My Boyfriend's Girlfriend

two

Saturday mornings during my senior year were reserved for music lessons, so I could prepare for college auditions. I was going to school to be a music teacher, like I'd dreamt about for the last ten years.

I had just finished up my lesson with Mr. Williamson, and I was waiting for Danny to pick me up outside of the church our families attended. Mr. Williamson was the choir and music director of the church, and had been hosting lessons there for years. I had met Danny through church, when my family first switched from Catholicism and I signed up to help with Bible school music. I wasn't the most devout, but I believed. Easter and Christmas were typically my most attended days. Danny was a little more of a firm believer, since his father was the preacher.

Danny was taking a little longer than usual to pick me up, and it was starting to get chilly throughout the day now. I pulled my varsity jacket out of my bag and slid into it. Just as I was about to text him, I heard his truck pull into the lot. A huge grin swept across my face when I noticed his little sister, Aly, in the middle seat. She was a miracle in the Schwinn family; his parents had tried for years to have a second child. They decided to give up attempting when Danny turned ten, and by grace, had Aly a year later.

"ABBY!" I heard the six year old squeal, and she scooted over as close as she could to the window to greet me.

"Hi, baby girl." I laughed, opening the door before I hopped in the truck. The sound of a Luke Combs song greeted me, a sound I'd come to find comforting. Danny was a huge country music fan, and if I was with him, it was playing. "Thanks again for picking me up, babe." I said to Danny, and he leaned over his sister's head to peck me on the cheek.

"Gross!" Aly covered her eyes with her hands and giggled.

"Your boogers are gross." I joked, poking her on the nose.

"Abby! We're going to the farm!" She squealed, and I knew Danny had spilled the beans. The only thing Aly loved more than her big brother was her pet goat, Samuel.

I gave him a knowing look and he shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry we're late, someone had to go pee six times before we left."

"I drank a lot of water!" Aly defended her bathroom habits. I chuckled and ran a hand through her platinum blonde curls. Being an only child, I enjoyed their banter. My parents must have thought I was enough, because they never tried to have a younger child. I envied Danny and Aly's relationship, but Aly had grown to become a little sister to me. I always joked with Danny and told him that if we ever broke up, I would have to come get my dose of Aly every now and then.

The drive to the farm was just about an hour, up through the calming Pacific Northwest. Autumn was my favorite time to live here, it was full of life and color. Barton had a lot of tourist traffic in the summer and early fall, but by mid-October, it slowed back down until deer season, when the cabins outside of town were packed full. The locals celebrated the quiet time with a fall harvest parade and weekend festival in the town square, an oxymoron if you ask me, but a tradition I loved nonetheless.

The Schwinn Family Farm, known as Schwinn's, sat about a mile off the road, and there were signs that let you know where you were headed five miles out on either side. We pulled into a smaller path off the main gravel road, into Danny's grandparents' driveway. Aly squealed and bounced in her seat, anxious for either of us to get out so she could run to the house.

"Alright, race you to the front door?" I asked Aly, and she excitedly nodded her head and ushered me out the truck door. Danny was already out of the truck, grabbing a box of items from his parents to give to his grandma. His phone rang suddenly, and a strange look crossed his face when he pulled it out to look at the caller. He looked at me quickly and shook his head.