When she hung up,Icouldn’t help but tell her how impressedIwas.
“Yeah, well,” she said sheepishly, “Iknow it’s important.AndIcare about all of that, too, even ifI’venot been living it for decades like you have.”
“CanIsee what you’ve put together so far?”Iasked, pointing to her laptop.
So far,Ihadn’t asked to see much of what she’d been working on– only what she shared in meetings withJenand me, and those had become fewer and further between as we moved from planning mode to execution.Ionly knew whatIneeded to in order to contribute, soIwas out of the loop on who all would be involved, what the event would actually look like,all of that.
Chloe turned her laptop toward me and started to walk me through it, andIfound myself genuinely amazed by what she’d created.Soimpressed, in fact, thatIbarely noticed how close we were to one another; the way the sweatshirtI’dloaned her brushed against the skin on my arm.
The festival plan was comprehensive and thoughtful; perfectly balanced between showcasing the local goods and focusing on the arts.She’dmanaged to arrange more than a dozen partnerships with other vendors, a silent auction of local artwork with proceeds going to a rewilding charityJenvolunteered for, and a carefully curated lineup of musicians from the surrounding area, including a bandI’dactually heard of.Itwas both incredibly impressive and completely … well, us.Itfelt like things couldn’t have come together in exactly that way anywhere else onEarth.
“This is incredible,”Isaid, scrolling through the detailed timeline and vendor list after she’d given me the run-down. “You’vethought of everything.”
“I’ve tried to,”Chloesaid, andIcould hear the pride in her voice. “Iwanted it to feel authentic to what the farm represents, not like some generic festival that happens to be held here.”
“Honestly, you nailed it.”Ilooked up at her, seeing her work with new eyes. “Though,Ihave to ask, why did you come in today?Youcould have done all this from home, couldn’t you?”
Chloe sighed and glanced outside. “Ineed to send the dimensions for the temporary stage to theAVcompany by theend of the day.I’vebeen trying to do it all week, but today is the first day there’s been a forecasted dry spell.”Weboth looked through the window at the distinct lack of dry spell.
“I can help,”Ioffered. “Iknow every inch of this property.”
“Yes, well, if you hadn’t noticed,” she said, “it’s a bit drizzly.Infact,I’mpretty sureIsaw one of your neighbours building an ark.”
I laughed, andChloesmiled a little satisfied grin at having caused it.
“Yeah, well, one thingI’velearned in my years of working here,”Isaid, pushing my chair back and standing up, “is that, if you wait for the rain to pass before doing any work, you’ll never get anything done.”Iheld my hand out toChloe, who looked at it for a short moment before accepting it, andIdragged her outside, not dropping her hand until we made it through the door, and even then only reluctantly.
It was a mad dash to get the measurements.Therain was coming down so hard that it was difficult to see, and the tape measure kept slipping out of my fingers, ricocheting back ontoChloeas she struggled to hold it.Shewas trying to note the measurements on her phone, but her fingers were so wet she could barely get the touch screen to work.Plus, we were laughing the whole time, delighted by the ridiculousness of trying to get anything done in such conditions, which made it somewhat difficult to focus.
Just as she made a note of the final measurement we needed, the rain somehow started coming down even harder, and a loud clap of thunder sounded in the distance.
“Come on!”Icalled to her over the sound of the rain.Istarted jogging ahead, but she shook her head, her wet hair twirling out to the sides, water droplets flying off it like asprinklerhead.
“I don’t run for anything ifIcan help it!” she called back, walking only just faster than her normal pace despite the downpour.Idoubled over with laughter, this somehow seeming like the funniest thingI’dever heard.
By the time we made it back to the studio, we were both completely soaked through – again, inChloe’scase.MyNorthDakotaT-shirt clung to her in the best way, every curve of her upper body deliciously visible.Dropletsof water clung to her lashes, and her hair had fallen out of its bun and was plastered to her cheeks and forehead.Withoutthinking,Ireached out and lifted a wet strand away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
The moment my fingers touched her skin, something shifted between us, the same way it had inFatima’skitchen the other night.Chloewent very still, her eyes wide and fixed on mine.Theair felt charged; electric in a way that had nothing to do with the storm outside.Thisis it,Ithought.It’sactually going to happen this time.
ThenChloeseemed to realise what was happening and took a step back.Isearched her face for fear or anxiety or desire– all the thingsIwas feeling– but her face was downright impassive.Unreadable.Shedidn’t try to couch it by saying anything, either; she just turned and walked into the kitchen, leaving me standing there in the puddle we’d made.
* * *
I gaveher a bit more space for the next couple of hours.Shewas in yet another set of my sweats and a “leave no trace”T-shirt this time, the dryer not quite having finished with her clothes, andIwas in a fresh set of my own.I’dneed to do laundry again soon based on how much of my clothing we’d both been through today.
When it was time for her to leave, the rain was still coming down in sheets.Iwatched her gather her things with growing concern.
“There’s no way you’re taking public transport in this,”Isaid. “I’lldrive you home.”
“You don’t have to do that,”Chloeprotested. “Ican manage.”
“Chloe, it’s a monsoon out there.I’mdriving you home, and that’s final.”
She must have seen something in my expression that told her arguing would be useless, because she just nodded.
The drive started off well enough.Whenmusic began playing through the car’s speakers– one of my favourite songs, though admittedly a bit melancholy–Ireached to change it.
“This might be a bit depressing,”Isaid. “Ithink the next track is a bit more upbeat.”
