Page 56 of Revelry
Julie’s eyes lit up as she looked behind me just before I heard Anderson’s boots climbing the stairs.
I turned to find him bundled up in a thick beige sweater, face and hands clean, hair still damp from his shower. A sweater shouldn’t have turned me on, but it was the sweater I’d bought for him on an impulse buy in Gold Bar the other day. I’d been with Yvette planning out side dishes for the pig roast and seen it in the window of a small boutique next door. I never thought I’d see him wear it.
And now I couldn’t wait to take it off him.
“Well I’m going to go show Momma Von,” Julie said, popping off the bench with a wink. She waved to Anderson as she squeezed past him and then turned back to me. “Can you still make my costume for the Alder 1k? Please, say yes!”
“Are you kidding?Ourcostumes are almost done, putting finishing touches on tomorrow.”
“Yes!” She threw up her hand for Anderson to high five. He did so with a smile and she scampered off, big curls bouncing the entire way.
“Costume? I didn’t realize we were dressing up this year,” Anderson said, standing tall in front of me with his hands tucked in his pockets.
The Alder 1k was a tradition at the pig roast where everyone in the community jogged around the small cabin loop, stopping twice for Jell-O shots along the way. From what I’d heard it was a riot, and I’d be participating in it very soon.
“Oh yeah. You better bring your A game too, buddy, because Julie and I are out for gold.”
He laughed. “Oh yeah, and what’s the prize? Some of Momma Von’s hooch?”
“Like you wouldn’t dress up as a pony with a rainbow tail if it was.”
“Touché,” Anderson agreed, extending a hand out for mine. “Walk by the river with me?”
I loved looking up at him, the way the sun’s rays spilled through the trees and down onto his tan skin. He wore a comfortable, welcoming expression—not quite a smile, but nowhere near the frown I’d found imprinted when I’d met him. I nodded, letting him help me up.
“Let me just run inside and change my shoes,” I said, motioning to the lace up suede wedges on my feet. “Don’t think I’ll make it long on the rocks with these.”
“You can wear them later,” Anderson suggested with a smirk.
“Only if you’re lucky.” I winked, ducking inside and quickly kicking off my wedges, trading them for a pair of boots by the door. When I shut the door behind me and rejoined Anderson on the porch, he held his arm out for me and I hooked mine around it.
We carefully made our way down the path behind my cabin until we were near the water. We were still walking on a large bed of rocks, but there were patches of beach, and we walked slowly, talking a little about everything and nothing at all. The sun seemed to take its time setting, casting a beautiful orange glow over the river and west side of the mountains. I held onto Anderson tight to keep steady as we navigated the rocks, and he didn’t seem to mind.
Sometimes, at random moments, I’d feel a wave of guilt roll over me when I was with Anderson. Holding onto his arm reminded me of another arm I’d held onto for ten years.
Even though I’d been the one who walked away from our marriage, it didn’t mean I didn’t still think about him. I loved him, I always would, and maybe a hidden part of me wished we could have worked out. I wished he would have listened to me sooner, that he would have fought for me—for us—before it was too late. Before my heart had already checked out, leaving a messy, vacant room behind.
“Biggest weakness?” Anderson asked as we stepped over a particularly large rock.
“Oh, cinnamon rolls hands down. I can’t turn them down.Physically, I can’t.”
He laughed. “So cinnamon rolls and 90’s music.”
“And stray cats with broken meows.”
“You’re something else,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Thanks. I think.” I squeezed his arm a little tighter as we walked on a bed of smaller rocks. “What about you? Biggest weakness?”
“Old cult classics.”
I stopped. “I’m sorry, what? I didn’t even think youowneda television, let alone watched one.”
Anderson’s brows pinched together. “Come on, what do you think I am, a monster? Of course I watch TV. Well, movies anyway. And my go-to’s are the cults.”
“So likePulp Fiction?”
“Obviously.Eraser Head, The Evil Dead, Clerks, Fight Club,”he added with a shrug as we started walking again. “Those are some of my favorites, but I could go on all night.”
