Chapter 37
Rebecca walked through the middle of town, which had now been fully transformed for the Autumn Festival.
She was wearing her favorite jeans, leather ankle boots, and a storm-gray sweater the exact color of Cort’s eyes.
She felt nervous and excited, both at once.
The square had been cleared and reimagined: White tents clustered around the perimeter, crowded with vendors selling apple cider and hand pies and jars of honey.
The center of town had been roped off for the vegetable displays: towering pumpkins, gleaming squash, neat rows of carrots and peppers, all polished to a sheen, waited for their judgment.
Beyond that, a small midway spilled down the side street, a carousel creaking gently, a ring-toss booth flashing with cheap prizes, hayrides looping past the park.
Apple-cider doughnuts scented the air; children shrieked with delight; every direction glowed with gourds, bunting, and the crisp nostalgic bustle of a fall fair.
She was admiring a colony of sugar pumpkins on a table when she spotted them: Cort, with Pip on his shoulders, walking beside Melanie.
Pip pointed at something and both parents laughed.
It was so easy, and it made Rebecca feel happy for them.
There was no heartache, no swooping stomach at the sight of Melanie.
In fact, Melanie spotted her, smiled, and waved.
Rebecca smiled and waved back, and then felt a flutter of nerves.
Was she ready to see Cort? She wasn’t sure.
So she kept on walking, leaving the town behind, heading away from the center and toward Calloway’s.
She had promised Sabrina she would check out the hay maze.
The orchard was bustling with townspeople and visitors, just as the town square had been.
Sabrina was nowhere to be found, and Rebecca knew she’d not see much of her today; it was the busiest day of the year.
She approached the entry to the hay maze and ducked into it.
Inside, the world narrowed to golden walls and muffled festival noise.
She began to walk, trying to keep track of her turns, but soon she was lost. And that was okay.
You were supposed to get lost in this maze.
There had never been a year when she hadn’t found her way out again.
Footsteps. Then a familiar voice that made her heart flutter like a flock of barn swallows had taken flight in her chest.
“Becca?”
She turned. Cort stood a few paces away, one hand braced against a bale.
“I saw you come in here,” he said; a half smile that didn’t quite hold. “I thought…maybe you’d get lost. It’s especially tough this year.”
“I am completely lost,” she admitted.
“Pip and I already did it, twice, this morning. So I can help you find your way out.”
“I’d like that.”
They found themselves walking side by side, not touching, the hay brushing their shoulders. When a dead end appeared, they turned, laughed quietly together. This was the way it always was, in the Calloways’ hay maze.
“Maybe I don’t know my way out,” he said. They were standing close now and her heart was racing the way it always did around him. “Maybe I’m lost.”
She looked up at him. “I’m not, actually,” she said. “For once.”
She took a deep breath and then started telling him about her plans. The way she would have before, back when they were friends. It felt so good, and she could tell by the way his face relaxed that it felt good for him, too.
They started walking again as they spoke, making wordless choices together as they did.
Another turn.
Another corridor.
She knew they were close to the exit because of the changing light and the voices she could hear. She stopped walking. He did, too.
“I found something,” she began. “I wanted to tell you about it because…” She trailed off, felt shy.
“Because we tell each other things,” he finished for her. “I’ve missed that. A lot.”
She felt relieved. “Me, too. So much.” She told him about her mother’s letter and about feeling like she could finally hear her mother’s voice. The grin on Cort’s face was a reward.
“I’m so happy for you, Becca. Honestly. That’s beautiful.”
“I’ll show it to you sometime, if you want.”
“I’d love to see it.”
They rounded a final turn, and there, suddenly, were music and voices again. They stood in the bright mouth of the maze and looked at each other. She didn’t want to walk away from him—and it seemed he felt the same.
She decided to be brave.
“The truth is, I didn’t just miss talking to you, I missed you,” Rebecca said.
His eyes darkened into that storm-cloud gray she knew and loved so much. He bit his lip, stepped a little closer. When he spoke, his voice was soft. “I’ve missed you, too.”
“Dad!”
Pip was walking toward the maze with Melanie.
He ran over and began to tell Rebecca excitedly about being in the hay maze twice that day already, and how nervous he was about the pumpkin weigh-in.
The three of them stood in the sunlight and chatted easily, and at one point Melanie caught Rebecca’s eye and winked.
Then Rebecca spotted Sabrina, walking alone in the distance toward the main house, and she knew there was another conversation she shouldn’t wait to have.
She said her goodbyes and turned away, trying to ignore the tug she felt at walking away from Cort.
But they had made some steps toward a new beginning, and that had to be enough for now.
Much like a hay maze, whatever they were going to become couldn’t be built in just one day. She had to be patient.
When she walked into the farmhouse, there was silence. She found her friend at the kitchen table, a cup of tea in hand, looking drained. She smiled when she saw Rebecca. “Hey,” she said. “Just taking a little break.”
“You look tired.”
“I am. And it’s only Friday. Two more days of this.”
“You just aren’t feeling it this year, are you?”
Sabrina shook her head. “You know I’m not.”
Rebecca sat down at the table. “I did something wild,” she said as Sabrina poured her a tea.
“Oh, really? What’s that?”
“I texted Cort.” Sabrina’s eyes lit up. “I talked to him. He saved me when I was lost in the hay maze, actually.” Now they widened with delight.
“I told him I miss him, and he said he misses me, too. We left it at that, but it feels good. Like the start of maybe, just maybe, being at the right place at the right time, together.”
“I’m so happy, Rebecca,” Sabrina breathed.
“But that’s not all,” Rebecca said. “I also contacted the university and took an indefinite leave.”
At this, Sabrina gasped. “You did?”
“I did. And not only that, but I opened a spreadsheet.”
At this, Sabrina laughed. “A spreadsheet! You really are going wild on me, Rebecca McIntosh.”
“Hear me out. For the Blackbird and Bramley. I want to do it, Sabrina. I think we should. I know it’s complicated for you; I know your life is tied up in working at the orchard. But I really, really think we should make a go of things. Start a business together. Make our dreams come true.”
Sabrina was silent for a moment, and Rebecca worried that she was being too impulsive.
What was she offering here, other than a dream, an idea they had formed when they were just kids?
But then Sabrina smiled. “Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing. That I did something wild. I took Byron into the hay maze, forced him to find his way out of it, and when he proved that he could, I told him that once the Autumn Festival is over, I’m stepping back from the day-to-day operations at the orchard.
I’m promoting him. He gets my job. And I told my parents last night at dinner, too.
They said it was about time I admitted I wasn’t happy.
That they were going to celebrate the end of the harvest season by going on a cruise and that they thought putting Byron in charge was a great idea.
They asked me what my plan was—and I said I wasn’t sure, I wanted to talk to you first. But they reminded me that with all the different projects I’ve been working on, the orchard is turning an excellent profit, and has been for years.
They said I could take a dividend and do what I wanted with it.
So, we have seed money. I think we really can do this. ”
The two friends sat at the table and stared at each other, both wide-eyed. Then Sabrina lifted her tea mug and clicked it against Rebecca’s. “To the Blackbird and Bramley,” she said.
“To meeting our lives head-on,” Rebecca replied.