So this was exactly the image in Clara’s mind as they joined the others on the deck and she realized how far down below them the lake was. Stone steps led down to a narrow expanse of lawn and there the world ended, dropping away to nothing.
There wasn’t a fence or even a railing. Clara supposed that with their own children old enough to have mastered the basics of gravity and natural consequences, Jess and Adam didn’t feel they needed one. But even if there had been a railing—how could anyone be so short-sighted as to buy a house on the edge of a cliff?
“They’re a disaster,” Jess admitted, pointing to the steps. “When we bought the place, the house itself was finished, but everything else was still in turmoil. We put the sod down, or else we’d be swimming in a sea of mud. But there’s still a lot of work to be done. We’re going to get new stairs built, but we’ve already spent so much on everything else. Anyway, we’re in no hurry. These are admirably rustic.” The familywhose cottage had stood here before this house was built had made their way down the stairs for decades.
Clara wondered if the place had been sold because everyone had ended up in a pile of bodies at the bottom.
“Watch that one,” Jess called out after treading carefully on another broken step. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Clara was getting down okay. Adam and Nick had stayed up at the house with the kids. Jess was wearing a bathing suit and nothing else, not even a sarong to cover her scary thighs, but Clara had forgotten that not all thighs were scary. Jess’s were firm and strong, and they probably didn’t meet at the top.
Jess turned around again. “What?” she called.
Clara had stopped. It had just occurred to her that as difficult as it was making her way down, she’d only have to climb back up again and that was going to be worse.
But Jess didn’t notice the discomfort, gesturing toward the sparkling lake, the clear blue sky. “Isn’t it glorious?” she asked. “Photos don’t even do it justice.”
“It’s beautiful,” said Clara, and it really was. The view was striking, the weather was perfect, and if they’d just install a funicular, it might be fine.
“Our own private beach,” said Jess once they’d arrived at the bottom. “Get a load of that.” A spread of golden sand, and a dock with a ladder. A boat was tied to the dock, covered with a tarpaulin. They only used it on the weekends when Adam was there; Jess didn’t like to drive it. “See, I told you all this would be worth the trip.”
“You told me,” said Clara, weary. “So how’s it going, anyway?” she asked. “Being up here all alone.”
“Not so alone,” said Jess. Nahlah had been up two weeks ago with her kids. Adam’s brother’s family too. They’dhad a lot of company. Jess was able to keep up with her shop, working remotely. “It’s pretty good, actually,” she said. “And I certainly don’t miss the heat of the city.”
“The heat’s not beenthatbad,” said Clara. They had a small air conditioner in the window in their bedroom that dripped out onto the alley. They’d only had to turn it on a handful of times so far.
Jess sat down on the dock and dangled her feet in the water, gesturing for Clara to sit down beside her. “Hey, are we okay?” she asked.
The water wasn’t even cold, and between that and the breeze and the warmth from the sun, all the elements were perfect. “What do you mean?” Clara asked. Because she’d made it to the bottom of the stairs—they were fine. Everything was fine. Right now, at least, all Bretts aside.
“Just a tension I’m picking up on,” said Jess. “I had to fight to get you up here. Is something up?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“I don’t believe you.” Jess had become more direct and harder to distract since she’d left her job and stopped being tired all the time. “You’re alluneasy.”
Clara waited a moment. “Have I ever really been easy?” she asked with a smile.
“Fair,” Jess conceded.
“And it is a lot to contend with,” Clara admitted. “Being away from home, with little kids. You remember what it was like. It’s overwhelming. And all this—” Pointing up at the house. “It’s kind of opulent.”
“You don’t like it.” Jess’s voice was flat.
“No, I love it,” Clara said. “But it’s just, I don’t know, highly irregular? For us, me and Nick, I mean. It’s wonderful, and I’m so happy for you, and grateful for your generosity,but I really don’t like knowing that I’m never going to be able to properly return the favour. You know that’s hard for me.”
“This is friendship, though,” said Jess. “It’s not a ledger sheet.”
“Easy to say when you’re not the one incurring debt.”
“Are you kidding me?” Jess asked.
“You’ve opened up your home to us,” Clara insisted. “And I’d offer to do the same in return, but we don’t have enough chairs. You’d have to sit on the floor. Nick will bring you a drink, but probably in a juice glass.”
“Nick’s drinks are the best.”
“I still don’t think that makes us even.”
“But it’s not a contest,” said Jess. “It isn’t a race, and don’t you remember how you opened upthe worldto me? Inviting me into your room all those years ago? You saved me, Clara. You even made me, I think. And if I have to start paying you back for that, then I’ll never be done. Like, the opulence here is just a drop in the bucket.”
