Page 89 - In Five Years

in two months.
“We had a great time with him at dinner a few weeks ago,” Morgan says.
“She seems different. I went by the gallery last week, too, and thought so again.
Like more grounded or something.”

“I agree,” I volunteer. “She does.”
The truth is that since that day in the park, since David and I started talking

about the wedding seriously, I’ve thought about my vision less and less. We’re
building the right future now, the one that we’ve been working toward. All
evidence is on our side that that version will be the one we’re living come
December. I’m not worried.

“Her longest relationship by a mile already,” Morgan says. “You think this
one will stick?”

I hit save on an email draft. “Seems that way.”
We turn off the main highway, and I close my computer. We’re nearly there.
The house is the one we’ve rented for this same week the last five summers in

a row. It’s in Amagansett, down Beach Road. It’s old. The shingles are falling off
and the furniture is mildew-y, and yet it’s perfect because it’s right on the water.
There’s nothing separating us from the ocean but a sand dune. I love it. As soon

as we pass the Stargazer and turn onto 27, I lower the window to let in the thick,
salty air. I immediately start to relax. I love the massive old trees lining the lanes
and stretching down to that wide expanse of beach—big sky, big ocean, and air.

Room.
When we pull up to the house it’s already late in the afternoon, and Bella and
Aaron are there. She rented a yellow convertible, and it’s parked out front, a

chipper greeting. The door to the house is flung open, as if they’ve just arrived,
although I know they haven’t. Bella texted me they were there hours ago.
My first instinct is to be annoyed—how many summers, how many times,

have I told her to keep the doors closed so we don’t get bugs? But I check
myself. This is our house, after all. Not just mine. And I want is for all of us to
have a nice weekend.

I help David unload the trunk, handing Morgan her roller as Bella comes out
of the house. She has on a pale blue linen dress, the bottom of which has paint
splotches on it. This fills me with a very particular kind of joy. To my knowledge