Page 55 of When In Doubt

“Told you it was a good surprise.” I grin.

“This is… You shouldn’t have.”

I flip my turn signal and pull into the driveway. “I absolutely should have.” I nod toward the front door where Elsie’s standing, a wide grin splitting her face. “Go say hi.”

I’ve barely put the car in park when she shoots out, running up to the door. Elsie pulls her into a fierce hug, and my chest feels tight. Fuck, this is the best idea I’ve had in a while. I follow her out, catching the end of their greeting as I step onto the porch. Elsie turns that same smile to me before I get a hug of my own.

“Thank you,” she says quietly.

“It’s nothing.” I step back and she gives my hand a quick squeeze.

“It’s not nothing.”

She turns to the door before I can reply and ushers us inside. It’s a small house, with hanging flower baskets mounted on either side of the porch. Elsie leads us into a cozy living room with crochet blankets draped across the backs of both armchairs, as well as a couch pushed against the far wall.

“Can I get you anything?” she asks.

“I’m good,” I reply.

“Can I have a hot chocolate, please?” Freya answers. It’s the first time I’ve seen her ask for anything without getting in her head about it. She seems different here with Elsie, more comfortable. She settles herself onto one side of the couch, curling her legs under her. Yeah, this was definitely a good idea.

Freya studies me as Elsie heads into the kitchen.

“You okay?” I ask.

“What are we doing here?”

I shrug. “Thought you’d like to see her, and it’s basically on the way.”

“But… why?”

I stare her down and say the truest thing I can think of. “Because I wanted to make you happy.”

“You tell Joyce to go to hell yet?” Elsie calls through.

Freya chuckles, looking down at her lap. “Not yet,” she replies, “maybe one of these days.”

“I’ve told you, you should try it.” Elsie comes back in, handing Freya a mug before sitting beside her. Freya moves closer until their shoulders are pressed together. Elsie doesn’t even seem to notice.

“I dunno, I’m pretty good at ignoring her at this point.”

“Oh yeah?” Elsie says. “Last time we talked it seemed to be bothering you.”

I scowl. Elsie smirks at me as she catches it.

Freya takes a long sip of her drink before replying. “I mean, yeah. She’s definitely infuriating, but it’s like you said. She’s just one person.”

“I’m really glad to hear that.” Elsie squeezes Freya’s knee and she leans into the touch, turning inwards until they’re practically cuddled together.

They settle into easy conversation. It’s nice to see her like this, so open. I hope one day she’ll feel like this in Cedar Creek. Or with me.

“I have some new projects I want to show you,” Elsie says after they’ve been chatting for an hour or so. They’ve made a valiant effort to include me, but they’re in their own world. After twenty minutes, I started doing a sudoku on my phone so that I wasn’t just watching them. “Oscar, can you help me carry some things down?”

“I can help,” Freya says, sitting up.

“No, no.” Elsie stands, patting Freya’s shoulder. “He might as well use those muscles for something useful.”

Freya frowns, head tipping to the side in confusion. “He’s a firefighter.”