Page 19 of The Now in Forever
The faint sound of a door closing makes my heart leap into my throat.
Even if it was Ed, what do I care if he heard me? It’s better he knows up front; there will be no hookups involved in our writer’s workshop.
I grab my bag. “I’m ready to go when you are.”
Nathan offersto drive since he’s the only one who’s been to the Hideout before. Robin takes shotgun, naturally, which leaves me in the back with Ed. The SUV is large. There’s no real danger of my leg accidentally brushing his, but we are close enough that I can smell him—clove and orange, spicy and sweet, just like he smelled a decade ago.
The drive up the coast is as windy as it is stunning. The sky clouded over, making the water a deep gray blue. Large rocks jut out as wave after wave of foamy white water crash against them, like a fly buzzing in the ear of a Clydesdale.
Birds dive dangerously low to the cars as we drive over an iron bridge into Washington State. We pass a road sign for Cape Disappointment.
“Wow.” I laugh. “They really didn’t pull any punches when they named this place.”
Nathan chuckles. “Some people say they named Fortune Falls as a direct response.”
Ed sits forward in his seat, his eyes lit up. “Like look how much luck we have down here in Oregon, while you’re all up there in Washington, disappointed and shit.”
We all laugh.
“Exactly,” Nathan says.
“Why were they disappointed?” I ask, looking out at the wateragain. “No one could possibly be unhappy with a view like this, could they?”
“He thought it was just this bay, and he was looking for the mouth of the Columbia. He was wrong, though; he just didn’t see it.”
“He fucked up, and now the cape must forever suffer his disappointment. Terrible,” Ed says as he furiously makes notes on his phone.
We pull into a gravel lot of a small building that looks more like a mechanic shop than a tourist destination. It has a wide garage door, rolled open. Ornate, colorful glass balls, some large, some tiny, surround the building; a narrow path into a garden is lined with them.
We get out of the car and enter the shop. A wave of heat rushes to my face. Even with the open door, it is sweltering in here. There is an older couple browsing the shelves of glass ornaments, the woman smiling from ear to ear. A red-haired man dressed in blue jeans and a heavy-looking khaki apron approaches us, a face mask pushed up on his forehead.
“Welcome in. Feel free to look around. Any green ball is on sale today, fifty percent off.”
Robin smiles. “We’d like to learn how to blow glass.”
“Grand. All of you, or…”
Robin is nodding while Ed is shaking his head, still typing on his phone.
Nathan grasps his shoulder. “Come on. Don’t be a spoilsport. Yes, all of us.”
“Great. Look around, and I’ll let you know when I’m ready for you. You’ll all have to decide who goes first. It’s a one-at-a-time thing.”
We decide I’ll go first, and Robin will go next, then Nathan, and Ed is going to go for a walk.
“Alrighty—who’s up?”
I step forward while Nathan and Robin look around hand in hand.Going through all the motions, I learn step by step how to mold the molten glass. I haven’t made anything with my hands like thissince the last time I spent any real time with Dad. I’m embarrassed about the tears forming in the corner of my eyes.
Muttering my thanks, I rush into the fresh air without a word.
The garden islike something out of a fairy tale. There’s a wooden bridge with a small creek babbling under it. On the other side, there are pockets of wild roses, lavender, and daisies lined by colorful glass balls. I let the tears fall. I’m alone, so what does it matter? But then I hear a deep voice that sends shivers to my toes.
“Oh, come on. It couldn’t have been that bad.” Ed smiles from a wooden bench, holding his phone in both hands.
I swipe at my tears while he moves over on the bench.
“What happened? Do I need to fight somebody?”
