by Kelly, Hazel
My lips fell apart.
"And it would be terrible if something serious happened and you sued us or something because we'd worked you so hard you didn't take your vacation days."
I furrowed my brow.
"Though of course your health is my main concern."
I pursed my lips, bracing myself for a death sentence.
"I want you to take two weeks’ off and get out of the city. I have a summer house in the Poconos where you can go. Someone might as well get some use out of it-"
"What about J&F?"
"The project’s not rolling out until next month," she said. "And you'll need to be at your best for it so now is the perfect time to get healthy."
"But won't it look like I'm slacking off right when I'm supposed to be trying to earn a promotion?"
She laughed. "I don't think two weeks off is going to ruin your reputation as the hardest working consultant in the office."
"Thank you," I said softly. "I hope you know I'd rather be working."
"I know that, Addison. It's written all over your face."
I nodded.
"But I can't afford to have you collapse like that in front of a client, can I?"
I felt my face flush with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Deb-"
"Don't be sorry," she said. "Just have your bags packed for nine tomorrow morning. I'll have a car bring you to the house."
"Are you sure I really need two whole weeks?"
"I'm sure."
"Maybe it could be a working vacation," I said, raising my eyebrows. "I'm sure there are some proposals I could work on remotely."
"That's not the deal," she said. "I don't want you to do anything but relax. No exercising, no work, and absolutely nothing that could get your heartrate up besides a good book. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes," I said, knowing it was futile to argue.
"Good," she said. "That's all for now then."
I stood up to leave, smoothing my skirt down as I approached the door.
"And Addison?"
"Yes?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.
"I look forward to seeing you when you get back."
I nodded as professionally as I could and let myself out, wondering what the heck was wrong with me that being sentenced to two weeks’ vacation made me feel like I was being punished.
Chapter 7: Wyatt
It was basically “Titanic without the boat.”
Those were the words he used in his email.
Of course, after reading the studio specs, I realized how off base he was. Sure, it was a love story, but he would have been just as close if he said it was like Dirty Dancing with no dancing or Ps I Love You with no letters… or any other movie I’d watched strictly to study the score.
What he probably meant to say was “make this a Celine Dion style home run.”
As far as I could tell by the vague and hypey prompt, the story was more like The Hunger Games. It was set in a futuristic world and featured a cast of characters who were both young and burdened by responsibility that they never could've prepared themselves for.
Fortunately, I knew a thing or two about that so I was already feeling more positive than I did when I received the last assignment from Marv. It was for a vampire movie and, hard as I tried, I couldn't seem to shake the fact that my heart wasn't really in it.
Then again, my heart wasn't in much lately, and Austin's voice was in my head as I turned onto the highway.
Was that a special privilege reserved for older siblings? The ability to penetrate your younger sibling’s thoughts?
I hoped not. I liked the idea that sometimes he heard me giving him shit in his head, too.
Anyway, the thing that was bothering me was his assertion that I should settle down. I’d seen enough of my friends settle to know it wasn’t for me. Not that they’d ever admit it.
Maybe it was my parents’ fault for being so damn happy together all these years. Maybe my expectations were too high. Still, I'd rather die looking for The One than spend a lifetime with someone I could do without.
But maybe I wasn't doing as fine as I thought. Maybe Austin was on to something.
After all, the women I was pursuing lately seemed to be of an increasingly vacant variety. And while that was partly strategic since I didn't want a relationship, it still didn’t explain why casual sex wasn’t satisfying me anymore.
It used to give me energy and fill my head with lyrics. And not just any lyrics, but lyrics I was proud of, lyrics I could turn into money.
What if that was why my songwriting felt so goddamn hopeless? Cause I was fucking the wrong women?
Or worse, what if the thrill of women in general was gone? After all, they weren’t mysterious and unpredictable like they were when I was younger.
Which wasn't to say I was going to stop fucking around. Sex was still an essential part of my healthy lifestyle. But maybe I needed to come to terms with the fact that screwing around wasn’t going to get me my Grammy.
Maybe I had to put my faith in something else. Like nature, in which case Pine Island was certainly the place to go.
