It must have been a hundred degrees when we arrived in Florida. I took off my shirt and used it as a towel to wipe the sweat off my face. How do Floridians live in this heat? How will I live in this heat? Those postcards I saw of people in swimsuits in Daytona Beach must be real because it's too hot to wear regular clothes. “As soon as we stop, I'm going to cut these pants off and make them into shorts,” Big Al says. LeAnn smiled warmly at Big Al and flirted with a well-placed hand on his shoulder. “Honey, let me fix them for you. I know how to make Bermuda shorts out of them.” Marisa rolled her eyes. I kicked her leg and shook my finger when she gave me a look like, “ What did I do? I didn't want Marisa to act like a jealous stepsister again. As Marisa and I sat in the back seat, I looked at the directions. My finger followed the road that led us south and stopped in Daytona Beach. stretched out just next to my fingernail to see what was around us. We finally arrived at Daytona Beach Shores, located on a barrier island not far from the Atlantic. To the west, the other side of the island lies. found on the Halifax River Lagoon, part of the Intracoastal Waterway. The area seemed fairly undemanding, much less intimidating than Detroit, and it was a nice change to see the blue sky and taste the humid air. . I was looking forward to paying special attention to local seafood: no more frozen fish for me. As we continued on our way, I realized that this was truly the first time in months that I had been without any sort of tension. The feeling came over me in the middle of a paper...that's what you do when someone farts. His words came to us at a steady pace that sounded like a prepared speech. Marisa shook her head and Big Al crossed his arms. “When I'm not working in real estate, I'm working on my car or running on the beach. Boy, those were the days. » He talked a lot about racing. For hours, it seems. Yes, the first few hours weren't that bad. I stopped noticing the stench in the air despite the thick musk Buster was wearing. Big Al's body rolled out easily. He looked like a tourist who just wanted to get out of the small room and go to the attractions. We couldn't be bothered to listen anymore. LeAnn and Big Al went out to take a break. I looked at my watch. What mattered was the phone call. That mattered and nothing else. Eventually Buster got Mr. Bugiardini online and the four of us were able to stop moving. I no longer had any nails to bite.