Indeed, we are. Problem is, I don’t think it’s going to be fun at all.

*  *  *

I grab my phone as soon as we’re in the Lyft.

Me: shit this is NOT GOOD

Dean: I know but what choice did we have.

Me: Peter wants to catch us so bad

Dean: Probably going to get his wish too.

Me: fuck that. i’ll text Lina and get her to prep the tias

Dean: It’s worth a shot.

“Everything okay, you two?” Peter asks from the front passenger seat.

“Totally fine,” I say cheerfully. “Just checking some old messages.”

And planning your long-overdue demise, you little shit. But first, Lina.

Me: MAYDAY. MAYDAY. headed to Rio. got cornered into taking the group there. Tias need to pretend Dean’s my boyfriend. can you give them the heads-up?

The three dots appear immediately, then nothing. Not now, Lina. I need you.

Lina: Had to get Jaslene to cover a client meeting. On my way. But I can’t stay. You’re on your own after I’m gone.

Done. As simple as that. People sometimes ask me what it’s like to be an only child, and I tell them I wouldn’t know. My cousins are my siblings, and they’d ride-or-die with me any day.

As I envision the countless ways this evening still could go wrong, Molly and Kimberly chat about the pros and cons of living just outside DC. Airports nearby. Proximity to Baltimore. More space. Unfortunately, I can’t summon enough focus to take part in the conversation; it’s all background noise to me.

Minutes from our destination, Dean slips his hand in mine and threads our fingers together. He gives me a sweetly encouraging smile, and the churning in my belly settles. His touch is a reminder that I’m not doing this alone. A reminder, too, that he’s probably more nervous than I am—although he’s doing a much better job of masking it. I send up a silent prayer that this excursion isn’t a catastrophe in the making.

The Lyft stops in front of Rio de Wheaton, and everyone climbs out.

Kimberly and Nia are thrumming with excitement. I hope the experience doesn’t disappoint. If nothing else, I want them to have a good time.

“This is going to be so great,” Nia says to me. “I can’t wait to meet your family.”

“Me neither,” Peter says. He looks up at the door. “They even have a little shop bell.”

Tia Viviane says she bought it because it reminded her of the bell above the bookshop in You’ve Got Mail. If Peter says anything snide about it in Tia Viviane’s presence, we may need to carry him out of here on a stretcher.

Mentally making the sign of the cross, I usher everyone into the store.