Chapter Five
Well,” Maia said, as she fell back onto her bed. “That was a day. Wow.”
“Jesus, right?” Regan said, bringing her glass to her lips and sipping her wine.
The six of them had gathered in Maia and Vienna’s room after dinner. They were all exhausted but also wired, so they asked May if they could take two bottles of wine and some glasses upstairs with them, and they convened in one room.
“Sure was.” Ava sipped from her own glass as Madison laughed and said, “Says the woman who made the best carrot cake.” She raised her glass. “Nicely done, by the way.”
They all raised their glasses in toast.
Madison sat on the foot of Maia’s bed, her feet dangling off and swinging slowly. Vienna and Ava sat on the other, while Regan and Paige were in the rolling chairs they’d pulled out from the desks.
“You guys.” Paige shook her head. “A hundred grand. Like, what the actual fuck? Did anybody see that coming?”
Regan raised her hand. “I mean, I knew it was a possibility. She did the same thing three retreats ago, like Maia said.”
“Yeah, but like, on a whim?” Maia asked. “’Cause that seemed like it was on a whim.”
“I’m sure she wanted it to seem that way,” Ava said. “But I don’t care how much money you have, you don’t just randomly give away a hundred grand without running it past some people first.”
“Agreed,” said Vienna, who had kicked off her shoes and was now rubbing her right foot. “There are tax implications. Things like that.” Ava nodded her clear agreement. “So, likely not an actual whim.”
Regan sat back and listened, sipping her glass of very good Merlot as she moved her gaze from one woman to the next, all of them unique in looks, personality, talent. Vienna was the only woman of color, which Regan found surprising, and it made her sad that Vienna seemed to not only accept this but expect it. Maia’s hair and tattoos told Regan that she was her own woman, and she didn’t give one tiny fuck what others thought of her. Paige was easily the most petite person there. She couldn’t have been more than five-one, and if she weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet, Regan would’ve been shocked. Paige had kind eyes and a big smile, and it was only fitting that she roomed with Madison, who was probably the most cheerful person Regan had ever met. Her positivity was contagious.
And then there was Ava. Regan tried to study her without studying her. She was definitely the quietest of the group. The most reserved, and that was by design, Regan knew. Ava had told her once when they worked together that she thought people talked too much and didn’t listen enough. So she made a habit of staying quiet in a group and listening carefully before she spoke. Now she sat next to Vienna, her gaze moving from woman to woman as they spoke, and that was another thing she remembered about Ava: You could always be sure she was listening to you because her eye contact was very direct. It never wandered. She didn’t do other things while you spoke to her. She looked at you.
It could be unnerving.
“So, is anybody else disappointed?” Maia asked the question, then reached her empty glass out to Regan. The wine was on the desk behind her, so she refilled the glass and handed it back.
“What do you mean?” Vienna asked.
“I mean…” Maia sighed. “Maybe this sounds stupid, but I came here to learn. I applied to this retreat so I could hone my craft, you know? Not so I could battle the rest of you. Yeah, the money would be amazing, but now it all feels different.” She gazed around the room at each of them, clearly looking to see if any of them agreed. “You know?”
“There’s definitely been a shift,” Ava said, her own glass dangling between her knees.
Murmurs and nods went around the room, and then a silence fell, as if each of them was lost in her own thoughts.
“I love your shirt, Regan,” Maia said, pointing at her.
Regan grinned as she glanced down at the print on her navy T-shirt that said Life Is About Taking Whisks and had a picture of a baker holding a hand whisk. “Thank you. I have a ton of them. My last girlfriend gave me this one as a gift, and I found the website and bought a bunch of others.” She shrugged as she looked up to find Ava’s dark eyes on her. “They’re corny, but they make me happy.”
“Something to be said for happiness,” Maia said.
“Definitely,” Paige agreed.
There was another beat of silence and then Maia asked, “So? What do we do now?”
Ava slid off the bed and to her feet. “Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m wiped. I’m headed to bed.”
