Dear Diary,
It wasn’t like a movie reunion. I don’t know of any action movie heroine who has snot running out of her nose because she’s crying too hard to even kiss him. I think Jane stepped out, but honestly, I can’t entirely remember. I wasn’t really paying attention to anyone else. As soon as I saw Aaron coming, they didn’t matter. I couldn’t have played gracious hostess even if I’d wanted to. Even if it was my cabin.
I’m in my cabin now. I haven’t started packing because I’m not entirely sure I want to pack right away. Alyssa’s not leaving. I know that much even if Aaron’s not convinced yet.
Diary, he’s not ready to let her go. It hasn’t been like this before. He’s never stood next to her with a boyfriend on the other side and realized she’s closer to the boyfriend than she is to him. Not even physically. If Aaron and Truman are around, even if Aaron’s right at her side and Truman’s all the way across the room, it’s so obvious that I don’t know why I didn’t see it before, except it’s also just … there. They don’t make a big deal about it, to the point where I’m not sure Alyssa’s entirely aware of it yet, but damn. If I believed in red strings of fate, there’d be one connecting the two of them.
Aaron’s up at the lodge talking to them now. I don’t think he wants to be with both of them in Alyssa’s cabin, on her home turf, where Truman’s obviously been before. After he and I finished our part of the reunion, he wanted to start working on her.
I love the man. I do. And I understand a lot of what he wants, but it doesn’t always get across the way he means it to. I figure he’ll come back here, where at least it’s just the two of us and we’re not kicking Jane out of her own place, and he’ll probably want to rant a bit about how Alyssa’s grown up and independent and defying him for the first important time in her life, and then we can get down to the other part of our reunion.
Diary, my money’s on us staying here tonight. Possibly more than one night, depending on how things actually unfold (if they continue to unfold) and if we find out Percy and the others have been found.
Truman’s staying because he’s basically the one in charge now that Jonathan and Lydia aren’t here, and he has to make sure Loon Lake doesn’t completely crumble without them. Aaron gets that, I think, but he doesn’t get why Alyssa feels such a connection to this place. She’s only been here two months, and he’s been her dad her whole life.
Maybe he doesn’t remember how fast we fell. How my dad tried to put his foot down because I’m basically the same age as Aaron’s kids. Or maybe he doesn’t want to admit how some of that speed was me just defying my dad. It wasn’t all me defying my dad, thank God, but that was part of it.
She’s never argued with him. The boys, sure, they had their clashes and they’ve basically completely broken free, but Alyssa’s the one who just shows up when you need her. She’s quiet, and dependable, and she puts you first because nobody’s ever told her that she deserves some of that, too. Except for Truman. So now we’ve got an unstoppable force, immovable object situation, and I’m sitting here waiting to see how long Aaron will be before he comes back.
Cold Comfort: Saturday, July 13, 2024 – Alyssa (2), coming August 24
Rebecca Frost 