Always and Forever

by Harper Bentley

  Now I’ve showered and I’m hungry. There are three restaurants from which to choose, one’s a dining room which is fancier and the other two are more casual lounge-type places. I decide to treat myself tonight and go fancy and I’m so glad I do because my dinner is out of this world. I even stop by the little ice cream parlor and order a brownie sundae to go. In my room, I put a few logs in and start the fireplace then curl up in the big cushy chair that’s in front of it and eat my sundae.

  This has been a good day. I’ve barely thought about Brody at all, well, I have but compared to all the thinking I was doing last night I’d say today was a major accomplishment, now only thirteen more to go and I’ll be over him.

  Right.

  Chapter 8

  The next day I take it easy because my muscles are screaming and my nether regions aren’t faring much better. I think about getting another massage but know I’d probably punch someone if they touched my sore muscles right now. But I do apply the ointment the technician gave me to help with my newly waxed “down there” which instantly feels much better.

  Instead of going for breakfast, I make coffee in my room and when it’s ready, I pour some into the way cool mugs they have, throw in two sugars then putting on my new ski jacket, scarf and hat and grabbing a quilt off the couch, go out to sit on the patio putting my feet up on the rails, covering my legs with the quilt. My God, it’s beautiful here. Trees everywhere. A lake in the distance. I can even see a bit of the tiny town I went to yesterday over the treetops. But right now, looking out from my balcony, everything is snow-covered and in the light early morning fog, there’s a mystical look to it all. I pull out my phone and take several pictures then send them to Mom, Greer and Ryan texting, “I wanna live here forever!” All three text back gushing over how amazing it all looks and that they’ll join me.

