“On the last full day? That sucks,” Gage said.
“Is everything okay?” Debra asked.
“Yes. Jennifer can tell you more, if she wants, when she gets back out here. I don’t want to speak out of turn.”
“Of course,” Debra replied.
“Please continue to enjoy your breakfast. We’ll wait for them to depart before we begin our scheduled activities for today. I need just a moment to adjust some things, so I’ll be inside if anyone needs me.”
Nia walked back into the house and tried to think about the easiest way to adapt an activity that had been originally crafted for eight people, but she’d already changed it to be for six, and now, she had to make it work for four people. She always had backup plans, though. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be nearly as successful as she was now. Not only did she have plans for how to adjust activities; she had backup activities that she could substitute should she need to, and today would likely be one of those days. She knew people thought she just showed up at this point and basically ran some type of simple couples’ retreat, but that just wasn’t true.
Each group of women was different, so every event was planned differently, too. She had not used the music activity for the past six events, for example, but felt it would be appropriate for this group. The hiking activity with the ropes hadn’t been used in the past two events, and the last time they had done it, there hadn’t been a picnic by a lake where she’d let each couple sneak off and probably fool around a little, pretending as if she didn’t know what they were doing. She laughed silently at that as she picked up her computer to replan the group’s day. When she had a decent idea, she looked up and saw Jennifer and Kristina with their luggage outside, with the rest of the women saying their goodbyes.
It wasn’t common for this many people to leave before the event was over, but she took that as a good sign, and so far, she had faith that both couples would make it in the long run. She’dhad a bit of a head start with Becky and Helena, yes, but after reviewing Helena’s application and questionnaire, she knew Helena had feelings for her friend. They’dneeded a little push in the right direction, so she’d given them one, and now, they were probably waking up next to one another as she sat here and sipped her coffee.
Jennifer and Kristina, though, she was very proud of. Yes, it was true that Kristina could’ve made something work with any of the women sitting outside, and Jennifer also had a good chance with at least a couple of them, but when she’d planned this week, she’d had the two of them in mind for each other. Watching Jennifer practically worship Kristina for most of the week in the way Kristina’s ex-wife likely never did and seeing Kristina be there for Jennifer in other ways, along with watching how they did in the hiking activity and the games day had her believing that they had a good chance of being great partners, and that was why Nia did this.
“I want my own, though,” she muttered to herself and sighed for the third time that morning.
CHAPTER 53
Jennifer
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?” Kristina asked.
“Because this wasn’t how the week was supposed to end. You wanted to stay.”
Jennifer picked up her suitcase off the floor and placed it on the bed, unzipping it quickly.
“You have a pretty good reason for needing to leave,” Kristina said and sat on the bed next to the now-open suitcase. “Besides, I think I wanted to stay for another reason.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m really nervous.”
“About what?” she asked as she opened a drawer where she’d placed most of her stuff the day she arrived.
“This place is magical.”
“The bedroom?”
“No, Jen.” Kristina laughed. “This house or this event; I don’t know. The week has been magical. I think the location is just the location.”
“You’re nervous about going home?”
“I am really boring,” Kristina said.
“What?” Jennifer chuckled as she put clothes into her suitcase.
“We’ve talked a lot about your job, your very nice condo, there’s also a cabin, and yes, you want to get married and have kids; all good stuff. But I’m really boring. You save lives. Your new job may not be exactly that anymore, but you are still a doctor. I’m in the orchestra, and not even the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I’m in a smaller, less popular orchestra, and I teach kids how to play to make ends meet. I don’t have a lot going on outside of that. My divorce wasn’t cheap, so I’m starting from scratch in a lot of ways. I don’t want you to think I’m interesting, because I’m really not. It might just seem like that here because I turned off some of my inhibitions, but I don’t think I’ll ever be the kind of woman you can take into a bar bathroom and go down on or something. That’s not the kind of public sex I’m into. Maybe public sex is even the wrong way of–”
Jennifer sat down next to her and replied, “Kris, I don’t care. I’m very good with boring. Did the whole sitting on the couch, sipping wine, and watching TV, or just holding you by the fire not give that away? I remember us talking very specifically about a bathtub. That’s what I’m hoping for here.”
“A bathtub?”
“With you in it,” she said with a little laugh. “Don’t get me wrong: this week has been magical for me, too. The only reason I suggested yesterday that we go home early was that I wanted that stuff as soon as possible. I am about to stand next to other doctors, nurses, and staff, watching a young person save lives after she lost hers for the verylasttime, hopefully. I’ll finally be able to be a general physician and help people who come in for physicals, coughs, or a wrist sprain. I was worried it would be too boring for me after all these years in the ER, but I know now that’s what I want. Just because we won’t be at this singles’-week-with-a-side-of-sex thing doesn’t meaneverythinghas to be boring. I’m hoping for quiet in most things and maybe loud in some others.”
