Page 21 of In Every Lifetime
Sarah saddled up next to me, taking my hand again, and stood on her tiptoes as she whispered in my ear. “I have my answer. It looks like most of your genes must come from your dad.”
I held back a laugh and closed the distance between the truck and the porch. She was right, Gabriel and I shared very few features. While we both had caramel skin and brown hair, that was where our resemblances stopped.
While I was tall and rather lean, he was shorter. I would guess around 5’10” with a stockier build. You could tell he was strong, his corded muscles straining against the long-sleeve shirt he was wearing. His hair was cropped short in what resembled a military cut. Most notably were his green eyes, matching the trees and grass surrounding us.
“You must be Gabriel?” I asked as we finally made it to the porch.
Gabriel looked between myself and Sarah before smiling wide and coming down the steps, a hand outstretched. “So this is surreal as shit,” he greeted, breaking the tension.
Both Sarah and I laughed. “You could say that again,” I mused. “This is Sarah.”
Gabriel turned to her, his eyes lighting up. “So you’re the wife?”
Sarah shot me an uncomfortable look and I winced. We were diving straight into the deep end.
“Uh,” I looked at Sarah, who nodded, urging me to be honest. “Ex-wife actually, but also a good friend.”
Sarah was taken aback by the term ‘friend’. We had never been just friends, but she had always been my best friend. It was a confusing limbo we were now in, and she seemed to agree, but smiled at me gratefully.
“We were never the best at doing things traditionally,” she said and turned to Gabriel. “But it’s a pleasure to meet you, truly.”
I couldn’t quite make out Gabriel’s expression. It seemed to be a mix of disappointment and curiosity.
"It seems we have even more to talk about," he said, gesturing toward the door. "Come on, I'll show you around."
Sarah and I followed him past the front porch and through the living room. The cabin was bigger than I had expected. To the right of the front door was an office with two glass doors and a window that faced the front of the house. On the left was a formal sitting room with a couple of well-loved leather sofas and a fireplace that wasn’t lit.
Straight ahead, and where Gabriel led us, was an expansive room with a living room, dining room, and kitchen.
“Down that hall is the guest room and bathroom,” he explained, pointing down a dark hallway to the right. “I’m upstairs. Just a primary room and bathroom there.”
Sarah looked around in awe. “It’s stunning. You really have an eye for design.”
Gabriel smiled kindly. “Thank you. I've worked hard to make this place a home. I’m glad to see it paid off.”
Make it a home he did. The whole space had the quality of rooms you saw in magazines, the kind that were styled to look lived in but somehow remained immaculate. The fireplace crackled warmly, filling the room with an amber glow. On either side of it stretched floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, packed with well-worn books.
“You a big reader?” I asked offhandedly as I perused the spines. There were countless genres, ranging from historical nonfiction to romance.
“What?” Gabriel asked and turned to me. “Oh, yeah. With the lack of internet out here, it’s a good way to pass the time.”
“You haven’t put in internet yourself?” Sarah asked, settling onto the large sofa facing the fireplace.
Gabriel shook his head. “Never found a reason to. Speaking of,” He pointed to the same wall that held the fireplace, where a rotary phone was mounted, the kind you had to wind in order to dial anyone. I didn’t know they still existed. “This is the only phone on the property. If you need to make a call or need anything while you're here, that's your only option."
"What do you do in an emergency?" Sarah asked, echoing the exact question I had wondered aloud on the drive up.
Gabriel shrugged. “Hope there isn’t one.”
Sarah and I looked at each other, and that was all it took. We both dissolved into laughter, the kind that was entirely disproportionate to the moment but impossible to stop. Whether it was Gabriel's answer matching Sarah's word forword, or the fact that we had been confined to that truck together for far too long, something had pushed us cleanly over the edge.
"Sorry," I managed, pulling myself together. "Long drive. I think we're both a little delirious."
Gabriel looked between the two of us, an amused expression painting his face. “It’s all good. You know… it’s not my place, but you two really don’t seem like a divorced couple. I feel like most in that situation can’t even be in the same room as each other.”
Sarah turned in her seat on the couch, resting her arms on the back and facing Gabriel. “That was us for a while, but we managed to talk through it.”
Gabriel nodded as he processed her words. He didn’t ask any follow-up questions, but I could see them brewing under the surface. It was bound to be an interesting week here.
"Can I use your phone? I promised my roommate I'd check in when we arrived." Knowing Goldie, if I didn't call, she would drive out here herself just to confirm we hadn't gone off a cliff.
“Of course.” He gestured toward the phone and turned to Sarah. “Want to help me wrap up dinner while he’s on the phone? I assumed you two would be hungry after such a long day and started a roast. I just need help plating everything.”
“I would love to help,” Sarah said as she stood and followed him into the kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder at me. “Do me a favor and call Will while you’re at it?”
I gave her a thumbs up and picked up the phone, dialing Goldie’s number, and gazed out the windows that faced the back of the property. The forest line was close to the property, within walking distance, where a dense collection of trees began and wound around and up the mountain. It was a spectacular view from the house. I could see why Gabriel had chosen to live here.
