Page 83 of How We End

“Of course he is.”She pulled me into a hug.“I’m glad you came.”She left as Anders called for her.

“So, what do you think?”he asked, dragging a large bag further in the room and leaning the hockey sticks against the wall.

“Did you bring hockey sticks?”I asked, walking further into the room.

“And helmet, pads, and skates.I don’t travel without them.”

“Right, you never know when an emergency hockey game will break out.”I scanned the rest of the room.It was pretty standard: a couple nightstands, some mass-produced artwork on the walls.In one corner there was a chair and couch and in the other, the door for the deck and a… “Is that a toilet?”

Julian looked over at it.“Yep.That’s a toilet.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“What, you don’t want to wake up to this in the morning?”He walked over and sat on the toilet.

“No.”I laughed at the fact that he was fully clothed, sitting on a toilet.“No, please, no.”

“Come on, nothing says we’re that couple like shitting in front of one another.”He stood, looking down at it.“The best part is this room has two toilets.There is one in the en suite.So there’s no need to fight over one.”

“Why is there a toilet by the door?”

Julian shrugged.“According to the owners, there used to be a hot tub on the deck, and to keep the bedroom dry, they installed a toilet next to the door.When the owners turned this into a rental, they removed the hot tub.There was something with removing the toilet and code.I don’t know.”

“Just don’t use it.”

“Deal.”

I lay back on the bed, looking up at the vaulted ceiling.

Julian lay down next to me.“So?Regrets yet?”

“Well, Anders told everyone I looked like Kurt Russell.I don’t think Hannah trusts me, and there is a toilet in our room.”

“There is still time to get a hotel.”He rolled closer to me.

“No.”I twisted the string from his hoodie around my finger.“These people care about you, and they mean a lot to you.I’m glad I came.”I would get to see a different side of Julian.

“Me too.”He kissed me on the nose.

“Jules, you dressed?”Anders didn’t wait for an answer before busting into the room.He had a hockey helmet on and a stick in his hand.

“What if he wasn’t?”I asked.

“I’ve seen it all before.All of it.”Anders frowned.“Let’s get some ice time before dinner.This isn’t your honeymoon.”

“Did you tell everyone I looked like Kurt Russell?”I asked, sitting up.

“No.I asked if anyone had seenTombstone.That’s the story about Wyatt Earp, right?I can’t help it if they jumped to conclusions.Now let’s go.”

“Anders, you need AA, and I need better friends.”Julian flopped back on the bed.

CHAPTERFORTY

WYATT

December 25

“Okay, next question.”Tyler held up a card, squinting at it.