Chapter 11
"Ah, here we are," Winston announced, unlocking the door and pushing it open. The cabin was smaller than I expected, but just as rustic as any other cabin I'd ever stayed in. Wood paneling, antlers for a chandelier. He was proud of it and beamed as Cici and I followed him in. "Kitchen is here. There's a disposal; switch is on the wall. The bathroom is through there." He pointed at a narrow door just past the refrigerator. "And there is the bedroom." He clapped his hand and spun around to face us.
Cici had a broad smile on her face and nodded. "Thank you so much, Mr. Harper, for letting us use your cabin. It is so kind of you." She offered a kiss on his cheek as a polite gesture and said, "Excuse me, boys." She wheeled her suitcase into the bedroom, carrying her briefcase and laptop bag.
I let my suitcase sit next to the small island that divided the kitchen area from the main living space. Both of them together were probably less than five hundred square feet, an open concept divided only by the island. It was small even for cabin standards, and I already knew what Cici would say.
"Cici is right. Thank you, Winston, for allowing us to use this cozy little cabin." I shook his hand and said, "If you don't mind. I'm just going to make sure Cici doesn't need anything,and I'll be right back."
"Of course." He smiled and I turned and marched straight into the bedroom where Cici had disappeared. She stood with her arms crossed glaring at me.
"You promised separate bedrooms. There is one bedroom, Drew." Her angry whisper was justified, but I was upset that she didn't at least wait for Mr. Harper to be gone before she started in on me.
"I swear, I didn't know. Now get out here and behave yourself." I spoke with a whisper that sounded more like a growl and pointed toward the door, then returned to Winston's side with a smile firmly in place. Cici followed, happy as a clam.
"It's so lovely. I was admiring the painting on the wall of the lake. Is that the lake down the path?" She curled her arm around mine and leaned against me. After her display in the bedroom I knew it was about as fake as could be.
"I have no clue, honestly. I bought that painting at an art fair a few years ago because my wife loved it." He chuckled. "You have to keep the women happy." With a wink he headed for the door. "You have my number in case you need anything and I hope you enjoy the festival this weekend. Avoid the absinthe!"
"I'm more of a Hennessy man," I called after him as he shut the door. We were alone and I could already feel the heat from Cici's glare igniting my skin. She pulled away and assumed the same angry position she'd had in the bedroom.
"I can't believe you did this. I didn't even want to come and now one bedroom? One bathroom?"
"Listen, I didn't know. I swear it." It didn't matter how many times I tried to explain I knew she would still be upset. I should have asked questions before I made promises. "It will be okay. It's not like sleeping in the same bed gives you cooties or anything."
"Oh, no you don't." She scurried into the bedroom and I heard rustling. When she reappeared, she tossed a pillow and blanket at me and snapped, "You're taking the couch. The bed is mine. Please don't bother me. I'm going to be working."
The minute the bedroom door shut, I heard the lock click into place and knew that was the end of our night. "Goddammit, Cici." I raked my hand through my hair and stared at the locked door. I heard things moving around in the room, and then I heard music playing so loudly even if I banged on the door she wouldn't hear it. I had no choice but to settle in and wait for her to come out. With one bathroom it wouldn't be long.
I rifled through the cupboards and found them mostly empty. There was a can of beans and a few other canned vegetables. The freezer was empty, but there was a case of beer in the fridge with a note from Winston that said "Have fun." Some fun, sitting on the couch staring at the wall while Cici worked. I took a beer and settled onto the couch, noticing for the first time there was no television on the wall. No entertainment center, no computer. How did people vacation like this?
The beer was cold and I was bored. My phone became my only source of entertainment, so I scrolled social media. I didn't usually have time to just and scroll, but without access to my work computer, I couldn't do much more than answer emails. After nearly an hour of mindlessly drinking beer and reading useless Twitter posts, I switched to Facebook. It had been nearly a year since I logged into the account, and the first thing I saw were my memories there.
Curiosity killed the cat and it sucked me in too. After my sixth beer, I couldn't resist it. I clicked the link and saw a post from eight years ago. Cici had run out of gas on the highway and left her purse at home, so she didn't have the number for roadside assistance. Drew and her grandparents were at one of his wrestling matches and Nev wasn't driving yet. She called me. I came to her rescue and brought her some fuel, and she took a selfie and posted it to Facebook showing the world I wasn't a complete trash bag.
I felt good about doing that for her that night, and I felt my heart stir as I read and reread the post. It made me think about the night Nev told me Cici had a major crush on me. She was seventeen and I was twenty-nine. There was no way in hell her grandmother would have allowed that not to mention how different our lives were back then. I had thought about it for a split second, thinking maybe it wouldn't have been all bad, but I was too old for her. Nev had to break it to her and after that Cici hardly spoke to me--until the can of soup incident at her grad party.
The memory had me curious, so I went to Cici's Facebook profile. She hadn't blocked me, so that was good, but she also hadn't posted anything in over a year, almost three years to be exact. I scrolled through her photos, not seeing many of me at all. Most of the ones I saw of me were bad shots, awkward angles or me with a scowl on my face.
Until I got to a picture of her high school prom night. Her grandmother had snapped some pictures that night as I sat around hashing out my business deal with Beck. The woman had insisted Beck be there for Cici's big night since her parents weren't around anymore, and Beck and I had to finish a huge project. So there I was, sitting next to some pimple faced kid who was taking Nev. Cici asked me to come to her bedroom to talk and she asked me about taking her to prom. I had the perfect prank planned. I was going to put vinegar in her water bottle and snap a picture when she took a sip.
Instead, I ended up having to tell her it was off limits. Besides I had work to do. I was building my business and career, and she would only be a distraction, not to mention she was a kid still. When she caught me with the vinegar she scolded me and begged me to just leave her alone. I saw the tears in her eyes and assumed it was because I had told her no. I played the prank on Beck and later learned she'd been stood up, and I felt even worse.
