Chapter Twenty-Eight
Piper lies in bed in the dark, awake. She called Ethan back, but it went straight to voicemail. She keeps thinking about their
last phone call from his perspective. What if he were on a trip having some random adventures with a strange woman? Staying
at a romantic little inn? She’d be annoyed. But that doesn’t mean she’s done anything wrong. And if Ethan is worried about
any misunderstanding, about her seeming too available, well, that’s what engagement rings are for—signaling that you’re off the market. She’s not going to lose sleep tonight feeling
guilty about making a new friend.
At this point, she wishes she’d gone camping after all. She could use the company.
Up above, floorboards creek in Kalli and Laurel’s room. She imagines them settling in for the night, having some fun girl
talk. The same thing she’d be doing with Maggie right now if she’d gone camping. And since Cole is the one who’s responsible
for her sitting alone in the room in the middle of her mother-daughter weekend, she figures she can bother him. It seems only
fair.
She texts, asking if he really stayed behind all night. When he says yes, she admits she regrets not going out.
Your parent-trap idea better work or I just wasted a whole night of this trip being alone.
He writes back:
Don’t be alone - u can hang w/me. I’m watching Don Draper.
She’d love to hang out and binge a show. But again, she thinks of Ethan. The optics are not good. But her need to escape her
ruminations wins out. She changes back into her jeans and sneakers. This is strictly a friendly hang.
Cole’s room is on the fourth floor, the Ben Franklin. When she reaches it, the door is ajar and the room is fully lit. Cole’s
still wearing the same clothes from earlier.
A big flat-screen mounted above the dresser is playing Mad Men. Piper watched the show with Maggie back when she was in high school. The world it depicts is so outrageously sexist, she
found it hard to believe it reflected the reality of any time, ever. But Maggie swore it depicted the era accurately. “And
it explains so much about my mother.” All Piper could think was that it really sucked to be a woman in the 1960s. “Except
for the clothes,” Maggie said. “The clothes almost made up for the social oppression.” This weekend, experiencing the gender-biased
assumptions of the bushcraft-knitting challenge, she sees that as much as things change, they stay the same. So even though
the competition is for fun, she wants to win.
“Our room doesn’t have a TV,” she says. “And I’m in a double.”
“I guess they figure if two people aren’t sleeping together they won’t agree on a show to watch.”
“Interesting theory,” she says.
She sits in an orange upholstered armchair near the windows, acutely aware of the bed and her proximity to Cole.
“So, how do you think it’s going out there in ye olde wilderness?” he asks.
“Hard to say. But why are you talking like it’s the 1800s?”
“I figure that’s when people spent a lot of time in ye olde woods,” he says.
“Another interesting theory.”
“I’m full of them.”
Their eyes meet and she feels a little spark. Barely noticeable. But it’s there. She looks away, pretending to check her phone.
This was a bad idea. And Ethan has every reason to be annoyed with her.
“So are we going to talk about this or what?” Cole says.
“About what?”
Cole uses the remote to turn down the volume on the TV.
“So, obviously there’s some . . . tension between us.”
If she’s going to convince Ethan that there’s nothing for him to worry about, she should make sure of that. Right now.
“I’m completely in love with my boyfriend.” It’s true, but she wonders now if there’s something wrong or missing. How can
there still be room for her to be attracted to Cole?
“I’m not suggesting otherwise,” Cole says. “And for the record, I’m in love with someone myself.”
“The person you’ve been calling all weekend.”
He nods.
“So . . . end of discussion. We’re both on the same page, so to speak.”
She’s quiet for a minute. “My mother thinks I’m too young to be this serious about someone.”
He shrugs. “Maybe we are. But speaking for myself, I know how I feel when I’m not with her. And I don’t like it. So that’s what I’m going on—not some vague idea of the ideal time or circumstance to fall in love.”
She smiles. “I get it. And I agree.”
“So . . . friends?” he says.
“Friends,” she says, relieved. With that cleared up, she’s eager to move on. “So why’d you get into a fight with your dad,
anyway?”
