Chapter 10
Geoff
The knock on the door came just as I was winning at the card game Maya had taught me last week. I looked up from my hand, confused. We didn’t get visitors up here. That was kind of the whole point of living on a mountain.
“You expecting someone?” Maya asked, setting her cards face-down on the coffee table.
I shook my head, my eyebrows drawing together. “No. Maybe it’s a ranger? Or someone from the tow company about your car? But Marco said he’d help you.”
I stood, padding toward the door. Through the window, I could make out a familiar massive silhouette and a smaller figure beside him. My confusion deepened as I pulled the door open.
“Everest?” I blinked at my friend. “What are you doing all the way up here?”
Everest stood on my porch, snow dusting his brown fur despite the clear afternoon sky.
Must have been residual from the trees. Beside him was a woman I’d never seen before.
She was a petite human, with dark curly hair pulled back in a messy bun, wearing a thick winter coat that looked about three sizes too big for her.
“Hey, Geoff.” Everest shifted his weight, and I recognized the gesture. He was nervous. “Sorry to drop by unannounced. This is Heidi. She needs a place to stay, and I thought... well, I live in the store’s basement, so that’s not exactly an option.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but I wasn’t sure what to say when Maya appeared underneath my elbow.
“Heidi!” She squeezed past me, pulling the smaller woman into a hug. “Oh my God, you actually came!”
“Surprise?” Heidi’s voice was muffled against Maya’s shoulder. “I know I said I’d wait a few more weeks before the plan went into action, but things got complicated.”
Maya pulled back, holding Heidi at arm’s length, her expression shifting to concern. “Complicated how? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m good.” Heidi glanced at Everest, then at me, then back to Maya. “Can we maybe talk about this inside? It’s kind of cold out here.”
“Right, yes, of course.” I stepped back, gesturing them in. “Sorry, I’m being rude. Come in, both of you.”
They filed past me into the living room, and I caught Everest’s eye. He gave me an apologetic shrug that said I’ll explain later.
Maya was already clearing the coffee table of our game, making space. “Sit, sit. Geoff, can you put some water on for tea? Or coffee? What do you want, Heidi?”
“Tea would be great.” Heidi unwound a massive scarf from around her neck. She’d clearly borrowed it, probably from Everest given the size. She looked exhausted, I realized. The kind of tired that came from more than just a long drive.
I moved into the kitchen, filling the kettle and setting it on the stove, but I kept my ears tuned to the living room. Maya had settled beside Heidi on the couch, while Everest had taken the chair I’d been occupying, looking comically large even in furniture built for someone my size.
“So,” Maya said. “Complicated?”
Heidi let out a long breath. “I left Jamie.”
“Oh, thank God.” The words burst out of Maya before she could stop them. She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, that was… I mean.”
“No, you’re right to be relieved.” Heidi managed a weak smile.
“I should have done it months ago. Years ago, probably. But you know how it is. He wasn’t always bad, and when things were good, they were great, and I kept thinking maybe if I just tried harder, or was more patient, or,” she stopped, shaking her head.
“Sorry. I don’t want to trauma-dump on you guys five minutes after showing up. ”
“You’re not trauma-dumping,” I said from the kitchen, surprising myself. “You’re telling friends what’s going on. That’s allowed.”
Heidi looked over at me, and something in her expression softened. “Thank you. That’s... thank you.”
The kettle whistled, and I busied myself with making tea. Maya bought several kinds on our last trip to the store. She even had three mugs in the cupboard.
I brought out four mugs on a tray with steaming water, the tea still in their individual packets.
Heidi chose chamomile, Maya green, Everest picked black, and I chose the breakfast blend I preferred even in the afternoon.
When I returned to the living room, Maya had pulled out one of the board games from the shelf.
“Okay, here’s what we’re doing,” she announced. “We’re going to play a game, drink tea, and have a normal, low-pressure conversation like civilized people. No intense heart-to-hearts unless Heidi wants them. Deal?”
Heidi's smile was more genuine this time. “Deal. What’s the game?”
“Cooperative mystery solving. We all work together, so there’s no competition, just teamwork and wild speculation about which suspect is secretly the murderer.”
