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Our plan moving forward hadn’t been locked into place yet, but I wasn’t going to worry about it. Okay, so I was, because my anxiety wouldn’t let me off scot-free, but I knew we’d figure things out before we got there. We had seven hours left on the road.
Plenty of time.
“She hasn’t,” Yasmine said, popping a fry into her mouth. “But Marley, my friend who connected us, said she’s probably working late. Kelly works at Goop, and apparently Gwyneth Paltrow makes them work long hours. Or maybe it’s weird hours? I can’t remember.” Yasmine shrugged as she picked up another fry. “I was in touch with her two days ago. She gave me the address and told me where we could sleep. Apparently, there are quite a few guest rooms, but we still need the gate codes.”
“The infamous gate codes,” Annabel snarked. “See?” She nodded toward her sister. “I was right. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to honey-camo your way in.”
“Eh,” Poppy replied. “I’d find a way.”
“Once Kelly gets back to you, have her confirm whether or not she let the staff know we’re arriving,” I said. “A house that big, they have to have staff, right?”
Anxiety. It was an ever-existing presence. I’d named mine Ophelia sometime in high school after reading Hamlet. Equating my inner struggle to Ophelia’s tragic story just seemed right.
“Kelly told me the house would be empty,” Yasmine said. “But I’ll double-check. She also said to absolutely not approach Meghan and Harry’s front gate. She advised that we go through the yard. They monitor the gate with cameras and just yell through the speaker at strangers to get lost.”
“They must have a lot of people coming to check it out,” I said.
“This is so freaking exciting.” Poppy finished the last of her burger, clapping the crumbs off of her fingers. “We’ve gone over some scenarios, but Yasmine doesn’t know which shift Matt is on, so we can do the deed right when we get there at midnight or wait until morning. What do you guys think?”
“What exactly are we delivering, again?” Annabel asked Yasmine. “You said it was a letter, but also something personal.”
Yasmine furrowed her brows for a brief moment as a small blush crept along her cheeks. “Yes, a letter. Our breakup was a little rocky, so I had a lot to say about the way I handled things. Along with the letter, I’m delivering a pocketknife.”
“We’re smuggling a weapon across the border?” Poppy’s face morphed to incredulous.
“What border are you talking about?” I chuckled. “The hedge border? You realize that we’re not actually crossing into the UK, right?”
“It’s not a weapon,” Yasmine answered. “Okay, so technically it is, but it’s not. It’s something really important to Matt. His dad was in the Air Force, and he picked it up on his travels and gave it to Matt when he turned twelve. Matt lost it about a month or two before we broke up. I found it while I was packing up to move to Seattle. I tried to get a hold of him then, but had no luck. He’s not on social media, and my friends didn’t have his new number. He’d already moved to California by that time. When he sees it, he’s going to be so relieved and excited. Honestly, if giving that back to him is the only thing I accomplish on this trip, at least I did something right.”
“It won’t be the only thing you accomplish,” I reassured her. “He’s going to see your letter, and he’s going to have feelings about it.”
Yasmine shook her head. “I’m not so sure he will. The more we drive, the more hesitant I am that I’m doing the right thing. I have no idea if he’s in a relationship with someone else or not. I have no clue if he still has feelings for me. This could blow up in my face.”
“I don’t think it will,” I told her.
She picked up her soda. “I can’t help but feel that I’ve built this up in my head to be some sort of happy ending for myself that might be impossible to achieve. My family might have a hard time that Marco and I are breaking up, but they’ll get over it eventually. I don’t need to have somebody waiting in the wings.” She took a sip through her paper straw. “Maybe we should just go back to Seattle.”
“No.” I reached out to touch her arm. “We should definitely see this through. Whatever the situation is with Matt, he’s going to get a chance to read your true feelings. From what you told me last night and what you’ve shared with us in the car over the last nine hours, there was a deep love between you. That doesn’t just evaporate into thin air. If anything, this will be cathartic for both of you. Then you can clear the slate and move forward, knowing you did all you could with no regrets.”
“Eve’s right,” Annabel said. “If he was as brokenhearted as you described about the breakup and recently confided in the friend that he still has feelings for you, he’s going to be really excited about this. This is exactly what you need to do.”
“They’re both right,” Poppy agreed. “You haven’t shared everything, but you’ve shared enough that we’ve all gotten a vivid picture of what it was like when you and Matt were together, how happy you were, the sacrifice you made for your family, your journey with Marco, and your decision to marry for true love. You’ve had that kind of love once, and you can have it again. There is no reason on this earth to settle for less than that. Getting Matt that letter is essential. And even if he doesn’t turn out to be your true love, there is a guy out there somewhere who will be.” Poppy glanced around the table. “Speaking of delivering the letter, do we think any old bodyguard will deliver it and the pocketknife to Matt? Or do we have to, like, ask them for their credentials? Or at least find out if they know each other first?”
“Asking if they know him would probably be a good idea,” I said. “We want to be sure the letter and pocketknife get to him.” We were almost done with our meal. I’d enjoyed every last bite of my burger and fries. They were delicious. There was nothing like a roadside diner with its shiny metal counter, checkered stools, and red pleather booths. I wished I’d ordered a malt, particularly as I watched Annabel happily slurping hers. “But overall, I think whoever we end up talking to will be civil. It’s not like they’re going to go full SWAT on us if we approach. We can just pretend we’re Kelly’s friends, hanging out and having a good time, and we just ‘happened’”—air quotes around happened—“to come too close to the property line.”
Annabel giggled. “Oh, and by the way, we have some specific things for you to deliver to your coworker. What a coincidence!”
“We can pretend we were hiking and lost our sense of direction,” Poppy said. “I mean, those properties are gigantic.”
I raised an eyebrow her way. “I’m not sure you know what ‘hiking’ means. You can’t hike in a yard.”
“You can, too, if it’s hilly,” she argued.
I laughed. “Regardless, we’re on the adjacent property with permission. Getting a note to a fellow bodyguard sounds pretty benign to me. They’ll probably think it’s cute.”
“You haven’t seen royal bodyguards,” Poppy said. “They hardly ever crack a smile.”
“They’re not supposed to smile,” I replied. “If they went around looking happy all day, they wouldn’t seem very fearsome. But I’m sure when they’re by themselves, they joke around, and it’s not so intense.”
