Page 11 of A Bittersweet Summer

“Oh!” Ellis unfolds her legs from the furniture and ambles across the living room to her bag by the door. “I almost forgot I brought gifts for you both.”

I look at Lennon, who tilts her head as if I knew this information and know exactly what gifts Ellis is talking about.

I do not know.

To be clear.

I shrug, shoveling another massive bite into my mouth. It’s grotesque, really.

Ellis hands me and Lennon our respective boxes and returns to her position on the couch. I look at the white box, no larger than a paperback book, and give it a little shake.

Ellis’s hazel eyes have a suspicious sheen to them—like a mother watching their child receive a diploma.

“Did you gift us air?” Lennon mocks, one side of her mouth curling upward into a grin.

The boxdoesfeel rather empty, but knowing Ellis, I’m sure it’s a nice gift. If Lennon had offered us boxes that weighed less than a piece of paper, I’d suspect a photograph of a middle finger taped to the bottom.

“Just open it,” Ellis nearly squeals, moving to her knees. “Please.”

I pull the side open and lift the lid of the box, revealing a piece of tissue paper. Before I can remove it, Lennon has already ripped hers apart and is looking at Ellis with tears in her eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cry. It’s honestly a bit terrifying.

What is up with all the crying?

“Is this a curse?” I ask, lifting the rose colored tissue paper from the box to reveal a card taped to the bottom. This is, however, void of a middle finger.

I promise I won’t make you wear an ugly dress.

I look up, missing whatever is passing between my two friends on the couch. “I’m confused.”

“She’s asking us to be her bridesmaids, you weirdo!” Lennon’s voice nearly cracks on the words.

My heart is pounding in my chest as I look back and forth between the two of them. “Wait,” I say, “Really?”

Ellis nods, and a huge smile breaks across my face. “If I weren’t so sore,” I say, “I’d get up and hug you.”

I glance at the paper again, shaking my head in disbelief. It seems crying is certainly on the agenda for today.

When I’d moved an hour and a half away from my mom, it had been a difficult decision. My dad was in Indiana, where I’d gone for college, and I didn’t know what things would be like coming back, knowing how things were with Gus.

He’d gotten his own place, and to my surprise, I felt so… empty. My mom insisted it would be for the best if I were around to help, but Gus didn’t seem to need help as much as she’d described.

I’d been pressured into it, as with most things.

That first year gave me Chad, and I was certain nothing good would ever come of the decision to cross state lines.

That is, until I’d met Ellis by chance at a wedding for one of Chad’s high school friends. What I didn’t know then was how close our friendship would become during that difficult time in my life.

If the Cassidy that clung to a man who spent more time memorizing the mouths of other women than memorizing her birthday saw the friendships I’d since built for myself, saw me now, she would be proud.

The job was one more piece of that puzzle.

I look up at Ellis, her gaze expectant. “Of course I’ll be there,” I say through a watery laugh. “Even if I smell like literal horse shit.”

Five

Wes

My boots track mud through the kitchen upon entering the farmhouse. That old familiar ache burrows its way into my muscles, and I pull my shoulders back, stretching before ambling to the refrigerator.