28. Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Benji
I should’ve known they’d do this, but the joy of seeing my family fades when I catch the panic in Gina’s eyes.
Getting everyone away from the lodge is like trying to get Trouble back inside when he escapes. But I get them checked in and back into the cars without Diana appearing.
Cabin eight is thankfully tucked into a quiet corner of the camp, out of sight of the lodge and Diana’s cabin.
Even so, keeping everyone contained in the two-story, five-bedroom log cabin isn’t possible.
Maybe there'd be a chance if it was supposed to rain all weekend, but the weather forecast is hot and sunny.
Which will mean swimming in the lake and buying ice cream from the lodge and—
“Was it a mistake to come?” My dad elbows me to get my attention.
We’re standing in the cabin doorway, watching everyone else explore the space.
Looking at him is like looking into a mirror and seeing my future.
It’s not a bad future, either. Dad played professional baseball for the Cubs before I was born, and he still looks like he could smash a homerun or steal third base.
“Not a mistake,” I say immediately. Then wince. “Maybe a mistake.”
His brow furrows. “The pancakes didn’t work?”
“They did, but…it’s complicated.” I don’t think Gina would want me to tell them about her fake engagement with Milo. And maybe I’m afraid they’ll tell me I deserve better than being her secret.
I love Gina, though. I’d do anything for her—even this.
“Complicated how?” he asks.
Instead of answering, I stick my fingers in my mouth and whistle loudly. Everyone stops and shuts up. The kids appear on the stairs.
“Okay,” I say. “So…me and Gina…it’s a secret. No one here knows we’re married.” They’re all looking at me, confused, waiting for more. “That’s it. You can’t tell anyone.”
The kids—Lachlan and Sophie, who belong to my brother Thomas and Natalie, and Lucy, who belongs to my brother Elliot and Theo—decide this isn’t worth hanging around for and nudge each other back up the stairs.
My brother Elliot, who looks like a twiggy version of me with glasses and a love for clothes that require ironing, crosses his arms. “Is this like a Canadian girlfriend? A Minnesota wife?”
My brother Thomas, who is the oldest, laughs. “Does your alleged wife even know you’re married?”
“Yes,” I say, irritated. “I mean…she doesn’t remember, but—”
Elliot shakes his head. Thomas slaps a hand on his forehead.
“They were drunk when they got married in Vegas,” my mother says, pulling her watch-it -look out of retirement. She was a teacher until she retired recently, but she was an art teacher—the watch-it -look only gets pulled out when shit gets serious.
“That’s…sweet?” Elliot’s husband Theo ventures.
Natalie slaps Thomas’s arm because he’s still laughing. “We’re happy for you,” she says warmly. “We’re looking forward to getting to know her better.”
“We know you’re both busy with work,” my mom adds quickly, “but…well…we didn’t want to wait to see you until Christmas.”
“We’re nosy,” my dad adds.
They are. Nosy enough that when I first started dancing on stage, the entire family—minus the children—went to see one of the shows. We’ve all got scars from that.
“You’ll both be able to come to dinner one night this weekend?” my mom asks, hope in her eyes. “You can drop in to visit whenever you want. We’ll try not to distract you.”
I laugh because this is much worse than a distraction, but they’re family. “Yeah, we’ll make it to dinner,” I promise.
I leave everyone to get unpacked and head back to the lodge.
Somehow, we survived Friday night without incident. Diana, who had dinner with Sue after helping Cheryl with some wedding prep, didn’t return until nine. By then, the lodge was closed, and my family was either hanging out by the campfire at their cabin or sleeping off the long travel day.
But now it’s Saturday. Operation Distract Diana is on.
Gina and Milo are presenting her with a weekend of spa treatments at Aurora Resort as a thank-you for all the wedding stuff, which will keep her off-site most of today and tomorrow. Milo and Briar will take the bulk of the work this weekend, freeing up me and Gina to keep my family out of trouble.
We might be able to pull this off. As I walk to my family's cabin, the sun shines, the birds sing, and a butterfly floats above the dirt road ahead of me. We’ve got this.
I walk by the car with the Nevada plates and do a double-take. Oh yeah. I forgot about these guys.
The cabin is quiet, the curtains pulled, no sign of activity.
Goosebumps break out on my skin, and I hurry along. They could be watching through a crack in the curtains.
I make a mental note to walk the other way to my family’s cabin.
Two cabins down, Pamela and Joelle are outside drinking coffee. I stop to say good morning and ask if they’ve gotten back on the paddleboards since our ill-fated lesson, but then I get an idea.
“Have you seen the guys in cabin thirteen?” I ask.
“They arrived yesterday. Haven’t seen them much. Don’t seem like the outdoorsy types,” Joelle says.
“Can you keep an eye on them for me? Let me know if they do anything weird?”
Pamela leans forward. “Why? What do you think they’re up to?”
Oh, shit. I did not think this through.
