“What on earth is going on?”I throw my hands up in the air.“Are you guys, like, I don’t know.I can’t think of anything that would?—”
“We got you a house.”Natalie’s smiling.
So is Samantha.
“Youwhat?”
“For Christmas this year, we got you a house,” Sam says.“Or rather, we got one for Trish, so you can have your house back, finally.”
“You said she’s been making you crazy, with the reorganization, and the changes, and the micromanaging,” Natalie says.“Right?”
I blink.
“So you know the gardener’s cottage?”Natalie’s jogged to my side, and she grabs my wrist.“Let’s go back there and see it.We were going to do a treasure hunt to take you to it on Christmas day, but we’re only a week early.”
“Ten days,” Sam says.“Can’t you count?”
Natalie sighs.“I’m tired, alright?While you went out there and had a fancy meal in a posh dress, I wasworking.”
For a split second, I see the sadness behind Sam’s eyes, and I realize that Natalie could have come up with a lie.She could’ve put me off again.They’ve been doing that to me for months now, while they worked on a surprise...for me.My heart swells.I should’ve known it was nothing bad.I know they love me.They may love me more than anyone else.
How could I doubt them?
I let my imagination run wild, and instead of getting mad at me, they’re smiling, and what’s more, Natalie’s using this as a way to try and heal Sam.She’s clearly had a really bad day.She said they cried for an hour.
So I play my part, and I let them lead me around the corner in the dark, and I wait while we get barn lights turned on, and I let Natalie rush ahead and turn on the porch lights to the gardener’s cottage, and then I ooh, and I aaah, and pretty soon, I don’t even have to exaggerate my oohs and aahs, because what they have done right under my nose is nothing short ofspectacular.
“If you had been more keen on riding, you’d have caught us way sooner,” Sam says, her eyes bright again.
“Yeah, the guys were running late, and they took way longer to do the parts of the project we hired them for.We thought we were cooked, but you’ve been a stinker and skipped out on any barn time, so we were able to keep it a secret.”Natalie nods slowly.“So thanks, but now you have to come ride with us again.Okay?”
I roll my eyes.“You two were so close, I felt like you were leaving me out, and that made me even less excited to go.”
Sam shakes her head.“We need you back.This one’s been really bugging me.Look what she did to my favorite dress.”She gestures at the blue streaks.
“Hello,” Natalie says.“You’re the freeloader.I’vebeen doing all the gruntwork here.”She’s on a roll now, pacing.“She’s all, ‘well, I cut the tile, so you need to lay it.’Or, ‘now that I’ve done all the hard stuff, you can do the grout.’”She groans.“Do you know how hard grout is on old knees like mine?”She pats her knees, smearing one of her blue spots into a blotch.“It’s really hard, okay?Plus, she has these fancy kneepads, but I don’t.I just have to deal with it.I had to double the morning collagen I usually drink just to walk upright after we did the floorboard trim.”
I love watching Natalie when she’s ranting.
And the cottage they remodeled is so bright, and so inviting, and so beautiful, that I find myself crying again.“Thank you,” I say.“This is—Trish is going to love it.”And what they’ve given me is space.Freedom.Privacy.Things I didn’t realize I needed until they’re right there, within reach again.“You guys are just...”
“We figured since you were the last one to officially join, you didn’t think you could ask for it,” Natalie says.
“And since I burned the barn down—” Sam winces.“I knew you didn’t want to cost us extra money.”
“If I whined about the slow season less, you might have asked,” Natalie says.“So that’s kind of on me, too.”
“Anyway, we love you.We haven’t been ducking out on you—or really, we have, but only because we love you.”Sam’s smiling, even after her horrible day, and my heart swells again.
“I’m so glad we all came here,” I say.“Even if I’m dating a young guy who’s way too hot for me.Even if Sam’s boyfriend is an idiot.And even if Natalie’s dating a guy who looks like he poses for GQ while her loser husband follows her around begging for scraps, I think we’re doing alright.”
“WhenisMason going to stop pining?”Sam asks.“It’s getting a little pathetic.”
“He’s not pining,” Natalie says.“He’s moved on.He’s just living here for the kids.”
“Sure,” I say.
“Yeah, right,” Sam says.