  After lunch I rent a snowmobile and just drive. Of course, there are trails so I stay on them but I take my time staying gone for over two hours stopping to watch several deer a couple times, rabbits another and even to see some beavers building a dam. There’s a small filling station along the way where I stop and use the facilities then continue on my slow trek. I only screw up twice when I think that Brody would love this but I immediately shut it down. When I return the snowmobile, I go back to my room and call Darby to make sure my store hasn’t burned down (it hasn’t) then watch a little TV. For dinner, I call room service, the meal’s wonderful again, and afterward I shower, get ready for bed, climb under the covers and I’m out like a light.

  ~~~

  The rest of the week is more of the same, doing any activity I can to keep my mind off things. I’ve called home every other day or so to make sure things are going okay with the store and just to check in..

  So far I’ve gone horseback riding, ice skating, snowshoeing, hiking, swimming in the indoor pool and done lots of shopping. I’ve even gone into a few surrounding towns to check if they have stores similar to mine. I find one in one of the larger towns I go through and meet the owner who’s a woman around my age. She’s awesome and we talk about the different estate sales we’ve attended and she tells me she’s even gone to England and France to find things. She tells me she’s going back to France in the fall if I want to go with her. Um, I think I just found my next road trip. We trade cards planning to keep in touch for the trip or to check with each other if we get requests that our stores can’t fill.

  Finley calls midweek to let me know she’s done some checking and has information for me.

  “Hey, Piper, I’ve heard some things and thought you’d wanna know. I saw your mom at the store and she said you’re out of town, so if you wanna talk when you get back, we can do that.”

  “No!” I say too quickly and too abruptly but no way am I going to wait until I get back home.

  “Oh, okay, well, I ran into Sarah Foster, you know, who works at Sanderson Insurance? I got some pretty good insight into the situation.”

  I wait a moment for her to continue then call, “Fin?”

  “Oh, yeah, I thought you might have something to say. All righty then. So you want me to tell you what I found out?” she naively asks.

  I want to scream, “DUH!” at her but she’s sweet and I don’t want to offend her so I keep my cool. “Yes, please.”

  “Well, Sarah said she’s heard Peyton talking to Stacia and Kensley, not so much her because she doesn’t think Peyton trusts her as much as the other two, which I can see because Sarah’s so much nicer than the three of them put together and I don’t have a clue how she ended up hanging out with them in the first place because she is pretty sweet and it isn’t her fault that her husband took off on her. I mean, he was an asshole to begin with. We all knew he’d do it, didn’t we? Shoot, I should’ve run a contest in the paper on how long everyone thought they’d last! I mean, my guess was six months but he surprised me by staying for almost nine, so—”

  Oh, my God.

  “Fin?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Could you maybe get to what you’re wanting to tell me?”

  “Oh, yeah! Of course! So anyway, it’s not like Peyton’s telling Sarah this stuff herself because like I said Sarah doesn’t think she trusts her or knows her as well, so she’s had to listen to what the others are talking about…”

  I move my hand in a circle as in the get to the freaking point motion hoping Fin would, well, get to the freaking point.

  “… and she’s overheard her saying that Brody has a baby with some woman named Hannah.”

  My shoulders sag, first of all because hearing this again kills me, just slays me, and secondly because I’m afraid this is all Finley has. “Yes, I found this out the other night, Fin. That’s why I’m out of town. I had to get away.”

  “I totally understand. I hate this for you, Piper. But I really don’t think it’s true.”

  “Yeah? Why would you think it’s not true?”

  “I think Brody was set up.”

  I bite on my thumbnail and frown because this is something I haven’t thought about. “Set up?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Fin! Set up in what way?” My patience has grown very thin. I see a trip to the weight room downstairs in my future because it has a punching bag and I so want to punch something right now. Hard.

  “She said Peyton’s alluded to the fact that this woman,” I hear her riffling some paper around as if searching her notes, “this Hannah woman, fooled Brody into thinking it’s his baby.”

  Hm. That is an interesting piece of info. Then another thought occurs to me.

  “Well, that’s kind of a relief for Brody but it still doesn’t dispute the fact that he slept with her. I mean, if she’s fooling him into thinking it’s his child and he believes it that means he still slept with her, right?”

  She hesitates (more) and I can tell I haven’t sold her. “Maybe. There’s more to it but Sarah had to go because a customer came in. I’ll go back tomorrow and see if I can get more.”

  “Thanks, Fin. It’s really nice of you to do this for me.”

  “No problem. You know I love this sort of stuff. I so should’ve been an investigative reporter. My dream was to work for the Washington Post.” She now sounds sad.

  “Fin, you’re only twenty-seven. There’s still time,” I encourage.

  “You think?” she asks with a little more perkiness.

  “Of course. You want it, go get it, honey.”

  “Wow.” Silence. “Thanks, Piper.” More silence again then, “I’ll let you go since you’re kind of on vacation. If I get anything else, I’ll call, okay?”

  “That’d be great, Fin. Thanks again.”

  We hang up and I stare at the wall for what seems like forever, still chewing on my thumbnail while I go over what she told me. Brody’s akin to Serenity Point’s favorite son so of course people are going to find a way to get him off the hook. And I proved that what she told me was really
nothing. Yeah, he might’ve gotten set up but he still did the deed. Before my mind can go there yet again and images of Brody having sex with someone else start infiltrating my mind, I jump up and run out of my room and down to the small theater that’s next to the gift shop. There’s an all-night gig of movies being shown tonight which I’d contemplated stopping in to watch a few but decided on just going to my room. I saw that several of my favorites were showing, so now I’m hoping to go in and get lost in whatever’s playing right now to keep my mind occupied.

  At the door I buy a diet soda and take the complimentary popcorn the kid at the door is handing out then go inside. There’s a pair of couples watching and that’s it, which is good because I don’t want to be in a crowd right now. I find a seat seeing that I’ve only missed the first couple minutes or so of the movie that’s now playing. I don’t know what it is, but it’s older and has Harrison Ford as the husband and Michelle Pfeiffer as the wife and it’s cute at the beginning until it starts getting scary. All kinds of weird things start happening to the wife in her gorgeous home, like a picture keeps falling, doors open just as she reaches for the knob, the bathtub is suddenly full and she sees the reflection of a girl in it then the ghost girl writes a message on the mirror. I’m really getting into it, having pulled my legs up off the floor long ago when it’s revealed that the husband had an affair and the ghost is the girl he had it with and that’s it for me. I mean, I stay and finish the movie because I want to know what happens, but I’m pissed figuring I’ve got the reality of cheating in my life, enough so that I don’t really want to watch it on the big screen. Jeez.

  But what do you know? Watching the movie almost works at making me forget about Brody’s infidelity because when I get to my room, I’m totally creeped out. I hate to admit it, but I leave several lights on and it’s not until the wee hours of the morning that I actually fall asleep.

