Chapter 3
HANNA MCAVOY
Hanna breathed in the crisp air tinged with the smell of soil and rotting leaves as the trio made their way from the processing building towards a patch of trees.
It was a smell she wanted to soak up as much as possible.
Fall was going to pass her by in Boston—nothing but grey days and rain.
Here in Maplewood, it clung to her skin and made her feel settled.
Maggie Miller, now Blake, had made out well in the divorce from Mr. Miller, securing her family’s property in an obviously ironclad prenup.
Good for her.
Hanna was acutely aware of Lily and Maya as she took in the red and gold trees that could make any sky romantic.
“This place is gorgeous, can’t lie,” Hanna heard the newcomer, Maya, say behind her. Hanna wasn’t sure what to think of Maya, but she had watched the impression she’d made on Lily, which had made her feel—unfairly, she knew—jealous. She pushed the feeling aside.
“Yeah it has always been beautiful, especially this time of year,” Hanna said over her shoulder. “Never been to the infamous treehouse before, though.”
“Infamous?” Maya questioned.
“Not infamous,” Hanna heard Lily say behind her. “And thanks Maya, well, this is your home too for…”
Hanna heard the question in Lily’s tone. Hanna was curious too.
“Fuck if I know,” Maya said, somewhat dismissively—but Hanna could tell it wasn’t directed at her audience. She added, “Sorry, it has been a lot. My parents’ divorce is final, my mom has packed up and is moving back here. Those are the knowns.”
“Been there,” Lily said, as Hanna said, “Sorry to hear.”
Maya sighed and then chuckled, as if she were trying to get the vibes back on track. “It’s okay. Well–it isn’t okay, but I’m glad my mom and dad are getting the fresh start they need.” After another pause she said, “Not that you two wanna hear this.”
Lily replied, “No skin off our backs, right Hanna? No judgement here, and besides, even if there were, you don’t know us and don’t owe us anything.” Lily shrugged, but it wasn’t dismissive. Hanna saw Maya’s shoulders relax a bit.
“Very true, kinda like telling a bartender all your problems?” Maya said.
“Exactly,” Lily hummed in agreement.
“Great, then I guess I can let it all hang out tonight,” Maya added, laughing.
Hanna slowed and looked at Maya. They all just happened to be together, home for the break, perhaps only together for that night. A little honesty wouldn’t hurt.
“For what it’s worth, my parents divorced too, and it wasn’t great. Dad just left. Haven’t seen him since,” Lily said.
Hanna didn’t know much about the divorce; no one in town did. Before she could ask more, Maya turned to her expectantly.
“My parents were high school sweethearts,” Hanna shared. She felt inexplicably guilty for not being able to commiserate, so she added, “I’m adopted though, so not all perfect.”
“Why would that make your family less perfect?” Maya asked. “It’s adoption, not domestic violence.”
Lily scoffed, “Her family is perfect, not a hair out of place.”
“Whatever,” Hanna replied, irked. She was miffed by the way Lily spoke as if everything she thought was fact. Lily didn’t know everything and didn’t even ask.
“Is that right?” Maya asked, as if reading her thoughts.
“I mean, sure, my parents are churchgoing, very even-keeled people. There isn’t any drama in our family—but still.
” Hanna wanted to choose her words carefully.
Her parents were somewhat picturesque, but they’d still had their struggles, namely when they wanted to start a family.
Those challenges had led to them adopting Hanna, but she carried their weight like a shroud.
Her Chinese heritage made that story visible, something the town often picked at in conversation, trying to understand.
A story that was both a reminder of the toll her parents had to pay, and the way she didn’t quite fit.
“But still,” Lily said, urging Hanna on.
“But still, I was an unplanned addition, you know?” Hanna said. “Not planned but the best addition in the end.”
Maya smiled sweetly in a way that Hanna thought held some understanding of what it was like to be so visibly different in a homogenous area.
The brief exchange warmed Hanna, and she leaned into that rare feeling of being seen without explanation.