I slowed the car down when I turned past the sign for it, breathing deeply until the smell of pine needles filled my head. The trees along the road were even bigger than I remembered and their foliage was so thick it blocked out the sun over the long road leading up to the lake.
After I’d driven about a mile, I braked gently until the car came to a stop and took my sunglasses off. A large deer was standing in the road ahead of me. Every hair on its body froze, like it was playing the statue game.
I would've happily stared at that deer all day. She was gorgeous with her big eyes and her toffee colored coat. How anyone could shoot such a majestic creature always boggled my mind.
Eventually, her ears twitched and two seconds later, a smaller calf came tentatively out of the woods, putting one delicate ankle in front of the other. Only after it made its way across the road did the larger deer follow it into the forest.
By the time I passed the spot where they crossed, I couldn't see them anywhere. However, it made the whole thing even better because it proved they could've hidden from me the whole time but chose to reveal themselves to me instead.
And I was grateful for the sighting. It relaxed me and left my heart beating slower in my chest.
Sophie would be jealous.
It was another two miles before I got to the first house, which is when I discovered it wasn't only the trees that were bigger than I remembered. The houses were, too, and they were all gorgeous and solid like they were built by someone who never quite let go of their obsession with Lincoln Logs.
Naturally, each house had its own view of the lake behind it, and many of the residents had small boathouses or at least a dock. It was a shame to think that most of the owners were wealthy people from the city, many of whom only enjoyed the place a few weekends a year at best.
I liked to think I wouldn’t make that mistake if I owned one. Which I suppose I could’ve, but I tended to be conservative with my money… or at least I'd become so over the last few years after watching guys who never should've had to work again lose everything because they forgot what was really important.
And I wasn't going to make the same mistake. I was still a young man, a bachelor. Sure, I put a lot of money into building my house, arguably too much. But that was an investment. Like my studio.
Other than that, I didn’t splurge. I liked the fact that if my truck got hit by a shopping cart, I didn't have to cry myself to sleep at night.
But someday I would spend it. When my family was complete and I found a woman with excellent taste who I trusted to spend my money on things of value instead of overpriced handbags that cost the same as six months’ worth of groceries.
Anyway, all that was far off. The important thing now was that I was looking forward to getting my hands dirty, making myself useful, and if I was really lucky, seeing a few more deer.
Chapter 8: Addison
"Why?” Holly asked. “What's going on?"
"I'm in the middle of nowhere," I said. "I'm calling so someone knows where to start looking for my body if I go missing in the forest."
"Jesus, Addy. What the hell are you talking about?" she asked. "Do you need me to come get you or something?"
"Yes," I said. "No."
"Well, which is it?"
"Did you get the message I left you last night?"
"No."
"I tried to call you a million times."
"I was at Nick's."
I pressed my palm against my forehead. "You weren't.”
"It's not what you think," she said. "I'm the one using him this time."
"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes. "I know he's convenient, but if you knew you guys were going to carry on like this, I don't know why you bothered breaking up."
"Because," she said. "He’s an unhygienic man-child, and I don’t want to be in a relationship with him."
"You just want to sleep with him?"
"Only a few more times."
“Uh-huh.”
"Anyway," she said. "It sounds like you called to tell me about some kind of personal crisis, not to discuss my completely predictable non-relationship."
"Debbie sent me away to a cabin in the woods."
"She what?"
"I'm supposed to be relaxing because of my heart palpitations-"
"What heart palpitations?"
I furrowed my brow. "I thought I told you about them."
"You most certainly did not."
"Well, the doctor-"
"You went to the doctor?"
"I had no choice, Holly,” I said, waving my free hand in the air as I paced the floor. “They were really freaking me out."
"And that's why she sent you away?"
"Basically."
"Where did you say you were?"
"Debbie’s lake house."
"Where is it?"
"The Poconos."
"Damn. I wish my boss would send me to the Poconos."
"It's only because I told her what my doctor said and she's worried I could sue the company for the fact that I haven't used my vacation days."
"What exactly did your doctor say?"
"That I need to relax and work less and manage my stress better-"
Holly laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
"Sorry. I mean, that's totally reasonable, but I just tried to imagine you with your feet up and cold slices of cucumber on your eyes, and it was too much."
