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I made a face. That didn’t sound like my cup of tea at all. I’d much rather head to a hotel in a city with some sort of nightlife or activities within walking distance.
“Stop making that face, Syd,” Joy said.
“How did you know I was making a face?” I asked.
“Because I know you, Sydney Sparks. Listen, we’re not going to force you to use an outhouse or something. We’re going to sit inside and drink too much wine and read and gossip.” I had to admit, that sounded amazing. Just what I needed.
“Cozy vibes, got it,” I said, pulling some sweaters from my closet and tossing them in the suitcase. I added scarves, warm socks, jeans, sweatpants, and a pair of cozy slippers. There. That was the basics. Now I needed more.
I threw in anything I thought I could possibly need, including my favorite vibrator and charger, a screwdriver set, extra sheets, a salt lamp, batteries, extra toilet paper, an air freshener, and a few other things. I didn’t stop until I was certain I had anything I could possibly want. Of course, that also meant I had to get out my second larger suitcase to fit everything. It was foolishness to think I could fit everything in my smaller one. I’d never been able to do that, not even for a weekend.
I set both suitcases near the door and sat on my bed. There was nothing else to do tonight to prep for the trip except toss in my toothbrush in the morning after I used it, so I reached for the top book on my cozy mystery stack and cracked the spine. Since I went through them pretty fast, I either bought them used, or I’d buy new and donate them to the library or the little used section at Mainely Books if I decided not to keep them.
Even though I’d been doing my best to leave Lark alone, I could still hear almost every move she made in the apartment. I heard when she talked to Clementine and when she went into the living room. Lark always talked softly to him and sometimes I heard him meow back to her, as if they were having a conversation. I did the same thing with him, and it made me feel some kind of way when Lark did it too. She also sometimes sung in the shower and I’d press my ear up against the wall just to listen.
I’d always enjoyed my alone time, but now I was having far too much of it, so I was relieved for the weekend trip.
* * *
On Friday afternoonI said goodbye to Mom and went back to the parking lot where Joy was waiting with Layne.
“Are you ready for a friendship adventure?” Joy asked as I got in the backseat after shoving my suitcases in the back.
“I don’t know about that, but I’m ready to get away,” I said through a yawn.
“Tired?” Layne asked, looking back at me with concern.
“Haven’t been sleeping well,” I said. I didn’t tell them the reason I wasn’t sleeping well was named Lark Conroy. I just kept waking up and not being able to get back to sleep. It was seriously annoying. I hoped this cabin they’d rented had nice beds.
“I’ll take care of the food budget, since you guys split the cost of the cabin,” I said. I wanted to contribute more, but I’d already lost that fight with Joy and I didn’t think I would have any better luck with Layne.
“It’s only about an hour north, and I found a grocery store nearby,” Layne said.
“There’s a grocery store? It’s a miracle,” I said. They both pretended that they didn’t hear me.
Chapter Eight
“Grocery store”was a little bit generous for the general store and gas station Joy pulled into. We’d driven further and further into the woods and I was starting to have anxiety about being so far away from civilization.
“I hope we can even find enough food in here,” I said, dubious about the selection.
“Come on,” Layne said, linking her arm with mine and dragging me inside as Joy filled up the car with gas.
Surprisingly, the store was pretty well-stocked, and we filled two baskets with food and drinks for the next two days. Layne did more of the work to plan out the meals, so I let her get whatever she felt like making and handed over my card when we went to the register.
We crammed the bags into the car and drove about fifteen more minutes until Joy turned down an unpaved, one-lane road.
“This is my nightmare,” I said under my breath. There was no snow in the forecast, or else I would have really been freaked out. Being snowed in here would be the worst thing I could imagine.
“Oh, it’s so cute,” Layne said as Joy parked next to a small rustic cabin with a wrap-around porch and a view over a little pond that was currently frozen over.
“I bet we could go skating on that if we’d brought skates,” Joy said. “Next time.”
“Let’s just get through this weekend alive,” I said as we all piled out of the car.
* * *
Less than twohours later I had a glass of wine in my hand, there was a fire in the fireplace, Layne was cooking a rich beef stew for dinner, and I was starting to feel like I might be able to take a short vacation from my drama with Lark.
