I close my eyes for a few moments before I start shooting photos. It smells like cut grass and tar out here by the road. Sometimes I feel like smells can be important for getting my mind in the right place for a good picture.

I get a very atmospheric light-through-the-branches-type shot that will work just fine for a travel photo. I tend to go for the closer-up macro shots rather than the sweeping landscapes. That’s becoming part of my signature style. The aesthetic I’m developing on this trip.

The screen door of the RV claps shut from behind me.

“There you are,” Eddie says. “Everything okay?”

“Oh yeah, just getting a picture of the tree.”

“Ooh,” he says, grinning. “Can I see?”

I flip on the display screen and angle it toward him. He leans in, squinting.

“Wow, wow, wow.” He puts his hands on his waist. “You have some serious talent. This is what you post on your Instagram?”

I nod.

“Wow,” he says again. “This may be the thing that finally convinces me to sign up for social media. You’ve gotta show Ellie.”

We climb up into the RV. Ellie and Ruth are both in PJs, flossing and brushing their teeth at the sink.

“Hey, El, look at the picture Olivia took.”

My face is in danger of heating to a blush, and though I’m not really sure how to handle the attention, my skin buzzes with shy satisfaction as I turn my little camera screen toward Ellie. She stops flossing and leans in.

“Whoa,” she says. “I love the angle here—that’s so cool! And the contrast … you’re really good at this, Olivia. You should show us all the best pictures as we go … ooh, maybe at the end you could do some kind of, like, road-trip-recap slideshow too!”

“Definitely,” Eddie says.

My laugh is awkward, but real. “Sure,” I say.

Ruth’s still brushing her teeth at the sink, looking in the mirror. Ellie heads to the back room, and Eddie steps up to the front of the RV to get his phone.

I pull the tattoo out of my pocket. It’s a glittery silver-and-blue manta ray. I hold it out to Ruth, who spits toothpaste into the sink and looks over at me.

“I thought this was cool. I mean, I thought it was sort of you.”

She tilts her head to look at it. “Cool. Thanks,” she says, then scoops a drink of water in her hands. After she’s rinsed and dried, she takes the tattoo square and sets it on her shelf.

I use the tiny bathroom to change into pajamas. Before I climb up into my loft, Eddie walks by and nudges me with his elbow.

“I think I’ve figured out what your superpower is,” he says.

“My superpower?”

“Yeah, everyone has one. Yours is finding pretty things to show other people. To try to make them happy.”