DITW 14-6: Odyssey 1

He should have known something was up.

At the end of the almost three-hour drive north to Quinn’s family cottage in Gunter, he finds a caravan of cars waiting for him, Meyer’s headlights glinting off many parked cars.

“You’re such an asshole,” Josh said to Meyer, behind the wheel of Meyer’s new truck.

Meyer chuckled. “Sorry, bud. Had to happen.”

Josh rubbed his brow as they drove up the long drive to the cottage, the wheels crunching over a bed of rusted pine needles. There looked to be a half dozen cars or more parked by the side of the cottage, the darkness of the lake beyond. “Fuck, is Steve here?” It looked like Steve’s car parked amongst the many.

Meyer said yes, Steve was here.

“God, who else?”

“Gabrielle from your work. Samara . . . Rafe—”

“Ah fuck, I hate Rafe.”

“You do? I didn’t know that.”

“I don’t hate him, but . . . Whatever.”

“I can tell him to leave. You want me to kick him out?”

“No,” he said, sulking.

“Karina’s here, too.”

“Ah shit,” he muttered, wanting to sink his head into the collar of his jacket like a turtle. “Why would you do this to me?”

“Don’t look at me, cuz. It was Quinn’s idea. If it was me, we’d be balls deep in a pizza and  COD. Quinn said you need to have friends around right now.”

He rubbed his brow harder. “They don’t know, do they?”

“I didn’t tell them what’s going on. And Quinn didn’t either. We could only get a hold of a handful of people. She invited some of her own friends to fill out the crowd. They gotta close the cottage this weekend. That part was true. Her brothers are here.”

“How many people?”

“Like a dozen, I guess. We’re not going to act like it’s for you. Quinn’s considerate, okay?”

Josh shook his head, still disgruntled, but momentarily quieted by the task of closing the cottage and the presence of Quinn’s friends. If he were surrounded only by sympathizers right now, he might crumble before them.

Meyer added, “And do me a favor, okay? Don’t be a dick about this. Put a smile on your pasty face for me. Quinn’s nice. I like her. Don’t fuck this up for me.”

“She did this for you, not for me.”

“Yes, and no. She likes you, Josh. She’s really upset about what’s going on with you.”

Josh groaned and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Why would you tell her any of that?”

“You barely tell me anything, so what magic secrets do you think I’m telling her? I don’t know shit, so I’m not telling her shit. You’re sleeping on my couch, and she knows what’s up. She was there last time. Appreciate it that people like you, and stop with the prima dona shit. We want you to be happy. I sure do. And Quinn does. So I’m asking you to do me the kindness, if you will”—he put a hand over his heart, eyes turned to the sky—“of some grace for the kind effort a woman who’s a stranger to you is offering.”

Meyer put both hands back on the wheel, and Josh watched his cousin’s profile. “Jesus, dude. You’re really hooked on this girl.”

“I just know what kind of grump you are. Don’t embarrass me, okay?”

“I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Meyer leaned over the console, grabbed Josh’s thigh, and squeezed. “You should be around people, buddy.”

“You’re people. Why can’t I just be around you?”

“Because I’m as fucked up as you are.”

“That’s why I like you.”

Meyer nodded out the passenger window, saying, “Look, here comes Steve,” and Josh turned to the right to see Steve emerging from the dusky gloom, walking between two parked cars, skin glistening wet, wearing only swimming trunks and Crocs, holding an almost empty bottle of Sleeman. Steam rose from his shoulders. Meyer rolled down Josh’s window from the driver side as Josh was saying, “Quinn has a hot tub, I guess,” and Steve reached in and patted Josh’s chest, leaning forearms on the open window sill.

Steve said, “And it’s real fucking hot, buddy,” Then, “Nice truck, Meyer.”

Josh said, “When did you get here?”

“Almost an hour ago,” Steve said. “I ducked out early.”

“You didn’t say anything at work today.”

“About coming up here? Meyer said you wouldn’t come if you knew I’d be here.”

“I didn’t say that, I wouldn’t—”

But Meyer and Steve were laughing, putting him on.

Josh said, “Who else is here from work? Samara and Gabrielle?”

“Yeah, they rode up with me.”

“Rafe’s here?”

“Who, Rafe? No, he’s not here,” Steve said, frowning like he wondered who would ask Rafe to come.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Josh said with sarcastic disappointment. “Anyway, you guys are the best, coming up all this way.

“Last chance to be at a cottage this year,” Steve said, tipping the neck of the beer bottle at Josh.

“How many beers are you in?”

“This is number three,” Steve said.

Meyer shut off the truck and got out. Josh got out as well, Steve stepping back to give him space, admiring Meyer’s new truck and asking Meyer questions. Campfire wood-smoke was thick in the chilly night air. Meyer handed Josh his bag, Steve saying how Quinn had the main cottage, and there were four bunkies, and how they would bunk up together right by the water. “You should see this dock, dude. It was misty when I got here and you couldn’t even see the end of it. It was like right out of Lord of the Rings.”

Quinn met them before they even passed between the parked cars, making it right toward Meyer and kissing him. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. Quinn wore a ball cap, a towel around her waist, a bikini top in black. She had a really great set of knockers. No wonder Meyer was amped about a potential relationship. Quinn greeted Josh now, too, kissing his cheek and one-arm hugging. 

