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“I’ve been wanting to go back to that place we drove through—remember the time we all went camping senior year? What was it called?”

“Lake Quinault? In Olympic National Park?” Phoebe vaguely recalled a wilderness of evergreen trees and a secluded, silvery lake.

“That’s the one. There’s a lodge there with nice rooms and a restaurant and everything. We could be completely disconnected.”

“Disconnected,” Phoebe repeated.

“Focused on each other.”

Phoebe leaned into him. Instead of making her anxious, the thought of spending a few days in a rainforest, disconnected from the rest of the world, made her so eager, she wanted to bounce up and down.

“I would love that.” And then a thought occurred to her. “Since it’s sort of on the way… I mean, we would have to fly into Seattle anyway… how would you feel about stopping by a New Year’s Eve party?”

Jonathan agreed to join Phoebe in Seattle for a few days before their retreat to Lake Quinault. They arrived at her apartment in the dark of night. As Jonathan admired the city view from her living room, Phoebe stood back and admired him. It was a surreal moment. If she had told her past self that when she returned to her apartment after the home swap, it would be with Jonathan Lee in tow… well, she would have thought it likely that she was hallucinating. But here he was, in the flesh. Not a hallucination at all. She went to him and kissed the side of his neck—just to make sure.

The next day passed in a blur of laughter, lovemaking, and eating takeout on Phoebe’s couch. That evening, they stood in front of the mirror in Phoebe’s bedroom, Phoebe pulling a sparkly white cardigan over her navy shift dress, Jonathan fidgeting with the collar of his shirt.

“Are you sure I don’t need to wear a tie?”

“Trust me, the jacket will be fine. It’s not that formal. You look perfect.”

Jonathan put his hands on her hips and spun her around. “You look perfect.”

She laughed but put her hands over his to stop him. “I should warn you.”

“Oh no.”

“It’s nothing terrible. It’s just my parents. They might, um, make a fuss. When they see you and realize we’re there together. As a couple.”

“A fuss?”

“Nothing big. Probably. Just out of excitement.”

“More or less embarrassing than my family acted?”

Phoebe pretended to deliberate. “Just slightly more embarrassing, I would guess.” In truth, Phoebe had been charmed by the Lees’ reaction to her grand gesture. They had been adorably excited and supportive. She wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from her own family. Would they even remember Jonathan from her college days? Aside from Sam, who had known him well. She considered warning Sam before showing up with Jonathan, but she kind of wanted to see his reaction.

They took a Lyft to the Keller house. The closer they got, the more Phoebe felt anxiety roiling in her stomach. She wasn’t concerned about introducing Jonathan to her family. She recognized this feeling: It was work-related anxiety. The time was approaching when she would have to tell her parents and siblings that she was unemployed.

But did she really have to? Perhaps she could just avoid the topic for a while longer.

She was so used to struggling with these anxieties alone, she almost forgot she had someone to confide in now.

Turning to Jonathan in the back seat of the car, she said, “I don’t know if I can do this.”

He looked startled. “What, this? Us?”

“No, no.” Phoebe squeezed his hand on the seat between them. “This us thing? I’ve never felt more certain about anything. It feels so right, I haven’t questioned it.” She paused. “Do you agree?”

“I definitely do.”

“Good.” They shared a quick kiss, and then Phoebe continued, “I don’t know if I can tell my parents the truth about my job situation.”

Jonathan considered this. “Do you have to?”

“I mean, I can’t lie. Can I?”

“No, I mean, can you just not bring it up? No one’s going to ask if you’ve gotten fired lately, are they?”