I ask Gee to sit in the back and he gladly obliges. Lottie sits next to me and takes control of the music. We've decided to ask Frank to come along too, so there's an even number of people. There won't be any third wheels on my watch. We drive to the airport, where he meets us with Gerard's black pick-up truck. The three of us grab our bags and throw 'em in the bed of the truck, then climb in. I remain the driver, as always, they all know that I won't let any of them drive.
Lottie and Frank are assigned to the backseat for now and instantly hit it off. I watch them in the rear view mirror, laughing and smiling. He doesn't kn ow that she's dying, and I don't know whether or not I want to tell him. It would completely change the way he looks at her, he'd do everything, say everything differently when she's around and I don't think that I could do that to her, either of them for that matter. I knew he'd be the one to call; we very easily could have invited Ray, Mikey or Bob, but Frank always seemed like he'd work well with Lottie. They had met before and gotten along then too.
I gesture for Gerard to lean in and I whisper in his ear, "I smell a couple brewing back there." He grins and fist-bumps me,"Yesss. They will be adorable together." He whispers back.
I reserve a room at a hotel a state away while we take a stop for gas and bathroom breaks. Gee and Frank walk out of the building with arms full of Mountain Dew and Doritos for the next few hours of driving, pile into the truck and both shout, "ROADTRIP!!!"

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The sun slowly makes its way down and out of the sky. We've made our way out of Ohio, past Kentucky and into Tennessee. Lottie and Frank are both asleep, their heads resting on one another. Gerard is singing softly along to The Killers as it plays and his beautiful voice is what keeps me awake in the final stretch to the hotel where we'll spend the next few nights. Both of our moms called a little bit ago. They're upset that we left without telling them or asking them, but they understand our need for a change in scenery, our thirst for adventure, spontaneity.
Gerard takes a hold of my sings directly to me now, changing the song, "Can you read my mind? Can you read my mind?" So, i start to sing with him and I swear as we pull into the hotel's parking lot, he's smiling at me, ear to ear, a window into pure joy.

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