Page 30 of When the Woods Go Silent

I laugh, gesturing for her to slow the hell down. I have no idea what she’s talking about. “I want the whole story,” I assure her. “Just more organized, please.” I hold up my coffee to remind her I’m not at full power yet.

“Okay, so the asshole guy you met with Arlo? I think maybe he’s not a complete asshole. Because I think he’s the guy I met today. I’m, like, ninety-five percent sure. He’s funny, Rosey. And freaking hot. He likes to hike, and he found me when I was taking pictures of this fairy ring I found. Here, look.” She whips out her phone and scrolls through some shots of mushrooms and flowers.

“What’s his name?” I ask her, trying to get the basics down. Maybe I did misjudge him the other night. It was only a few minutes, after all. Or maybe he’s one of those dudes who’s only nice to girls he wants to fuck.

“Torrence. He owns the restaurant, so of course he knows Arlo. I think maybe you just caught him at a bad time. He even walked me back here, in case there were animals or something.”

“Good for you,” I say, giving her a smile. Ruby deserves a good guy, and I hope he really is one. “Are you going to meet up again?”

A look of uncertainty crosses her face, but she hides it away quickly. “We didn’t exchange numbers or anything, but he did say he’d like to hike with me again. Besides, we both know where the other one works.”

“And lives,” I point out, the city girl in me not loving how everyone around here basically knows all our business. I’d gotten used to the relative anonymity of living around hundreds of thousands of people.

“Don’t worry. I’m not moving him in tomorrow or anything. I want to take this one slow. I always jump too hard, you know?” Ruby says, her gaze drifting to the woods beyond us. I’m happy to hear her say it, even though I recognize this also means she sees real potential in this one, after barely an afternoon. That alone is a contradiction, but I don’t point it out.

“You’ll get it right when it’s right to get,” I say, repeating something my dad always said, and she laughs. We’ve made fun of the saying before, but sometimes it’s helpful to take a step back and let things settle.

“I sure hope so. Hey, have you eaten? Do you want to go out for an early dinner? I know there are lots of restaurants gearing up for tourist season, and we’ll probably be too busy to go out once it all starts.”

I quickly agree, realizing I napped through lunch. For once, I’m glad for an excuse not to go back to my spreadsheets and boxes of dusty books, so we split to get ready. A hot shower revitalizes me, washing away the remnants of sour feelings from the dreaming. At least the bathrooms in this place are updated, even if the wallpaper isn’t.

When I head downstairs to find Ruby, I’m back to being mellow and grounded, no spiral in sight.

“I love it. I love it all so much,” Ruby sings when she sees me, twirling in a circle in the room. She pulls me along to spin with her, and even though I feel silly, her mood is infectious.

“This is our freaking moment, Rose. Our time. We’re so ready for all the good things coming our way.”

“You deserve it all, Ru.”

“Wedeserve it,” she corrects, hugging me tightly.

We walk to dinner arm in arm, enjoying the slanting sunlight and the earthy smell of spring. Charles calls a cheerful hello to us as he wipes down his shop windows, and I see life stirring all along the string of shops. The days are ticking down until tourist season begins, and everyone is preparing with new signage, beautiful window displays, fresh planter boxes, and spring cleaning. We wave to several other neighbors along the streets, introducing ourselves to a few here and there.

“This whole town is so freaking cute,” Ruby sighs as we near the seafood place we’d chosen. “I actually feel comfortable here.”

“It doesn’t quite feel like home yet, but I think maybe it could,” I admit, willing it to be true. It’s hard for me to truly think of any place as home, but I’ve always chalked it up to my unstable childhood and distant father. Having Ruby here with me is more comforting than any beautiful sunset or friendly neighbor, though, so hopefully Clearwater will eventually feel like home to both of us.

The host seats us on a covered balcony, space heaters keeping us comfortable in the chilly spring evening. Leaving her menu closed, Ruby gestures out to the woods beyond and the blue-gray mountains in the distance.

“This is the beginning of something, Rosey. Our inciting incident. You know, the thing that snaps us out of our boring, stable lives and starts the journey. I can feel it.”

I admire the view and work to siphon some of her trust in the potential here.

“I feel it, too,” I say, and I realize I’m not just pretending to agree with her. I do get the sense that things are changing for us.

But I know - and she does too - that change isn’t always good.

“Just remember, that hero’s journey thing always sucks a little for the main character. Trials and tribulations abound,” I tease her lightly, unable to shake all of my misgivings.

She’s dreamy-eyed, though, and my words slide off like water. “Yeah, but the journey always leads to a happy ever after. You deserve that, Rose. And I fucking do, too. This is it, I can feel it.”

“You do deserve it, Ruby,” I murmur, soaking in some of her belief. Hope has always been an elusive emotion for me, but she has enough for us both. It’s part of why Ruby and I cling so hard to our friendship. I fight against depression and anxiety, and she has a way of making everything seem possible and wonderful. She struggles to relate to most people or understand why they do things, and I try my ass off to help her remember how great her mind is, even if it works differently.

When I linked my future to hers with the bookshop, I was depending just as much on that promise of a future filled with hope, as I was looking at a new place to live and work.

We order and eat, and although we agree we’d rather be atGoblin Market, the food is good enough. Our conversation turns, like it so often does, to brainstorming ideas for the shop. We have so many plans that it will be hard to put some on hold to focus on the most effective first.

The restaurant isn’t busy, so we take our time, lingering until well after dark. Our conversation seems to have run its course by the time we walk back to the shop, and I enjoy the easy silence with my best friend as much as our lively discussions. That’s how you know you really love a person, if you don’t feel the need to entertain or be entertained every second.

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