Chapter Fifteen #2
Unsurprisingly, Mia fit into the group like a duck to water.
She had Randy and Erik laughing with stories from various trips she’d taken and had already sent her skincare routine to Zelda and Amy.
Which was fine with Cierra: if anything, she was glad to have her friend distract from her own withdrawn state.
Before leaving New York City, Cierra had wished Julian a fun time with his friends over text, but no new notifications had appeared since.
Sounds of unseen nocturnal creatures in the woods around the property disquieted Cierra when she finally stepped out of the van.
Unlike the villa in Mexico City, this residence was far closer to a regular home.
It was still enormous but appropriately weathered by time; each room was confined and separate, obviously constructed before open floor plans dominated.
The exterior was white painted board with stone on the bottom and a large spire on the northeast end.
Cierra knew which room was hers and Mia’s from the Airbnb link Elliot had sent her earlier.
On the second floor, it was complete with two twin beds and matching bed covers quilted with a mix of greens, browns, and oranges, resembling sleepaway camp accommodations.
But Cierra didn’t care what any of it looked like. As soon as she unloaded and packed away the food she brought from the city, she went straight to her quilt-covered bed, where she slept long and hard.
The sun hadn’t yet risen above the tree line when Cierra awoke.
Outside her bedroom window, stringy clouds stretched along an ombre blue sky, making room for the sun.
Ever since she could remember, she had been an early riser, but as an adult she increasingly savored that quiet period existing between the past and present.
She quickly checked her phone: Still no word from Julian.
Quietly, she sighed and crept out of bed to the bathroom, taking care not to wake Mia.
She was relieved to see her curls co-operating this morning and decided to let them hang free; less so the case for her boobs.
Those went promptly into a sports bra before she slid on a thin T-shirt and jean shorts and went downstairs to brew a pot of coffee.
From a selection of ceramic and handmade looking mugs, she selected one with a dark blue glaze and hand warmer, before catching the view from the kitchen for the first time, causing her to pause.
Since the home was situated on high ground, the kitchen’s large, curved windows displayed an expansive early morning sky, with a vast view of sloping woods and a lake below.
As soon as the coffee finished brewing, she silently went to the porch and stood for fifteen minutes, enjoying the cool morning with her steaming cup in hand.
Even in the serene quiet of the mountainside morning, all she could think about was Julian.
She tried to stay present, she really did.
An eagle would fly by, and she’d gaze in awe, or she’d try to listen to an animal call, but despite her best efforts, her attention always came back to him.
Or maybe, more accurately, everything surrounding him.
What had made her so attracted to him in the first place, anyway?
Resting her mug on the porch’s ledge, she let out a huff. It wasn’t like rejection was foreign to her, but that didn’t make it easier to face. The alternative was making up silly excuses though, and she couldn’t stomach lowering herself to delusion. Not again.
He’s just not that into you, a voice in her head suggested.
“Yeah, probably right,” she said faintly, and took another sip.
“Morning, Cierra,” a male voice called, startling her.
Cierra turned back and saw Erik, already dressed in shorts and an over-sized charcoal gray T-shirt, with wet hair. She smiled, and waved him over to watch the day come in.
“Hey, Erik. What are you doing up this early?”
“Couldn’t go back to sleep. You?”
“Um, I work here, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He scratched the back of his head. “That was dumb. Just a little out of sorts this morning.”
Cierra frowned at the shifty nature he was exhibiting. “You all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Okay.” Blowing on her mug, she took a couple more sips as Erik looked outward toward the forest.
“How are you?” Erik asked.
“Oh, um, fine.”
“That’s good.”
“Mm-hm,” Cierra replied. “Nadine couldn’t make it?”
Erik’s mouth twitched. “We, um, ended things this week.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“She was great, but . . . our dynamic . . . wasn’t fitting. I think I’m gonna take a break from dating apps for a while.” While he tried to laugh it off, his contemplative eyes betrayed him.
“If you know, you know. You did the right thing by not wasting her time,” Cierra said, thinking about her personal limbo-state with Julian.
“You think so?”
“Definitely,” she said, and gave him a squeeze on the shoulder before heading back inside. “I gotta get breakfast going. Wanna come in?”
“No, go ahead. I’m gonna stay out here for a while longer.”
“All right — there’s more coffee inside by the way, if you want some.”
He glanced toward her, eyes unreadable. “Thanks, Cierra.”
“No problem.”
Cierra leisurely prepared breakfast in solitude for about half an hour before the rest of the crew slowly began waking up, making their way down to the kitchen with big yawns. Today’s brunch was simple: a garden quiche with berries and freshly baked bread.
At breakfast, people chatted about their plans for the day: exploring nearby trail paths, taking a dip in the sparkling pool, digital detoxing.
Randy made sure to sit next to Mia and asked both Cierra and her friend about their hobbies and what they were like in college, although it was clear who truly had his attention.
Erik was at the same end of the table but kept to himself most of the meal, interjecting occasionally.