She was one of the few Asian people in town, let alone her household, but she hadn’t grown up culturally so.
There was a disconnect in the way people treated her outside of Maplewood.
She’d had one friend in high school who was Latine and thought they’d forever be an outcast because of an obsession with 80s music and Star Wars.
But in college, they had learned that wasn’t the case, discovered how diverse and expansive their racial identity was, and told Hanna she just needed to find her tribe.
It was hard for her because there were so many layers she hadn’t yet explored.
She rarely felt like there were circles she fit in at all.
“Gonna need some cider, Lily,” Hanna said, as they continued to crunch through leaves.
“Almost there,” Lily replied and a silence fell between them. It wasn’t comfortable, but Hanna bet it was the type of silence that would be washed away by the liquid courage the Blake family hard cider could provide.
Hanna continued to survey the land around her, having never ventured this far onto the Blake’s property.
The land had been in the family for generations.
Plenty of time to perfect an apple cider recipe the town, including Hanna, was obsessed with.
Though Hanna wasn’t sure if it was the cider, or this feeling she got when she thought about the inside of Lily’s mouth tasting just as sweet.
That had been a revelation in high school that she hadn’t dared explore.
One, at the time she didn’t know how, and two, being into girls had been Lily’s thing.
In a small town that liked to think of itself as liberal, differences were exchanged as social currency.
You were allowed to have just one depending on what it was, how interesting it made you, how edgy.
You possibly could have two if you came from money, but being the adopted Chinese girl was already enough for Hanna.
Being into women would have turned her narrative from “survivor” to “outcast” quickly.
Still, there was something about the way Lily parted her lips when she was thinking.
Her pouty, almost-red lips against her pale skin, opening slightly like an invitation to something Hanna would always want to attend.
Light blonde hair sun-kissed by the summer, dark blue eyes lined with thick dark lashes, a disinterested stare that made her look effortlessly cool.
Like she didn’t care if Hanna took the invitation or not.
It made Hanna’s throat grow dry with nerves.
“Holy shit,” Maya whispered as they came to a stop. They were deep into a set of trees, not exactly the woods, as Hanna could still see the main house in the distance.
The main house, god.
The fall sun was beginning its descent for the night, and light poured through the trees, bathing Lily and Maya in golden light.
The result was striking; both women looked almost ethereal, and Hanna’s breath caught in her throat.
She had always known Lily was attractive; she’d thought about Lily countless nights in high school, even while she hooked up with her high school boyfriend.
But seeing Maya this way, she felt smacked in the face with just how breathtaking she was.
Maya’s eyes moved to Hanna’s and she melted.
“Yeah,” Hanna heard herself try to say back, hoping it had come out of her mouth clearly.
“It’s like something off of Pinterest,” Maya whispered to her, which made her giggle a little.
She was giggling.
Hanna was suddenly less jealous of the way Lily had been checking Maya out.
Now she saw that she couldn’t blame Lily.
Maya was magnetic. Sure, she’d been hoping that with her and Lily only home for a short stint, they might be able to help on the orchard, chat, and then get a little drunk off hard cider and stumble into something steamy.
Being tipsy wouldn’t be a requirement; she simply wanted all parts of Lily, and that included the taste of her family’s sweet cider.
But the pull, the curiosity around Maya in that moment felt just as strong.
Hanna suddenly wished it were possible for them all to stumble into something steamy, maybe even a little romantic.
There was something about fall in New England that forced the latter, each reddening and yellowing leaf ushering in cuffing season.
“So this is a…” Maya started to say.
“….a treehouse?” Hanna finished. The treehouse Hanna had heard of but never seen.
It was like a mini cabin? Cottage? Hanna didn’t know the true difference.
The structure sat about eight or ten feet above the ground, built in a—hexagon?
Hanna sucked at geometry, but an angular circle—and held up by five trees.
The whole thing had windows and a plain wooden door at the top of a wooden staircase.
“Welcome! Let’s get inside, it’s somewhat insulated, but I also have a ton of warm blankets,” Lily said, making her way up the stairs.