  ~~~

  The next Friday it snows. A lot. I check the forecast to see it’s just a winter storm, but tons of people check out of the lodge anyway. The snow continues through the night and the next day and although I’m a little concerned, the staff has assured me that the lodge has plenty of generators if the electricity fails. Actually, I’m not all that worried about getting home and back to the shit storm that’s become my life. I have another week to stay, so it’s not a problem if I have nothing better to do but sit in the dark and watch it snow. Now, not getting a hot shower is another thing altogether but whatever.

  Saturday night I have a late dinner and afterward decide to sit in the small bar and have a few drinks. It’s an awesome room, very relaxing and cozy, very ski resort bar’ish, I guess. There are maybe twenty people here and the bar makes me think about Jen’s with the live band playing which makes me a bit nostalgic for home. I miss Serenity Point. I miss my family. I miss my friends. But being away has actually done me some good because I’ve learned to compartmentalize my thoughts, only giving myself the first twenty minutes of the day to think about things then I let them go. If during the day I find myself fixating on something, I remind myself that I can think about it in the morning and it’s worked so far. Of course it’s also helped not having to see Brody every damned day of my life too.

  I’m sitting in a comfy chair near the fireplace my eyes on the window watching as the snow falls seeing that it’s really piling up. A message from management under my door this morning warned that another front was coming through tonight which might cause roads to be closed meaning I’m stuck here. But again, I’m not really that troubled about it because there’s nowhere I need to go. The only bad thing is that Greer and Addie probably won’t be able to make it up.

  I’m on my second Negroni and am feeling very sated and relaxed as I fold my legs to the side in the chair when the bartender walks over and places a drink on the small table to the side of me.

  “Uh, I didn’t order this,” I respond but he just smiles at me.

  “It’s from the gentleman sitting at the bar,” he explains.

  I look over at the orange drink. “What is it?”

  “A Sloe Comfortable Screw,” he says with a smile then leaves to go back behind the bar.

  I frown and twist my head around to see the bar but no one in particular is looking at me. Weird. I finish the Negroni and inwardly shrug because, hey, I just got a free drink so whatever. As I sip my new drink, I keep my eyes peeled for anybody who may be approaching but no one does, which is good because I’m really not in the mood to deal with being hit on tonight.

  After finishing my freebie, I hold in a yawn then sitting up straight push my shoulders back in a stretch before standing. As I pass by the bar, I see there are only four people sitting there now, three women and a man who’s got to be the husband of the woman he’s sitting close to because they’re talking quietly and holding hands and I don’t see him sending over a drink to me. I must’ve looked forlorn sitting there so I guess someone who felt sorry for me sent it. I’ll have to remember to tell Ryan this and the next time we’re out at Jen’s, we’ll have to put on our sad puppy dog faces and see if it gets us free booze.

  Walking through the quiet lobby, I see from the big clock above the check-in area that it’s just a bit past midnight and as I’ve done all week, I climb the stairway in the lobby to the second floor where my room is. There’s an elevator but I’ve found it’s just as easy to take the steps. Before I get to the top, my phone buzzes with a text and looking down to see who could be texting me this late, I almost drop it and do actually trip on one of the steps.