“Uh,” I rub the back of my neck and try to figure out what I can tell them. There are too many lies, and it’s too hard to remember. “They might be looking for me, and I don’t want to be found.”
“From Vegas?” Joelle asks with wide eyes.
“Do you owe someone money?” Pamela sets her coffee on the picnic table and frowns.
“No,” I say quickly. I can’t tell them about the rings because my marriage is a secret. “But I lost something that didn’t belong to me. It doesn’t matter. It’s probably nothing. Those guys are likely here on vacation.”
“We’ll spy on them for you,” Pamela says, “and report back. It’ll be fun.”
Joelle nods. “We have binoculars.”
“And camouflage,” Pamela adds.
Oh no. “No, no need to spy. Just…keep an eye out.”
Pamela gives me an exaggerated wink. “Okay. We’ll keep an eye on them.”
“Uh, thanks,” I say, backing away. “See you later.” I think I’ve made a mistake deputizing these two. It'll be my fault if they get caught hiding in the bushes with binoculars around their necks and shrubby branches strapped to their arms.
Oh well, it's too late now.
My nephews and niece are already outside playing a fiercely competitive but rule-bending game of cornhole under my father’s supervision. He raises a cup of coffee in my direction, but he’s busy pretending he’s officiating, so I go inside.
Also, I can smell hash browns and breakfast sausages.
My mom and my brother Elliot are arguing over a clue in the crossword puzzle at the kitchen table.
It’s getting heated because she’s pointing her reading glasses at him in a casually threatening manner.
My brother Thomas is in the kitchen, pushing potatoes around a skillet, turning sausages, and singing as he cooks, ignoring the argument.
Of course, the song is one he’s making up about what he’s doing.
Theo is in the middle of a yoga session in the living room, and Natalie is probably still in bed.
I’ve missed all this.
Thomas notices me first. “Have you eaten? Breakfast’s almost done.”
My mom springs to her feet, heading for the kitchen. “Sit, I’ll get you a coffee. Is Gina coming?”
“I’ll get my coffee. You sit,” I say, trying to beat her to the cups, but she grabs my arm and redirects me to the table.
“Let me,” she protests.
“I had to get my own coffee,” Thomas says pointedly.
I’m the baby of the family. Thomas was twelve when I was born, and Elliot was nine. I'm pretty sure I was a happy accident. Everyone babies me, especially my mother. When she lets go of me, I stop by the fridge to pull out the creamer.
“Gina will be here soon. She had something to do first,” I say, watching my mom pour coffee into a mug. When she’s done, I take over, bringing creamer and coffee to refill Thomas and Elliot’s mugs. I pour one for Natalie, who yawns as she drops into a chair still in her rumpled pajamas.
“Mom?” I ask as I hold up the carafe. She can baby me, but I’m going to pay that energy forward to everyone else, including her.
She sits back in her chair with a rueful smile and pushes her mug toward me.
I return the coffee to the kitchen and the creamer to the fridge, then sit.
“I can’t believe my baby got married,” she says. She takes a sip of her coffee and leans forward. “Now tell us how it happened.”
“And how things have been going since the pancakes,” my dad says as he follows the kids through the door.
I don’t tell them about the mafia ring. Or that my wife might be marrying someone else in a few days. But I tell them everything else while Thomas serves breakfast. Gina knocks and comes in as I finish the story, which is good timing.
She looks a little nervous—maybe a lot nervous—but she smiles, and my mother immediately makes room for her at the table. Thomas brings her a plate full of breakfast.
They make her tell her side of the story, which she does, minus Milo.
I want to say everyone listens intently and quietly, but it’s my family.
Elliot and my mom constantly interrupt to ask questions.
My dad has a story about one time in Vegas that we’ve all heard more times than any of us except Gina want to.
Thomas starts clearing empty plates and pushing coffee, water, or juice on everyone while reminding the kids to put sunscreen on if they’re going back outside. It’s chaos.
And Gina relaxes into it.
Storytime finishes, finally, with all lies safely kept, and a weak explanation for keeping our marriage and relationship a secret from the camp.
Gina takes full blame, telling everyone she’s trying to prove to the camp owner that she’s not impulsive so she can take over the camp, and either everyone buys it or no one wants to poke it.
They move on to planning while Elliot, Natalie, and Theo do the dishes.
I attempt to help, but they shoo me away.
“I know a perfect place to spend the day,” Gina suggests on cue. “It’s only about a fifteen-minute hike, and I can bring a cooler by canoe.”
It takes time to get everyone ready. Theo volunteers to take the canoe with Gina, and Thomas and Natalie help them carry everything down to the lake.
When Thomas and Natalie return, we head out.
I point my family down the road away from the lodge, where we’ll pick up the trail, and spy Pamela and Joelle outside, talking to Wade, who is holding his metal detector.
The three of them wave at me, so I wave back.
I don’t like the curious look they shoot towards my family, but that’s a problem for later.
I pull the map from my pocket, work my way to the front of our gaggle, and get us all a little lost.