Chapter 10 Conversations At the Cabin #2
Nate nodded, then laid a hand on Colin’s arm. “But, just so you know, I’m available if you ever need to talk, but don’t want to um… throw Josh into overthink mode.”
Colin wrapped an arm around Nate’s neck and pulled him close enough to kiss the top of his head. “Thanks, buddy. I may take you up on that.”
“I mean, I know Josh will jump up and down and scream: ‘I’m the guy!’ but sometimes talking stuff over with David opens up a can of worms that I’d rather leave sealed.” He squeezed Colin’s arm. “Just sayin’. I’m here for you.”
“I know that, Nate,” Colin murmured. “And it means more than you could know.”
The following day, with the karaoke machine back on the shelf, the four friends climbed onto their mountain bikes and spent the morning challenging each other as they biked through the rolling hills surrounding David’s cabin.
Colin, as always, set a furious pace but slowed and waited when he saw that his companions were winded and falling behind.
When they finally reached him, everyone grabbed their water bottles and collapsed onto nearby logs, rocks, or leaf-covered ground.
David took a long swallow, then pointed toward a ridge just above where they sat. “I’ve been up there, and the view is spectacular. If you guys aren’t too winded from this guy’s”—he paused to give Colin a gentle punch—“Tour de France tryout, we might want to hike up there and take a look.”
Joshua dipped into his backpack and handed each of them a protein bar. “Here you go. This might refuel us enough to get us to the ridge.”
“I needed this,” Colin said, accepting a protein bar from Joshua. “I needed to wear myself out physically.”
“Instead of wearing yourself out emotionally?” Joshua suggested, then snickered as Colin gave his arm a fake punch.
“Put your damned shingle away, Doctor Abrams!”
“Done!” Joshua replied with a cheeky grin. “And it’s Campbell-Abrams!”
“Well, you don’t have to be a shrink to know that vigorous exercise releases endorphins,” David commented.
Nate barked a sarcastic laugh. “And god knows this hyperactive Irishman has wrung enough endorphins out of us to turn us into overcaffeinated golden retrievers.”
As the group collapsed in laughter, Colin tossed his wrapper at Nate’s head. “That’s Irish setter in my case, Natey-baby. Irish setter!”
They finished their water and clambered up the hill to the ridge just above.
As David had promised, the view offered a magnificent panorama of the Blue Ridge Mountains: rolling waves of blue and green stretching into the distance, their soft silhouettes layered like brushstrokes against the hazy afternoon sky.
Sunlight streamed through drifting clouds, scattering gold across the treetops, and a breeze stirred the leaves with a gentle rustle as if the mountains themselves were whispering.
Below, a patchwork of forested hills dipped into hidden valleys, and far off, a ribbon of distant river shimmered in the light.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then Colin exhaled slowly, his eyes tracking the line where mountain met sky. “I forget sometimes,” he murmured, “how big the world is… and how small the dark things feel when you’re standing in a place like this.”
Joshua didn’t answer but reached over and slipped his hand into Colin’s.
“Is that our cabin?” Nate exclaimed, pointing.
“It is,” David said, hugging him from behind. “You can just glimpse a corner of the lake to the left.”
“Wow,” Joshua murmured, his voice awestruck. “We biked a long way.”
Colin consulted his watch. “About seven miles, give or take.”
“Not counting altitude,” David commented.
“Going back will be easier,” Colin promised them as he began his downhill scramble to where their mountain bikes waited.
That evening, they feasted on Joshua’s delicious chicken taco bowls, combining his tangy Mexican-inspired chicken mixture with the many nutritious toppings he provided.
“Oh my god, Josh, did you make this guacamole yourself?” Nate crooned as he spooned the mixture into his bowl.
“He made the salsa himself, too,” Colin bragged. He smiled and shivered in remembered delight. “I love Mexico night at our house.”
“Well, the next time it’s Mexico night, we want an invitation,” David declared, spooning a helping of refried beans into his bowl.
Joshua nodded toward David’s dinner. “Made those by hand, too.”
“The beans?” David asked, and when Joshua nodded, David poked Colin’s shoulder. “Definitely want an invite to your next Mexico night!”
