“Do you need a pep talk? You’re smart. You’re beautiful. You have impeccable taste. You’re ahead of your time. Our generation is lucky to have you.”

I pucker my lips into a frown to stop from smiling. “Thanks.”

She takes my hand and presses a kiss to my knuckles. “This pep talk has been brought to you by your twin sister.”

At home, Mom finds me hanging upside down on the couch. “Baby, you look like a damn tomato with all that blood rushing to your head.”

“I’m trying to trigger my creative juices,” I tell her.

She sits down beside me. “By hanging upside down on my sofa? With your shoes on, I might add.”

I slither off the couch onto the floor as gracefully as I can, which turns out to be not at all. “I’m trying to figure out what to wear to prom. And you know I have a hard enough time finding clothes as it is.”

As the primary buyer of my wardrobe, she nods knowingly. “I’ll have a look-see around town and let you know what I come up with.”

“Thanks,” I say, even though the thought of my mom picking out my prom outfit is even more stressful than trying to fulfill my own vision.

When I tell Mom I’m heading up to Dad’s work site to do homework with Tucker, she insists on sending food. This time, though, I don’t make the mistake of hiking up the muddy hill myself, and instead call Dad to chauffeur me.

“Did somebody call an Uber?” he asks as I get in.

“Primo dad joke,” I tell him. “Like, you’re two steps away from wearing socks with sandals and only watching movies based off true stories.”

“Watch out,” he says. “One day you’ll be old too.”

“I may be old, but I’ll always be fabulous,” I tell him.

“Your grandmother’s genes are strong as hell, aren’t they?”

“They are,” I say. “But don’t let her find out. Hey, I meant to ask: How long has Tucker worked for you?”

He thinks for a moment as he parks in front of his on-site office. “Well, I don’t hire anyone under eighteen and he just came of age this year, so I guess a few months.”

I nod. “Did you know he spends a lot of time running his dad’s shop?”

He turns off his ignition. “I did. You know, Charlie, his dad, hasn’t had it so easy. He’s got a real problem with the bottle and lots of guilt to contend with. We went to school together, his dad and I did.” He pauses. “Sounds like you’ve taken a real shine to him.”

“Well, we got stuck doing this prom stuff together,” I explain.

“Doesn’t seem like a bad guy to get stuck with.” He winks and nudges my arm.