Chapter 18 Wes
It’s only been a couple days since my kayaking shenanigans, but no matter what’s happening, Rose is always on my mind. I thought about stopping by her shop, but with working overtime the past few days I haven’t had the chance, which is probably for the best. I want to make sure she doesn’t feel forced into anything. At least I’ll get to see her at the Sprouts prep tomorrow. Tonya convinced me to help out—well, I thought it would be a good chance to see Rose, and a good way to help out the town.
I drop my head, rubbing out the knots in my sore neck, finally taking a moment to sit and breathe after such a crazy night. I can hardly believe everyone is okay after all that happened. A terrible storm unexpectedly blew in off the lake, bringing high winds and large hail with it. We were able to get most of the campers into the shelter and the rest decided to wait things out in their cars. Not what I would do, but hey, to each their own I suppose.
Our front door creaks and I look up to see Tonya walking in, cups in her hands. Thank god, she’s brought coffee. “Thank you so much, I needed this.” I sigh, grabbing the cup from her and start to sip a little too fast. I cough, jumping up as the coffee burns my tongue and spills down the front of my shirt.
“A little eager there?” She smirks, handing me a napkin from her bag. “I also brought some pastries from that cute little tea shop.” I raise my eyebrows, wondering if someone has informed her of my “history” with Rose, but she says nothing, so I ignore it and decide to move on. “I talked to George over at the park in South Hampton—I know him from a while back. I didn’t know you interned there! He said I was lucky to have you on the team. He was also poking around, trying to see if you were looking for a change in scenery.”
“I just got here and am enjoying settling in, Tonya. Are you already trying to get rid of me?”
She rolls her eyes. “No, no, I’m glad to hear it. You’ve been an asset already.” She shuffles papers at her desk and looks away. Even in my short time here I’ve learned it’s rare for Tonya to shell out praise like this, so I take it in, but don’t want her to feel uncomfortable for too long and change the subject.
“Did you see the trees down by site thirteen? That’s going to take a long time to clear. Can you see if Erick is free today?” I bite into the scone. It’s delicious and I inadvertently smile, thinking of Rose and that maybe she was the one putting this in the bag for Tonya. It isn’t long before I start to daydream about our forest escapade.
Tonya, unaware of my mental state continues on, “I haven’t been down there yet, there’s more down around the entrance too. You can drive around it and get through, but it’s bad. You need to get some sleep though. Why don’t you head home for a few hours and come back this afternoon?”
“If you’re okay with it, I’d rather stay and help now?” I say, snapping out of it.
“That’s fine, but if I see any sleep deprivation symptoms, or if you’re acting strangely, you’ll have to go home. We can’t risk your safety because you’re being stubborn, or can’t get your mind off other things.”
I glance up at her again and see she’s smiling. Someone definitely told her , or I’m more obvious than I think.
The door creaks open again before I can reply to Tonya. I’m a little surprised to see Chloe walking in. “Hey, Chloe! It’s great to see you.” I walk over to give her a hug, but then pull back realizing how dirty and smelly I am from the long night. “Sorry, it’s been a long night and I’m probably gross.”
“Yeah, that storm was horrible. Everyone okay here?” She pats me on the shoulder instead of giving me a hug and the warmness in her smile reminds me of how kind she was before. “Also, it’s good to see you too, Wes.”
“Everyone is fine, just a lot of cleaning to get to today.” She has an inquisitive look on her face and I can already tell there’s something she isn’t saying.
“Good. I also came by and hoped we could talk.” Her warm glow suddenly turns dark and her eyes cloud over. Oh boy . . . I should have been expecting this.
“Um, sure. Tonya, can we use your office?”
“Of course.” Tonya waves us over to her office and I usher Chloe in. I don’t think I’m ready for whatever it is she’s going to say, but I have a good idea it will be about Rose. Chloe was always the protective one of the group, and I should have known she’d stop by at some point now that I was back.
We sit down and face one another, awkwardly. I look down at my hands and start to speak, but she cuts in. “I know you’ve been to see Rose, and that you had your little kayak thing . But I need you to know that she was devastated when you left. God, she would kill me for saying that. But truly, she was devastated. Between you and her dad, it was really hard.” At this she looks over to me.
“I uh, knew that it was hard for her when I left. We’ve talked about it a little bit. And I feel awful about not staying in touch. It was honestly a tough time for me, too.” I’m a little lost for words and I’m not sure how to explain how I feel.
“I just wanted to check in on behalf of Rose. I guess I just want to know how you’re feeling about things. I know you’re only friends, but you may remember that I worry—a lot. A lot has happened since you left that you don’t know anything about. We were close when we were younger, but we don’t know you now. You could be a completely different person.” Her tone takes a slightly aggressive turn, and again, I’m not sure what to do.
“I would never do anything to hurt her, Chloe. Leaving her devastated me too. I didn’t have a say in it—”
“But you did have a say in not contacting her,” she cuts in and eyes me, still with kindness, but clearly she’s being protective of Rose. I can’t fault her for that.
"I can see you're upset with me, I guess I just don't understand why."
“You’ve just come back after being gone for a long time. We all get that what happened was in high school—we were kids. And Erick told us that your parents were splitting up, but he also told me you never talked about Rose to him. I think there’s just some parts that feel murky and we’re— I’m— trying to understand it all.” She sighs deeply. “I’m getting off track. I didn’t intend to come here and berate you for what you did ten years ago. We’re all grown up now. But I am asking that you tread lightly with Rose. She’s in a great place and has worked very hard to be where she’s at now. Some of that has to do with you leaving, and other parts don’t.”
“Yeah, we’ve talked a little bit about that, that there are other things kind of compounding the issue. But I can say that I’m not here to make issues for anyone. I love it here and wanted to come back. That’s the whole story. It wasn’t with any ill intent.” I lift my hands up, not sure how else to convey my feelings.
I add, “If Rose decides that she doesn’t want to see me, that would hurt, but I’d understand. I know she’s been through a lot.” My eyes glass over a bit at those words. I’m surprised at the unexpected feeling, but know I’ve always cared for Rose with everything.
“I appreciate that. You were always a good guy, Wes. I don’t believe it’s any different now . . .” Chloe trails off as she gazes out towards the road and path. “It’s not that I think you have ill intentions. I’m just asking, as her friend, for you to use care with how you’re settling back into life here.”
Chloe moves to grab her sweater and bag and I jump up in response at her sudden movement. She turns and squeezes my shoulder, then heads out of the room. She’s still the mom of the group, apparently.
Dumbfounded, I just stare after her as she leaves the Ranger cabin. Tonya gives her a pleasant goodbye and then walks to the office.
“Well, what in the hell was that?”