Chapter Three
Naomi
Cabin life might be the most peaceful version I have yet to experience. Even with Nelly and Cristian’s bickering floating from the open windows.
After finally landing in Montreal, I collected the premium car from the rental lot and put Cristian behind the wheel which he gladly accepted. He owed me for existing after all, and I didn’t feel like fishing my glasses out of my purse or navigating the winding mountain roads.
Despite the growing dark, the drive had been nothing short of picturesque.
I’ve lived in Cambridge for the last four years, but I’ve never really found the time to explore New England in this way.
Law school kept me insanely busy. Not to mention my running internship in D.C.
and flying home for holidays with my dad and brother.
Then there was keeping up some semblance of a social life with the few friends I’ve managed to make. They’re… Okay.
All this to say, this is really my first foray into the hills and valleys of New England, and I am not unimpressed. I can only imagine how it must look when the seasons begin to change, and the leaves turn a thousand brilliant shades of orange and red.
The towns we drove through were straight out of Gilmore Girls, with general stores, mechanics, and cafes all next to each other in sporadic, neat rows.
There isn’t one concrete block house in sight, every family home beautifully designed works of stone and brick and wood.
Every view was back dropped by rolling hills and trees that have been alive longer than the country has existed.
I have never seen so many barns and by the third deer crossing sign I was gripping the oh shit bar with white knuckles, my eyes scanning the surrounding trees.
Luckily, despite the late hour, we managed to pull up to the cabin just as the sun was setting. It was close to nine by then, but Elias and Rowan had held off on cooking, so everything came off the grill right as we arrived.
The five of us caught up over chicken skewers, rice, and zucchini salad- Nelly’s contribution- but most of the conversation was between Elias and his son.
Apparently, his flight with me had not been Cristian’s first this week.
It wasn’t even forty-eight hours earlier that he’d flown home following a World Cup qualifier.
He’d had just enough time to visit his sister and pack for the wedding before he had to rush back to the airport.
Nelly had offered for Lexi to come- they would have paid for her ticket and everything- but Max had a big case at the moment, and Cristian hadn’t wanted whatever fight letting her come would have started with his mom.
Vivian, of course, was banned from coming within six feet of Nelly or Elias lest she feel the sting of my palm on her botoxed cheek.
And get served a hefty fine from Eli’s lawyer.
Needless to say, she wasn’t even considered for the guest list. Nelly’s parents, however, were given ample amounts.
She went back and forth for weeks on whether or not to invite them.
It had been four years since the debacle of a wedding they’d set up with Cristian and none of them had spoken since.
But they were still her parents- and Elias’ whole family would be there- so she decided to be the bigger person and send the invite.
They had declined almost immediately.
Nelly hadn’t shed a tear, not in front of any of us anyway.
But when I’d spoken to her on the phone a few weeks ago there had been something…
Off about her tone. She no doubt felt like she was missing out on something vital- her mother helping her get ready, her dad walking her down the aisle- but was putting on a brave face for all of us.
“I’m marrying the love of my life,” she’d said, almost too dreamily. “There’s nothing that could ruin this for me.”
So, anything for the bride, was the motto of the week.
Cristian hadn’t quite gotten the memo, or was too tired to care, because he’d been going back and forth with her all morning about the open bar at the reception.
And the paparazzi. And why did it have to be that specific church in New York.
Blah, blah, blah. Even Elias had given up listening to them and was now out on the lake fishing while I sit waiting for Nelly and Clara on the porch.
Through the cedar and pine, I can just make out Elias’ boat bobbing in the middle of the lake.
The water would be perfectly still if not for the light breeze rippling across its surface.
Having grown up in South Florida, I’m still not used to these unseasonably cool summers.
The kind where you can get away with wearing boots and a cardigan in the middle of a sunny day.
I think I even spot Elias shiver a little despite his pull-over.
I never took him for the fishing type- or even the outdoorsy type other than a run on the beach- but there are a lot of things I still don’t know about my friend’s fiancé.
He lived a very full life before Nelly, worked his way up from being a nobody with nothing to being a literal rockstar.
Now he’s a man with all the money and means to explore these little hobbies, and he’s ready to give my best friend the entire world.
All she has to do is ask and that man will drop everything for her.
Unlike Cristian, Penelope has Elias wrapped around all her fingers.
“Good morning!” Clara sing songs off key as she climbs the porch steps. She pauses, glancing at the sliding door and then back to me. “What are they arguing about now?!”
