18. Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Rachel
R ight when I thought we’d made some headway, Juniper retreated again after the last night of Hanukkah. While he didn’t ignore me completely this time, I noticed his gaze darting around more and more as he kept an eye out for cameras and paparazzi. I’d mostly unplugged over the last eight nights but did still see the likely culprit of Juniper’s withdrawal.
The same tabloid as before took the bait from my bunny suit photos and ran another feature. This time, they’d superimposed the photos of me in the costume, us on our walk, and Juniper in his hospital bed four years ago over a shot of us in the hotel lobby holding hands.
Out of respect for him, I’d never actually looked up the hospital photo. He’d briefly mentioned once in passing that it existed but gave no details because it was a point of contention for him, so I always allowed it to stay in the past where it belonged. But now, it stared me straight in the face.
The photo was taken at a diagonal angle; if I had to guess, whoever took it had snuck it while entering his hospital room and before he realized they were there. He was paler than I’d ever seen him, the drab white hospital gown and the overhead lights washing him out and highlighting how gaunt he looked in the face. His eyes were half-closed and glazed over, probably thanks to whatever pain meds they’d hooked him up with after the accident. I cursed to myself as I read the large, yellow font across the picture of us in the lobby: MANAGER OR MISTRESS?
I scoffed when I saw it, wondering how they could call me a mistress when there wasn’t even an affair involved. Juniper and I were both single and had every right to do as we pleased, but even I had to admit the alliteration was clever. I remembered some advice my father gave me when I very first started my career: when people say mean things, let yourself feel it, but most importantly, act.
So, I grabbed my laptop and got to work.
It took me fifteen minutes to come up with something newsworthy to share but landed on the fact we’d sold out for our entire opening month, then reminded outlets of our opening day and everything the resort would offer.
To curb my anxiety, I opened Instagram, tapped in to create a new post, and then scrolled through my gallery as I struggled to select the best nine photos of my time here. There were plenty of candids of Juniper and Sasquatch, or photos we’d taken on self-timers from our hikes, but those would never see the light of day. I wanted to keep those to myself, little pieces of our lives that didn’t belong to anyone else. So, I only selected photos of the actual lodge or the views from our hikes without us in the foreground (though our shadows weren’t off-limits) and posted the carousel.
I wasn’t a mistress. This was my home, too. These photos would make that known, loud and clear. I kept my caption simple: new home #ColoradoLife @thefoxsdenco with the snow-capped mountains emoji.
Once uploaded, the app took me to my profile where I saw my follower count: 130K. When I moved here, I had maybe two thousand.
After I posted the bunny throwback, I hadn’t really bothered to check my personal account, instead focusing on growing the page for The Fox’s Den, which was already up to 200,000 thanks to Juniper’s star power. But now, I saw the flood of fire and bunny emojis. I couldn’t tell if the people commenting rabbit emojis meant it to be cute or cruel, but it didn’t matter either way. Engagement was engagement, and this would draw attention to the lodge.
There were a few obviously jealous women, commenting on my nose as if I hadn’t heard that insult a thousand times before. I’d inherited my father’s aquiline nose, and he got it from our family members who survived the Holocaust, so I was proud of it regardless of what beauty standards people tried to uphold. There were also more positive comments than negative, a mix of men being creepy, albeit well-intentioned, and women or gay men uplifting me. I had to Google what “mother is mothering” meant, but it made me smile.
Five minutes after upholding the press release and my pictures, my phone rang. The caller ID said LeAnn Weiss, the reporter I met when I first started. Since then, I’d learned she was Action 6’s morning reporter who happened to be a viewer favorite. Whenever they covered The Fox’s Den, LeAnn was on the story—and, better yet, with no personal photos of myself or Juniper involved.
“LeAnn! So good to hear from you!”
“Thanks for taking my call, Rachel. Wishing you a belated chag sameach .”
“And to you as well. It’s no problem.”
“I saw your press release. And I gotta say, this is very good timing what those awful tabloids making the rounds.”
I let her hear my nervous laugh. “Yeah, that’s no coincidence.”
“Off the record, are you and Juniper seeing each other?”
Since LeAnn was with a legitimate news source and held herself to a higher standard than the rest of the reporters I met, I decided to trust her—but only a little for now to test the waters. “Off the record, I’m not sure what label he wants to put on our relationship. But he values his privacy and seeing this has him all torn up. I’d love to get a handle on it, so he doesn’t have to worry as much.”
“I completely understand,” she said. “So, I’d love to swing by with Ralph, my photog, and get some B-roll for the station. The photos you have are great, but video is king these days, as I’m sure you know.”
“Oh, for sure! I’d be more than happy to host you. When were you thinking?”
“Can we do something this morning? I can be there in twenty minutes and get the package ready for the noon broadcast.”
“It would be my pleasure. I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”
“I’m assuming Juniper won’t want to be interviewed?”
“Most likely not,” I said. “We’re getting there, though. Maybe when we open, you can get a quote or two out of him.”
“Alright, sounds good. We don’t really need him for today, anyway. See you soon, Rachel.”
“Thanks, LeAnn.”
Juniper was nowhere to be found. Before I met with LeAnn, I knocked on his door, but there was no answer.
“Hey, if you’re in there, just know that I’m on it, okay?”
Silence.
I walked away and waited in front of the concierge desk. Only a few minutes later, LeAnn and her cameraman, Ralph, arrived. LeAnn’s hair was up in a ponytail today, cascading down the back of her cobalt blue dress. Ralph wore a Colorado Rockies baseball cap and a flannel.
