Page 34 of Barefoot Lake

“Alright, alright. Enough with that.” Piper laughs again, and I laugh with her. “You know that I don’t have any issues with drinking wine straight from the bottle. It’s just more fun if you do it with a friend.”

“Yeah, that’s why I called you.”

Piper finishes her hair and picks the phone back up, giving me her undivided attention.

“You know I’m always here for you, but I can’t be there, and you need to stop hiding in that house. I’m a little worried about you.”

Her concern is heartwarming, even though she called me a hermit.

“I’m ok, I promise. I’m not withering away or anything,” I try to reassure her. I really have been dealing ok enough with losing Mom and the sudden move. And ditching Reid has been fantastic.

Piper scrutinizes me for a moment with a withering glare. When I don’t crack, she relents.

“I trust you but do me a favor. Go do something in that weird little town. Anything. It’ll make me feel better about being all the way down here while you’re all the way up there.”

We’re on the move again in her apartment. I hear the jingle of her keys and know she’s got to go, but won’t hang up until she’s satisfied I’m alright.

“Ok! I’ll text Hannah and see if she wants to hang out.”

“Perfect! Tell her and Leslie I say hi!”

I can tell Piper is by her door.

“I will. And thank you, Piper. For giving me a little kick.”

“I love you, Alice. Now I’ve got to go. Your swinging is making me motion sick.”

She laughs again when I flip her off, and we both hang up.

I screw the cap back onto my wine bottle and pull up Hannah’s number.

Me

Hi! It’s Alice. Scott passed along your number, and I’m so sorry it took me a bit to reach out. It’s possible I failed friend-making in kindergarten. Would you maybe want to do something tomorrow?

She answers right away.

Hannah

I’m so happy you texted! I was worried the whole police incident scared you off. I’m at the bakery tomorrow. Why don’t you come by to taste-test some new fall pastries?

Me

Seriously?? A thousand times yes! That sounds incredible. Thank you!

Hannah

Yay! I can’t wait!

Well, that was easy. I go to reopen my wine for a celebratory drink, to congratulate myself for friending so well, when I feel a pinch on my ankle. I squash the mosquito with my hand but decide that’s plenty of the outdoors for today.

As I head back inside, I hear Jake’s back door opening. Looking over, I see him stepping outside with a mug in his hands. His head turns toward me, so I smile and wave. I’m already half inside, eager to give him privacy, but I swear he smiles this time when he nods.

The next morning, I’m finally ready to admit that Piper’s demand to go out when she was here was good for me, even though it ended in a police station. It got me to meet Hannah and Leslie, who are just as kind as I remember, and the pastries they’ve crafted are to die for. I shove another bite of apple Danish into my mouth and sink into my chair, cozying up to a hanging vine beside me.

Barefoot Bake is the bakery half of the bakery-slash-bookstore that the couple owns and the most charming place I’ve ever seen. Everything is dark wood and mismatched. There are plush vintage chairs and an enormous glass case on both sides of the repurposed wood counter space. Small plants sit in all different kinds of pottery on nearly every flat surface, and the air smells like a mix of coffee beans and vanilla.

The wall to the right of the door has an enormous archway connecting the bakery space to the adjacent bookstore, Literary Lake, a place that is similarly mismatched in a way that just seems to fit. The store has new and used books and a rotation of other trinkets and surprises, many of which are handmade.