Page 70 of Wren's Winter

Epilogue

Wren

Summer: He’s engaged

I studied the group text that Summer sent to all of us, inspecting the picture of some generic woman holding up her left hand beside the man we all thought was Summer’s boyfriend. The texts start piling in.

Autumn: That complete dickwad. I’m going to egg his house.

Devin: I’ll get the TP

I sent a quick one of my own.

Wren: I never liked him.

Since I never met the man, this was conjecture, but still. We sent a few more vague threats before Summer announced she was about to land at SeaTac. Knowing her, she paid extra to compulsively scroll through Cory’s Instagram. While the rest of us weren’t capable of more than half-hearted threats, Summer was a force. I briefly pondered if I should tell her dad to keep an eye on her before she committed a felony. The woman made our middle school math teacher cry in the middle of class once. Who knew what she would do if in this situation.

I typed out a quick message and started to scroll through my contacts to find Mr. Townsend, when Adrian called out from the bedroom.

“Birdie, come up here.”

I set my phone down and sidestepped Maizie, who was always under my feet, to walk up the stairs to our bedroom.

While we were crazy for one another, I wasn’t crazy enough to move in with him after a single weekend. Once we untangled from each other to find food, we talked out the logistics. The move back to my parents’ house was hard. Adrian came and visited me every weekend for a month before I decided it was too much for both of us. I didn’t want Ridgewood, with its steeple church overlooking the bay and the beautifully painted storefronts. I wanted Icicle Creek, with its chipped door bar and doily-covered diner. I wanted Adrian.

Marta, at the diner, offered to let me rent out the small apartment in her basement for six months. While I could have kept working for Andra Data, I quit a few months in to start my own business coaching job. I worked with several local businesses, including Tam and Penny’s store, the diner, and The Horse and Trails. The majority of my work was still completed remotely or I had to travel, but I didn’t mind that anymore. Working for myself, seeing my recommendations put into effect, was a far more rewarding experience. I wasn’t making half as much, but it didn’t matter with Adrian by my side. I wasn’t afraid of the adventure of other places when I knew I had a home waiting for me.

Adrian asked me to move in a month after I agreed to stay, but I told him we should wait. Then, another month later, he asked again. I relented after three months together. Marta was kind enough to let me break our handshake lease.

The snow melted from the yard, and the river raged on loudly from the new water. Small purple crocus pushed up through the brown dirt to welcome the sun. I took up gardening, something I had never known could be so exciting. On rainy days, I could be found curled on the couch, researching the right locations for sun exposure and the timing of planting and harvesting. I made spreadsheets, drew diagrams, and settled into life at the cabin.

On the second floor, I joined Adrian, who was standing in front of our dresser in only his boxers, a pair of shorts in his hand. He had his back to the window and his eyes covered. “Is that what I think it is?” He motioned across the street to Agatha’s cabin.

“Are people having sex in the hot tub again?” I asked.

In the months since I found that the upstairs window of the cabin had a direct sight line to the hot tub, at least once a week, we would glance out the window and find a couple getting it on in the hot water. The first few times, it was funny. Now it was more like an odd backdrop to our lives.

“Not exactly…”

I joined him at the window and then took a quick step back. “Is that…”

“I think so.”

Across the street, naked as the day, sat Marta, Trudy, and Agatha in the hot tub, oversized glasses of wine in their hands and cackling like banshees.

Adrian stepped back. “I’m blinded. Those women were like grandmothers to me. I can’t believe I just saw their boobs.”

“Well, maybe not their boobs. The water is high, and the boobs are saggy.”

Adrian sank into the bed. “I’m traumatized. Utterly wrecked.”

I glanced one more time at the window. All three ladies looked up at me, waving as if they didn’t have a care in the world. I waved back. “I think they know you can see them.”

“That’s worse.”

“Worse than being a peeper?”

“I didn’t mean to look over there. I was getting dressed and glanced out and…” He shook his head. “Didn’t I tell Agatha to build a privacy screen? I even offered to split the cost.”

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