“Perfect.” Heidi accepted her mug of tea, wrapping both hands around it. “I’m great at wild speculation.”
We set up the game, and for a while, we just played.
It was comfortable. Everest and I had been running game nights at the store for over a year now, so we fell into the familiar rhythm of explaining rules and making terrible jokes.
Maya was brilliant at connecting clues, while Heidi surprised us all with her attention to detail, catching things the rest of us had missed.
About halfway through the game, as we were debating whether the butler or the gardener was more suspicious, Heidi set down her cards.
“Jamie was controlling,” she whispered. “Not physically at first, but it got worse. He had an opinion about everything. What I wore, who I talked to, how I spent my time. It got worse after we moved in together. He’d get angry if I made plans without checking with him first, or if I stayed out too late with friends.
He said it was because he cared, because he worried about me. ”
Maya reached over and took her hand. “That’s not care. That’s control.”
“I know. I know that now. I’ve known it for a while, honestly, but leaving felt,” Heidi shrugged.
“Impossible. Like I was giving up, or being dramatic, or, something. I had all these reasons I should stay and try to make it work. But then he started going through my phone, and that was when I realized it was never going to get better. That’s not normal, right? That’s not what love looks like?”
“That’s not what love looks like,” I confirmed, my voice coming out rougher than intended.
I thought about Maya. I didn’t care who she went out with, or what her hobbies were.
I knew she had friends I’d never met and didn’t need to meet them unless she wanted me to.
How the idea of controlling any aspect of her life felt wrong.
“Love is trusting someone to be themselves.”
Everest nodded. “My parents have been together for forty years. I’ve never once seen my dad question where my mom was going or who she was with. They’re partners, not jailers.”
“Exactly.” Heidi’s eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“So I left. Packed my stuff while he was at work, and drove here. Maya had been telling me about Calamity Creek for months, about how it was different here, how people were more accepting of everything, really. And I thought, if I’m going to start over, why not do it somewhere completely new? ”
“I’m so proud of you,” Maya said fiercely. “That took incredible courage.”
“I don’t feel courageous. I feel terrified and exhausted and like I just blew up my entire life.”
“In a way you did blow up your life,” I said, and everyone looked at me.
“But sometimes that’s exactly what you need to do.
I spent years in a job I hated, in a city where I didn’t fit, trying to be what everyone expected.
Moving here, starting fresh, it saved me.
Sometimes destruction is the first step of building something better. ”
Heidi smiled at me, watery but genuine. “Thank you, Geoff. That helps.”
We went back to the game, but the mood had shifted.
It was more open now, more real. Everest talked about his own struggles with living authentically in a world that wanted to categorize him.
Maya shared stories about her controlling mother and the guilt she’d felt about moving away.
I talked about my life before here, about the subtle ways people had made me feel like I was never quite enough.
By the time we solved the mystery, it felt like we’d known each other for years instead of hours.
“So,” Maya said, gathering up the game pieces. “The obvious solution here is that Heidi stays in my apartment.”
Heidi’s eyes widened. “What? Maya, no. I can’t take your apartment.”
“You’re not taking it. I’m offering it.” Maya looked at me, and something passed between us.
It started as a question, which I answered with my eyes and a nod.
It was a confirmation of what we already knew.
“I don’t want to live there, anyway.” She gestured around the cabin.
“This is home. This, with Geoff, this is where I actually want to be.”
My heart did something complicated in my chest. We'd talked about her moving in officially, but she’d been hesitant, worried about moving too fast or being too dependent. Hearing her say it now, in front of other people, felt significant.
“Are you sure?” Heidi asked. “I don’t want to impose, or anything.”
“You’re not imposing. You’re putting your plan into action earlier than expected, but it’s the right time.
The apartment is just sitting there. It’s furnished with your money, by the way.
It’s in a good part of town, and honestly, it would make me feel better knowing you were there and not somewhere random.
” Maya squeezed Heidi’s hand. “This way, we both get what we want. You get your freedom, and I get to stay with Geoff, if he’ll have me. ”
The two women looked at each other, and then Heidi smiled. “I was going to get a job first. But right now, I can’t afford the rent.”
