I glance over my checklist of things that still need to be done while Cami is at school. Since everything is now open, she was able to finish her last semester of graduate school on campus. Better yet, she’ll finally get to walk across the stage and receive her diploma. Knowing there’s quite a lot to do, I decide to call her best friend and maid of honor. I was going to ask my sister since she wants to be involved too, but I know she’s busy with work through Christmas.
“Hi, Kendall,” I greet her when she answers.
“Hey! How’s it going, groom-to-be?” she asks in her typical bouncy voice. The girl has so much energy that sometimes she exhausts the piss out of me.
“Just getting some final touches together before the big day,” I tell her with a smile.
“Of course. Give me all the tasks.”
“So, since Cami wants to spend two weeks at the cabin to relive old times, I want to make sure it’s completely stocked and ready. Any way you can pick up enough food and things to last us that long?”
She snorts. “Is Ryan gonna help me? I might need some strong muscles.”
I shake my head. “I think I can arrange that,” I murmur, knowing I’ll have to coax my best friend into taking off work, and even though he’s more than willing to do whatever we need, I feel guilty for asking. He’s not been the same since the pandemic started. He’s the strongest person I know, but it broke him.
“Then absolutely,” she says matter-of-factly. “Food for two weeks. Enough booze to have you drunk 24/7 and a case of lube. Got it.”
I can’t even hold back the laughter, and I’m sure as hell not going to argue with her. “Whatever you say, Kendall. You know what Cami likes.”
“Oh, then I can’t forget chocolate, sparkling water, and shitty microwave meals.”
I think back to when we were quarantined in the cabin together and all the unhealthy processed shit she brought to eat. Kendall knows her as well as I do.
“Extra wood, too,” I tell her, knowing that’ll be Ryan’s job. “Maybe some holiday decorations.” We’ll return five days before Christmas Eve, so it’ll be nice to have the tree and stuff up while we’re there.
“I’ve got this, Eli. I was basically born for this task.”
I chuckle. “Alright, great.”
“I think I can make it happen this weekend. Check with Ryan and see if he’s down, then we can carpool up there on Saturday.”
“Will do,” I say, and we end the call. I was ready to give Cami a glamorous, over-the-top, super-expensive honeymoon, but she didn’t want our first moments as husband and wife to be captured by the paparazzi. She knew if we went anywhere public, they’d undoubtedly find us, and our privacy would be gone.
Moments later, Cami walks through the door with a smile on her face.
“Hey, baby.” She pulls me into her arms and presses her lips against mine.
“How was class?” I ask as we settle on the couch. Cami reaches over and lights the fireplace with a push of a button, then kicks off her shoes.
“Great. Getting a little stressful with exams coming up, but then it’ll be the wedding, and we’ll officially be married! Then I’ll graduate, and we can finally start our forever without interruptions.” She leans her head back on the couch and looks at me with a smile.
“We’re almost there, babe. Everything’s gonna work out,” I tell her encouragingly.
“You’re right. I’m just getting antsy now that it’s all coming up.”
I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles. “So, um. I called Kendall,” I say, and she immediately perks up.
“For what?”
“Well, since we’re staying at the cabin after the ceremony, I asked if she could go up and stock it for us beforehand and get it all nice and ready. That way, you don’t have to worry about it since you’re studying for finals.”
“What’d she say?”
“She wants me to see if Ryan will join her. Give him the hard tasks.”
A big smile fills Cami’s face, and she nods. “Mm-hmm. I bet she did.”
It’s no secret that Kendall has the hots for Ryan because of the comments she’s made. But Cami’s convinced her brother has a major crush on her best friend even though he denies it and acts like he can't stand her. Honestly, he’s never mentioned anything to me before, so I don’t want him to think I’m playing matchmaker because I’m not. That is Cami’s area of expertise, not mine.
“I’ll call him and make sure he joins her,” she says with a chuckle. “You know, so they can get fully acquainted.” She lifts her hand to give me a high five. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging.”
I scoff. “I don’t know why we’re high-fiving. Leave me out of this.”
“Because you found the perfect way to hook up my brother. He’s in love with her, Eli. I swear he is, but he’s just too damn stubborn to admit it.”
I let out a groan. “Great, he’s going to think I’m in on this.”
“No, no. I’ll call him and pull the little sister card. He will not deny me during my special time. Don’t worry about it.” Cami stands, grabs her phone from her backpack, then starts texting Ryan. I can’t see what she’s typing, but she’s got an evil grin on her face, and I know that means she got her way.
“He’ll join her on Saturday.” Cami snorts. “This is too easy. Like feeding candy to a baby.”
“You are so wrong,” I say. “So, so wrong.”
She shrugs. “They need to just bang it out, fall in love, and get married so she can be my sister already. I’ve got it all planned out, and now you’ve helped.”
The weekend quickly comes, and on Sunday, I’m waking to a phone call from Ryan.
“Dude, I think we’re stranded here,” he says.
I sit up in bed and look outside to see everything is coated in white. Last night when Cami and I were watching the news, an arctic blast was mentioned, but I didn’t think anything of it. Upstate probably got it even worse than the city.
“There’s no alternative ways out?” I ask, knowing there’s only a single highway that leads to and from the cabin.
“No, the main road is snowed over. It’s so bad they won’t be able to get the plows out for a few days, and apparently, the news said they expect more snow to come. I had to take a few emergency vacation days from work. We got twenty inches so far, and it’s still coming down. The wind is brutal, so it’s just fucking blowing everywhere. Even if the roads were open, I wouldn’t be able to see shit.”
“Holy fuck. Man, I’m sorry. I didn’t think it’d be that bad.” I brush a hand through my hair, pushing it back off my face.
Cami rolls over and looks at me. She sits up and grabs her phone, noticing it’s six in the morning and then gives me an annoyed look that we’re up this early on the weekend. I mouth her brother’s name, and she perks up.
“If you need anything, let me know, okay? I’ll try my best to help you out.”
Ryan lets out a huff. “Thanks. I just wanted to let you two know so you don’t get worried about us. Hopefully, we don’t lose power. With my luck, an ice storm would make its way here too.”