EVEN BEFORE THEY REACHED THE END OF KENDRA’S block, she felt like she’d been driving the Mustang for years. It handled like a dream and moved so evenly over the asphalt Kendra could have sworn it was levitating a half-inch from the ground. Hopefully it stays this way, she thought.
“Woo!” Mitch screamed giddily, slapping the dashboard. The top of the Mustang was down, and the bright Utah sun burned straight down on top of them.
“We haven’t even left the neighborhood yet, man,” Kendra said, chuckling. “Save it until we’re at least out of Salt Lake.” She adjusted her classic Ray-Bans on the bridge of her nose, her long black hair flapping glamorously in the breeze.
“I just can’t believe we’re already doing this!” Mitch said. “Like five days ago, this was a crazy idea we dreamed up—and now it’s happening. Hey, thanks for being my friend.”
“Oh my God!” Kendra whined. “I’m telling you, save it! We still have something to take care of, my man. Don’t count your chickens.”
Kendra was right, they did have a big job to take care of. If this didn’t work out, their trip to Vegas would be torturously lame—and probably not worth going on at all.
As soon as the plan for the road trip was starting to become a reality, Kendra acted quickly and reached out to one of the most notorious people in their high school class. His name was Austin Lovelace, and he was a provider of all kinds of things high school students couldn’t get on their own. And though neither Mitch nor Kendra had ever hit him up for anything before, they needed him for one essential piece of the Vegas puzzle: they needed IDs.
“You made sure he’s home, right?” Mitch asked, suddenly less giddy. “If he stiffs us, I swear to God.”
“Oh, I’ll be pissed. We already gave him a hundred-dollar down payment,” Kendra said.
Once the Mustang closed in on Austin’s house on Mariposa Avenue, Kendra did as she was told. Austin’s instructions were very specific. She pulled over about six houses away from Austin’s and kept the motor running.
“Okay,” she said to Mitch. Mitch pulled out his phone and typed out the text Austin had instructed to them to send. Want to see a movie tonight?
“Why is that the code?” Mitch asked, pressing SEND.
“It’s so if his parents or someone else sees his texts, they won’t know anything is up. They’ll just think he’s really popular.”
“Yeah, that he’s really popular. And that like everyone wants to see a movie with him. All on the same night. Austin has a ton of customers. Don’t you think that would seem a little suspicious?”
Kendra was about to answer when they spotted Austin, wearing his trademark “Reagan/Bush ’84” T-shirt, bounding up alongside them. He opened the rear side door and climbed in.
“’S’up, thugs?” he said. “Hey, wouldja mind putting up the roof? The whole point of this is secrecy, ya know.”
“Oh, sorry,” Kendra said. Suddenly, it felt like she and Mitch had been dropped into the middle of an episode of The Wire. She pressed the button on the control panel that moved the canvas roof. It moved incredibly, excruciatingly slowly.
“So,” Austin said hesitantly. “What you guys been up to since graduation?”
“You mean since yesterday?” Mitch asked.
“For sure.”
“Not much. Lots of packing, lying to our parents, the usual,” Kendra said, winking.
“Man, I feel that!” Austin exclaimed. “This is a ballsy plan you guys have here, I gotta say. Even Daddy hasn’t gotten out to Vegas yet.” Kendra shuddered. Austin exclusively referred to himself as “Daddy,” and it made her skin crawl.
The roof locked into place above them, and Kendra pulled away from the curb. This was the sketchiest part of the whole plan. Austin insisted they drive around the neighborhood while the deal went down.
“Alright then, cool cats,” Austin said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out two hard plastic cards and handed them to Mitch.
“Oh, they look great!” Kendra said, peeking over from behind the wheel.
Mitch turned them over and over in his hands. They did look great. The pictures they sent Austin—taken with their iPhones against the blank wall in a stairwell at school—looked almost identical to the ones on their actual IDs. Mitch read every word on both IDs carefully, looking for spelling errors or anything else. But there were none to be found.
