Page 48 of The Art of Falling in Love with Your Enemy
“Okay, then you tell us when you do want to talk about it and we’ll make a pact now that we’re here for you, okay?”
Riley, who sometimes ignores what people want because she’s a hugger, is already enveloping Amelia in her arms. She hugs her close for a mere second before stepping away.
“Sorry.” Sheepishly she rocks her eyes back and forth between Amelia and myself. “I had to.”
“It’s okay.” Amelia chuckles. “And you don’t need to tip-toe around me, it’s life. And…” She takes a big breath, hiking her shoulders up with it as she does, and releasing it in a whoosh. “Well, Spencer and I were going over our shared properties and possessions and all that stuff, and we made a decision about the small businesses we want to put here on the campground.”
I feel my gut hitch. I had so hoped my wine shop would be one of those small businesses that Amelia speaks of, but thanks to my issues with Steve, I’ve had to stick that thought away until he and I solve our problems.
Riley scratches her head. “Are you splitting up the campground between the two of you?”
“No.” Amelia shakes her head as she pulls a set of keys out of her pocket. “He’s going to keep the art gallery, cause he loves it, and I’m taking over the Sweetkiss Creek Campground, because it’s my baby.”
“That’s…great?” I put one hand in the air to cheer, and stick the other one out questioningly at my side. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to be happy or upset for Amelia right now; I just want to do the right thing.
“It’s what it is, but…” She steps forward and takes my hand that’s high in the air cheering and pulls it down. She flips it over, uncurls my fingers, and places the key ring in the palm of my hand. “...I’ve wanted to just give you that space to use since you showed interest in it. Spencer wanted to keep it and not rent it out, only because he wanted to be sure we were keeping the buildings. Now that I’m taking over, he doesn’t have to worry about the buildings.”
I stare at the set of keys in my hand. They’re all silver and gold keys, except for one lone key that’s been painted with hearts and unicorns on it.
I hold it up. “Why are you giving me these keys?”
“Because I want you to open your wine shop or tasting room or whatever it’s going to be.” Amelia claps her hands together as she throws her head back and laughs. “I want you to have the freedom you need right now to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and start over. I hate seeing you tied up like this because of some fictitious lawsuit your ex is holding over you for no good reason.”
Not sure what to do or think, I can only stare at the keys in my hand, that is until the wet from tears clouds my vision.
A lone tear breaks the dam and starts its solo journey down my cheek. Riley flicks out a tissue from her purse and dabs my cheek.
“Don’t start crying, cause then I’ll have to cry.” She clucks, turning to Amelia. “I feel like it’s our job as her friends to cry with her, right?”
When Amelia doesn’t speak, I glance up to find her studying me with tears in her eyes. “Since the day I met you, you’ve been nothing but kind to me.” She reaches out and grabs Riley’s hand at the same time she takes mine and squeezes it. “I didn’t have an easy life growing up, so I never knew that I would go out in the world and find family. But you two, and Dylan, have shown me what true family is. It’s not the people we share blood with, it’s those who we pick to be on our team.”
The three of us huddle together, standing in a circle with our heads touching and still holding hands, all of us sniffling. Amelia’s the one who breaks away first, waving her hands in the air and calling an emotional time-out.
“Okay, one thing I promised myself was that I was going to keep a cheerful outlook no matter what this year, so let’s get you inside your new place of business and start making plans, shall we?”
Wiping tears from her cheeks, Riley jumps in the air and squeals. “We’re gonna have a new wine bar to hang out in!”
“Unless she hires you to work for her.” Amelia looks at me. “Has she told you she wants to quit the cafe?”
With the cafe being her family’s business, it’s hard to think about Riley not working there, but also knowing how unhappy she’s been, it makes sense. “She’s not mentioned it. Yet.”
“‘She’ll tell you more soon,” Riley says, sticking her tongue out at us. “Since I’m the ‘she’ you’re referring to, that is. Right now, it’s all about you.” With a whoop of joy, Riley swipes the keys from my hand and sprints ahead of us, opening the door.
“Come on!” She’s loud, excited, and off-the-charts happy. Luckily, as I catch Amelia laughing, it’s infectious.
“Hey.” I grab Amelia’s arm before we go inside. “Seriously, how much do you want for rent?”
“We’ll figure that out once we get you in here.” She threads her arm through mine. “I don’t like seeing someone being held back from doing something they love and want to do because of something stupid. If you need to open this and use the space rent-free for the next two years, then so be it.”
“This is too much, it’s so kind of you, Amelia. I would hate for anyone to think I was taking advantage of anything.”
“Advantage? Are you kidding me?” Amelia snorts. “You do realize my husband makes a lot of money, right? Trust me, I’ll be fine.”
As she pulls her arm from mine, she turns around one last time to give me another hug, then skips ahead and joins Riley inside the space. Standing on the old porch outside and looking in, I watch my two friends as they dance around and sing Broadway tunes at the top of their lungs.
And I count my blessings.
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