Chapter 13 #2
“Aye-aye, Captain!” Eva said with a salute before reaching up for her bag. Remy handed her the bright pink one with butterflies and unicorns, while Addy got a green one with a weeping willow on the front and pretty artwork of a stream.
“See you inside,” Remy said as they ran off.
And then it was our turn. He led us into the cabin and turned on the lights, illuminating a slightly dusty but otherwise clean cabin that was essentially a two-bedroom apartment, just rustic.
“Wow, this is the best camping ever!” Max said, running to one of the rooms, flicking on the light, and then launching himself onto the bed. I was a bit worried about him running himself ragged too soon, but I would hold off on policing his fun just yet.
“This is amazing,” I said, looking at the kitchenette, the modest sitting area with a couch and television hung on the wall, and the bathroom. “Are all the cabins like this?”
“Some are nicer than others, some are newer than others, but this is kind of the average,” Remy said. “Where would you like me to put your things?”
“I’ll take my bag in here, please,” Max called from where he was still sprawled on the bed.
“That fancy rolling suitcase can go in the other room, then,” I said, wondering if I was caught up in an extremely convincing hallucination. “Mine is the battered one with unknown stains from before I thrifted it, just in case you forgot.”
Thankfully, Remy laughed at my joke, because I wasn’t entirely sure it was in the right spirit.
Most of the rich people I met in my life were either disastrously out of touch, jerkwads, or plain old oblivious, but Remy was nothing like that.
The day we met, I’d assumed he was at least middle class because he didn’t even blink at the exorbitant price of the food at the ice rink, but now, with the photos from the tour that had to be over a hundred dollars as well as his family lands, I was suddenly beginning to realize that the handsome man I had forged a friendship with was rich-rich.
Not mega yachts and Cayman Islands wealthy, but he definitely didn’t have to worry about bills and likely had a sizeable inheritance.
I didn’t know how to feel about that.
Did he think I was a loser? Did he think I was a failure who couldn’t manage myself?
It didn’t seem that way, but it was really hard for me to tell.
I’d spent the first sixteen years of my life in destitute poverty only to run away and end up in regular poverty as a single mother with a newborn child.
It was definitely weird, though, because Remy didn’t really fit my idea of how a rich person was supposed to act. Maybe I knew a bit less about the world than I thought I did.
Another reason not to get carried away with those silly feelings. We were from different worlds, and although the holidays allowed us a brief window to visit each other in the name of Christmas cheer, soon that window would close and we’d likely never see each other again.
“Haha, yeah, I barely use this thing,” Remy said, nodding at the rolling suitcase.
I instantly felt guilty again about thinking anything negative about him. He’d been nothing but exceedingly kind to me, so I had no reason to assume ill intent. I guessed it was just the mild reminder of my past putting me on edge.
Or maybe it was just that I was used to not relying on anyone but myself, so Remy had already broken so many of my personal rules.
“I keep telling myself that the girls and I should go on a vacation, but I don’t know, it always seems like time gets away from me. The last three years have been a complete blur with everything that’s happened.”
“Maybe this summer the three of you can go someplace special?” I said, putting my hand on his arm.
I’d meant to comfort him, but the contact impacted me far more than I thought it would.
His warmth was almost like a welcoming fire, and a flush spreading down my face into my neck.
“I’m sure you’ve more than earned a vacation. ”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” he said with a chuckle.
“I don’t even know where we’d go. Hawaii, maybe?
I’ve heard a lot of things about the culture there, and I’ve always wanted to go learn about the Polynesian people.
Or maybe an Alaskan cruise? I don’t know.
I guess I really haven’t thought about it. ”
“Knock-knock!”
I jumped at the completely foreign voice and looked at the open door of our cabin. An absolutely beautiful woman stood there.
She was taller than me—not a surprise—and willowy, with a frame that spoke of either running or swimming or perhaps even dancing.
Her hair was a series of long, intricate braids, half of them pulled up into a bun on top of her head and the rest cascading around her sculpted shoulders.
Her eyes were green, but not the intense jade like Remy’s.
They were dark, almost stormy with golden flecks.
Honestly, they looked a lot like Addy’s.
“There you are, bruh! Ya certainly took your sweet time getting up here, didn’t ya?”
