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Natasha 

Yes! Today is the day I've been waiting for. Action Auto just called and my baby is ready for pick up. 1984 Chevy Corvette painted with thermochromatic paint in a deep aquamarine. “I finally did it, Marky. I got our car,” talking to my younger brother as if he’s here. It’s something I do from time to time and since the therapist said it causes no harm, I  am officially free to speak to my dead brother whenever I see fit. And today is a day he would definitely want to have a little chat.  

My mind shoots back to the memory of us laying in the grass, sweating our asses off since our parents wouldn't spring for air conditioning like the rest of the neighbors.  “We’re in no competition with the Joneses,” dad would say. So we lay there barely moving while dreaming up our perfect lives, everything from who we would marry and how many kids we would have to what car we would drive and what our houses would look like (they would have air conditioning to start). 

I was going to marry Tommy Black, the new ninth grader and have four kids, two boys and two girls.  Marky wanted two kids but was undecided on his wife.  He joked that he’d have to try a few girls out first.  

The one plan we both agreed on was to have matching cars.  We chose 1984 chevy corvettes, his in cherry apple red and mine in teal. I can't even remember how we came to pick the exact year, make, and model.  It was mostly Marky tossing out the car ideas; I just remember agreeing and making it official. “Spit and shake on it” he had said. I watched him spit in his hand and reach it out for me to shake. Doing the same, we made the promise right then and there in the middle of the summer heat wave to make our dreams a reality. 

Little did we know, that would be Marky’s last summer and it would be twenty-five years until I’d get to ride in our dream car. 

I've been saving up for years, restoring this beauty little by little, with money I save from my summer side hustles.  I have a stable, good job working for the school district and while I love my work, I'm the first to admit it is not going to make me a rich woman even if the retirement and health insurance is nothing to turn your head at. 

It takes me a minute to contemplate. Today is the last day of school and I'll be late for work if I pick it up this morning.  But on the other hand, if I pick it up,  I can leave and head straight to the highway after work and see how my baby handles. 

Well screw it, It's not like anyone cares if the librarian is late anyways. They probably won't even notice. A thousand hyped out kids waiting for summer break will surely keep the administrators busy. Some of those kids may even be planning some pranks like the water balloon fight like last year.  Yup, they'll be way too distracted to notice little old me being thirty minutes late. 

I smile as I pull out of the parking lot, making a toast with my coffee cup, “Here’s to you baby brother.”