Ask to see the sights

You are getting your second wind, now that you are off the plane and have had a chance to move around. It would be nice to get acquainted with your new surroundings, so you take Mrs. Lutz up on her offer to show you some of the local sights.

She is just about to point out a building of some historic significance, when Candy speaks up from the back seat. “Mom, as long as we aren’t going straight home, a couple of friends really wanted me to go out with them, and they wanted a chance to get to meet Tomika, too.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” says Mom Lutz. “Well, you girls would probably have a lot more fun with people your own age, rather than hanging out with an old lady all day, anyway. Does that sound fine to you, dear?”

You indicate your willingness, even as you try to remember what it was, exactly, that you overheard Candy talking about while you were in the bathroom. Whomever she was talking to did seem rather interested in introducing you to some sort of American pastime.

After a quick consultation on her phone, Candy makes arrangements with her friends to meet up. Fortunately, they are not far away, and it isn’t long before you and Candy are getting out of the car at a nearby park.

“You girls have fun, but don’t be out too late,” says Mrs. Lutz. “Tomika will need to get rested up.” She looks at you and says, “I’ll go ahead and take your things to your room and help get you unpacked so you don’t have to worry about that when you get home.” She blows a kiss to both of you and drives off, leaving you and Candy to wait for her friends.

“Jeff and Ryan will be here in any minute,” says Candy, after the car pulls away.

“Jeff and Ryan?” you ask. “Your friends are both boys?” You simply assumed the friends would be girls, but the fact that you and Candy are both girls is probably enough to overcome any kind of impropriety related to being out, unsupervised, with an unrelated male.

“Well, technically, they are men,” says Candy, with a sparkle in her eyes. “They’re both 20, but every man is basically a boy at some level. You’ll like them.”

“They have been your friends for a long time?”

“Oh, yes.... We’ve been doing all sorts of things together since we were all in our early teens....” Her voice drops off, and her eyes get a dreamy, far-away look. As a vehicle pulls up, she comes back to the present and says, “Here they are now.”

The vehicle is an old van that looks like it was rescued from a junk yard. It pulls up with a roar and a puff of black smoke. You see a young man with thick, brown hair in the drivers seat. You can tell here is someone in the second row of seats, but it is impossible to make out any details because of the thick layer of dust that covers the window of the side door.

Candy leads you to the van. As you approach, the side door opens, and you get a better look at the passenger. He has blonde hair — something you find fascinating, since you come from a country where that is an **** rarity.

Candy introduces you to the driver, Jeff, and his passenger, Ryan. She greets each of the boys with a familiar hug and a swift kiss on the lips. You prefer a polite handshake.

Candy looks at you and says, “You’ve been riding around all day, so you get to choose; do you prefer the front seat or the back?”