Lark Lake Lodge

Chapter Twenty-Four

Plumbing and Postponements

Four months later.

Simon carefully dragged the box cutter across the tape on a cardboard box sitting atop a brand-new bare mattress in Room One. He placed the knife on the bedside table and opened the flaps.

“I can’t wait to see what you picked! I swear to God, new bed linens are pretty much my favorite thing in the world. I drive Michael over the edge about once a week begging to let me buy new linens for all the beds at the inn. If he let me, I’d bankrupt us on sheets alone.” I laughed as he pulled out the packaged top sheet, cornflower blue with white embroidered accents. “Oh my God! It’s perfect. I adore you and your taste.”

He walked around the bed and gave me a tight hug. I laughed again at his level of excitement over sheets. He dug through the box and pulled out the bedspread, blanket, and shams. With each item he cooed and cheered. We laid the linens out without making the bed. I had to wash everything before arranging it, but I’d promised Simon first shot at seeing everything I’d bought.

He sat down on the bed and stared at my belly. At four and a half months, I was really starting to pop out. It was thrilling after feeling pregnant for so long to finally look like I was. Simon placed both hands on my tummy over my stretchy striped, short-sleeved shirt.

“I just can’t get over how fucking cute your little bump is getting. Not so little anymore, huh?”

“Nope, not so much,” I said with a proud smile.

“Well little mama, what else you got?” He rubbed his hands together excitedly and stood, heading into the hallway. I followed.

“Go to Room Two first,” I directed him.

Simon stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to give me a withering look. “You’re really going to stick with these numbers?”

“What? There are ten rooms and one suite. So, rooms one through eleven. Why are you always giving me such a hard time about it?”

“It’s just so boring ,” he said, continuing on into Room Two.

We went through the same routine all over again. Simon opened the box, drooled over all the new items for the bed, and then congratulated me on my choices. I’d decided each room should have its own feel, so none of the bedding was the same.

It was lovely to get to spend some time with Simon. He’d come by to keep me company while Michael did me a solid. I’d had to call in a plumber because of slow drainage in the bathrooms. And there was a weird gurgling sound in the drain of one of the showers by the sauna in the basement. I begged Michael to come by and be the point man with the plumber so the bill wasn’t outrageous. Knowing nothing about plumbing and happening to be a woman often put a target on my back .

“Hey thanks for lending me your man,” I said to Simon as we headed to Room Three.

“Glad to help. And you called in the right cavalry. Michael is a plumbing savant. He knows everything. Plus, he’s really great at working deals for any work you want done. I don’t know how he does it.” Once again, Simon drooled over a new box of sheets and blankets. After he’d calmed a bit, he eyed me with a devilish grin. “I’m curious. Why didn’t you have your man meet with the plumber?”

Even though he was teasing, and even though I’d had plenty of time to get used to the idea that Harlan and I weren’t together, his words still made my heart wrench. I rolled my eyes at Simon and acted like it was no big deal.

“Cut it out. You know he’s not my man.”

“For now.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked as I pulled a cream-colored cashmere throw out of its packaging in hopes of distracting him. He gasped, but unfortunately, after rubbing the soft throw against his cheek, he started right where he’d left off.

“Harlan is your Heathcliff. You two are like this tragic, gothic novel where you split up over dumb shit and linger in your pain for way too long. You should see the longing looks he gives you when your back is turned.”

“He does not. You’re just messing with me,” I said, cursing my fluttering heart and the hope that sparked it.

I should be done with all this hoping. It’s been too long.

“He most certainly does. He only looks at you two ways: that pained, I’m-about-to-sneeze look Hallmark movie actors do; or lascivious, drooling stares at your newly rounded rack.”

I chuckled as I looked down at my boobs. They were certainly larger, and constantly achy. I hadn’t thought about catching Harlan’s eye with my new curves. The only way I thought about Harlan was with regret and guilt. I fought to keep my mind from embracing the idea that he might still want me, even if he didn’t like me anymore. But the thought took root, and I figured it wouldn’t be off limits to fantasize about him just a little, especially with the president of the Harlan Stahl Fan Club.

“Well, if he ever deigned to touch me again, I wouldn’t kick him out of bed, I guess,” I said with a shrug.