"I'm glad one of us is laughing," I said. "There's a very good chance I'm going to go crazy up here like the guy in The Shining."
"I doubt that will be a problem."
I shook my head. "I don’t know."
"No, really. Didn't the guy in The Shining go crazy because all work and no play made him a murderous dull boy?"
I sighed. "To be honest, I thought I might be able to get some work done, but the place doesn't even have wifi- or it's just disconnected. I'm not sure yet."
"It doesn't sound like you've started to relax yet."
I sat on the edge of the couch and looked at the oversized fireplace beyond the bearskin rug. "Is it that obvious?"
"Yeah, it is."
"At least I have phone service," I said, my eyes moving up the wall to a massive deer head. "God I hope that's fake."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Do you want my opinion?" she asked.
"What I want is for you to check and see how far Pine Island is from the closest town because ever since the driver pulled groceries out of the car for me, I’ve been worried that I'm, like, a thousand miles away."
"I'll look it up in a second."
"Thanks."
"But I want to give you my opinion first."
I raised my eyebrows. "You mean about whether I should be buried or cremated after my body is found floating in the lake?"
"Cremated?"
"Correct."
"I thought so," she said. "We've talked about that."
"Okay, good," I said. "Cause I think my skin would look pretty shit once it got all pruney and waterlogged."
"Addison!"
"Yeah?"
"Please listen to me for a second."
I breathed in through my nose. "Okay."
"If your doctor and your boss both think you need to take some time off to relax- for your health- then that's what you obviously need to do whether you agree with them or not."
"Yeah, well, the doctor told me I should be having more sex, too, and I don't see how that's going to happen unless I develop a squirrel fetish."
"I can see if Nick is available for house calls if you want-"
"No thanks. That won’t be necessary," I said. "And I thought you were my friend. That's why I chose you as my one phone call in this prison of wood and eerie lake-lapping silence."
"I am your friend," she said. "And I want you to stop being a stubborn control freak for two seconds and realize how lucky you are that you've been given the gift of a time out."
"I know," I said, looking down between my feet. "It just doesn't really feel like a gift. It feels like I'm being punished."
"You're not being punished," she said. "You’re taking a break from the punishment you normally inflict on yourself on a daily basis."
"Maybe you have a point."
"I do have a point, and I know getting back to nature isn't exactly your thing, but I think it will be really good for you if you don't spend the whole time you're up there panicking for no reason."
"I know that what you're saying is logical, but relaxing doesn't really come as easily to me as it does to you."
"How fortunate you are then that you've been given this opportunity to practice."
"Don't patronize me."
"I'm not," she said. "I'm rooting for you."
I blew some air out from between my lips.
"You'll probably really enjoy yourself once you get settled."
"And if I don't?"
"It will still be good for your heart."
"I hope so," I said. "Cause it’s really been freaking me out."
"How long are you staying up there?"
"Two weeks."
"Shit."
"Shit what?" I asked. "Oh my god you checked how far away I am, didn't you?"
"Let's just say that you won't be walking into town from where you are."
"I knew it."
"It's going to be okay, Addy. Just unpack your stuff, take a bath or something, and then get some fresh air."
"As if I have any other options."
"I'll call and check on you later."
"Promise me you’ll answer my calls even if Nick is inside you."
She laughed. "I'm not going to agree to that, but I can promise that even if I miss your call, Nick won’t last long enough for you to get murdered so as soon as we’re done-"
"Nice," I said. "End the call with a joke. Fucking hilarious."
"Have fun my love."
I groaned and hung up the phone, staring at the screen for five minutes while the reception bars went up and down. When I was convinced I wasn't going to lose my connection, I set the phone down on the couch and headed to the kitchen.
The view from the window over the sink was kind of picturesque, but as pretty as the thick woods and the quiet lake were, I still missed the comforting sounds of the city… and other people.
And when I couldn't get the fucking jam jar open so I could have a piece of toast, I had a horrible feeling this was about to be the longest two weeks of my life.
Chapter 9: Wyatt
The day was heating up, and I was starting to regret passing up the lemonade I was offered a few houses back. I wasn’t normally one to turn down a cold drink, but when the woman noticed me, she was trying to load four
kids and twice as many pool toys in the car so I figured she had enough on her plate.