“Make sure Daddy got those birthdays right, yo.”
“Yeah, you nailed them,” Mitch said. “And these scan?”
“Cross my heart, you bet, man,” Austin said. “Daddy uses the one Daddy made for himself all over the place. Run that barcode through anywhere, and it’ll pass. Scout’s honor.”
“We can’t thank you enough, Austin,” Kendra said. “How much do we owe you?”
“Just another hundo, if you don’t mind,” he said. “Or even if you do mind. Either way, Daddy just wants his money.”
Mitch reached into the glove compartment and pulled out five twenties, handing them to Austin. They had made a point of taking a trip to an ATM on the way to Austin’s house, so that they didn’t have to charge their debit cards at all in Vegas. With just one charge from Las Vegas on their monthly bill, all of the lies and deception would be laid bare—and who knew what kind of punishment either Mitch’s or Kendra’s parents would mete out.
“Muchas gracias, my people!” Austin crowed.
“We owe you one, man. We’ll send you some pics from the casinos we get into out there, thanks to you.”
“Ooh yeah, don’t do that,” Austin said edgily. “No paper trail, no digital trail, no nothing. Daddy’s gotta protect that reputation, you know? Next time we chill, you can show me, but I don’t want to get tied up in anything, you got me?”
Mitch was thrown off, but knew better than to push his luck with a true professional. “You got it, man.”
Kendra pulled up onto Austin’s block and put the car in park. “Stay safe,” Austin said as he climbed out. “Don’t do anything Daddy wouldn’t do.”
The drive out of Salt Lake City and into central Utah breezed by. Under the high, cloudless sky, Interstate 15 took the old red Mustang through a series of different landscapes, each more staggering than the next. Steep, craggy mountains gave way to flat expanses of desert floor, where the brick-red rocks continued so far into the distance that they looked like they stretched out beyond the ends of the Earth.
Though Mitch and Kendra had started out the drive laughing and giddily celebrating the sheer fact that they were actually on the road, they quickly fell silent as the natural world blossomed around them. Mitch sat quietly in the passenger seat, his elbow on the door near the window. His chin sat comfortably in the palm of his hand as he stared out at the barren wilderness, devoid of life except for thick pine forests on the highest mountain peaks and a few vultures circling high overhead.
“It’s hard to look at all of this and not start thinking about the meaning of life,” Mitch said softly. A few moments of silence went by before he looked over at Kendra. She glanced back at him from the road.
“What?” she asked, startled. “Did you say something?”
“Yeah, exactly,” Mitch said, smiling. Even just an hour into the six-hour journey, Mitch felt like they were a million miles from home. And though Mitch had taken trips with his family to explore the wilds of Utah, it had been a while. Besides, Mitch thought, it’s entirely different doing it with your best friend, without your family around at all.
Without your family around at all. The words echoed inside his head, booming and somewhat sinister. He couldn’t help but wonder, was this a good idea? Not only were neither his nor Kendra’s family nearby, they didn’t actually know where their children were! Reno was in completely the other direction from where they were headed. The rough landscape of rural Utah—which looked like the set of an old country western movie, more and more every second—seemed a little threatening.
“Man,” Kendra said, apropos of nothing. “I’m just so crazy excited to be doing this. This is so ballsy, dude—we are living on the edge! Even crazy Austin Lovelace hasn’t done anything like this before!” Her happiness was totally pure, Mitch could tell. He tried to gin up some carefree giddiness in himself.
“Yeah!” he said, a little too forcefully. Then he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Kendra saw right through it, obviously. “You okay, dude?” she asked. “You’ve gone a little quiet.”
Mitch sighed, looking over at his friend for the first time in a while. “I don’t know. I just feel intimidated all of a sudden.”
“Intimidated? By what?”
“I don’t know, I just . . . this is ballsy, you’re right. And, like, look at where we are. We’re out in the middle of nowhere. What if something bad happens?”