“Details.” Maya waved her hand. “Right now, let’s just focus on getting you settled.”
“I can help move your stuff,” Everest offered. “Got the truck, and I'm pretty good at heavy lifting.”
“Shocking, given your size,” I deadpanned, and he threw a couch pillow at me.
We spent the rest of the afternoon making plans.
Heidi would stay in Maya’s apartment for now, and Maya would be with me.
Where she belonged. Heidi didn’t have much with her in her car, only one suitcase of clothes and a bag of items too precious for her to leave behind.
Whatever Maya had in shipping Heidi could use or get rid of as she saw fit.
Everest would introduce her around town, help her find a job.
Until she had a regular job, he offered her a job as a cashier in his store.
Heidi was a graphic designer and marketer.
I was sure a few local businesses could probably use her skills.
“We should do this regularly,” Maya said as the afternoon stretched into evening. “Game nights, I mean, not just at the shop. The four of us. It’s nice, having friends who get it.”
“Get what?” Heidi asked.
“All of it. The weirdness of starting over, the challenge of being different, the importance of finding your people.” Maya looked around at all of us. “I spent so long feeling like I didn’t fit anywhere. But here, with you guys, I finally feel like I found my place.”
“Game nights it is,” Everest agreed. “Weekly? Biweekly?”
“What about monthly to start,” I suggested. “Gives us something to look forward to without overwhelming anyone.”
“Monthly works,” Heidi said. "And maybe we could rotate locations? Maya’s place, well, now my place I guess, once I get settled?”
“The store has great space for gaming,” Everest confirmed. “Plus snacks. I have an unreasonable amount of snacks in my inventory.”
“Sounds perfect,” Maya said, and her smile was radiant.
“First official game night at Heidi’s new place in two weeks?
We can all sit on the floor, because that’s the only way these two guys are fitting in that room.
” Maya handed Heidi the apartment keys. “Geoff and I will stop by tomorrow to get my clothes. Everything else in there is yours. Fridge is fully stocked.”
We all agreed, and as we finalized the plans, I felt at peace.
As Everest and Heidi prepared to leave, bundling back into their winter gear, Heidi turned to me.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “For being kind. For understanding. For making me feel welcome instead of like an imposition. And thank you for loving Maya the way she deserves.”
“You’re not an imposition,” I told her. “You’re Maya’s friend, which makes you our friend. That’s how this works.”
She hugged me and I awkwardly patted her back, unused to physical affection from anyone but Maya. But it was nice. Human connection was still strange to me, but I was learning to appreciate it.
After they left, Maya and I stood on the porch, watching Everest’s truck navigate down the mountain road. The sun was setting, and the snow shimmered in a rainbow of colors.
“You really meant it?” I asked. “About this being home?”
Maya leaned against my side, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I really meant it. The apartment is nice, but it’s a place without a soul. This cabin, with you, this is home. This is where I want to be.”
“Even though I’m a reclusive Yeti who lives on a mountain?”
“Especially because you’re a reclusive Yeti who lives on a mountain.” She tilted her head to look up at me. “You saved my life, Geoff. But more than that, you gave me a space to be myself. No expectations, no judgments. What you’ve given me is worth more than any apartment.”
I kissed the top of her head, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo. “You can officially move in, you know. Make it legal. We can get your mail forwarded and everything.”
“Such a romantic,” she teased, but her smile was soft. “Yeah. Let’s do it. Let’s make it official.”
We stayed on the porch until the cold drove us inside, then spent the evening playing more games, making dinner together, existing in comfortable quiet.
Later, as we were getting ready for bed, Maya paused in the bathroom doorway.
“Hey Geoff?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really glad my car crashed that day and you were the person who rescued me.”
I looked at her, this human woman who’d stumbled into my life during a blizzard and decided to stay. “Me too,” I said. “Me too.”
As I turned off the lights and followed Maya to our bedroom, because this was our home now, I thought about Heidi’s question from earlier. About what love looked like.
I decided it looked like this, with trust and freedom and choice. Love was about opening your door to friends in need and making space for new connections. Love was growth and finding someone who saw past your differences to the person underneath.
It looked like home.
And for the first time in my life, I had one.