Make The Season Bright Bunk'd

Secrets

James City, Wyoming

There were no non-stop flights to James City, Wyoming, so it wasn't until the next morning that Ravi found Lou curled up in one of the hard, plastic seats in the airport's rental car lobby. Her brown hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and her head rested awkwardly on her overstuffed overnight bag. He felt a pang of guilt. He thought she looked pretty, but she didn't look peaceful in her sleep. He regretted not bringing her more than kiosk coffee.

"Hey," he said gently as he nudged her with his knuckles, "I got you coffee." Carefully, he sat the cup on the scuffed tile floor. "They have fruit cups, too. I could get you a fruit cup," he offered while lifting her coat from the seat next to her and taking its place.

Lou yawned and straightened her posture, careful not to kick over the paper cup at her feet. "Coffee's good. Sorry, I fell asleep right after you text me." She dug crust out of each eye before greeting him with a wide smile, "Hey!"

"Hey!" Ravi replied with just as much excitement. A few chuckles followed, which earned him a few from her in return. This airport was magnitudes smaller than JFK, so the sounds of their laughter traveled across the room.

She reached down for the coffee and then popped off its lid, letting the steam hit her face. She hummed and said contentedly, "Ah, the sweet smell of sugar."

"I figured the 'Cinnamon Sugar Gingerbread latte' was a good choice for you. I doubt I've ever seen you drink coffee without a ton of sugar and flavored creamers," Ravi said. He took a sip of his of drink, a mint green tea.

Lou opened her mouth to say something along the lines of sugar being a luxury or being barely able to afford a cup of hot water let alone plain coffee. On her drive to the airport, before she left Ohio, she had stopped into a Walmart and picked up a Christmas present for Ravi. She spent half of her last thirty dollars, opting to save the rest for gas on her return. She decided against complaining about her lack of latte funds and blew on the steaming cup of liquid in front of her instead. She vowed never to tell anyone why she was so low on cash. That the reason she couldn't afford much was because her ex-almost-boyfriend (the same winner that got her kicked out of the TA Program) got ahold of her debit card and spent almost all of her savings on video games and Patreon. Thinking about it made her face heat up with anger and heart sink down with shame.

"Are you okay, Lou?" Ravi asked. He was studying her expression as it soured. He looked around the empty rental car lobby for any sign of offense. He felt another pang of guilt and frowned. "Did I take you away from your family?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and said in a rush, "I'm so selfish. Forgive me, Lou. Do you want to go back home?"

"No!" Lou leaned close to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "No, Ravi. You honestly have no idea how happy I am to be here. Trust me, there's nowhere I'd rather be."

He lowered his hand from his face. "But what about your family? I remember you speaking so fondly about the pigs racing in the snow and wrestling with your stepbrothers over who gets the first slice of pecan pie. Or apple pie. It was some sort of pie; that I do remember. And I'm sorry for keeping you from it."

Lou smiled fondly as the memory from last Christmas played in her head like an old home movie. Her youngest stepbrother, Billy, finally won the annual wrestling match against all six of their siblings. "I taught him that winning chokehold," she whispered to herself. She let go of Ravi's shoulder and said, "But believe me; they're fine without me. And they're amped that I'm here helping you!" She took a sip of her latte. "Oh my goat, that's good!" She popped the lid back on and asked, "What exactly am I helping you with again?"

It was Ravi's turn to get all moody and stare off at the cardboard cutout of the Avis Rental Car deals beside the service counter. He had been a bundle of nerves the entire trip to James City. There were three different occasions when he desperately wanted to back out of meeting his birthmother and join his sister and parents in New Zealand, but each time he felt guilty about Lou already being on a plane to meet him.