My eyes go wide. “You did what?”
“Well, how else do you expect me to get to know him and decide if I approve of him?”
Deep down, I know she’s probably right. Sophie and Logan getting to know each other is the logical next step, especially if Logan truly is serious about something happening between us. But the two separate sides of my life colliding like this feels strange.
There’s too much out of my control.
As we head back to my cabin, Sophie lets me know we’re meeting at the lodge at noon to eat out on the patio. To kill time before then, both Sophie and Heather take a short nap while I shower.
When noon rolls around, I’m looking a bit more presentable. I changed into a clean pair of non-PJ shorts and a light blouse, and even though I couldn’t completely get rid of the dark circles, the shower did help revitalize me a bit. This is the best I’ll be able to do.
We head to the lodge’s patio together. Sophie and I get seated, and she leaves Heather in her baby carrier next to the table. She’s content to play with a crinkly toy next to her mother. It doesn’t take very long for Logan to come out of the lodge and find us.
As soon as he does, our eyes meet, and he doesn’t seem to notice how much of a mess I am. I don’t know exactly what he sees, but it makes his eyes mellow out and become alive. In fact, his entire posture changes. Seeing him like this is a soothing balm over whatever wound I’ve been tending to.
For that brief moment, I forget about last night, and I just want to rush into his arms. But I exercise some restraint, to be polite. At least, I think that’s what I’m supposed to do with Sophie here.
I scratch my throat and gesture to Logan. “Sophie, Logan, I believe you’ve already met?” My voice comes out high-pitched.
Logan looks at Sophie for a brief second. “Nice to see you again,” he says politely, right before leaning in to kiss me. The world stops moving, and Sophie’s no longer there—but too soon, the moment ends, and the kiss is over.
“So,” Sophie says as she crosses her arms on the table. She’s got a huge grin on her face. “You’re going to have to fill in a few gaps for me, Logan. Avery’s been my best friend since she arrived in Montreal, but I’ve hardly ever been able to pull anything out of her from the before times.”
The next hour is perfectly pleasant; Sophie and Logan get along well and each trade embarrassing stories about me from their respective time with me. I notice Sophie stays away from any stories featuring Jasper, which I’m thankful for.
At some point, Logan asks about our high school graduation prom, and I tense up. Sophie dives straight in: “Oh, yeah, you know what? I was never able to figure that one out. Avery didn’t even come. She went to graduation, received all her awards—thatnerd—and then she skipped the prom afterwards. And I never got a straight answer on that one. Maybe you know something I don’t?” Sophie’s tone is playful, so I know she’s only trying to keep things light and fun. But Logan frowns, and I know he knows why I didn’t go.
He shoots me a questioning look. He doesn’t know how much I want him to say. I sigh and give him a slight nod.
Sophie is looking inquisitively at me, then at Logan.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that’s got to have something to do with our grade seven graduation party,” Logan explains. There’s a new sadness in his eyes, mixed with something more. I don’t know what he’s remembering, exactly. My face gets warm and my insides clench.
“Grade seven grad party?” Sophie asks, clearly puzzled.
“Remember how I arrived in Secondary Two?” I remind her. “Well, in Ontario, grade school stops at grade eight, and high school starts at grade nine. So I would have missed my grade school graduation.”
“Oh.” A look of understanding crosses her face. “So you had a grade seven party instead?”
“We tried,” Logan begins. He can see how painful it is for me to retell. How embarrassing. So he hesitates, unsure if I want him to continue.
“But as you know, Sophie,” I say with a sigh, “I’m not so good at making friends.”
The table falls silent for a moment. The air is heavy. Years later, it still cuts deep to remember how no one else showed up for me. It ended up being just Logan, me, and both our moms in Logan’s backyard. So, I didn’t want to be reminded of this when high school came to an end.
That’s why I didn’t go.
Sophie was my only real friend, but she had other friends apart from me, and they all had boyfriends while I’d just been dumped—which seems like a recurring theme for me. I didn’t want to feel like the odd one out.
“From the moment I met her when she first arrived, we were inseparable,” Logan explains, his voice soft. “But I guess no one else saw what I saw.”
“It’s a shame,” Sophie begins. “I never did understand because I find her to be absolutely awesome.” She gives me a big grin and places a hand on mine. “And anyone who can’t see it is either stupid or not worth our time. Or both. So I’m glad you’ve been able to see it, Logan.”
* * *
After lunch, Logan goes back to work, and Sophie and I head to the beach. I take her to a real sandy beach, Ingonish Beach, after which this town takes its name. While I love the beauty of the pebbly beach below the resort, I’ve been craving a sandy beach for a while, and I know Sophie loves them, too. Plus, it’s much easier to set down a baby in the sand.
Because Sophie seemingly plans for everything, she even brings a small pop-up beach tent specifically designed to keep babies in the shade. It’s a perfect day to be here; it’s hot but not too hot, the sun is out but not too scorching, and the waves aren’t as intense as other days. Other people are here, too, but not to the point where I feel claustrophobic or where we have to fight for a small spot of sandy estate.