“We’re going to have a good time, Josh,” she said near his ear. “Go grab a cold beer and we’ll squeeze you into the hot tub.”

“Thanks,” he said in his most heartfelt way, without elaborating on the specifics. It was a kind thing for a stranger to do.

Quinn led them past the parked cars, over a rough patch of grass and around the side of the black-painted cottage, a bungalow with a new pressure-treated deck. But just before the anxious swell of introductions to the gathered crowd of people around the hot tub, a woman called out his name from behind. He knew the voice because he knew she was here tonight. It was Karina.

“Hang on a sec,” he said to Quinn and the others, glad for the relief. “Karina’s calling me.”

Quinn pointed out the coolers with the beer, told him to grab a swimsuit from the main cabin if he forgot his (no one told him to bring one) and she and Meyer headed off together. Josh told Steve he’d catch up in a minute, and headed back the way he’d come from, moving toward where he’d heard Karina, down in the dark somewhere by the water. She met him where the grass met the dock, saying, “Hey, buddy,” and hugging him. It was damp and cold and he could tell she was shivering despite the wool jacket she wore. 

“What are you doing down here by yourself?”

“I was watching the sunset. The colors are starting. Not all over, but there are a couple trees out on the other side of the lake that have gone yellow, and some red patches too. Everything’s still so green in Ajax.”

“We’re really up in the boonies here,” he said.

“It’s nice and quiet. The neighbors are far apart, and they’re not even up this weekend. We have the south half of the lake all to ourselves.” She stuck her hands in her jacket pockets, regarding him now. And there was that look of sympathy he didn’t want to see. Karina knew. Somehow, she knew he was in the shit with Kimmy. How much she knew, he didn’t know. But it could be the whole thing. She’d been there that night at Tiffany’s post high-school reunion, had been awake when he wasn’t, had been around for those igniting moments when Kimmy and Devlin had argued. He looked away, not ready for making eye contact now, not when she was obviously sending out feelers, testing his defenses, wanting to know how much he was hurting.

She chuckled, said, “So what did you think you were coming up here for?”

“I thought it was going to be me and Meyer and Quinn and like one of her brothers. She made it sound low key.”

“I make it high key?”

He could look at her now, that probing moment passed, and Karina hopefully getting the message he didn’t want to talk about Kimmy at all right now. “Yeah, you do. You make it high key.”

Karina scrunched up her face. “I guess that’s good. I think that’s good.”

He chuckled. “Good. You keep thinking that.”

“What, while you sneak out the back, Irish-goodbye us?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, you will be,” she said, smiling, eyes narrowed. “You’re going to be just fine.”

***

With Sophie in bed, Hyun made them tea and served it in the family room. It had been a terrible night. Not for Sophie. Sophie had been oblivious to her aunt’s uneasiness. It had been impossible to keep a happy face for long, so Kimmy had been glad for the show. The ballet took over all the attention, and left her behind Sophie and Hyun, able to direct her fleeting thoughts without one of them asking her what was wrong. But she hadn’t got away with anything. Though she didn’t think she would. Not for long, anyway. Hyun asked her right away, handing her a steaming cup of tea, and saying at the same time. “You’re going to tell me what’s going on, okay? Please. I feel it from you. I feel it. Something is really wrong.”

She smiled wanly, cocking her head to Hyun, saying, “It’s fine. It will pass.”

Hyun studied her for a long time, unconvinced. She set down her untouched tea cup and got closer. “I know you’ve been with him.”

“Who?”

“That man. Devlin.”

“Why would you say that?”

“I’m not stupid, Kimmy. I want you to be honest with me.”

Kimmy sank into the couch and suddenly felt a claustrophobic enervation, like the couch might consume her. She passed her own untouched tea to Hyun, too weak to lean over and set it on the table herself. She said, “Everything is so complicated now. I told you. Everything’s over. I messed it all up.”

Hyun gathered her hands together, eyes turned down to look at them twist. “You didn’t look so good when you got out of that car at your building.”

Kimmy shook her head. “You can read me, huh?”

Hyun looked up, sucking on her lower lip. The lip plopped out. “I’m going to be here for you. No matter what.”

The offer somehow didn’t warm Kimmy this time. Hyun was too small, too fragile, too powerless to make a difference to a woman trapped in the autonomous gears of a massive machine of destruction she’d set in motion herself. In fact, Hyun’s words made her feel worse, made her failure grander and steeper; far more precarious. They shouldn’t even be together at all. Hyun was another twist in this complication.

She covered Hyun’s hand with her own, smiling, but not feeling it, knowing it would show in her eyes. “Did you like the ballet?”

Hyun pulled her hands away. “Come on, Kimmy. Don’t do that to me. I’m not...”

“Not what?”

“I’m not . . . Josh. You don’t have to hide anything from me. I want to know it, no matter what it is.”

The look of adorable determination brought a real smile to her face now, and her hands pursued Hyun’s again, and this time, Hyun didn’t pull away. Kimmy said, “What if it’s really bad? What if what I’ve done is really bad?”