After everyone had their fill, most of the group went on a nearby hike, while Zelda, Amy, and Cierra stayed behind.
Zelda had work, and Cierra needed to wash up.
While the country mansion held vintage charm, there was no dishwasher and no cleaning gloves to be found.
Visions of pruned skin flashed before Cierra’s eyes.
It would be an inevitable outcome of cooking and washing up for seven people for the next few days.
The lines between Zelda’s eyebrows remained etched as she oscillated between furious typing and attentive reading; a pen stuck out of her violet bun, and occasional grunts escaped her throat. Amy sat on a nearby couch, engrossed in a thriller novel.
Cierra had learned in her relatively short time of employment not to engage with Zelda unless Zelda herself started the conversation. Her boss was generous and sociable, but that was not to be mistaken for thinking she had idle time to chat.
“It’s nice seeing Mia again. That girl has great energy,” Zelda commented somewhat randomly, as she rose to get herself a glass of water. “I don’t think I’ve seen her since the dinner we met, come to think of it.”
“There is never a dull moment with her around, that’s for sure,” Cierra said.
“What does she do for work? Is she a model or something like that?”
“She’s actually the reason my Instagram page is what it is. Mia’s the one who pieces all the videos together, sets the aesthetic, everything. Her official title is social media director.”
“Is that so?” Zelda replied, contemplatively. “She has a fantastic eye for that. Hm . . .” she trailed off.
“You should get her to help run Sincha’s social media. It could use the help,” Amy piped up. “Respectfully.”
Zelda rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore her friend’s negging. “Did I overhear you and Erik talking this morning on the porch? I wasn’t spying, promise,” she said. “I heard murmurs when I woke up, my room is right above it.”
“Yeah, I was enjoying the sunrise before breakfast when he came out.”
“Oh! And he mentioned this week that a producer of some show had reached out to you? That’s so exciting, congratulations.
I’m surprised you’ve managed to keep it to yourself.
Or were you trying to keep it a secret from me?
Afraid I might get a little jealous?” Zelda appeared to be teasing, although it was always difficult for Cierra to decipher.
Maybe that was the point. Zelda seemed like the type to get a mild satisfaction out of the squirming of others.
“No, no. Not keeping it a secret, and thank you. I think I’m just a little nervous about applying. It’s not my first time, so I don’t want to get my ho—”
“Did he tell you about Nadine?” Zelda interrupted, already bored with the topic.
“Yeah,” Cierra replied, feeling more at liberty to speak freely now that she understood Zelda had been clued in. She wanted to respect Erik’s privacy, knowing he’d do the same for her. “He still seems a little down.”
Zelda’s mouth down-turned in a disappointed frown. “Mm, well, he was the one to call it off, so he’ll probably get over it fairly quickly. They were cute together, I’ll give her that.”
“I thought the same thing, and I really got to liking her in Mexico City,” Cierra replied. Although she was a bit shocked he had been the one to call things off.
“Yes, well, these things don’t always work out. And I have to admit, there was something . . . I’m not sure how to put it. Something about her didn’t sit right with me.”
Amy chimed in again. “That’s the girl he met on the app, right? Who wouldn’t stop gushing and asking about how much your bags cost?”
“That’s the one,” Zelda replied. The two women looked at each other with knowing nods.
Cierra, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the subtext, tried changing the subject. “Anyway, thanks again for offering this weekend. And letting me bring Mia. I’ve never been to the Catskills before. It’s so serene here, I get the obsession. I don’t think you’ll be able to get me to leave.”
Zelda chuckled. “Please, you’re doing us the favor.
” Then, sighing, she rubbed her eyes before continuing.
“I wish Erik could find someone already. After all that soul-searching and whatnot.” Momentarily, Zelda pursed her lips while looking at Cierra, who was back to washing dishes, but bounced back to looking at her laptop screen after a notification sounded.
“What about Mia? Is she single?” Amy piped up.
Cierra turned back around to face the women. “Yeah, but she’s not really—”
“Oh, now that’s what I like to hear,” Amy said. “Maybe the hike will give them some time together. Besides, I have a knack for knowing when people are compatible. I introduced you to Elliot, didn’t I, Zelda?”
Zelda cocked her head reluctantly. “Eh, you have a point. It’s just, someone like Erik .
. . he needs . . .” Zelda’s gaze momentarily veered into a distant thought before she carried on.
“Maybe I’m just protective of him. I want him to have what Elliot and I have, you know?
I feel like some women he’s dated have been after more than his . . . personality.”
Amy sighed. “What do you expect, though? Especially given he’s related to you.”
Before anyone could reply, an alert-sounding ring came from Zelda’s phone; her face contorted into an annoyed grimace.
“Gotta take this,” she said, walking toward the porch. Before Zelda walked out of earshot, Cierra heard her say, “. . . if you tell me the shipment from Italy is delayed one more time . . .”
Cierra turned back around to finish up with the dishes, grateful the conversation had ended and that she at least had more time to enjoy the get-away weekend than her own boss.