4. Harper
Harper
It doesn’t take long to unpack. I only had three suitcases of clothes; the rest of my stuff was boxed up and stacked in their storage unit.
The room I’m staying in is barely big enough for a twin air mattress.
They both apologize for the cramped space, and Quinn even offers me her room, saying she can bunk with Cass, but all I see when I look at it is my new life.
I’ll start my job search right away, then I’ll try to find a place to live.
Hopefully, I can find something close by.
Unable to sleep, and unwilling to spend another day wallowing, I’m up before the sun the next morning.
I’m on the couch, my spreadsheet open, and a pad of paper in hand, making a list of tasks and priority levels for each.
Down the hall, a door opens and closes softly, and I start gathering my papers that somehow now cover their couch.
That’s how Quinn finds me, clutching my papers and trying to clear the space.
“Don’t get up on my account,” Quinn says, smiling.
“I just hadn’t realized the number of papers I had strewn about. Sorry,” I mumble sheepishly, manhandling the random sheets into a stack.
“Oh, are you a list maker like Cass? I always know when she’s stressed—papers everywhere with bulleted lists, pro-cons, and God knows what else.” She laughs like she’s picturing a specific event, and I love that Cass has her in her life.
“Yeah, I blame our moms. They are list queens!” As she heads to the kitchen, I toss my things into my room and rush back out. “I can make you breakfast. Not sure what all you have, but I’m sure I can whip something up.”
Quinn pops a pod into the Keurig on the counter then comes to stand in front of me.
“Harper, you know you don’t have to do anything to earn your keep, or thank us for letting you stay, right?
” Her eyes are warm, and it’s so easy to believe her words, but it doesn’t make sense.
I have to be an inconvenience. I open my mouth to protest but don’t get the chance.
“I mean it. We, as in both Cass and I, are so happy to have you here. We both know a thing or two about feeling adrift and a bit lost. No one should walk through life alone. You are not a burden, and you don’t have to prove your worth or anything here.
Please, let us be your safe haven while you sort things out. ”
Unbidden tears fill my eyes at her words. She isn’t even a relative or any blood connection, yet here she is, offering me a safe space like my real family wouldn’t. She envelops me in a hug, and somehow, it doesn’t feel weird. Her calming presence eases the tension I was clinging to.
“I’m so glad Cass has you around, Quinn.
It makes my heart happy to know you have each other.
” Quinn lights up at that. I smile my first genuine smile in a while as I sit at the table with Quinn and chat over coffee.
Less than twenty-four hours after meeting her, and I feel like I’ve known her for years.
I think Quinn is just one of those souls that you can’t help but gravitate toward and pour out your every care to, knowing you’ll find support at the other end.
I’ve been staying with Cass and Quinn for a few weeks, and they have been so supportive.
Surprisingly, I don’t feel like a bother, but I’m itching to start my new life.
With that thought in mind, I’m sitting at the dining table with a job application on my screen when Quinn and Cass come in.
They’re both grinning ear to ear like twin Cheshire cats.
In the short time I’ve been here, I have come to realize that when these two are ginning too big they are up to something.
On the third day I was here, Cass walked in giving me a toothy grin, Quinn right on her heel, stifling an ornery smirk behind her hand.
Cass asked if I was having any pregnancy cravings yet, to which I responded, just anything sweet.
Quinn busted out laughing as Cass did a little shimmy and pulled a cake from behind her back.
It was shaped like a penis and said, Sorry you got knocked up, next time just eat dick!
Cass laughed until she was wheezing. Quinn at least had taken a pause from laughing to ask if it was too far, and to say that she told Cass it might be too much.
Cass had no problem throwing Quinn under the bus when she told me Quinn was the one to do the writing on it.
Gosh, in such a short time, these two have made me feel more a part of their home than my parents ever had.
“What are you two up to?” I query, eyeing them warily.
“We have a solution to all your problems, Harper! It’s brilliant, and so perfect, and I’m so excited,” Cass spouts, her enthusiasm infectious as she bounces on her toes like all the excitement is about to burst out of her at any moment.
I’m already prepared to agree and haven’t even heard what it is yet.
Though Cass could talk a nun into taking shots of tequila, I swear.
I hadn’t appreciated her powers of persuasion when she lived in Maine, but after a few weeks together, I can’t deny her superpower is legit.
“Easy does it, tiger,” Quinn murmurs and pats Cass’s shoulder.
The way they touch and move with each other so effortlessly has me wondering if there’s more than friendship going on here, but I don’t push or ask.
I figure if they want me to know, they’ll tell me.
Cass’s mom would straight up disown her if she was with a woman, and I have no clue about Quinn’s family.
Still, deep down, I hope there is something there.
They fit together so seamlessly and are always in sync.
Every once in a while, I’ll catch them in a quiet moment together, and the way they look at each other squeezes my heart with longing to be with someone who watches me like that.
“You tell her, Quinn. It was your idea, anyways.” Cass wheezes, hopping foot to foot now.
“I was talking to my mom this morning. She owns a spa in a little town called Juniper Falls outside of Salem, about an hour and a half from here. Her main masseur just put in her notice. She’s getting married, and her husband-to-be is in the military, so they’ll be moving soon after.
Anyways, I mentioned your situation, and she said she would hire you and pay for your training if you wanted to move down there.
It’s the cutest little town. A slower pace than here, but safe with great schools, and the people are really loving, if not a little nosey.
Plus, an added bonus, rent is much cheaper.
” Quin describes the town and a few, as she says, key people, painting a picture in my head of a place I’ve never seen.
Listening to Quinn talk with such fondness about Juniper Falls causes hope to swell in my chest. I ran away, desperate for a new start, searching for a home. Something in my gut tells me it might just be in Juniper Falls.
One video chat with Shaina, and a week later, I’m on the road to Juniper Falls in my new Honda CR-V, which I bought outright, plus a year of insurance thanks to selling my BMW before leaving home.
Cass and Quinn offered to come with me, but I felt like I needed to do this on my own.
The clouds and promise of rain have the temperatures dropping into the seventies.
I roll down my windows, crank up some music, and sing my way to Juniper Falls, ready for the future that awaits me and the little life growing inside of me.