Cole extends his arm, clicking the remote to get Mad Men rolling again. “Don’t get me started. He forgets that I’m an adult now. My whole family does. No one has any boundaries.
And I hate that word—it’s a cliché. But there’s no other way to put it.”
“I get it,” she says, though she doesn’t think Maggie has boundary issues. Not really. Sure, she sometimes gives unsolicited
opinions. But it’s never been a real problem. Except maybe for the doubt she’s planted in her mind about prioritizing her
relationship with Ethan over mostly anything else.
Cole swings his legs over the side of the bed and walks to the mini fridge, offering her a beer. She shakes her head no. “We’re
both burdened with a single parent,” he says. “All the pressure to make them proud. To somehow pay them back for doing it
all, and doing it alone.”
Hearing her own most private thoughts come out of Cole’s mouth is shocking. And she realizes it’s the first time she’s discussed
this with someone who can relate. “Sometimes I feel guilty for having my own life. Like, I’ll be out with my boyfriend and
thinking about my mom home alone.”
“Do they get along? Your mom and your boyfriend?”
She considers that for a moment. “I’ve always thought so. But she thinks we’re too young to be so serious. What about your
dad and . . . Well, I guess he doesn’t know about Kalli?”
Cole shakes his head. “I never discuss my personal life with my dad. Especially not lately. Sometimes, it’s just better for our parents not to know. You get what I’m saying?”
She thinks so.
They sit with that for a moment, then he restarts the show and they watch until someone knocks on the door. Cole jumps up
and goes to the door, opening it just enough to peek his head out into the hallway. She hears whispers, and then he says something
like, “Just come in.” Then, more whispers.
Cole steps away from the door, and Kalli walks in.
Piper’s confused. Sure, she saw him helping her with her axe throw. But she didn’t realize they’d hit it off enough to be
hanging out.
“Hey, Piper,” she says, giving her a smile.
“Hey,” Piper says, standing up.
And then, silence. The air between Kalli and Cole is electric, like they’re connected by an invisible forcefield. And then,
it all clicks: Cole is Kalli’s tragic romance. The man she met while married to someone else.
“Okay . . .” she says, eyes widening. “Well, it’s late. I’ll leave you two.”
“Wait,” Kalli says, stepping closer. “Please don’t say anything to Laurel about seeing me here tonight.”
Piper shakes her head. “I won’t. But if this is a problem, why did you bring her along for a weekend with Cole?”
“A weekend with Cole? I didn’t know he was going to be here,” Kalli says. “Before this weekend, we hadn’t spoken in two months.
This really was supposed to be a girls’ weekend getaway. To forget about him—which I haven’t been able to do. And then I show
up and he’s here.”
This really is a small town.
“But why all the secrecy now? I understand it wasn’t ideal to meet while you were still married to someone else. But you’re
divorced,” Piper says.
“Getting divorced,” Kalli clarifies. “And Laurel thinks I need to deal with that—emotionally and legally—before I get involved with
someone else.”
“And my cousin knows the whole story and came down on me for it,” Cole adds. “So no, we’re not in a rush to have anyone see
us together.” He sits on the bed and Kalli moves next to him. He wraps his arm around her shoulders and she leans in close.
He kisses the top of her head. “But we’re going to prove the haters wrong.”
Piper has a lot of questions. “Does this have anything to do with your fight with your dad?”
Kalli turns to him. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened. Except Scott must have told him something, because he started giving me a lecture at the axe place. But
I don’t think he knows any details, or that it’s Kalli.” He pauses, then adds, “But maybe that should change.”
“Cole, no. Don’t start anything,” Kalli says.
“I’m not starting something. I wanna finish something. I love you, and I’m tired of apologizing for that.” They kiss, and
keep kissing, until Piper takes her cue to leave.
“All right guys . . . see you tomorrow.”
She shows herself out then stands in the hall for a minute, processing. I have to tell my mother about this. Maggie likes to think she has every couple figured out from a mile away. But she didn’t see this one coming. Her next thought
is more complicated. It’s something along the lines of, now that’s passion. That’s commitment. That’s forward momentum.
It would be nice to feel a little more of that certainty in her own relationship.