Happy Sunday! It’s just 2 days until Tree of Life is live. Here’s another snippet of the book, introducing a character who becomes important to the story.
I’ve been to the store Luke is referring to here. It’s right off the Peach Street exit in Erie, PA. One half is a Jelly Belly store, and the other is guns, ammo, and fireworks. At least, it was the last time we travelled that way a couple of years ago.
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Synopsis
Luke works a job he hates and shares a dirty, small apartment with his roommate, barely making ends meet and envying the successes of his friends. When they all return for a wedding, Luke comes face to face with one of the people he left behind when he took off. Instead of the bitterness Luke expects, Connor invites him on a forty-day, cross-country trip.
They travel the length of route I-90, following the last journey Connor’s father made from Boston to Seattle, recorded in a nearly incoherent memoir. The two of them meet hitchhikers, stowaways, and a collage of people all willing to help uncover the secrets of who Connor’s father was. Along the way, Luke’s hidden past catches up with him when it collides with Connor’s present. With the help of friends and strangers, both of them must learn what home and family mean before Luke runs away again.
Excerpt
The sky is overcast, and it’s hot—almost ninety degrees today. Luke’s in threadbare jeans and a red-and-white-striped sleeveless shirt so faded it looks pink. Even in lighter clothes, he’s still sweltering, almost wishing he’d joined the others inside the store.
He takes a picture of it because he’s never seen candy and fireworks in the same place before. This stretch of road is almost nothing but restaurants and businesses. While Luke is standing there, looking down the busy road, a soft, “hey” alerts him to someone else’s presence. He turns.
A person who looks like a kid but probably isn’t stands right next to him. They have on black skinny jeans, a baggy white shirt, and a backwards baseball cap that hides most of their brown hair. Their arms are well-muscled, and their skin is deeply tanned. They have inquisitive brown eyes and a small, rosebud mouth. Luke has to swallow several times before he can answer. It’s been ages since he saw someone who instantly sparked his interest this way.
“Hey,” he says.
“You got a couple bucks?”
Oh. Luke holds in his sigh, but he knows before he answers that he’ll give this person what they want. He’s never been able to say no, not even when he doesn’t have any to spare.
“Yeah, hang on.” He reaches for his wallet and pulls out what little cash he has in there. He stashed a bit more in the RV, and he has his bank card, not that there’s much left in the account—or ever was to begin with.
“Thanks. Hey, you know where the bus station is?”
“I don’t live here.”
At that, the person’s attention perks up. “Yeah? You traveling?”
This is too many nosy questions, but Luke’s already said he’s not from Erie. “On a trip with a friend.” He tilts his head toward the fireworks store. “Waiting for him to get out here.”
“You think you could spare a ride to the bus station?”
Luke looks back at the store again. “I don’t know. I’d have to ask.”
“What, your buddy’s in charge?” The person scoffs.
“Kind of? It’s his RV.” Luke thinks, too late, that he probably shouldn’t have said which vehicle was theirs. Though the person might’ve figured it out eventually, given that there are only two other cars there.
The stranger whistles. “Sweet ride. Well, I’ll stay right here with you, since you don’t seem like you’re gonna give me a real answer.”
Luke waits until their back is turned then rolls his eyes. They are nosy and obnoxious, and he’s mad that he’s still reacting to their appearance. He could do without their personality.
“I’m Jory, by the way.” They don’t turn around.
“Luke.”
“Your buddy, he’s one of us, right?”
“Uh…” Luke fights the urge to give this person more details than they need. “One of us?”
“Come on. You know why I picked you and not that guy.” They hitch a thumb over their shoulder at the person on the other end of the parking lot, a beefy man in trousers and a collared shirt, talking loudly on his cell phone.
“I dunno. You didn’t pick him ’cause he looks like kind of a douche?”“Yeah, the kind of douche who at best will throw a name at my back when I turn around. Family knows family.” They turn toward Luke and eye him up and down.
I know the exact store he’s referencing. We’ve spent a lot of time in Erie. I always find it interesting to have a place I know in a book. Love the snippet, too.