The Long Ride Read Online Free PDF Page B

cover for me the day after tomorrow so you and Lisa and I can go on our farewell ride before you-know-what happens.”
    â€œI sure do know what,” Stevie said. “It’s the only topic of discussion at my house these days. Well, I mean it’s the only thing Alex wants to talk about. I’m sorry Lisa’s going away for the summer, but I guess I understand it. It’s her father, after all.
    â€œThat’s great that Emily can cover for you. We should be able to be out of here by ten o’clock or so.”
    â€œThat’s what I thought,” said Carole. “And we won’t have to worry about your new job meaning you can’t go. There aren’t too many people who order pizzas for breakfast.”
    â€œI think we’ll be safe on that score, if I get the job.”
    â€œJob? What job?” Lisa entered the office.
    â€œI got my license, and now I’m going to apply for a job at Pizza Manor.”
    â€œOh, that’s great!” said Lisa. “By any chance, did anybody else in your family get a license today?”
    â€œGee, who could she be asking about?” Stevie said.
    â€œBoth your parents have licenses,” Carole said. “And we all know Chad does. So that leaves the dog, right?”
    â€œOnly if the dog is named Alex,” said Lisa. “Did he pass?”
    â€œYeah, he did,” Stevie assured her. “And that means he can get to all those lawns he’s going to mow while you’re away. You won’t have to worry about him getting into trouble at all. He’ll be too tired every night to do anything.”
    â€œI wasn’t worried about that,” Lisa said. “I know you’ll look after my interests.”
    â€œActually,” Stevie said, “you are the one thing we almost never talk about. He used to confide in me about his girlfriends, but not about you. Oh, sure, he’s been mooning around the house, complaining about you going away for the whole summer, but he never says anything really personal. He assumes you talk to me about him.”
    â€œWhich of course I don’t,” said Lisa.
    â€œThat’s the problem with having your brother date your best friend. I’m missing out on all the good dope from two people I used to be able to count on!”
    Lisa flopped into the other chair in Carole’s office. Carole glanced at Fez’s incomplete notebook and the pile of other paperwork that awaited her, but for the moment, her friends’ concerns were more important. Fez could wait a few minutes.
    â€œThis is the worst!” Carole said. “Stevie and I are going to miss you, and Alex is going to be miserable, and that’ll make Stevie miserable, and you know that when Stevie’s miserable, the whole world is miserable.”
    â€œAw, come on,” Lisa said, a little bite in her voice. “It’s not going to be that long. I didn’t ask my parents to get a divorce. I didn’t tell Dad to fall in love with someone who lives in California. I didn’t choose to have my life split in half.”
    â€œEasy, easy,” Carole said. “We’re just venting. I guess none of us much likes the whole situation, so maybe we’d better stop talking about it.”
    â€œOr else we could look on the positive side,” Stevie suggested.
    â€œAnd that is?”
    â€œYou’re going to spend a whole summer in sunny Southern California. You’ll certainly get to see Skye, and that’s always lots of fun.”
    â€œHe’s pretty busy,” Lisa said.
    â€œStarring in another movie?” asked Carole. Skye Ransom was an actor the girls had known for a long time. They’d met him by accident—his accident—when he’d fallen off a horse. They’d helped him out, and they’d been friends ever since.
    â€œNo, it’s not a movie,” said Stevie. “It’s a television series. A contemporary series set on