Kendra laughed, relaxing. “Oh my God, dude, you are such a Debbie Downer right now. This was all part of the plan! We are getting out. Think of all those lame little ducklings back home. They all peaked last weekend at prom! They all put on their boutonnieres and the whatever-the-dumb-things-the-girls-have-to-wear-are-called, and they got all anxious and stressed out and caked themselves in makeup, and they tried so hard to have ‘the best night of their lives, OMG!’
“What we’re doing right now, this is what people actually want to be doing. We’re doing something crazy. Prom is the opposite of crazy. I mean, honestly, did anyone actually have a magical night? No! They all were either too messed up or not messed up enough, they either grinded on each other for three hours or they wish they had, and then they all went home alone. Seriously!”
Mitch could only smile at Kendra’s rant. She was at her best when she was like this. She could change your view of the world in a second. “Yeah,” he said. “You’re for sure right.”
“I know I am!”
“You’ve never even been to prom though,” Mitch said. “How are you so sure about all this stuff?”
“Because I’ve been to high school, man,” Kendra said. “And so have you. And I’ve been to other dances, and they were all equally disappointing. The only difference is that by the time senior prom rolls around, you basically know everybody there, and chances are you don’t really like most of them.” Kendra didn’t have a ton of friends, but she didn’t seem to mind. She liked observing people from a distance just fine.
About half a mile ahead of them, Mitch could see a car pulled over on the shoulder of the four-lane highway. As the Mustang sped towards it, Mitch studied the scene: a desperate-looking middle-aged guy stood in front of his plain-looking sedan that was belching huge amounts of steam out of the hood.
“Jeez,” Kendra said, looking at the guy and his pathetic situation. “That looks awful, to be alone out here with your car completely giving up on you. I hope he has cell service.”
She was right, it did look awful. Though they were still on the interstate, there weren’t any major towns around. The last road sign Mitch remembered seeing was for a town called Levan, population 854.
“This looks like as good a joint as any,” Kendra said, pulling into the parking lot of Lauren’s Famous Roadside BBQ Pit. “Yeah?”
“Totally,” Mitch said. “I’m starving.”
Kendra rolled into a space and put the car in park. Before turning off the ignition, she checked the all-important dial on the control panel. “Remind me to get gas before we leave town,” she said.
“Aye aye, captain,” said Mitch.
The restaurant was exactly what Kendra had hoped it’d be: a dimly lit, hazy diner with worn red vinyl booths. A few lone men and one couple sat scattered around the huge dining room.
“Hey there, kids,” said a cheerful middle-aged hostess coming up to them. “You old enough to be in here?”
Kendra’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh,” she said awkwardly. “Is there . . . do we have to . . . ID?”
The woman guffawed. “I’m kiddin’, I’m kiddin’! Everybody’s welcome here,” she said, grabbing some menus. Then suddenly she shot both Mitch and Kendra a searing glare. “Unless you’re vegetarians.”
Mitch and Kendra fell silent again, too stunned to talk. Then the woman threw back her head and cackled again, louder than before. “Y’all gotta loosen up! Let’s get some ribs in you, then you’ll laugh at my jokes.”
Mitch and Kendra sat in a booth near the window. Kendra was grateful for the opportunity to look out on the parking lot and keep track of the car. It was nicer than anything else out in the lot—by a mile—and who knew what kind of people lurked out there.
As she and Mitch looked over the menus—loosely bound yellowed pages dotted with “Lauren’s Special Secret Homemade Finger-Lickin’ Cattle Sauce”—Kendra told herself to relax. She had focused on calming Mitch down in the car, but now that she was able to be honest with herself, Kendra realized she was sort of anxious, too.
Though her dad was certain—“Cross my heart, hope to die—me, not you,” as he said—the car was ready to take on a trip like this, Kendra would only be convinced once they got it all the way back to Salt Lake. It was handling fine, and the engine was motoring as fast as she wanted it to be, but with every uphill climb—and every time the engine temperature gauge crept up another notch—she got a tiny anxious tingle at the base of her spine.
