Page 31 of Weather Girl

Either oblivious to the awkwardness or all too aware of it, Elodie says, “I forgot my retainer!” and turns to rush upstairs.

Russell has become a statue next to me. “Liv, Ari. Ari, Liv. Though, uh, I guess you two kind of already covered that.”

Liv touches his arm in this familiar way that reminds me she’s not just Elodie’s mother: she’s Russell’s ex, from who knows how long ago.

Someone’s knocking at the door. Again. And again, they don’t wait for anyone to answer it.

“What’s taking so long?” asks a tall, trim guy with salt-and-pepper hair and one of those down vests all men over the age of thirty in Seattle own. I think I got Alex the same one for his birthday. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Russell’s gaze flicks from me to this new stranger. He looks as though he might self-destruct. “This is Perry,” he says, seizing the opportunity to preempt the introductions this time around. “Liv’s husband and Elodie’s stepdad.” He glances behind Perry. “And is that Clementine I see back there?”

Perry grins. “She just dozed off. I couldn’t bring myself to wake her.” He holds out his hand for me to shake before turning back to Russell. I take it Clementine is a baby. “The Kraken is looking solid this year. Think they have a chance at the playoffs?”

“Hope so.” Russell scrapes a hand across his chin, no longer making eye contact with any of us. “Well. Since I didn’t intend on hosting a party today...”

Liv gazes around at our motley crew. “Oh my. I fear we’ve overwhelmed poor Ari. I’m so sorry. We’re a bit overly friendly in this family.”

“As long as a Saint Bernard doesn’t barge in here next or anything,” I joke.

“Don’t worry, we left him in the car!” she says, and I’m not sure whether she’s kidding.

“Found it!” Elodie calls, bounding down the steps. When she lands with a soft thump, she surveys us like we’re a mildly interesting TV show Netflix has asked if she’s still watching. “Why are you all just standing here?”

“Great question.” Russell ruffles a hand through her hair and slides up one strap of her backpack that’s fallen down. “We’re on a schedule, too. Enjoy your weekend, I love you, don’t forget to actually wear that retainer.”

Elodie pats the front of her backpack. “I’m sure you’ll barely have time to miss me.”

•••

THE FIRST FIFTEEN minutes of our drive are silent, except for a few seconds when the audiobook I was listening to starts up, and I have to smack the power button because I’m fairly certain my romance novel was heading toward a sex scene.

“So, um. That was a little...” I fiddle with the wrapper of one of three strawberry fruit leathers I brought on the trip, none of which sound appetizing.

“Awkward?” he supplies, then forces a laugh. “Just a bit.”

“Liv is your ex-wife?”

“We were never married, actually.” He stares out the window. “I wasn’t trying to keep them a secret or anything. It’s... complicated.”

But he doesn’t elaborate on precisely how it’s complicated, and I’m not about to probe him for answers. I’m not sure where I would start. So... okay then. That’s that.

It’s only when we hit Everett traffic that he turns to me, as though we’ve left all that weirdness in Seattle.

“I booked a massage for Seth this evening, only he won’t know it’s really a couple’s massage,” Russell says. “He’s always complaining about his back, and especially after a long drive, it seemed like just the thing.”

“Perfect. And I signed all of us up for zip-lining tomorrow.” If reality TV has taught me anything, there’s nothing like an adrenaline rush to bring two people together. “Aside from that, I’m going to try to get closer to Torrance. Get to know her better. We know Seth’s side of the story, but we won’t have the full picture until we hear hers.”

“Are we—do you think we’re still doing the right thing here?”

The car inches forward. “What do you mean?”

“What if it was something really terrible that split them up?” he asks. “What if one of them cheated?”

“Hopefully we’ll know more after this weekend.” Again, I think back to what Torrance said at the holiday party. “And we’d draw a line if it got to that point. We can’t make anyone fall in love. All we’re doing is creating an opportunity. I definitely wouldn’t want to push Torrance into something she’s not comfortable with—that’s why it’s so crucial I make progress with her,” I say. “Maybe it’s naive to believe that Seth’s changed, but I want to be naive, damn it. Has he been different with you at work?”

“Different?”

“More attention? Any pro sports?”

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