Lydia stayed glued to the passenger side window during the first part of the trip, gobbling up the passing scenery as she recalled to Corbin the last time she had been so far from home; which had been on a trip with Gale to visit an old friend a couple of years back. She assured him though that Torrell would be the new benchmark for how far she'd ever been from the manor.

    Corbin tried to temper her excitement about Torrell, cautioning that it was just a dreary little factory town but she curtailed his attempt with a smiling assurance that it was the trip, not the destination, which fueled her eagerness. He persisted no more and decided that as long as she was happy, he was too.

    Corbin was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the miles and hours rolled away with Lydia along side him. They became so involved in one another with conversation that at times he actually lost his mental footing on their route. Shortly after stopping for a bite to eat, a little past the halfway mark when there was still around four hours to go, the lull of the unchanging highway coaxed Lydia into a series of sleepy yawns that her early morning and taxing excitement attested to. Corbin reached behind him to the backseat and pulled out a pillow which he'd brought along for her, just in case. 

    She took the pillow gratefully, with tiredness in her brown eyes, then she let her seat back as far as it would go. Twisting to get comfortably on her side under the seatbelt, she snuggled her head into the pillow, then closed her eyes and let the steady moan of Corbin's car take her away into a peaceful sleep. Corbin smiled at his little sister, then adjusted the radio volume so that he didn't have to struggle to hear it, but kept it low enough so that it wouldn't disturb Lydia's rest. As he settled into the remaining hours of the drive, he let his thoughts roam free.

    Lydia awoke a few miles from Torrell, stretching out in the seat wearily. As she raised her seat up and took a look around at the outside world which was growing dark under nightfall, Corbin informed her that they were almost there. The two-lane road they were traveling was flanked by grassy shoulders that led to rows of pine trees, and little else. She tossed the pillow in the backseat and rubbed her waking eyes.

    Their first stop came at the edge of Torrell where an old, single-level hotel beckoned to any and all passing travelers, since it was the only one around. Corbin turned in and drove the car under the canopy that extended from the front office. He and Lydia got out of the car and took a few awkward steps to loosen up from the tight confines of the coupe. Together they went in to the front desk and checked in for one night, entertaining the bored hotel clerk briefly with who they were and where they'd traveled from. With the key to Room Twelve in hand they departed and took the car down the successive row of rooms until theirs appeared near the end of the aged building. Only three other cars  were parked outside rooms, indicating other guests. Corbin was surprised at that many.

    Corbin threw Lydia the room key after parking the car. As he gathered their luggage from the trunk she entered the quaint little room, inspecting it thoroughly after flipping a switch that brought a standing lamp to life in the near corner of the room. The room's two single beds were separated by an end table between them that supported a small lamp and a clock-radio. There was ample walking space all around the beds and a single chest of drawers stood at the foot of the bed farthermost from the door. On top of it was an old, tube-style television with a remote resting near. The far end of the room revealed a mirror over a sink and next to them was the door to the bathroom.

    Such a room would be considered Spartan by most, but it was clean and ready to serve its purpose. Corbin claimed the bed closest to the door with his bag, then went past Lydia and dropped her suitcase on the far bed. He drew the curtains closed over the lone window next to the door and then turned on the fancoil under the window to warm the chilled air that had the room in it's grip.

    Lydia plopped down on her bed and laid down with her feet hanging off the end as she tested the bed's softness by making snow angels on top of the covers. Corbin called Gale on his cell phone to let her know of their safe arrival and to also give her the hotel information just in case of any unforeseen necessity. Once all  the protocol of arriving in Torrell was finished Corbin suggested dinner at the local café. Lydia agreed.

    After a hearty sampling of the local cuisine Corbin gave Lydia a moonlit tour of Torrell. Everything from his old school and apartment to the factory he worked at, even a passing look at the Lynch mansion where he lived until graduating high school. There was even a solemn drive-by of the spooky old warehouse where he had been held captive by Jarell until Gideon and Shade came to his rescue at the urge of Lydia, whose gift had warned them of his plight; but after that the sleepy little town's lack of entertainment sent them back to the quiet old hotel.

    Their room had been comfortably warmed by the dutiful fancoil in their absence so Corbin turned it down a notch as Lydia went to sit on her bed. He sat across from her on his bed, his shoulders slumped as he blew his falling bangs away with a bored breath. Lydia puckered her lips then drew them back as an idea went through her mind, one that had been floating around her thoughts ever since Corbin agreed to be a chaperone at her dance.

    "Corbin?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Would you...," she paused and began to shyly bounce her heels against the floor. "Would you dance with me?"

    Corbin straightened his posture at her request. "Dance? Like, here...now?"

    "Yeah, you see...the dance is next Saturday, and...well I've never danced with a boy before," she admitted, bowing  her head bashfully but keeping her hopeful eyes on Corbin.

    Corbin thought to himself for a moment, then said,"Well, all I really know how to do is slow dance."

    "That's okay," she affirmed in a smiling, gleeful burst; crushing any further hesitation on Corbin's behalf. 

    Corbin smiled at his little sister's enthusiasm. "Okay then, but...," he looked around at the crowded little room,"...we'll have to make some room in here."

    Corbin stood and pushed Lydia's bed, with her on it, over against the far wall. Then he turned and did the same to his, opening up an intimate space between that was suitable for the sway of slow dancing. As Lydia watched, delighted about what was about to take place, Corbin went to the clock-radio and searched it's channels for the right kind of music. After finding something suitable he turned up the volume until the radio's diminutive speaker began to crackle, so he backed it off just a hair.

    Walking over to Lydia he bowed in a courtly fashion with one hand behind his back as he rolled his other hand out to her. "Young miss, may I have this dance?"

    Lydia hopped up from the bed with a grin, curtsied while trying to hold a straight face, then answered,"Certainly."

    She took Corbin's hand and he stepped close to her, placing his hands around her small waist as she clasped hers behind his neck. Staring into each other from a distance they were both comfortably familiar with they caught the rhythm of the music and began to sway softly, like a gentle breeze. They drifted seamlessly together in a few close circles between the beds with nothing but the sound of the music around them, and fleeting half smiles between them.

    As the next song started, Corbin gazed down into Lydia's lively teenage eyes with a fondness that was immeasurable. "So, is there someone in particular you have your sights set on for the dance, some boy I should be wary of?" he teasingly inquired.

    Lydia looked down, letting her long black hair fall around her face to hide a coy smile as they continued to dance, but Corbin kept an expecting look fixed on her with his brow raised playfully. She finally looked back at him, struggling to keep her face composed under his amusing glare after she lightly shook her head to send her hair back to it's place.

    "Well, if you must know...," she teased back, cocking her head in a humorously snooty manner.

    "I must." he pursued without flinching.

    "His name is Cory Eriksson," she proudly revealed.

    "Hmm...sounds like a trouble-maker to me," he taunted further.

    "No he's not!" she defended, giggling afterwards.

    "Okay, okay. I'll give him a chance, for your sake," he consented, enjoying her laughter. "But one wrong move and he's gettin' tossed," he joked.

    She laughed again. "Oh Corbin, what am I going to do with you?"

    "Hey, you're my kid sister. I gotta look out for you, always," he said in his defense, his voice shifting to a more sincere tone.

    She didn't say a word, didn't have to. The adoring radiance of her features as she looked up at him said it all. She turned her head and rested it lovingly against his chest. They kept dancing.