Page 77 of The Weekend Crashers
“Thank you so much for teaching the classes. You got rave reviews!”
“I enjoyed it. And really, by going through the process of explaining things aloud I think it’s going to make my own technique better.”
She nods. “I’ve found that to be true.” She sees Max across the room. Excusing herself, she makes her way over to him, stopping to pour herself a mug of their spiked cider: Captain Morgan, apple cider, star anise, orange and ginger root. She takes a sip and it fortifies her.
“That was quick,” she says. “Thanks.”
“You know I wanted to be here. I’m glad you changed your mind about it.”
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
She leads him from the lobby to the corridor outside the dark tavern, closed on Sunday nights. She sees through the doors’ windows the chairs are upside down on the tables. Even from outside, she can smell the restaurant’s lemon-and-pine cleanser. Here, away from the fireplace, the stone walls hold a chill.
“This feels very cloak-and-dagger,” Max says.
She looks at him. “I don’t want to sell.” She presses her fingers to her temples to ward off the stress headache she feels building. “I’m sorry. I said I was okay with it, and I wanted to be, but I’m not.”
“Bee, I realize I shouldn’t have brought this up during your retreat. I understand you feel sentimental. But we work practically around the clock, three hundred and sixty-three days a year. I can’t do that much longer. Maybe you can keep up this pace, but I’m telling you I don’t want to. This offer is our retirement.”
The cider turns sour in her throat. “And I told you, I don’twantto retire.”
“I understand that. But you can’t ask me not to take this golden parachute. You can find new work in Philly once we move. I’m not stopping you.” He puts his hands on her shoulders and looks her in the eyes. “I need you to get on board with this.”
Piper waits until the last possible minute to go down to the Sip & Stitch. She wants it to be crowded so she can easily avoid her mother. By the time she leaves her room, she can hear the undercurrent of chatter and the clinking of glasses from two floors below.
The lobby is warm and welcoming, the air rich with the scent of crackling firewood and something sweet, like baked apples.
She takes a small plate from a side table and loads it up with crostini topped with fig jam and brie and a few slices of pear. Then she heads over to one of the couches, where Dove and Lexi sip from mason jars. The drinks are garnished with orange wedges and cinnamon sticks.
“Hi, Piper,” Dove says, scooting over to make room for her. “We missed you at Shetland Hap.”
She sits, offering some excuse about needing to get exercise. And it’s true, she did take that walk into town. She’s still thinking about the phone call with Ethan—what he said about her listening to her gut.
In all the confusion of the weekend, one thing is clear: She wants a future working with animals. She’s not sure exactly what that will look like, but she knows the next step is going back to school to finish her degree so every option is available to her.
“Also, your mom did a great job teaching the workshop,” Lexi says.
“Mom taught the workshop?” Piper hasn’t spoken to her since their argument. “What happened to Hannah Elise?”
Lexi shrugs, and Piper scans the room. She doesn’t see Hannah Elise, but she spots her mother talking to Belinda. She turns back to Lexi and Dove and changes the subject.
“So, how’s the first week of married life?” She’s pretty sure she remembers them saying they’d gotten married just last Monday—at Philadelphia City Hall.
They look at each other, smiling in an intimate, connected way Piper recognizes. It gives her a pang.
“Great,” they say in unison.
“What made you decide to do the City Hall thing?”
“It was the only way to make certain it was fully ours,” Lexi says, and turns to Dove for affirmation.
Dove nods, adding, “We wanted to avoid the hassle of dealing with our parents. They haven’t been that supportive.”
“You’re so lucky to have Maggie,” Dove adds.
At this, Piper reflexively looks across the room. And sees her mother making a beeline toward her.
Maggie sees Piper across the room, her high blond ponytail like a bright flag. The scratch on her face is still visible, though a less angry red.
