I grabbed some ice water from the fridge and set myself up in the living room to answer some emails and check comments on my latest class video. Not only did I film and upload free videos, I also had an app for people to subscribe to that had an additional class per week and other tips and challenges.
My last task of this work session was to check invoices and that made me think of the class I’d had earlier with Piper.
I couldn’t get her off my mind and rewrote the email to her to schedule her next class about four times. I’d written dozens of emails before and could literally copy and paste one, but for some reason, I didn’t.
Why was I treating her differently than another client? I growled at myself and deleted the email I’d just typed and then copied one from my templates and added the greeting. If I was going to teach her and remain professional, I was going to have to treat her like everyone else.
She responded almost immediately, paying her invoice and giving me a list of potential days and times for the private classes. Looked like I was going to be seeing Piper every Tuesday and Thursday at ten a.m. for the foreseeable future.
As I confirmed her class times and sent her all the dates and added the invoice for her to pay in advance, my hands shook a little and I had to take a shaky breath before sending the email.
I could crush this crush. I’d have to. She replied almost instantly, and I shut my laptop and went to refill my water class. I needed some more cold water.
Chapter Three
When I’d first come to stay in Castleton, I hadn’t known I was going to be made an honorary member of the Carr family, but Amanda had informed me that dinner was served in the dining room and there was a place set for me at the table, or I could eat wherever I wanted. Figuring she wouldn’t have invited me if she didn’t want me to join, I’d picked the first option and almost every night I had dinner with Amanda, Ellie, Hollis, and Julia. It was nice to catch up with my sister after a long day. Since we were so close in age, we’d been extremely close growing up, and I’d missed her so much over these past few years of travel.
We didn’t talk about how long I was staying, because I didn’t really know myself. I never really planned on where I was going to be when. My work took me everywhere, and I’d been traveling where the wind blew me for so long that I didn’t even know how to live another way anymore.
As long as I had a place to do yoga, amazing views, and a place to get a matcha latte, I was happy. So many of my closest friends were online, including my best friend, River, that I’d met in my teacher training. She lived in Seattle, and I’d hung out with her last year for a few months, trying kombucha and hating it and taking walks in the rain. She really wanted to come to Maine at some point and stay for a few days just to see what was going on up here.
“Piper’s house is amazing, right?” Julia said at the dinner table that night.
“Absolutely. I was afraid to touch anything. I’ve never seen a house that was that clean in my life. I was relieved when she wanted to practice on the porch,” I said. As a rule, I didn’t really talk about my private classes, but that wasn’t any personal information.
“Her son, Preston, is the cutest little guy. He’s always such a little ray of sunshine,” Julia said. “I don’t know how she has such a beautiful house with a toddler, but more power to her.” Julia took care of Preston at Magic Castle. It seemed like everyone in this town had a connection to everyone else. Even me.
“I remember I couldn’t buy anything white for years because within an hour one of you would have spilled something on it,” Amanda said with a fond laugh.
“Yeah, usually Hollis,” Ellie said, pointing her fork at Hollis.
“Why do I always get blamed?” Hollis said.
“You did put butter in your pocket,” Julia pointed out and Hollis made a spluttering noise.
“Okay, fine, I did do that, but it was only because I was distracted by your gorgeous face.” She smiled at Julia, who blushed.
“No one is blaming you, darling, you were children. Kids spill. It’s the natural order of things,” Amanda said.
“My mom said she wouldn’t spend any money on furniture until we were all grown and out of the house, but then my siblings started having children, so she gave up,” I said. My parent’s house wasn’t shabby, but the furniture wasn’t anything to brag about. It served its purpose and that was about it.
“I don’t blame her,” Amanda said, laughing. “I got so lucky with my two girls. Every now and then I’d find them doing flips over the couch, but not too often,” she said.
“Remember when Will and Ben and Rob were into making obstacle courses in the house?” Julia asked me. “Mom had to put a stop to that.”
I’d been young, but I remembered spending a lot of time in the hospital and a lot of my brothers in casts that summer. Mom still had a bunch of crutches stored in the basement, just in case.
“See? You could have had to deal with that,” Hollis said.
“I am very blessed,” Amanda said.
Dinner was lovely, and then Julia asked if I wanted to hang out with her and Hollis in the barn. Ellie went off on a date that wasn’t a date with the guy she was interested in, so I agreed. Sometimes I wondered if Amanda was lonely, but she just went into the kitchen to work on the dishes and turned on some music.
The barn next door was so cool, and it was the kind of living space I might want for myself someday. We were greeted by Julia and Hollis’s rescue kitten, Lucky.
“Oh yes, we left you all alone,” Julia said, scooping the crying cat into her arms and cradling her like a baby.
“We really need to get her a sibling,” Hollis said.
“I know,” Julia said, kissing Lucky’s head.
“Let’s go to the shelter soon,” Hollis said, sitting on the couch. Julia joined her and then I sat on the end. Sometimes I did feel a little weird being with the two of them, but that feeling had faded the more time I spent with them. I could always tell when they wanted to be alone, and I’d make my way back over to the farmhouse saying I was tired or had to work on something.
River sent me a funny message and I responded with a laughing emoji.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come this weekend?” Julia asked. She’d invited me to a party this weekend at her friend Paige’s house. She and her new wife, Esme, had just gotten back from their honeymoon, so they were having a get-together with all their friends.
“I don’t want to intrude,” I said. Julia herself had just met these people a few months ago, but they’d seemed to welcome her with open arms. That was Julia, though. She was love personified. Everyone wanted to be around her. I was the quieter, more reserved sister that sometimes didn’t know what to say. We weren’t the same.
“You are definitely not intruding,” Hollis said. “We’re definitely a more-the-merrier kind of group. I mean, just a few years ago it was just Paige and Em and Linley. The group just keeps getting bigger, and we like it that way.” It made sense, but I still had reservations.
“Please come,” Julia said, looking at me and putting on a little bit of a pout. “If you hate it, then you never have to come again. But everyone really wants to see you.”