Carol pushed a button and the minivan’s power side door slid open.

“Hey.” Michael waved his hand toward the rear of the van like he was directing traffic. “Way back, you two.”

“Not going to happen,” Christine said. “We were here first.”

“The rate of serious accidents,” Billy Jr. said, “is only half in the third seat compared to the middle seat.”

“I like to live dangerously,” I said. As soon as I said it, I hoped I hadn’t just jinxed myself. Although it would serve John right. He’d sleep sitting up in a chair by the side of my hospital bed for months on end, wishing he’d been nicer to me. I’d be pale but beautiful, my injuries life threatening but not cosmetic.

“Hurry up and shut the door,” Carol said. “I’m freezing.”

“We can’t be heating the whole outdoors,” the rest of us said.

I tilted my seat forward. Michael and Billy Jr. squished themselves into the way back seat, their knees digging into Christine’s and my backs through our seat.

“Dad would kill us if he knew we were all riding around together,” I said. “He’d think we were partying without him.”

“We could just say we were out shopping for his Christmas presents,” Michael said.

“Which reminds me,” Carol said, “I just ordered his presents online. I’ll text everybody the amount you owe.”

“Why didn’t we get a vote?” Christine said.

“You did,” Carol said. “But you didn’t use it, so I took it back again. Okay, where to?”

“Driftwood,” Johnny said. “Word on the street is they have a righteous new vibe, man.”

“Uh, uh, uh,” I said. “You dropped the hippie act, remember?”

Johnny shrugged. “It’s just that when I get nervous, it gives me a persona to grab on to.”

“You used to chew on your shirt when you got nervous,” Billy Jr. said. “Remember? You’d make these big puddles?”

“Awkwardsauce,” Christine said.

“I was like five,” Johnny said. “Cut me some slack.”

Nobody said anything, which was our way of cutting him some slack.

Johnny broke the silence. “If you want to help me out, a few words of decent advice might be good right about now.”

“I already told you what to do,” I said. “And I quote—Have flowers delivered to Kim, along with a beautiful note that says you’d like to meet her for dinner to try to get things right. Because whatever happens, for the rest of your lives, even though they’re practically grown now, you’ll always be the parents of two awesome sons together.”

Michael flicked his finger against the back of my head. “That sounds so familiar.”

“Ouch,” I said. “Hey, at least you listened.”

“I texted Kim some of that stuff,” Johnny said. “I’ve been texting back and forth with the boys, too. And we still have time to grab flowers on the way, right?”