Page 66 of The Cabin

“Watch your mouth, lumberjack! Don’t be disrespectful. The art of sweet and salty is not to be defamed by the likes of you!”

“Are you like this because you didn’t talk to anyone for two years or because you teach children for a living?”

“Both. Anyway, there is no better combo than milkshakes and fries. It is the cream of the crop.”

“I don’t think it’s that amazing. It’s way overhyped.” The shock, the outrage, is palpable.

“Excuse me, what?” I shriek, flabbergasted and offended.

“Something weird happens to you after nine pm. It’s like your brain clocks out, not willing to work one extra minute than it’s scheduled for.”

“Also because I teach children for a living,” I grin. I do feel a little delirious. It feels like I lived forty lifetimes today. I am coming down off an adrenaline high and am forcing my one million thoughts into the corners of my mind and it's exhausting. It’s making me weird. Can’t control a spiralandmy bizarre, goofy, intrusive thoughts. Gotta pick one.

“Do you see yourself staying at your district for your entire career?”

Martha shows up with a flamboyant twirl and sets our shakes and fries in front of us.

“Amazing! Thank you.” She waves me away and scampers off back to the counter. I take a nice long sip. Oh yes, just what the doctor ordered. I may be moaning a little. Grayson doesn’t miss it. He never misses anything.

“I feel like this answer is going to be a little biased considering my life’s current status…but I’m open. I like my district a lot. I love my kids and I love using both of the languages. But I’m feeling a pretty big push to start completely fresh. New apartment, new job, new everything. I know it’s kind of extreme, but I think I’ve hit the extreme point.”

“Like taking an abandoned cabin and renovating it in two weeks?”

“Exactly like that, yeah. I’m assuming you’re not going back to work with Hugh?” I definitely don’t think he’s such a great man anymore.

“Yeah, that’s a big no. I had been putting money aside for years, for obvious reasons. I have some time to think, but I also feel pretty open.”

“Okay, dream situation. There are zero factors negatively affecting your decision. What would you do?” I’m momentarily distracted by the way his lips wrap around the straw of his milkshake. The way I can see the muscle in his jaw jump and his throat swallow.

“Damn. I don’t know if I’ve ever really asked myself that question.” He bites a fry in thought.

“Me either.”

“Okay, then we both have to answer.”

“Deal.”

We stay quiet, thinking.

“Ooh!” I exclaim, waving a fry in emphasis, “If there were absolutely no boundaries, I would move to somewhere like Costa Rica and live right on the beach. My house would be a living part of the jungle and I would pay a shit ton of money for a famous scientist to magically keep the bugs off my property. I would want a way to control the humidity and temperature too. It’s really freaking humid down there.” I slap my hand down on the table, so impressed with myself.

“Oh, we’re going like, dream-dream scenario.”

“Uh…duh!”

“Okay, for my crazy one I’d build a huge lake house from scratch. I’d buy the entire lake; all of the property would be mine. No visitors, no renters, nothing. And I would also build custom houses all along the shore for my kids and their families. And we’d have bonfires and picnics and play games every summer for the whole summer. And in the winter, I’d enjoy the peace and quiet and build a bunch of cool shit just for the hell of it.” The joy that lights up his face… he is so handsome.

My straw makes the infamous bubbling sound letting me know I’ve gotten to the bottom. “That doesn’t sound all that crazy,” I say softly. He shrugs.

“So, you want kids, then?” I prod, taking one last fry and popping it in my mouth.

“Yeah, I do. You?”

I grin and nod, “Totally.”

He’s finally making full eye contact. Baby steps. “How many?”

“Maybe two? I’m open to more, but past two becomes, like, truly your entire life. It’s much more difficult to balance anything else outside of parenting. I wouldn’t want just one, though. I loved growing up with a sibling when I wasn’t hating growing up with a sibling.”

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