  Brody: Baby, I’m sorry about everything. I want to explain. Please give me a chance.

  Shit.

  Now what to do with this?

  ~~~

  I hurry up the stairs and to my room, swipe the card and go in quickly because I don’t want anyone to A) see me having a total freak-out moment in the hallway B) be privy to the awesome undertaking of seeing me throwing my phone down then stomping it to pieces as I jump up and down on it C) have their ears burst into flames because of the salvo of curse words I’m getting ready to spew or D) all of the above.

  Once inside my room, I find I’ve got fifty bazillion emotions coming at me at once and it’s been proven over the past year that I don’t do so well when that much shit’s hitting the fan, and Ryan’s helped a bunch, so because of this, I text her. She’ll know exactly what to do. Well, at least so far she has. It’s Saturday night so I’m hoping she’s awake. I know she’s not out with Mike because she told me he still hasn’t contacted her. Jerk.

  Me: Brody just texted me. Let me send a screenshot

  I click the buttons on my phone to capture the text then send it to her. Two minutes later she responds.

  Easy Ry-dah (by the way, she entered her own contact name in my phone): WHAT???!!!

  I say a quick prayer thanking the great beyond that my best friend knows exactly how to respond to this.

  Me: What do I do???

  Easy Ry-dah: Lemme think

  I grab a bottle of water out of the fridge as I wait. Normally, I’d be texting her during her think time but I’m thinking also. I guzzle half the bottle as I pace, waiting to hear back from her when I get antsy after five minutes has elapsed.

  Me: You fall asleep?

  Easy Ry-dah: No, sorry. Joss woke up & had to get her a drink

  She’s babysitting her nieces again which doesn’t surprise me. Josselyn, her six-year-old niece, is Ry’s mini-me in all ways—looks, build and attitude. Josh, Ryan’s brother, will definitely have to keep an eye on that one when she gets older.

  Me: So what do you think?

  Easy Ry-dah: What do YOU think?

  Me: I didn’t text you to tell you what I think! I wanna know what YOU think!

  Easy Ry-dah: I’m not sure

  Me: Dammit, Ry, you’re supposed to be my relationship guru here

  Easy Ry-dah: Sorry. My rates go up for out-of-towners anyway. You couldn’
t afford me.

  Me: WTF do you think he wants?

  Easy Ry-dah: Um, apparently to explain and for you to give him a chance

  Me: God, you’re such a bitch sometimes

  Easy Ry-dah: lol I know, right?

  Me: But what do you think he wants to explain?

  Easy Ry-dah: Don’t know. Text him back and ask.

  Me: NO. I mean, what’s he gonna say? So sorry I fucked another woman and got her pregnant but give me another chance?

  Easy Ry-day: That oughta do it. But, Pipe? I have to tell you something but wasn’t sure if I should when we’ve talked this week because I didn’t know if it was true…

  Me: What??

  Easy Ry-dah: Rumor is Brody was with this Hannah chick last year when you were at Greer’s when Addie was born

  Holy shit. I was so stuck on dealing with the fact that Brody had cheated, I hadn’t even taken time to think about when he’d cheated. I stop pacing and stare into the fire for a moment.

  Easy Ry-dah: You okay?

  Me: Not so much

  Easy Ry-dah: Hang on I’m calling

  “Yeah?” I answer my phone when it vibrates.

  “Honey, I’m sorry. Should’ve called to tell you that not texted. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’s okay,” I whisper, still stuck on the when of it all.

  “No, it’s not. But Tuesday, Fin came in to ask about places to send hair donations so she could write an article on it, and that’s when she told me she’d been asking around about Brody. She said Sarah Foster told her when he supposedly cheated.”

  “Supposedly?” I ask suspiciously.

  “Pipe, have you seen this baby? Do you have video of him actually cheating? Nope. I don’t think you do.”

  “Wait a minute. Why are you suddenly on his side?”

  “I’m not on his side,” she answers. “It’s just, I’ve been thinking.”