The trip would come to a screeching halt if the car broke down—as would her summer, as would her parents’ faith in her.
But before she could ruminate any further, their waiter—a tall muscle-bound blond guy not much older than Kendra and Mitch—appeared beside the table. “Know what you want?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” Mitch said. “Just mac and cheese for me, please.”
The waiter nodded his head. “You got it, bud.” He turned toward Kendra.
“And what’s your name?” Kendra asked, turning on the charm. She never waited around to be flirted with, she was always happy to lead the charge.
“Oh boy,” Mitch muttered under his breath.
“Laurence,” the waiter said happily, his smile revealing gleaming white teeth.
Kendra laughed. “No, it’s not.”
He stared back, his smile fading in confusion. “Yes . . . yes it is?” He pointed to his nametag where, indeed, it said Laurence.
“Isn’t this place called Lauren’s?” Kendra asked, trying to keep the charm flowing.
“Yeah! That’s my momma.”
“Ah,” Kendra said. “Doesn’t that get, like, really confusing?”
The waiter shrugged, but said nothing.
“Probably would have gone with Lorenzo,” Kendra muttered, smirking.
Mitch cleared his throat. “Kendra.”
She looked up at Laurence, who was waiting patiently for her order. “What do you recommend?” Kendra asked pleasantly.
Laurence was all too happy to answer this question, flashing that Hollywood smile again. His upper arms stretched the fabric of his starchy white sleeves, and every so often his pale blue eyes met Kendra’s as he listed off his favorite items on the menu. Laurence was talking, but Kendra wasn’t listening; she was fantasizing about this Viking in front of her. Then suddenly, Laurence stopped talking.
“Uh . . . ” Kendra said, caught off guard. “I’ll have that.”
Laurence stared at her, confused. “Which one? The rib tips or the Ultimate Pork Sandwich?”
“Oh,” Kendra said. “Let’s try that sandwich.” Whatever it was, it sounded challenging. And guys respect a warrior, Kendra thought.
Laurence marked it down on his notepad, pivoted, and walked away. Kendra gazed after him, until Mitch snapped his fingers in her face, chuckling. “Jeez, keep it in your pants, Romeo!” he whispered sharply.
Kendra groaned. “He’s so cute, I couldn’t help it. I’m on vacation, let a girl have a little fun.”
When Laurence came back with two glasses of water, Kendra tried to keep the conversation flowing. “So, your mom doesn’t come into work much anymore?”
Laurence’s expression darkened. “Well, she’s passed on now, and so my aunt is the majority owner, and in a little while it’ll be mine, I guess.”
Kendra frowned. “I’m sorry about your mom,” she said. “I can’t imagine.”
Laurence nodded bashfully. “Yeah, thanks.”
“But it’s cool about this place,” Kendra said. “I mean, you get to eat delicious food all the time, for free.” Now that she was trying to hook Laurence with every word, Kendra reprimanded herself constantly. What if he doesn’t like barbecue? Dumb idiot!
“Yeah, you’re right,” he said, though some sadness had crept into his voice. “Anyway, y’all from around here, or what?”
“Salt Lake,” Mitch said. “Not far, but . . . ”
“Different world over there,” Laurence said. “Never been up that way. I keep meaning to, but you know how it goes.”
“We’re on our way to Vegas, actually,” Kendra said.
“Vegas?” Laurence asked, obviously confused. “Aren’t y’all Mormon? Isn’t that against y’all’s way of life?”
Mitch laughed. “No, we’re not. But even if we were, I think we could still go to Vegas. Right?”
Kendra shrugged. She knew next to nothing about Mormonism. Even though a fair amount of kids at East High were Mormon, and she passed by the Mormon Temple most days, it hadn’t ever been a part of her life, or Mitch’s.
“Are y’all twenty-one?” Laurence asked. “I’m not, and you don’t look much older than me.”