Hanna exchanged a look with Maya that was equal parts excitement and wonder.
Being a rich kid was something else.
“Okay, I mean, this is pretty fucking cool,” Maya said as they all entered the treehouse. It was the size of a luxury studio in Boston.
“Thanks, this was definitely my corner growing up,” replied Lily.
“Some corner.” Maya used her hands for air quotes.
“This is insane. I’d heard about this place but—wow, you’ve got everything you could need in here,” Hanna said, taking in the space.
The treehouse had a teal futon, a mustard bean bag, and an oval forest green all-weather rug pulled the space together.
The whole thing was made of wood and smelled of the outdoors and spice.
Throughout the room, Hanna noticed small but substantial ceramic sculptures that looked like unraveling waves.
Like they had frozen in motion and someone was peeling them apart layer by layer, with increasing speed.
Each piece was painted a jewel tone. The three she spotted in the room were fuchsia, navy, and forest green, presumably to match the rug.
Hanna could also see that there were shapes painted on the pieces with text like “puberty” and “war paint” on them.
“You even have highbrow art in here, some treehouse,” Hanna said, taking a closer look at the fuchsia “puberty” piece.
“You think so Hanna?” Lily asked, smiling sheepishly, and Hanna noticed her cheeks had gone slightly pink.
“I mean, look?” Hanna said, gesturing around the room. “God knows what this would go for as an apartment in Boston or New York.”
Lily laughed and Maya nodded in agreement.
“Is that a cooler?” Hanna said. On the floor was a solid shape, like a 70s old school fridge on its side.
“Yeah, we’re going to need refreshments. I keep it stocked and cool. Hard cider good with everyone?”
Hanna and Maya grunted appreciatively at the same time.
“Now if you have to pee, there’s an outhouse outside, around the back. I keep flashlights by the door,” Lily added. “Figured we should get that known now before we start drinking.”
“This can hold us, right? I kinda, don’t always do well with heights,” Maya said, walking over to one of the cut-out windows.
“I used to have all my…study sessions in high school…well, let’s just say this place is durable.”
Maya raised an eyebrow.
“Not a lot of people wanted others to know they were with me, this place is private. Perfect for an escape, though I suppose people would have to actually want you for it to be called an ‘escape’.” Lily mumbled that last bit, Hanna noticed.
Hanna couldn’t help but think–what if Lily had brought her out here? Would she finally have experienced what she had yet to?
Lily handed them a cider each and looked around. “I would say let’s all get on the futon, but it is not meant for three. Shall we all just sit on the bed?”
“Buy me dinner first, geez.” Maya plopped down on what appeared to be a queen (a queen!) mattress against the far corner of the room. It had several blankets folded on top, and Maya pushed them aside and settled in.
“I got you a drink, there’s plenty by the way, but no pressure,” Lily said, grinning and stooping down over what looked like two glass canning jars.
She turned a switch on each of the jars, and Hanna realized that they were filled with fairy lights.
Lily grabbed a cord attached to what Hanna could see were more lights and turned them on.
The cabin was aglow with soft light, and just in time the sun was quickly setting, taking the whole concept of “mood lighting” to another level.
“Points for mood lighting though, got any music?” Maya said, taking a sip of her cider. “Oh shit, that’s good.”
“Thanks—and one second, I’m working on it,” Lily said, procuring a small pill-shaped Bluetooth speaker from the side of the mattress. “Any requests?”
“Whatever, something chill,” Maya said, and then patted the spot next to her on the bed while looking at Hanna. “Come sit, girl,” Maya said, her tone friendly and warm. Hanna pushed past the flood of nerves and settled in next to Maya.
She was in the treehouse. Lily’s treehouse. On a bed. With two hot women.
She tried to cling on to the idea that they all just happened to be together, under circumstances that may or may not happen again.
Hanna took a deep pull from her cider, the sweet and sour flavor bursting across her tongue, tasting like possibility.
It was time to lean into the chance to be honest and maybe, into something steamy.