Page 73 of That Summer Feeling

She put great emphasis on the word sister, because to us, it meant something so much deeper than family or friend. It was all of that and more—a single word with an impossible amount of history behind it. We’d lived the hardest parts of our lives side by side, and we’d always be loyal to each other for it. We knew the depths of each other in a way no one else ever could.

“When you told me about this camp, I thought it would be a perfect thing for you to do.” She tugged on my bracelet, making sure it wouldn’t fall off my wrist, then sat in the chair and handed me the hair-cutting scissors. “Your divorce had made you stop believing in yourself. Believing in your magic, really. I thought maybe coming here could remind you of happiness. And hey, I figured I’d get a fun week out of it too. I meant what I said when I told you I wanted to use this place to let go of my bitterness. I just didn’t know how much I meant it. The truth is, I really did need summer camp just as much as you. Maybe even more.”

She gathered her long hair into a low ponytail and pulled the band down until it sat right above her shoulders. Thebrown waves cascaded down the back of the chair in a single neat river.

“It took being here to see just how much I’ve been bluffing, Garland. I hide behind you,” she admitted. “All the stuff you feel out loud, I feel in quiet. That’s why I don’t like change. Change makes me feel like I don’t have a grasp on the situation. But I’m never going to have that, I realize. No matter how many angel numbers I find, or signs from the universe I chase, there’s no way to know for sure what the future will bring me. It took watching you chase risk after risk to realize I could do that too, and it would bring me good things. Never in a million years did I think I’d ever see you climb a rock wall. But you did. You showed me I couldactuallybe brave, not just pretend-brave.”

Strangely, it didn’t make me want to weep. For the first time, our roles were reversed—she was openly vulnerable, and I had enough composure to get her through it.

“Thank you for letting me help you,” I told her as I combed my fingers through the end of her ponytail, feeling the soft strands of hair that had been with her for years. I felt what they meant to her. They meant safety. They meant comfort. They were a part of her protection.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s no big deal,” she said jokingly, wiping the fast-falling tears from her eyes.

“Of course not. You chop your hair off all the time.”

“Exactly. This is a routine experience for me.”

I held my arm out to touch our bracelets together. “The world is ours,” I reminded her, whispering. “It always will be.”

“Yes it will,” she said. “Sisters.”

“Sisters,” I echoed. I put my bracelet hand on her shoulder. “You ready?” I asked.

She took a deep breath. Steadied herself. “I’m ready.”

I put the scissors above the hair tie and cut off her ponytail, letting her brown waves fall to the floor.

34

Inside the mess hall, the logs in the fireplace crackled, burning bright into the warmly lit room. It was later than we’d had dinner all week, and it felt secret somehow. More private, because the darkened sky shielded us from seeing anything on the other side of the windows.

Dara’s haircut was the source of much chatter. I’d given her a bob that hit above her shoulders, not unlike my own. I wasn’t a professional hairstylist, but thanks to my years of cutting my own hair, I’d done a damn decent job on her. She looked great. As we walked by, other campers commented on how much we resembled each other. They hadn’t noticed it before. Now they could really see it. It was nice to be linked to Dara in that way, no matter how temporary it was. Hair always changed, but our bond never would.

When Dara saw Aja, she headed toward her. I went for the buffet line at the back, finding Stevie in the snaking line thathad formed around the periphery of the hall. It smelled so good inside, warmed bread and the sweet burn of a controlled fire. I wanted to bottle up the feeling of contentment it gave me.

“Camp tradition?” I guessed, giving Stevie a quick kiss. We were waiting to get our serving of spaghetti and garlic bread.

“You’re starting to sound like a regular,” she said back.

“I mean, I’ve been to lake night. I’m practically a camp fixture at this point.”

“Don’t go saying that too loudly. The others will get jealous.”

“They should be,” I said. “I’m dating you.”

My words made her blush. “We’redatingnow?”

“You think I go around professing love to women on rock climbing walls for them to not end up as my girlfriend?”

Stevie examined me from toe tip to forehead, taking her time. “Yes. I do. You look like exactly the type.”

“You’re right. Will you excuse me? I forgot I was supposed to scale the main hall an hour ago. My other girlfriend’s waiting for me there.” I pretended to walk off, but Stevie caught my arm.

“Yes,” she said.

“Yes what?”

“I’ll be your girlfriend.”