Joy turned on the water and squirted dish soap into the sink, causing it to froth and bubble.
“I think you have enough soap,” Grace couldn’t help pointing out.
Joy wrinkled her nose. “Adam has the shitty soap in his place so I’m used to using twice as much.” She watched the bubbles rise…and rise. “If it overflows I’m blaming you.”
Grace scoffed. “They’d never believe it.”
At Joy’s grin, Grace couldn’t help but smile back. She’d been so preoccupied as of late—her parents, Jaime, her lack of career, Jaime—that she hadn’t spoken to her friend in a few weeks. Even though Joy was Adam’s fiancée, she and Grace had become friends first. She was one of the few women close in age who Grace felt comfortable enough to talk to. A lot of women in Heron’s Landing were already married, some with kids, and many of them didn’t understand Grace’s need to paint and create art.
Grace began washing dishes while Joy rinsed and placed them on the rack to dry. They settled into a rhythm, and Grace’s mind was about to drift off when Joy asked, “So what’s up with you? I haven’t seen you in ages.”
Grace shrugged. She scrubbed at a spoon extra hard, trying to get potato residue off of it. “Just working at Trudy’s, trying to avoid my parents, the usual.” She could feel Joy looking at her, expecting her to say more. Joy knew how she felt about Jaime, but what did it matter? She hadn’t told her that she’d confessed how she felt, or about their time down at the river, or anything that had happened. For some reason, she’d wanted to keep that close to herself. It was like if she revealed what had happened, it would pop and disappear like the bubbles foaming beneath her fingers right now.
“Adam told me he saw you and Jaime together at River’s Bend.”
Grace looked at her in alarm, her heart pounding. “He did?”
“Yeah, you were about to fall out a window? Were you?”
Grace went back to washing. She doesn't know what I said to him at the wedding. She doesn’t know. “Was I what?”
“About to fall out a window.”
“Oh, yeah. Sort of. I tripped, Jaime kept me from toppling out the window. That was it.”
Joy didn’t say anything. She rinsed the glass Grace had handed her, filling and refilling it with water more times than necessary.
“You know,” Joy began, “I won’t make you talk about anything you don’t want to talk about. But, I think I’m astute enough to know when my friend is keeping something from me.”
Grace dropped a bowl, and it clattered in the sink. When she didn’t move, Joy fished the bowl out of the sink, set it on the counter, and turned off the water. She placed a hand on her hip, turned toward Grace, and waited.
Grace didn’t look at her. She knew she was blushing, though. Her hands were shaking, and she was acting like Joy had found out she’d murdered someone.
“Geez, do you need to sit down? I didn’t mean to upset you.” Joy touched her arm, and Grace jumped.
“Oh, no! I mean, I’m fine. Just kind of stressed. And tired. I haven’t been sleeping.” She switched on the water and began scrubbing the dishes with a vengeance.
“Did something happen? Between you and Jaime? Every time he’s mentioned you jump like a rabbit caught by a fox.”
Grace hummed underneath her breath. Was she just a rabbit and Jaime was a fox who was toying with her? Oh God, now she was thinking in animal metaphors? She handed Joy some silverware and then realized she’d scrubbed everything already. She stared at the running water, unsure how to answer.
Everything happened, nothing happened. What do you do when a guy tells you that it’d be a disaster if you got together?
“I’m not going to twist your arm,” Joy said quietly. She shut off the water again. “But I’ll say this: be careful. Jaime’s a good guy, but he’s…”
“Not the type of guy who’d go for someone like me?”
“Good lord, no. But you’re young, and I’ve never seen him commit to a relationship longer than a few months.”
Grace turned, narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been in Heron’s Landing for not even six months. How would you know?”
Joy smiled. “Point taken. I meant, Adam has mentioned that he has never seen Jaime commit to a relationship beyond a few months.”
“And my brother isn’t at all biased with this?”
“Why would he be? Look, just watch out for yourself. That’s all. Take my advice, or don’t, because you’re an adult. But I’d hate to see your heart broken.”
Grace traced a line of water on the edge of the sink. “What happened to you telling me to be honest with him? Or is that no longer a good idea?”
“I guess, just don’t give your heart away unless you know the risk you’re taking. Does that make sense?” Joy sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m making no sense. I’m just worried about you. You’ll come to me if you need help, right?”
Not with this. “Of course.”
Joy gave her a quick hug, which Grace returned. But then she heard the front door open and Jaime’s voice saying, “Sorry for coming by so late…,” which made her jump away like that rabbit Joy had been talking about.
Joy frowned. “What’s Jaime doing here?”
Grace wondered if she could sneak upstairs to her room, but she didn’t have time. Jaime had walked inside and seen them in the kitchen. He gave a wave, which Grace didn’t return. Why was he here? Could she never get away from this man?
She heard Jaime and Adam chatting, with Julia and Carl asking some questions. Did her parents know about the missing money? She had a feeling Adam was trying to keep things quiet as much as possible, and luckily, her parents didn’t get out much these days. But it was unavoidable that they would eventually find out.
Joy touched her elbow and went into the dining room. Grace heard her greet Jaime, but she couldn’t move. Instead of doing the polite thing, she opened the back door as quietly as she could and sneaked outside. Rubbing her arms at the chill, she tipped her head back and looked up at the stars, bright in the November sky. One of the advantages of living in the middle of nowhere was that you could see the constellations. Grace spotted Cassiopeia and then Andromeda, the latter of which was chained to a rock to be eaten by a sea monster before Perseus had swooped in to save her.
Grace felt a little like she was chained to a rock, except of her own making. Will anyone save me? she wondered. Or can you be saved from yourself?
She instantly felt embarrassed for such self-pity, and she huffed out a breath, which turned into a white cloud that floated out into the distance. She didn’t need Perseus or a savior or even a key to unlock her chains. She just needed to figure out things—whatever that even meant.
“Aren’t you cold?”
Grace turned, and upon seeing Jaime walking toward her, she experienced the oddest feeling: inevitability. It was inevitable that he’d find her, that he’d talk to her, that he’d stand next to her, his face in shadows. It was inevitable that she’d love him, even when he’d never love her back.
“I came to give Joy her bracelet. She dropped it in the kitchen and had been asking about it,” Jaime said, explaining his presence without Grace asking.