“You guess ? Woman, this is my beloved Harlan—the god of all godlike men we’re talking about. You don’t pity fuck Harlan, okay? I guess …get over yourself, hot tits.” He threw the throw at me and laughed.

“What I’m saying is that he and I are very far from that type of thing ever happening again. But I wouldn’t mind it because…something I learned in the last few months…pregnancy makes you majorly horny. Like a nympho. It’s unbelievable.”

Simon looked at me like I’d grown another head. “ Really ? God, you breeders are so weird.”

“Hello?” Michael’s voice called to us. “You two upstairs?”

“Be right down, hon,” Simon replied.

Down in the lobby, the plumber had already left and Michael stood at the reception desk with a grave look on his face. Even though my morning sickness had waned over the last couple of weeks, I suddenly found myself ready to barf.

“Well, it’s not really a plumbing problem per se…it’s a tree root problem. The roots busted into the pipes under the shower outside the sauna and have almost completely filled them. We took up some of the tile and it’s a hot mess.”

“Oh God! But we’re supposed to open in two days! How can we possibly be ready? I can’t have unflushable toilets!” I started to spiral into a panic.

We’d rented over half the rooms to guests eager to be the first to stay at the newly renovated lodge and gave the remaining three rooms to my brother’s family, Simon and Michael, and Miguel and his mom. My folks weren’t planning to be there as they’d booked a cruise to Alaska on our opening weekend, regardless of the save the date card I’d sent them. It would be no problem to reschedule with family and friends, but I worried about the actual guests. We’d have to give them some great incentives when we changed our opening date.

Michael took my hand and led me to the sofa by the hearth, sitting me down. “Just breathe,” he said.

Rousing from a dead sleep on the sofa, Roger snuggled against my thigh. Harlan and I had a sort of unspoken shared custody of Roger since we split. My little buddy had become even more attached to me as my pregnancy progressed, so Harlan let him come and go between our two places. Stroking Roger’s silky ears helped calm me a bit, but anxiety roiled in my gut like a stormy sea.

“Oh honey. You didn’t think you’d actually open on time, did you?” Simon said, sharing a knowing look with Michael. Their veteran inn-owner thing got annoying sometimes.

I heard footsteps on the porch and my heartbeat picked up a little, as it always did when I heard those familiar boots cross the lodge’s threshold. The screen door’s spring squeaked as the door fell shut. Harlan had arrived. I looked him over and cursed the entirety of summer. It wasn’t fair to have to see him looking so utterly edible in his khaki cargo shorts and white tank, his skin bronzed with a dewy sheen of sweat. He had a confused look on his face that only worsened when he saw Simon and Michael.

“Did I just see Jeff drive off?” he asked, pointing at the door behind him.

“Yeah, sorry to say, you’ve got tree roots in your pipes,” Michael said.

Harlan’s cheeks flushed, his eyebrows drew together and his jaw muscle started to tick. I knew he’d be mad at me for calling in Michael. He’d see it as me going behind his back. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t say I wasn’t. But after so many months of his tense silence and distance, I’d gotten to the point where it was too painful to be around him anymore. I knew that he usually went to the library on Wednesday mornings, so when I’d called Jeff the day before and he’d offered the morning, I took it.

“I asked Michael to come by since he speaks plumber,” I said, trying to cut the tension.

Harlan eyed me icily. “Yeah, well so do I.”

“I figured you’d be at the library. It’s Wednesday morning.” I acted as though his weekly trips to the library were sacrosanct.

“Uh, this is just a little more important than checking out books, don’t you think ? ”

Michael and Simon looked at one another. Simon put on his sunglasses and Michael grabbed his messenger bag off of the reception desk. They were ready to make their escape. The air in the room had thickened with uncomfortable awkwardness.

“Beautiful bedding, sweet pea. Thanks for showing me,” Simon said, bending down to kiss my cheek.

“If you need me to come back, let me know,” Michael said to me as they walked to the door.

“We’re good,” Harlan growled.

“Thanks guys,” I said as they made their way to the door.

When Simon and Michael were gone, I wasn’t in any way surprised that a silence drew out. Harlan’s routine was predictable, if a little tiresome. He slowly breathed through his anger until he was finally ready to talk.