“This place looks so beautiful since the last time I was here,” LeAnn said.
“Thank you. We’ve been at it almost non-stop.”
“I can only imagine. We’re looking forward to filming today.”
As he adjusted his camera settings, Ralph said, “Our options were this or a crazy viewer who’s convinced that aliens live in his backyard.”
“Oh, lovely!”
As my eyes widened, LeAnn said, “We get some interesting claims, that’s for sure.”
We went through the tour, taking plenty of breaks for Ralph to get all the footage he needed. I’d share some fun bits of history with LeAnn, who would film what she called a “look live” where she spoke to the camera, giving the illusion she would be there live, but the segment was prerecorded.
After about two hours, we found our way back to the lobby. When Ralph ran out to drop off the camera equipment in the van, LeAnn stayed behind and asked, “Do you have a second?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“My mic is off, don’t worry. I wanted to see how you were doing with everything. You know, as a friend. I know it’s easy to say you’re fine, but people can be awful. Believe me, I know.”
I smiled at her. “That’s really sweet of you. But I’m okay, really.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure, I promise. You know, it’s funny. When I moved here, it was because I was getting really wrapped up in work. Like, it was my only personality trait anymore. And to make matters worse, I hated Florida. So despite all the bullshit with those tabloids, I feel more myself than ever now that I’m here.”
“When I first graduated college, I started as an editor at a news station down in South Florida. I’ve got family in Boca Raton. Was it the heat, the politics, or both that got to you?”
I laughed. “Both, for sure. And don’t even get me started on the traffic.”
“Don’t remind me. I don’t miss it.” Outside, the engine of the news van sputtered as Ralph pulled it up by the door. “Well, I should get going so we can edit everything. But I’m glad you’re okay. Know that you’ve got some people on your side.”
“I know. It’s much appreciated.”
“Say, if you ever want to get out of here and have some girl time, I’m in this book club that meets once a month. Every third Thursday over lunch. I can text you the info. Mia can come too if she’s free. She works at the restaurant, right?”
“Yeah, with her dad. I’ll probably take you up on that. Thanks.” It would do me good to socialize more and to get out of the lodge. For as much as I enjoyed spending time with Juniper, I also knew it wouldn’t be healthy to stay down this road once we were done with opening day preparations.
“I think you’ll like it. They’re not too rowdy of a bunch, but we have a lot of fun.”
“Looking forward to it.”
“If I need anything else, I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
When I returned to my room, I drew open the blinds, eager to let the natural light in. To my surprise, Sasquatch sat right outside on my back patio. He didn’t have anything in his mouth, so I knew Juniper hadn’t sent him.
I opened the door, letting the Newfoundland in. His boots were invisible beneath the snow coating his feet. I texted Juniper, letting him know Sasquatch was here, and then asked the dog if Juniper was okay. He boofed.
Juniper: Oh, thank God. He bolted faster than I could follow a minute ago.
Where are you? I can meet you.
Juniper: It’s fine. I’ll text you when I get back to my room.
I frowned. As much as I didn’t like the idea of him out wherever he was alone, I also didn’t want to imply he wasn’t capable of being on his own. In truth, I was more worried about his mental condition than his physical.
Rachel: Okay. We’ll hang out here.
[Juniper: Thanks. That wasn’t like him. I’m not sure what got into him.]
“Alright, Squatch,” I said as I petted the dog between his ears. “I have effectively put our PR fire out and you’re safe and sound. Now, what are we gonna do about Juni, huh?”
He boofed again. Part of me wondered if he hoped Juniper would follow him to my room for emotional comfort. Across the hall, I faintly heard Juniper’s door open and close, but he didn’t text right away.
I suspected my theory was right.
It wasn’t Christmas yet, but my gaze drifted over to the mug I got for Juniper, still in its box. I stood and put it in a small gift bag, then held it out to Sasquatch.
“Can you bring this to him for me?”
Sasquatch took the handles in his mouth and, as soon as I opened my door, he pranced over to Juniper’s room. I kept my door open, opting to lean in the doorway as I watched Juniper answer his door at the sound of Sasquatch pawing at it. Juniper looked from Sasquatch to me. I watched him fight a smile and lose, his grin taking over his face as he took the bag from his dog.
“What’s this?”
“Just open it,” I said. “A little something for Christmas. Even though it’s kind of early.”
Juniper removed the box and then tossed the bag haphazardly behind him. Once he’d pulled the custom-made mug out, he gave the box the same treatment. On one side, the mug read WORLD’S BEST BOSS, like we talked about last month. That month felt like a lifetime ago. On the other side, it said MY FAVORITE EMPLOYEE GAVE ME THIS MUG.
He turned the white ceramic mug in his hands and laughed, more genuine and lighter than I’d heard in a while. Then, when he looked inside the mug, he nearly keeled over at the sight of a drawing of a phallic icicle on the inside of the mug’s wall.
It was good to hear him laugh like this again.
Juniper crossed the hallway to wrap his arms around me, pulling me close to him. I took a deep breath into his flannel, having missed the scent of him. One of these days, I’d get him to stop retreating when he got scared. But for now, I was content to have any bit of him I could.
My heart thrummed as he kissed me, but it was far too short for my liking. If I had it my way, I’d kiss him for the next few hours. But he thanked me, bid me good night, and then crossed the hall again to return to his room with Sasquatch.
There was so much I wanted to say to him, but I knew his heart was fragile. I’d let him say it first.