I raise my coffee to my lips with a shrug. “No idea, but probably something about Cristian’s E.D.”
Clara snorts, sitting in the rocking chair next to me. “Cristian does not have E.D. And you cannot put that in your toast.”
My eyes narrow. “How would you know—”
“Bitch, I’ve known you for over ten years.”
“Then you also know I haven’t even written my speech yet.” I lift my coffee to my lips as Clara’s fall open. “Oh, come on, Clara—”
“How have you not written your speech?!”
“I’m a procrastinator—”
“You’re a lawyer-“
“I’m very busy—”
“The wedding is in five days—”
“I’ll get it done.” I roll my eyes. “God, Mom, back off.”
I don’t mean to snap at her, but my words come out sharper than I intended nonetheless. Clara recoils, folding her pink cardigan tighter around her slender frame. Through the open windows we listen to the banging of pots and pans and Cristian begging Nelly not to cook.
“For the love of God, please don’t subject us to the heartburn.”
“I cook for your dad all the time, Cristian!”
“He’s too nice to tell you it sucks!” She gasps and a cabinet slams shut.
Setting down my mug I uncross and recross my legs again. “Will your mom be flying in?”
Clara nods, blonde curls bouncing. “Yeah, she’ll be flying into New York the night before.” Clara chuckles. “I don’t think anyone is rooting for Elias and Nelly more than her. She’ll be scrolling the tabloids for days, reposting pictures.”
Doctor Christine Ramirez is a huge fan of The Island King.
She’s been following him since his beginning, since we were too small to recognize his earliest hits when we heard them decades later at his club.
Well, Clara knew exactly who he was, but Nelly and I needed a speed run.
Of course, the moment he opened his mouth Nelly was gone.
I will give my girl some credit for at least trying to keep her panties on.
Elias’s voice was too powerful though. It just yanked them off and set them on fire.
The man in question docks his canoe, making his way back toward the cabin with a bright smile, the sleeves of hoodie pushed up his tattooed forearms.
“Our girl never stood a chance,” I mutter around the rim of my mug.
“Para noda,” Clara agrees.
“Buenos Dias, senoritas.” Elias sweeps a hand through his blonde locks. I’ve always found it oddly endearing that he dyes his hair but allows his beard to remain prematurely gray. Inside, another cabinet bangs and his smile falters. “Still?”
“They’ve moved on to her cooking,” I inform him, pulling a hiss from between his teeth.
Elias leans on the window sill, squinting through the screen at the shadowy figures of his fiancée and son. “Princesa,” he calls. “Why don’t you just run into town and grab some of those sandwiches we tried yesterday? Cristian will drive you.”
“We’ll come too!” Clara offers.
“And the girls will go too,” he adds a bit louder. “I was going to grab coffee there anyway. You can just get something for everyone.”
“Thank God.” I set my mug aside. “Because this shit sucks.”
“It comes with the cabin,” Clara explains. “He’s already had management on the phone twice.” I raise a brow. “Lack of firewood,” she adds.
“Poppy?” Elias calls again when his pleas are greeted with silence.
The slider around the other side of the house is thrown open and Nelly comes around the corner in a huff. “Fine. There aren’t enough eggs anyway.”
Elias meets her at the rail, kissing her cheek. “I’ll run out this afternoon,” he promises. Cristian joins us, shoving his feet into a pair of annoyingly bright sneakers. “I’ll send you the address,” his dad tells him. “It’s not too far, maybe ten minutes.”
“I’d drive an hour to not have to eat burnt bacon,” Cristian declares, earning a glare from Nelly.
Elias kisses her head. “Ignore him, Princesa. I like my bacon crispy.”
“Deja la embustería,” Cristian scoffs.
Elias twists Nelly’s ponytail around his finger, giving his son a too wide smile. “Deja la, que se va a encojoner.”
“Lo que sea por la novia,” Clara chimes in.
Nelly growls, pushing past Elias to grab my hand, pulling me down the porch steps to the car. “You can all stop talking about me now! Come on, Cris, I’m hungry.”
“Obvio,” Cristian mutters.
“Go,” Elias chuckles. “Bring me back a coffee and a sausage, egg, and cheese please.”
“Should we bring back something for—”
“Yeah,” Cristian cuts Nelly off as he climbs into the SUV. “I’ll handle it.”