted anything from the snack bar. Logan ordered two hot dogs. Sam and I shared amused looks, but neither of us said anything. I liked that we were on the inside of a private joke. The hot dogs arrived a few minutes later, along with a hot pretzel for Cody and three Cokes for the girls. I tried not to giggle as my brother gazed in horror at the shriveled-looking meat like it was something from another planet. It was even funnier when, unaware that he was being watched, he shrugged and bit into a hot dog anyway.