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Trust him.
Doesn’t Henry know that that’s the hardest thing he could ask of me?
* * *
As our family, sans Henry, heads to lunch at one of the onsite restaurants, Hannah pulls me by the arm so we can hang back.
“What’s going on?” she asks immediately.
“I don’t know. Nothing. I’m fine.”
“Norah, what the fuck happened while you were snowed in?”
“It was…confusing. That’s all,” I say, not wanting to make any of this about me. Because if I tell Hannah the truth right now, she will absolutely punch Henry in the face, and it will become so much bigger than it should be. This is about Mom and Kristine. It has to be.
“Is there something going on between you two?” Hannah asks, like I’m a wild animal she’s carefully approaching.
“No! No. Of course not. We just called a temporary truce. That’s it.”
Hannah gives me a look; she’s not buying any of it.
“Plus, Genevieve is here,” I say a little too enthusiastically.
“Yeah, she showed up maybe an hour ago? Kristine had no idea how she got here. It was really fucking weird.”
“I bet,” I say, a million questions running at full speed through my brain. “Did you know he had a girlfriend?”
Hannah shakes her head, and we keep walking.
Chapter 11
Great Blue Lodge is huge. The resort is more expansive than I could have imagined. There are several levels of slopes for skiing and snowboarding, hiking trails, an ice-skating rink, two restaurants and a bar onsite, tons of nightlife activities. I’ve always heard about the lodge from a number of our classmates over the years. This was the thing to do. The epitome of woodsy-chic.
The perfect place to propose.
There’s a central lodge with individual rooms, and then tons of small cabins surrounding it on the property, which was where we were staying.
The cabin is adorable. High ceilings with long beams and tall windows. Gorgeous stained wood paneling. A stone fireplace from my dreams. I’m able to drop all my complicated feelings and revel in this moment for my mom and her soon-to-be fiancée.
When we return from lunch, per Mom’s request, Hannah begins to move her stuff out of the second bedroom. Presumably because of the looming question of our new visitor, who Kristine didn’t even seem to know existed until she arrived at the lodge two hours ago.
I should feel relieved that Kristine doesn’t know Genevieve. Surely his mom would know about a serious girlfriend, so there must be an explanation, just as Henry promised. But the sinking pit in my stomach persists.
Hannah shimmies her overflowing suitcase past the bedroom doorframe and out into the common area. The thought of Henry and Genevieve sharing a bed behind a closed door twenty feet from this sofa, the one it appears I’ll be sleeping on, makes me want to bolt.
I sit down on our new bed, still folded up. I feel nearly absorbed by it. I wish I could just sink all the way in and let it transport me far, far away from here.
“So,” I say loudly, “what’s on the agenda for today?”
“We were just talking about hitting the slopes.” My mom does a swooshing motion as if she’s holding ski poles, and Kristine cracks up like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever seen. These two really were made for each other.
“Is it okay if I go for a run? I can catch up with you for dinner. Just—” I glance toward the door. I can’t bear to be here when the two of them return. “Between the drive and getting snowed in, I feel like I need to get out for a little while.”
Kristine gives me a map of the resort and trails. I change and try to leave as quickly as I can.
Henry told me he never wanted to hurt me. How did I let it happen twice now? How could I have been so stupid? I feel humiliated, betrayed, confused.
This perfect moment in my life, that I thought I would treasure, that felt transcendent. It’s tainted now.