“No, we just graduated high school,” Kendra said. Then, too quickly, she added, “But we’re eighteen!” What?! Kendra wanted to slap herself. You think that’s what he wants to hear? Talking about how you’re a barely legal adult? Get it together!
“Cool,” Laurence said, blushing a little.
Mitch swooped in, trying to rescue the conversation for all of their sakes. “We’re just trying to cut loose a little. We graduated, we’re out of there, we’re both headed to the U in the fall, but we want to live a little. You know?”
Even Kendra could recognize this was not the right thing to say. From what Laurence already said, it was clear that even if he knew the feeling, he definitely didn’t have the money or time to act on it.
Laurence paused, unsure of what to say. “Well, that’s cool,” he managed. “This restaurant’s a pretty big job. My momma didn’t take a vacation for thirty years, and I think my aunt is gonna do the same thing, maybe even longer.”
“Well, let me talk to her, maybe I can convince her to let you come with us,” Kendra said. As soon as the words left her mouth, Mitch gave her a swift kick in the shin under the table. Kendra winced, but smiled up at Laurence as if nothing was wrong.
Laurence shook his head a little, looking down at his feet. “Maybe another time,” he said. “I’ll go check on your food.”
The sandwich that Kendra had ordered was more of a challenge than she could have possibly imagined. A hefty brioche bun was chock-full of chopped barbecue pork, layered with jalapenos and multiple strips of thick-cut bacon—and everything was drenched with barbecue sauce and melted American cheese. Laurence put the plate down in front of her and looked directly into Kendra’s eyes. “Good luck.”
As he walked away, Kendra turned excitedly to Mitch. “Oh, he’s so into me.” Kendra picked up the sandwich—or tried, desperately grasping onto it as the sodden bread sagged. “This is for you, baby,” she said, practically throwing her face straight into it.
Mitch smiled, daintily eating his mac and cheese. “Adam Green doesn’t know what he’s missing.”
Forty-five minutes later, Mitch was behind the wheel of the Mustang, angling slowly towards the exit of the gas station. Luckily he had remembered Kendra’s directive to get gas before hitting the road again, since she was distracted by other thoughts.
As he made the turn out of the parking lot, Mitch glanced over at Kendra, who had leaned the passenger seat as far backward as possible, and was stretched out like a patient in a sickbed. She groaned, clutching her stomach. “Why didn’t you stop me?” she bellowed. “I feel like I ate an entire slaughterhouse.”
Mitch smiled. “But at least Laurence will love you for it. Think about it this way, this’ll just be a fun story to tell your three adorable children while they’re bouncing on your knees in your million-dollar mansion out here in the desert. ‘Mommy won me over by shoving three whole pigs into her face. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen anyone do. I knew right then and there she was the love of my life.’”
“Ugh, shut up!” Kendra whined.
“You did leave him your number, right?” Mitch asked.
Kendra whipped her eyes open wide at Mitch. “Of course I did! God, you actually think I have zero game.”
“We can come right back here on the way home,” Mitch said. “You’ll just have to order a salad next time.” Mitch leaned forward in his seat as they began merging back onto Interstate 15, checking for other cars. Luckily, traffic was light.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m never eating again,” Kendra moaned. “Unless Laurence liked what he saw, and he wants me to eat that horrible sandwich every day for the rest of my life. I’d bathe in barbecue sauce for him. But for now, I’m going to sleep.” With that, Kendra pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her eyes and rolled into the fetal position.
Mitch smiled over at her, thankful that he had chosen to go on this adventure with this friend. It was still daunting, but at least they were here together. No matter what ended up happening, they’d have a lifetime of memories to show for it. Memories and stories just like his parents had. Stories of a kid finally lighting out into the world, taking it by the horns, staking his place in it as an adult.
The Mustang hurtled forward into the sunbaked desert, towards more uphill climbs and breathtaking vistas, towards less and less civilization.
Lost in thought, Mitch didn’t notice the needle on the gas meter was only halfway toward full.