“Can you give me a hand inside?”
“You can?—”
“Seamus. Buddy. Pal. Come inside and help me.”
Seamus muttered under his breath as he clambered to his feet. “He wants you kids to have alone time.” He patted my shoulder as he walked between our chairs.
“Subtle,” Patrick whispered. “What have I told you about…”
The hush of night swept in. Every pop and hiss from the fire roared. Staring across the field, I tried to find the split in the woods we had walked through days before. I couldn’t see it, but in the pit of my stomach, I could feel its call.
“I hated camping.” It was meant for me as much as for Nick. I could hear the lame excuses I used to give Pops. He’d stand in my door, somehow mustering hope that I’d cave and say yes. He never let the hurt show on his face, but I suspected it was there.
“It was my dad’s passion. At one point, I thought he only came home because of Mum and me. If it weren’t for us, he’d have run off with a forest nymph.”
“I would have never guessed.”
Leaning forward, I dragged my chair around until we faced one another. I wanted to gawk at this handsome man while the light of the fire made him glow. It wasn’t cuddling for warmth, but it still tied knots in my stomach. Were we going through a similar rough start that our hosts once experienced?
“Can I ask you a question?”
Most folks asked, not caring about the answer. That weight he carried when we first met had returned. I couldn’t throw himover my shoulder and take him into the woods for some nature therapy. I could at least be a friend.
He nodded.
“I know life is rough right now.” I shared that reality. If we had just met, this would be invading his personal space. After a naked night and hand-holding, it felt natural. “But are you okay?”
He shrugged. Something had happened. This wasn’t the Nick from the bakery. “It’s nothing.”
Nobody said that and meant it. “I’m here if you want to talk.”
I leaned forward, mustering my best empathetic face. We had left my comfort zone. He wasn’t a client I could tell to suck it up. What ate away at Nick wasn’t physical pain, and somehow that made it worse. A broken bone I could splint. Inner demons? Those couldn’t be vanquished with a well-placed snare.
“I saw a photo of him.” The venom in the wordhimmade it clear we were talking about an ex. “He’s dating one of my closest friends.” Slumped shoulders. Dipped head. Sorrow. “He knows exactly what happened and then… I shouldn’t be surprised. They deserve each other. Every good… it just vanishes. Yet again, the curse strikes.”
“Ouch.” This explained the distance this evening. I’d find it hard to have a good time if I found out somebody in my inner circle betrayed my trust. If I had words that could drag him from the misery, I’d form them. With the landslide of shit that had come his way, I’d believe myself cursed.
“I just need to admit this is the way it is.” How did you argue with a belief in bad karma that had never been earned? “Lacie thought coming here would break it.”
He glanced in my direction, and as his eyes softened, I realized that in his mind I had become part of the cosmic force dragging him through hell. I was another casualty of his curse. IfI reached out, took him by the hand, could I be the lifeline that pulled him to safety?
I froze. Every muscle tensed.
“I’m going to head back.” He got up and flashed a smile. Pleasantries that didn’t reflect his tone. “I’m sure we’ll bump into one another.”
I held still, unable to move forward. Our encounters could be counted on a single hand. I didn’t want to intrude. Nick had opened up at his own pace, and I wanted to give him the space he needed to sort through this mess. Or… at least that’s what I told myself. If I wrapped my arms around him now, I’d be admitting I wanted something more than a chance encounter.
He walked away while I stewed in my insecurities.
Just like that, he vanished inside the house. I didn’t know if I should be offended, angry, concerned, or… I fought the urge to follow. Nick needed space to grapple with life. I hoped he walked away knowing I cared.
I turned the chair around, resting my feet on the bricks around the fire. A log broke in half, sending embers into the sky. I don’t think I’d think of a campfire the same since our overnight. The first time I returned to the woods, and the experience might as well have been etched in stone. I wanted to see that Nick again.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone. I didn’t have the luxury of planning. I did what I always do, I acted.
Charlie: Interested in being a chaperone with the gremlins?
Charlie: Clothes required.