“I understand that our…situation isn’t exactly ideal. But, in future, could you please do me the courtesy of informing me when you’re bringing workmen into our business? It’s kind of humiliating to walk in and have our competition doing my job.”

“They’re our friends, Harlan. Michael was just helping me out so we didn’t get overcharged.”

“I went to high school with Jeff. I can make sure we don’t get overcharged. Just…don’t exclude me like that. It’s shitty.”

“Okay. Sorry.”

Would there ever be a time I stopped apologizing to the man? Would I ever feel truly forgiven? I was tired of being constantly in the wrong—silently judged. He’d been seething at me for a third of a year and just didn’t seem to be letting up.

I get it; I hurt him . But I was hurting too, and I felt like I would never have a chance to do some goddamn seething of my own for how cold he’d been for the last four months.

Seeming to have relaxed a little, he placed his hands behind him on the reception counter and pulled himself up to sit on it. Why did he always do that? Right when I was hurt or annoyed with him, he’d do something super sexy like flexing his muscular arms as he lifted himself up and dangling his long, strong legs sprinkled with soft dark hair.

“So, I’m guessing we have to push back the opening?” he asked, his voice surprisingly calm.

“Yeah. I’ll text Brian and email the paid guests. Can you let Miguel know?”

“Sure. I can call all the staff, too.”

Thank God he’d remembered that. I wasn’t accustomed to having staff yet. We had a crew of six people who would now be supporting our work and relying on us for employment. It was a strange feeling. But having Harlan in the mix made me slightly less frightened to be someone’s boss.

Our coming together to solve the delayed opening was the closest we’d been to amiable in a while. Having a common problem to attack together forced us to be a team. What a great feeling. Instead of being the enemy, I got to be on Harlan’s side fighting against the evil creeping tree roots.

I stood and walked to the little fridge behind reception. As always, Roger followed with his slow and clumsy gait. I pulled out a sparkling water and cracked it open. After walking around to the front of the desk I took a sip and offered him some. He surprised me by accepting. He also surprised me by staring at my baby bump as he tilted the can back. Instinctively, I ran a hand over it .

We didn’t talk about the baby much. It was a really confusing subject. Knowing him, there could be no question he really cared about the little tyke. Harlan was made to be a loving father. And I was sure he had real concern for me and how I was feeling physically as well. But he never asked about it and when I brought the subject up, he usually got weird. So, to see him openly eyeing the evidence of our child was very unexpected. A lump formed in my throat, but I didn’t give in to crying. I just stood there rubbing my belly and letting him do his woolgathering.

Though I knew it would turn an awkward corner, I offered an olive branch and tried to engage him in baby stuff. “I have an ultrasound the day after tomorrow.”

My voice shook him from his thoughts and as he handed back the bubbly water, he trained his face to reflect calm disinterest once again. My heart fell to my feet.

“Okay,” he said as he hopped down from the counter.

“Do you want to come?”

“I’m good.”

What the hell kind of answer was that? He acted as though I’d asked if he wanted mustard on his goddamn hot dog. This was an opportunity to see our baby .

“I’m eighteen weeks, so Dr. Kopecki said they’ll probably be able to tell the sex at this one.” I laid out the bait. He couldn’t feign disinterest in finding out if he was having a son or daughter, could he? Just to be sure, I prodded again. “Don’t you want to know the sex of your baby?”

“Are we finding out? Did you decide that already? Or should I ask Michael what he thinks?” Ouch.

“Please don’t be shitty. Not about this,” I said. My eyes welled with tears, which didn’t go unnoticed. His face softened slightly.

“Okay, sorry.”

Wow. Don’t hear that word much, but I’ll take it.

“Do you want to find out? What do you want to do? ”

“Yeah, I want to find out. That secret gender stuff is dumb. I…I want to know.”

I crossed my fingers and went for it one last time. “So do you want to come?”

Here comes the silence. Predictably, he stared at me.

“No. It’s cool. Just let me know when you get back,” he said and walked past me out the screen door.

Roger and I watched him go with equally sad eyes. My chest ached so hard I felt like I’d been stabbed. It was an avoidable pain, but I just couldn’t stop hoping I’d get my Harlan back instead of this cold guy who didn’t like me.