Harrison left twice for provisions (more wine—they hadmiscalculated) and a Charlie Brown Christmas tree that they set on the porch. “Carlotta Jane’s was mostly sold out of decorations. I got some leftover pieces.” He’d brought a partial string of lights, some old-fashioned tinsel, and five red balls that saidPeterson Automotivein white glitter.
Amy continued painting. She had six completed paintings now, including the first one of the lake she’d made with the watery Christmas lights on the far shore. Her five Bossy Posse scenes included the one of the ladies in the pool, on the swan boats, on a sleigh, and baking giant gingerbread men as big as they were (while wearing festive elf costumes). And the last one, ice-skating in a frozen parking lot while Duchess curled up in a ball to sleep in the middle of them. The rink was decorated for Christmas. In all of them, they wore the signature red hats that obscured their faces. She called the collectionBossy Posse Christmas.
The paintings amused Amy greatly. She had no idea if they’d have any appeal to a tourist or a contest judge, butsheloved them. They were whimsical and carefree. They looked to her like women living their best life.
One morning, Julie called while Harrison was out.
“What is going on?” she demanded. “Mom said you left the lake. But I drove by your house and it was dark. Where are you?”
“Still at the lake. But I didn’t go home. I’m in a cabin around the bend.”
“A cabin? There aren’t any cabins—wait.You’re not in the old Campbell place, are you? Armadillo Hill?”
Amy looked around. “I don’t know. I don’t see anything that says ‘Campbell.’ ”
“Is it dilapidated? Run-down? Smells like something died? One bedroom and a rusty bath?”
“That’s the one,” Amy reported cheerfully.
“What are you doing there?” Julie cried.
“What? It’s charming in its own way. And the bed linens and towels are all new. They still had the tags on them.”
“That place is a fire hazard! No one ever stays there.”
“Well, we are,” Amy said with a defensive sniff. It wasn’t the Taj Mahal, but it was perfectly fine for their needs.
“We?Who is we?”
Oops. She had sort of hoped to avoid the topic of Harrison until she got home. “Me and Duchess.”
“Oh.”
Amy winced. She hated keeping things from Julie. “And Harrison.”
There was a moment of silence and then a low, “Wow.You’re not still, like…”
“Having a good time? I am. Just as you advised me to do, remember?”
“That wasn’t what I was thinking, but okay, you’re having a good time. Good for you.”
“Yes, good for me,” Amy said. “In fact, I’m having such a great time that I never want to go home. Except that I miss the kids.”
“There is that,” Julie said wryly.
“There is that,” Amy agreed. Thinking about her kids made her feel sad in a way, because she couldn’t live without them. Which meant she couldn’t have someone like Harrison. He was a man who belonged to the world and a sport. And she was a mom.
She and Julie talked a little more and made plans to get together when Amy was back in town.
That night, Amy and Harrison went to the nearest town and walked around, holding hands, looking at the display of lights. Back at the cabin, they made a fire and drank spiked hot chocolate. “Not very good, in all honesty,” Amy said, wrinkling her nose. There was something cloying about vodka, cream, and hot chocolate.
“Not very good, but serviceable,” Harrison said, and they clinked glasses in a toast to their ingenuity.
Toward the end of the week, the weather turned warmer, and they sat in the terrible rocking chairs on the porch with towels draped over thepads. They rocked in comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Each content to just be with each other.
And the lovemaking…Well, that was simply something Amy never dreamed she would have at this stage of her life. Sex, yes. Lovemaking, no. She had the idea thatlovemakingwas for that first intense love, and after the flame burned out, it was on a maintenance plan. Frankly, she and Ryan had gotten so mechanical about it over the years that she’d forgotten what it was like to be so connected to a person. Or how the intensity of the sensations went far beyond the physical and dove into the emotional. There was nothing casual about their lovemaking. It was so good that when Julie asked Amy about the sex, Amy was coy. She wanted to keep that part of Harrison to herself.
So yes, the week was wonderful, affirming, and one of the best times of her life. No hyperbole.
