Page 15 of The Mountain Echoes
I sit on the bed, seething. I’m angry. Mostly at myself.
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out of the pocket of my dress.
I smile wanly when I see a message from Sanya, my friend whose wedding I had to bail out of when Nadine called to tell me Papa passed away.
Sanya:How are things?
Me:We buried him today.
The phone rings then. I sigh, but answer it.
“You okay?” Sanya asks as soon as I say, ‘Hello.’
“No.”
“Right!” She laughs in self-deprecation. “Your father died and…well, dumb question. Let me ask then, how are you holding up?”
I chuckle in response. “By a thread.”
“Hey, some threads are strong as fuck.”
This time, I huff out a laugh. “Yeah.”
“You seethem?”
Sanya knows all about Celine and Hudson and that sordid tale.
“I did.”
“And?”
“And, he’s got a bald spot, a beer belly, a bad attitude, and I have a feeling he’s an alcoholic. He was just here in my room, telling me he misses me.”
“The fuck?” Sanya swears, incensed. “What did you say to him?”
“Told him to get out.”
“And?”
“He got out.”
I hear Sanya’s long exhale of breath.
“Why are you calling me instead of being naked with your brand-new husband?” I ask, wanting to change the subject desperately, to talk about something happier than a funeral.
“If we have any more sex, his dick will break.” Sanya giggles, and I hear Clayton’s voice saying something I cannot make out.
Clayton McKnight is my boss and the owner and CEO of the boutique wine company Knight’s Tale. He’s also my friend, but that’s through Sanya, who worked in the wine tasting room at Knight’s Tale, where they met. I had front row seats to their crazy and sweet love story.
“Go have fun with your husband. I’m fine…or rather, I’m on my way to being fine.”
There’s a long pause on the other side of the line. “I told Clayton you may not come back.”
“Well, I probably have to. I have my place there,” I say flippantly, not wanting to address her truthful words.
“Hey, as soon as we’re done with this Tuscan adventure and all the sex, I’ll come and see you in Colorado.”
I can hear the tears in her voice. For the past five years, we’ve been close, almost like sisters—actually, she’s more my sister than Celine.
