Page 16 of So Worth More
“Just the once.” Andy turned to face me. “He seems really cool, I think you’ll like him. Even Gemma likes him.” He and Pete laughed then. The atmosphere in the car settled again and the rest of the journey passed quickly with easy conversation.
***
The lake house was styled to look like a cabin, with wooden siding and a wood stove in the living room, but it was a two-story, three bedroomed, holiday home with few of the rustic features you would expect with a cabin. I’d never brought any friends up here before. Helena had never been here, preferring the beach house, so I was wary of their judgment as we pulled up.
Unlike my brothers and sister, I was aware of my inborn privilege. My family was wealthy and I’d been sent to the best private schools, until I was asked not to return. Under the advice of my therapist, I’d been sent to a regular school where I made real friends for the first time in my life. Hiding my family’s wealth became second nature, just so that I could fit in somewhere for once for me, and not the money that surrounded me. I made excuses so my friends didn’t come to my house and none of them questioned it. It was freeing to be out from the obligations of my family’s name.
Andy gasped as we drew up and parked off to the side of the front door, his eyes going wide as he took it in. We were the first group to arrive, the others traveling together. Pete whistled as he took it in from the back seat. “Nice place.”
We gathered up our things and some of the groceries that we had picked up. I’d put in an order to be delivered, but knew Andy would be hungry after the drive. He’d refused to eat in my car, which had made me laugh since I didn’t care about crumbs. I left them to explore a bit while I packed things away in the kitchen and checked if we needed to cut wood for the burner.
We used a service to come by and check on the house if we knew we were going to be coming up, but I only asked them to make sure there was fresh bedding, instead of the usual fuel fill up and groceries, not knowing the personal preferences of the others. Andy had helped me draw up a grocery list by getting lists of allergies, likes and dislikes of the others, so we could make up a menu for the meals we planned to eat here. I’d spent hours on a video call with him the night before, mostly joking around, but also trying to accommodate everyone. I’d learned he was very particular about his coffee, which was something else we had in common.
While we had two holiday homes, Mom liked this house better than the beach. If it wasn’t for Matilda needing to be in the city for school, I think she’d live out here full time. As an artist, she said that this place soothed her soul. Perhaps that’s why I kept coming back here.
“Will?” came Andy’s voice from the second floor.
“Yeah?” I called back.
“You might want to come up here.” was the reply. Confused, I put the last of the snacks away before heading up to find him.
He was standing in the hallway between two of the rooms. “There’s a little problem,” he stated cautiously as I reached the top of the stairs. “There’s only one bed in each of the rooms.”
“What?” I just about managed to get out, heading over to the last bedroom that had its own ensuite. “No, the room I always shared with Charlie had two twin beds.” He moved to stand next to me and our shoulders brushed as he peeked around the corner.
“Well it only has one now, same as all the others.”
Glancing around him, I saw a very different room to the last time I’d been here. The walls had been repainted in neutral tones, the floors gleamed, the hardwood sanded back and varnished.
Pete came out of the first of the two other bedrooms to join us, pointing behind him. “Those have king beds but this one has a queen, by the looks of it.”
“They added a shower room so the floor plan is different, a king wouldn’t fit in here,” I explained. “Before they added it, Charlie and I had to share the one bathroom with our brother. Alex got a room to himself since he’s the oldest. When Matty came along, Alex was in college so didn’t come to the cabin enough to need a room, he just slept in the den.”
“So how do we sort the rooms?” Andy asked the question that I’d been dwelling on. Just sharing a room with Andy had been tying me up in knots, even when I knew I could’ve had him share with Pete. Sharing a bed was going to be much worse. There was no way in hell that he was sleeping in the same bed as Pete. I didn’t want to share with Pete either and let Andy sleep alone.
“From experience, you don’t want to stick Henry in the queen bed. If he has a nightmare, he could lash out at Gem. With being in a different place, that could trigger one. He needs the space to stretch out properly after he takes his leg off, too.” Pete mused, he stopped to consider things, “Look, I could always share the queen with Andy if you aren’t comfortable sharing.”
“No,” “no,” Andy and I both rushed to interject and Pete smiled.
“Okay, what about Will and I sharing, and Andy in the den?” I looked at Andy who seemed to consider it before he shook his head.
“So you two are sharing. There’s no chance of Brad and Dylan fitting in that bed comfortably, so the queen it is for you guys and they can have the master. Gem isn’t getting that master bath.” He looked between us, amused. “Cool, so where’s the den?”
Sounds from outside drew our attention, signaling that the others had finally arrived. In the silence of the house we heard the slamming of car doors and the high pitched whine of Gem as she complained about the traffic.
Heading down to greet them, we heard Henry’s reply. “We’d have left long before if we hadn’t been waiting on you, love,” he said gently. I cringed because laying blame on her wasn’t the best start to their trip. Sure enough she puffed up, preparing to fight before Andy stepped in.
Holding his arm for her to take like an old fashioned gentleman, he said, “This way, madam and I will show you to your accommodations for this weekend,” his tone affected as he attempted to put on airs and graces. He finished with a wink and Gemma’s face softened into a smile, folding her arm with his as she allowed herself to be led away.
“Hen,” Pete admonished. “Let’s get through this weekend without you two bickering like kids, yeah?”
“Whatever, I didn’t even want her here,” Henry groused. Seemed he was joining me in regressing. Pete’s slap to the back of Henry’s head with a “grow up!” showed Pete agreed with me.
After unpacking and some needling from Gem about the master suite, we took the grocery delivery in and started dinner. Henry looked embarrassed as he came to apologize for not saying sooner but he and Gem were going out to dinner, already having asked to borrow Brad’s car.
To be honest, it was a relief to have them out of the house. Everyone seemed to be on edge with her there, more so with how Henry was acting around her. I almost regretted having them at the cabin, even if Henry would have missed out on the trip. Henry’s resentment was difficult to deal with. Pete wasn’t helping, either. Every time Henry said something about Gemma, Pete would say something cutting and they’d end up bickering. This was supposed to be a chance for us all to hang out and get to know each other better. I’d thought that spending time with Andy would be great, and easier, if we were in a group. Less pressure that way. Instead, Andy and I seemed to be taking over the roles of parents to three young kids. At least Brad and Dylan weren’t causing any issues.
We grilled steaks outside and ate them at the table on the deck. There was a chiminea that we had lit and a patio heater, so even with the dark and cool late October night around us, we were comfortable outside. With the drama-causing couple out of the way for the evening, the atmosphere was relaxed and cozy. We didn’t talk about anything big, just enjoyed the company.