“Hey there, Ana,” Remy said, looking a bit chagrined, and I was startled by the sudden thought that she could possibly be his girlfriend.
Neither Remy nor I had ever mentioned if we were single or not, because why would we? We were friends and nothing more. But even as I told myself that for possibly the umpteenth time, I couldn’t help the disappointment twisting in my gut.
“We ran into some traffic on the bridge. You know how it be sometimes.”
Remy’s slight accent had grown thicker. It was just enough to interrupt my possible mental spiral that I was thirsting over a taken man, and I was grateful for the reprieve.
“Ugh. Sure do. And is this your friend I heard about?”
She practically darted around him to offer her long, elegant hand to me. When I took it, I was surprised that she was just as warm as Remy was.
“So lovely to meet you. I’m Ana, Remington’s sister-in-law. And I do apologize, but I don’t believe I ever caught your name.”
“Jeannie.” His sister-in-law? Wow, was I far off base. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
“Wow, you’re pretty!” Max said.
Ana’s gaze went past me to my son, and the smile that took over her face nearly blinded me.
“Why, thank you, young sir! And just who might you be?”
“I’m Max. She’s my mama.” He said that last part while pointing to me, and my ego inflated a bit because he sounded so damn proud. “Addy and Eva are my friends.”
“I bet they are! Well, if you be lookin’ for more friends, I’ve got three little kiddos of my own who are itching to meet you.”
“They know about me?”
“A bit, yeah. When my brother here mentioned that he was bringing guests, word got around that there’d be a cool young man who was big on books as well as ice skating.”
“Honestly, mostly the books,” Max admitted in a way that was so incredibly Max. “The ice skating is new.”
“Hey, if you’re not learning something new, you’re dying.”
Suddenly, that dazzling smile was turned on me. “Are you about to go on a tour of the place? It’s not the fanciest layout, but I like to think we got all the creature comforts you could possibly want.”
“Auntie Ana!” Eva and Addy barreled in through the door.
Without missing a beat, Ana knelt and put her arms around both girls, then stood up with the two of them at the same time like they weighed nothing. Man, was there something in the water around here that made everyone stupidly strong? Or was I just really weak?
“How are some of my favorite nieces doing? It’s been a right age since I last saw you. Did you run over here to come give me a big hug?”
“We like hugging you,” Eva said, and I knew just enough about her to pick up that was her avoiding having to answer the question. She was clever, in her own quiet little way.
“We are very glad to see you here,” Addy said. “But we actually came to see if Max could come play.”
“Oh, can I?” Max asked, not quite jumping up and down, but going up onto his toes and then rocking back down on his heels. “Please, Mama? Can I, can I?”
“I…” I started, not quite sure if I should agree or not. I wanted him to have fun, but I wanted to have all my ducks in a row first. And I didn’t exactly want him to run around unsupervised, even if he was with Remy’s two daughters who knew the place.
“Hey, I know that it’s a little unorthodox, considering we just met, Jeannie, but I was about to take my kids down to the playground since it’s been partially defrosted, so I don’t mind taking this young man along with the girls.
That way, you and Remy can do a quick walkaround to get familiar with the place.
He can bring you by when you’re ready to pick Max up. ”
In any other circumstance, that would have been a hard and immediate no.
No way was I going to leave my kid with someone I’d just met.
It didn’t matter if they were male, female or anything else, that was too high of a risk.
But she was Remy’s sister-in-law and was also taking along Addy and Eva, who had both proven to be very vocally protective of my son, so it seemed safe enough to make an exception.
“Max, would you be comfortable with that? Or do you wanna wait until I’m done unpacking?”
“I don’t mind going with Auntie Ana if Eva and Addy are going to. And you’ll catch up with us, right?”
“Yeah, but I might be a bit. Is that okay? Are you comfortable with that idea?” Just because I was all right with her babysitting didn’t mean my son was. He was in a completely new environment.
“Yeah, it’s all skibidi.”
I blinked at him, but Addy didn’t miss a beat. “You didn’t use that word right.”
“What? Yes, I did!”
“No, you didn’t!”
“Yes, I did!”
“You’re totally negative aura farming right now.”
“Am not!”
“Are too.”
“Am not!”
“Def are.”
“Well, you’ve got skibidi Ohio rizz!”
The three of us adults watched them, and I was reminded a bit of people in church speaking in tongues.