new life | depeche mode

Chapter 20 - Road Trip

I zip my suitcase closed and pull it off my bed. I drag it out into the hallway and down the stairs, where it makes a clunking sound as the suitcase hits each step.

Standing in the living room are my parents and Hank.

"We are so proud of you, Eve." Dad gushes. "This might be your big break you've been looking for!"

My mother nods. "Have fun in Birmingham, sweetie. Stay safe."

"Have fun, I guess." Hank adds, nonchalantly.

The three of them follow me outside, where Andy is standing.

I drop my suitcase and run to him.

"I'll miss you!" I say as I embrace him.

"I'll miss you too. This is the first time we've been apart in the two years we've been dating." He says.

"That's crazy." I say.

He gives me a chaste kiss because we are in front of my parents, and we pull away from each other.

I turn to see Hank mock gagging. I roll my eyes at him.

Dave goes walking by a few moments later.

"You're leaving today?" He says, as he does a double take of my family and Andy standing in the yard.

"Yep." I say, as I laugh. "You have no sense of time!"

He quickly walks up the front path and gives me a quick hug.

"Did everything work out with Gemma?" I whisper in his ear. "I feel like we haven't really talked lately."

"Call me later, or sometime you're away. Or we can chat we you get back." Dave says. "It's complicated.

I give him a sympathetic glance, and Cathy pulls up. She beeps the car horn comically, and my dad carries my luggage for me. Cathy hops out and opens the trunk for him.

"Are you excited?" She asks me. "You know it's really good that you and I are going, especially you. We're the two youngest at the newspaper. I think Mr. Watson wanted to show off the fact that he has young writers. And you're an intern! I never did anything this cool when I was an intern!"

"I am excited!" I reply. I quickly say goodbye to everyone, I give Andy a quick kiss and I give a reluctant Hank a hug.

"You love me!" I exclaim as I wrap my arms around him.

"Move out already!" He whines, and tries to wriggle out of my grip.

I get into the passenger seat, and Cathy resumes her place in the driver's seat. I wave to everyone as we pull away, and then we're off.

After we've been driving for a while, Cathy speaks up.

"Go into the glove department and pull out my cassette tapes. The radio's playing absolute crap today." She says.

"When does it play anything good?" I ask.

I open the compartment and pull out a whole bunch of cassettes.

"Beatles, Bee Gees, Bowie, Dylan, Japan, Roxy Music, Queen. Japan? Who's Japan?" I ask. "Also, nice alphabetizing."

"Thanks. You don't know Japan?" Cathy asks, surprised. "Huh. I thought you would, with your boyfriend being in a band and all."

I shake my head. "Enlighten me."

"My step-sister Joan introduced me to them last Christmas. They aren't that famous, but they definitely deserve to be. You're missing out! Also, in the back of the car I have more tapes. Beatle solo careers, B-52s, some movie soundtracks, Clapton, Beach Boys, ABBA, et cetera."

"Let's listen to Japan first. I want to see what I'm missing."

***

Our car ride only takes three hours, and we reach the hotel a little after three o'clock. After listening to Japan, who I now am in love with, we listen to Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie, A Night at the Opera by Queen, and we're halfway through McCartney by Paul McCartney when we arrive at the hotel

"The hotel we are staying in is nice, my cousins live around here, and they were envious when I told them about the trip." Cathy informs us as we pull up to the hotel. "Oh! That reminds me! My Aunt Daisy invited me to dinner tonight, and I asked if you could come, and she said yes. Don't feel pressured to come, but she's an amazing cook. I don't know how she's related to my mum, she can't cook for her life."

I think Cathy's invitation over for a second. "Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll pass. I don't want to ruin your family time." I say.

"Family time? Don't be silly! I see Aunt Daisy and Uncle Tim at Christmas and Easter, plus I used to go to Blackpool all the time with them when I was a kid. My cousins might even be home. You should meet my cousin Luke, he's very cute!" Cathy says, the last part in a sing-song voice. "Maybe we could make a match."

I laugh. "I have a boyfriend!"

"That's changeable."

I laugh again. "No offense to Luke, I'm sure he's lovely. If there's ever a time when we are both single at the same time, I'll consider your offer. And I'm gonna pass on dinner. Catch up with your aunt and uncle!"

"Alright, if you're sure. Let's go inside, get our room, and get settled then."