“You got it, buddy.”
After dinner, they sat on the wide, comfortable porch, nursing cans of Murphy’s Irish Stout and talking quietly about their day.
Colin sat at the end of the glider with Joshua’s head in his lap.
He was turned toward David, who lounged in a lawn chair next to him.
Nate was seated cross-legged on the floor, sorting two merged decks of cards into two usable decks while Joshua watched, offering suggestions whenever Nate missed.
“That one goes in the mountain pile,” Joshua said, nodding toward the small stack of cards near Nate’s knee.
Colin glanced down at him, his expression curious, then turned back to David.
“I know I’ve said this before, but I hope you know how much it means to me—to us— to be able to come up here, Davy.
This place,” he glanced around, his arm sweeping wide to indicate their surroundings, “it just means so much. It’s the exact opposite of everything we deal with on a daily basis, and at times, that stuff can feel overwhelming. ”
David nodded. “It is overwhelming, Colin. It’s not fantasy on your part.
It’s not fiction. You and Joshua, much more so than Nate and I, deal with some of the most harrowing aspects of human behavior.
Stuff that would leave even the most hardened among us quaking with symptoms of PTSD.
” He leaned toward Colin and grasped his arm.
“Do you get that, Colin? Do you get that you and Joshua are standing on the front lines of human suffering every damn day? The experiences you’re forced to deal with in your work are the equivalent of anything a combat Marine would see and experience.
And you both need to take care of yourselves accordingly! ”
Colin stared at his friend. “I—I honestly never thought of it that way, Davy. I mean, I did when I was a cop, but...”
David shook his head, his hand still grasping Colin’s arm. “Being a prosecutor is no different.”
“He’s right, you know,” Joshua commented. He lifted himself from Colin’s lap and then leaned against him.
“And the same goes for you,” David said, stabbing his index finger at Joshua. “You fret constantly about him, but you also spend every day hip deep in that ugly, contaminated water!”
Joshua nodded, brows furrowed in thought. “I don’t think my career world leans as much toward the violent and deadly as his does, but I take your point.”
David scoffed out a soft laugh. “Apples and oranges.” He leaned closer to his friends.
“My point is”—he indicated the cabin and the surrounding woods with a wave of his hand—“if this helps, then you need to be here a lot more often than you are.” He poked Colin’s arm with a stiff index finger. “You haven’t been up here for months!”
Colin nodded, his gaze fixed on the porch floor. “Sometimes it’s hard to—”
“Get away?” David interrupted, eyebrows lifted.
Colin met his friend’s eyes. He didn’t answer—but he didn’t need to.
David let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, eyes still on them.
“It’s your choice. But don’t forget that it is a choice.
I know both your bosses. And if you told them your mental, emotional, and physical health depended on a weekend in the woods now and then, they’d throw you out the goddamn door just to get you here. ”
Colin and Joshua exchanged a sheepish glance.
David caught it and nodded, unimpressed. “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought.” He jabbed a finger at them. “The only problem you two have is getting it through your thick, egomaniacal heads that the world will keep spinning just fine even if you’re not there to give it a nudge.”
Nate burst into laughter and leaped up to hug and kiss his husband, then turned to Colin and Joshua. “I’ve never heard a fundamental truth expressed more succinctly.” He pointed at David. “My husband is brilliant!”
“Well, we all know that,” Colin said, then bent towards Nate. “But… we’re egomaniacal?” he asked, feigning shocked surprise.
Joshua snorted out a laugh.
“Well,” Nate said, considering. “You a little more than Josh, but you both seem to think that your presence is absolutely required for anything on earth to function as it should.” He patted Colin’s head. “And it’s not!”
“You have your own set of keys,” David told them. “You have your own room. It doesn’t matter if we’re here or not; you know you’re welcome.” He looked from one of them to the other. “So exactly what is your fucking problem?”
Colin nodded, then leaned in and gave David a warm hug. “Thanks, brother. I just hope you don’t get sick of us.”
“Well, I’m glad that’s settled,” Nate said, getting to his feet, his sorted decks of cards tight in his hands. “So… who’s up for euchre?”