Page 58 of The Summer Request
She silenced it, struggling to think of something to say to stop the yelling.
“I’m not going to argue with you,” Michelle said, walking to the front door the house.
Val shrugged, wandering off around the side of the house.
Lisa looked down at her phone. Another call coming in from Neil.
She shut her eyes. What a disaster this all was. It felt like she couldn’t breathe again.
Lisa knew she was of no use here. It was time to go. The fun was over.
Twenty-two
Zora was a wizard. She booked Val a flight that got her out of Maine in under three hours.
Val decided to drag her bags to a nearby bar to wait it out. It ended up being the right choice. The bartender recognized her and said her drinks were on the house.
Life was good.
He slid a margarita across the counter. “What’s your secret?”
The guy was a little rough around the edges. A little wild-eyed, a little sweaty. But he was a fan. An admirer. Michelle would never understand what that was like. “Secret for what?”
He smiled a wide grin. “Looking so good all these years later.”
Val took a sip. It was too sweet. Not her favorite flavor, either, but at least it was free. She smiled back at him. “I know when to drop dead weight.”
Twenty-three
The rest of the evening was a bust. Michelle reached out to Lisa, only to find that she was already at the airport waiting for a flight. She struggled with what to say to her and settled on wishing her a safe trip.
Val disappeared without a word. Michelle left it at that.
There was no use trying to force it. This wasn’t working for any of them. Maybe the trip had been too long. Maybe the most they could take was a weekend together every few years. They were too different now. Their lives had grown too far apart, and they didn’t know one another. Not truly, and it was painful to pretend otherwise.
After an internal debate, Michelle made the decision to stay behind. She wasn’t done with Acadia National Park quite yet. She still hadn’t gotten to drive around or hike any of the mountain trails. She still hadn’t had her chance to see the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain, the one all the guidebooks raved about. And, though Zora hadn’t mentioned it, the sunrise seemed like something Justine would’ve loved.
The event was so popular that Acadia required reservations. Michelle had made hers as soon as she knew they were coming to the island. She’d been waiting to tell Val and Lisa how early they’d have to wake up until they were in better spirits.
That time never arrived. Michelle still wanted to go, and she wouldn’t be going alone. She had Justine.
It was easy to fall asleep early that night, and Michelle welcomed the physical and mental break from the day. She set her alarm for three the next morning and drifted off.
When her alarm went off, she popped out of bed, got dressed, and got on the road. It took nearly half an hour to get to the top of the mountain. Michelle drove slowly, her headlights illuminating the curves and bends in the mountain road until she finally reached the summit at 1,527 feet.
The parking lot was filling quickly, but Michelle managed to find a spot. When she got out of the car, she was immediately blasted by a powerful, biting wind.
That was something the guidebooks failed to mention. The darkness was already beginning to lift. The flashlight she’d brought was unnecessary, and Michelle carefully made her way to a spot away from the crowd.
She took a seat on a rock and a shiver ran through her. It felt like she was on the edge of the world.
The sky glowed blue, growing lighter until the first signs of the grand show appeared. It began with a deep pink cracking the horizon, touched at the edges with a light orange tone. The colors intensified before fading to an orange and yellow burn.
They were lucky it wasn’t foggy; there were only a few clouds in the sky. Michelle sat, enthralled, as the sun made its first appearance from behind a cloud, highlighting the edges with a blinding sheen.
Now the world was revealed and reborn – the mountains and hills in the distance, the trees dotting the landscape in every direction, and the ocean at their feet.
It was too much to take in, and before she knew it, it was over. She sat there, the wind blowing through her ears, as the people around her got up and left.
