“I have a deadline, so no fun for me either until I finish.”
We walked the short distance to the bar, linking arms and staying as close as we could to ward off the icy wind. The small town of Ferguson doubled in size during summer and fall, making driving anywhere a nightmare. But we were at the end of tourist season, and since it was getting colder every day now, things had started to quiet down.
I’d come here after pointing at the map and landing on the picturesque fishing town in Washington. It was as far as I could get without moving to Canada, though it seemed just as cold at times.
“Are you still pretending your birthday isn’t happening next month? Or have you moved on to acceptance yet?” Quinn asked as soon as we were seated at a quiet table at the back of the busy bar. It was crowded for a weeknight, but it was great to see so many people out and about despite the plunging temperatures.
The exposed brick walls, dark polished-wood accents, and a huge selection of drinks made it one of our favorite bars in the area.
We gave our drink orders to the waitress who had appeared as soon as we sat down, and I turned to my friend. “What birthday?”
She threw her napkin at me and rolled her eyes. “Turning thirty isn’t the end of the world.”
It was if you had accomplished exactly zero of the things you wanted to before turning thirty, so I shot her a look that told her exactly what I thought of that statement.
She threw up her hands. “Don’t start.”
I ignored her narrowed eyes and forged on. “I’ve accomplished nothing.Nothing. I’m a loser whose idea of fun is to walk to the nearest coffee shop. I’d still live at home if my family wasn’t so dysfunctional.”
I had only told Quinn the basics about my family. Murder and mayhem just didn’t make for a great conversation topic.
“They can’t be that bad,” she grumbled, which meant she had no idea who my family really was. And I hoped it would stay that way.
“Whatever you’re thinking, multiply it by one hundred and you’re getting closer.”
The waitress dropped our drinks off, and I took a huge sip of my piña colada.
“You want to go to the farmers market this weekend?” Quinn asked, twirling the straw in her mojito.
“Count me in. Once I’m done with my current project, I’m taking a few days off before starting the next one.”
Quinn paused her drink halfway to her mouth. “Really?”
I leaned back in my seat. “Don’t look so surprised.”
“Are you feeling okay?” She reached over the table to feel my forehead. “When was the last time you had fun without thinking of the next deadline?” she asked and took a hefty gulp of her drink.
She was right. I’d barely taken a day off since starting my own web-design business. I was a one-woman show, and, after a slow start, I could now pick and choose which projects I wanted to take on.
I batted her hand away. “I’m feeling fine. And I know how to relax and have fun.”
“Ha, all lies. Last time we went out, we had dinner, two drinks, and were home by nine. I bet you were in bed by ten past and worked until midnight.”
I didn’t answer since we both knew she was right. But I knew how to have fun. I just chose not to. I’d been wild when I was younger, following my brothers into one mess after another. But at least I’d learned something from it. And I liked to think I was now older and wiser.
I was a new and upgraded version of the girl who liked to dive headfirst into a situation without thinking about what she was doing beforehand.
“How are things with Tom?” I asked, taking a deep breath. The past needed to stay where it belonged. In the past. And I needed to change the topic.
“I’m seeing him tomorrow,” Quinn said with a grin.
Tom was a guy she’d met on one of her hiking tours. She liked to become one with the wild on a regular basis, much to my disgust. And when she wasn’t busy making magical pizzas, she was leading groups through Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
She would be doing tours full-time or be a park ranger if she didn’t have to take over the family business. She never complained about working at the restaurant, but I knew her heart wasn’t really in it. But she didn’t want to disappoint her parents, so she soldiered on.
Guess I wasn’t the only one with complicated family dynamics.
“That’s great. Where’s he taking you?” I asked.