It was the nudge they needed, clearly, because they all started to stand and shift and pick things up. Good nights were bid and soon Regan found herself trailing behind Ava down the hall and into their room.
A strange situation, to put it lightly.
They didn’t speak at first, each retreating to her own side of the room. Regan dug her pajamas out of her suitcase, kicking aside some of her clothes on the floor that were in her way.
“Mind if I use the bathroom first?” Ava asked.
“Be my guest.”
The door of the bathroom clicked shut and then the lock slid into place, and Regan rolled her eyes. Does she think I’m gonna bust in there while she’s naked? Not that she’d hate seeing that, but still. That wasn’t the point.
She heard the shower running and realized she had some time, so she flopped onto her bed and grabbed her phone.
Hey, loser , she typed.
The bouncing dots were immediate, and soon Kiki typed back How was Day 1?
Regan had let her friends know she’d arrived last night but was too tired, her brain too packed full, to carry on any kind of conversation beyond that.
Crazy. Insane. You won’t believe it.
Kiki sent a wide-eyed emoji, followed by Tell me!
Regan smiled. She could always count on Kiki to make her feel important. She typed.
A list:
We made carrot cake today.
Liza liked mine 3rd. 2 people ahead of me, 3 behind. Not great, but OK.
My roommate is Ava Prescott. She followed this with alternating grimacing emoji and wide-eyed emoji.
Liza is giving $100k to whichever of us “impresses her most.”
Don’t FT me. Cuz roommate.
Then she sat back and waited, a knowing grin on her face. Kiki’s first instinct was going to be to FaceTime her, but there was no way she’d have any kind of out-loud conversation that Ava might possibly be able to hear. Shower or not, she had no idea how thin the walls were. Or how good Ava’s hearing might be.
And then her brain reminded her that Ava being in the shower meant she was naked , and that sent her down an entirely different path for a moment…
Thank God her phone buzzed in her hand and Kiki had sent about a zillion wide-eyed emoji, followed by The bitch who got you fired? followed by a GIF of somebody falling out of their chair in disbelief.
Regan laughed and typed, That very one.
Srsly , Kiki typed. What are the odds?
I know, right?
The dots bounced, stopped, bounced again, and Regan noticed the shower had turned off just as Kiki’s sweet message came through. You gonna be OK?
She smiled, and not for the first time, she thanked her lucky stars for her friends. Totally. Kinda awkward, but it’ll be fine. I’m a professional, ya know.
Kiki sent back You are! Just let me know if you need somebody to come shove her off her high horse.
Regan grinned. I’ll keep it in mind.
The bathroom door opened then, so she sent a good night and set her phone down.
“All yours,” Ava said with—was that a tiny smile?
“Cool.” Regan grabbed her stuff and scurried into the bathroom.
* * *
Ava rubbed the towel against her damp hair as she watched Regan close the bathroom door behind her. She blew out a breath, only then realizing the underlying stress of sharing a room with somebody she’d had fired. Several years ago or not, warranted or not (it was), it was still ultra uncomfortable to share space with somebody who didn’t like her.
It was really only because of the day’s whirlwind of work and unexpected information that she’d been able to set it all aside and focus on why she was there.
That’s what I need to keep doing , she said to herself as she rubbed lotion into her legs. Remembering why I’m here. I earned this spot. I deserve to be here.
And apparently, so did Regan.
While she found that hard to believe, she had to admit that it was possible for people to grow and change and learn, and it had been years since they’d worked together. And Liza Bennett-Schmidt was a well-known stickler for competence and creativity. She’d have never accepted Regan if she didn’t have what it took.
Bit of a hard pill for Ava to swallow, but there it was.
With a sigh, she plugged in her blow-dryer and sat at the desk, which she’d arranged as a vanity instead, as there was a mirror on the wall above it. She was almost finished drying her hair when Regan exited the bathroom. Ava’s back was to her, but she could see her in the reflection, boxer shorts leaving a lot of leg that Ava had to force herself not to stare at.
It would certainly be helpful if Regan wasn’t a woman who was fun to look at.
Hair dry, she unplugged her dryer and wrapped the cord around it, then set it to one side. She moisturized her face, then arranged all her toiletries in a neat row before she stood up and pushed her chair in.
Regan was already under the covers, and Ava could feel her eyes on her. When she glanced over, Regan gave her a small smile.
“Hey, congratulations on your carrot cake. It was really good.” Ava’s shock must’ve been visible because Regan snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Don’t look so surprised.” Then she turned off her bedside lamp and rolled over, and that was the end of that.
“Thank you,” Ava said quietly.
Sleep was elusive. It always was when she slept in a new place, in a new bed. Plus, she was used to the constant soundtrack of the noise of New York City. Here in the Catskills, it was disturbingly quiet. She saw 1:00 a.m. on her phone. Then 2:17. She must have finally dropped off because the next thing she knew, Regan was shuffling around and headed into the bathroom.
It was 5:27.
Ava stared at the ceiling for a moment before accepting that there would be no more sleeping for her. Tossing off the covers, she got up, pulled her leggings and a hoodie from the drawer, and got dressed. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun, found her Nikes, and tucked her phone into the hoodie’s front pocket, then headed out.
The mansion was surprisingly quiet, nobody in the dining room. She wasn’t quite ready for coffee yet. What she wanted was fresh air, so she let herself out the front door. While the sun wasn’t fully up—and wouldn’t be for another twenty minutes, according to her weather app—it was light enough for her to wander without worrying about getting lost.
The grounds were huge. She’d noticed a large pond in the back when looking out one of the windows, so she headed in that direction, hoping to be able to walk around it. The quiet in the house extended to the outdoors, though she noticed the birdsong beginning to pick up as the sun crept toward the horizon.
Ava loved spring. The whole concept of it—clean slate, new beginnings—was something she could get behind. God knew she was ready for that kind of thing for herself. She was in a rut. Career-wise. Creatively. Emotionally. Relationship-wise. She was beyond ready to dig herself out of it. She just wasn’t sure how and had hoped maybe learning from one of her baking idols could help. She hadn’t expected the competition part. The financial possibilities. She’d felt fairly calm and confident upon her arrival, but now…?
Ignoring the dew on her sneakers, she kept walking toward the pond, then stopped when she saw deer. A mama and her two fawns were grazing on the fresh young grass that ran in a lush circle around the pond, and the sight was honestly almost surreal. The sun peeked over the horizon behind them as they munched…it was breathtaking. Ava stayed completely still and just watched until they moved along. She was no stranger to wildlife, having grown up in the suburbs in upstate New York, but she’d been in New York City for more than a decade now, so seeing deer in their natural habitat, just enjoying breakfast and not worrying about getting hit by a car or shot by a hunter, gave her a peace in her heart she hadn’t felt in a while now.
As she did a couple laps around the small pond, she felt herself relax. She was good at carrying and handling stress. Too good, actually. She was so good at it that she didn’t realize when it was too much. And she’d been dangerously close to “too much” when she’d been accepted to this retreat. She hadn’t even realized it then, but she did now: These eight weeks were exactly what she needed. Despite the fact that they were ending up slightly different than she’d expected when she got there, they were still time away from her stressful job and an opportunity to learn from the best.
She’d take it.
On her way back around the mansion, she came upon a van pulling up the driveway. When it stopped, Ava recognized the assistants stepping out. They waved and shouted good mornings to her as they headed inside, and Ava hadn’t realized they weren’t staying on the property with the rest of them. Maybe there just wasn’t enough room.
Whatever. The walk and fresh air had done their job. Ava felt awake, invigorated, and ready to face the day. And when she got back to her room, Regan was gone, which she didn’t want to be relieved by but was.
“All right,” she said quietly to the empty room as she gathered clean clothes for the day and headed toward the bathroom. “Let’s kick this day in the ass.”