Page 10 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

Madison Fucking Wisconsin. What in the hell was Emma thinking? Obviously, she wasn’t, or she hated me. It was the only explanation that made sense. I’d given her enough money for us to travel anywhere, and this was where we ended up. Unbelievable.

Emma smiled at me as we waited in line at the rental car counter at the Dane County Regional Airport. “Getting excited about our adventure?”

“Only if we’re driving to Chicago to hop a flight to Paris.”

Emma glowered.

I leaned in so nobody nearby could hear. “I gave you a quarter million, and this is what you came up with?”

“You’ve been all over the world. Visited the most exclusive resorts. Yet I bet you’ve never experienced a place like this.”

I snorted. “You’re right.”

“Then I consider it a victory. You’ll get to experience something new.”

How could I tell her I’d never paid attention to those exclusive resorts?

I was absorbed with closing a deal, not vacationing.

If I admitted it, she’d give me one of her pitying looks, and I was miserable enough, so I said, “Still. There are plenty of places I haven’t been.

Somewhere on the ocean or sea would suffice. ”

“How about a creek? Six Mile Creek.”

“A creek! Are you serious?”

“There’s a river and a bunch of lakes, too.”

“And that’s supposed to compare to an ocean?”

“Who’s in charge of this vacation?” Emma pointed her finger at me. “You better get over your attitude, or this will be a miserable four weeks.”

“You mean we’re staying here for all four weeks?” My voice rose high enough for several people around us to turn and stare. My face heated.

Emma put her hand on her hip. “Would you stop making a scene?” She peeked around me and said to the woman behind me, “Sorry. She’s just a little uptight.”

I didn’t turn to face the woman, but I waved my hand and muttered, “Yeah, sorry.”

Emma patted my shoulder. “See, you’re already getting into the spirit of Midwest Nice, and we’ve only been here for half an hour.”

“What the hell is Midwest Nice?”

Before she could answer, the employee at the rental car counter called us forward. The man greeted us with a huge smile and said, “How can I help you ladies today?”

Emma held up her phone. “I made reservations online.”

He scanned the code and typed away on his computer as he nodded. “Uh, let’s see. It doesn’t look like you picked a vehicle.” He slid a laminated sheet across the counter. “You have several choices.”

Living in New York City, I didn’t own a car since I had little occasion to drive. For a few years, I’d owned a Porsche, but I never took it out, so I’d sold it.

I glanced down at the page full of vehicles. There weren’t any Porsches, but I could picture myself behind the wheel of a less expensive sporty number. I put my finger on one. “I like these.”

“Great choice,” the man said as he typed.

“Not so fast,” Emma said.

He looked up from his keyboard.

“She’s not allowed to make any decisions,” Emma said to him.

Jesus. Was she planning on telling everyone?

He studied me as if he were trying to determine if I had a condition that prohibited me from making my own choices.

“She’s relinquished all control to me for the next four weeks.”

Wow. Will she tell him I got let go from my job, too?

He laughed and met my gaze. “Brave woman. I’d never let my brother decide for me.”

“How’d you know she’s my sister?” I asked.

“Seriously? Aren’t you twins?”

Emma wiggled her shoulders and bumped her hip into mine. “Hear that, little sister? He thinks I’m your age.” She fluffed her shoulder-length hair.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head when I met the man’s gaze. “She’s only a year and a half older.” I turned to Emma. “Not a monumental accomplishment, so you can stop gloating.”

She gave me a mischievous smile and then put her finger down on the laminated sheet. “We’ll take this one.”

My eyes widened. “That’s a truck.”

“A pickup, to be more specific.” Emma smiled at the cashier. “Do you have a Dodge Ram? I’ve always thought they were badass.”

He smiled. “Yes, ma’am. We’ve got a red or black one.”

“Black.” If I had to drive a pickup, at least black was inconspicuous.

“We’ll take the red one,” Emma said and shot me a smile.

The man chuckled. “One red Dodge Ram coming up.”

I wouldn’t give Emma the satisfaction of telling her that driving the truck wasn’t so bad. Sitting up high and owning the road was a rush, a definite departure from hugging the ground in my Porsche.

I drove west from the airport and in short order came upon Lake Mendota. I suggested we make a loop around the lake before going to the resort.

When Emma pulled it up on the GPS, she said, “It’ll take over three hours. We don’t want to waste that much time.” She waved her phone. “It looks like State Street is the heart of the city. Why don’t we drive through it?”

“How far is downtown?” I’d kinda hoped we’d be able to stick around Lake Mendota. Water was the one thing that calmed me. With our agreement, I knew I had no say.

“It looks like a couple of blocks.”

Great. I was captive in a podunk town for four weeks. “A metropolis.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.

“What are you prattling on about?” She pointed at the upcoming street. “Turn there. We’ll be downtown in a couple minutes.”

I glanced at her. “Downtown is that close to the lake?”

“Weren’t you listening? I said a couple of blocks.”

“I thought you meant it was only a couple blocks long.”

When we pulled to a stop at the stoplight, she thrust out her phone. “We’re here. And that’s Lake Mendota.”

I stared down at the map. Two large, bright blue splotches sandwiched a thin strip of land. Only eight to ten blocks lay between them. “Lake Mendota curves around downtown?”

“No.” She pointed to the smaller blue spot. “That’s Lake Monona.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.” I looked away from her phone when the light turned.

In a weird way, it reminded me of how buildings sandwiched Central Park on both sides. Only Madison was the meat in this lake sandwich.

“I’ll take that comment as your stamp of approval.”

I snorted. “I wouldn’t go that far.” Although, I had to admit having two lakes nearby gave the city a boost.

“Come on, lighten up,” she said. “Getting away from the hustle and bustle will do you good. Just imagine. No decisions for the next four weeks.”

I groaned and pretended to shudder. “Don’t remind me.”

“Oh, it won’t be that bad.” The joy on her face disappeared. “Will it?”

“I’ll survive.” Not a ringing endorsement, but Emma knew me well enough to know I was practically dripping with enthusiasm.

“Mark my words, by the end of this adventure, you’re going to be a changed person. And it won’t be so hard for you to say something nice.”

“Right. And I’ll be buying a pickup truck, singing country music, and sharing my feelings.”

“Smart.” Emma laughed. “You’ve already discovered my diabolical plan.”

As we drove through town, Emma said, “Let’s come back once we settle in at the resort. There are so many cute little shops.” She pointed across the street. “Like that one. Lift Our Voices Books. What do you think they sell?”

“Books,” I deadpanned.

“Very funny.”

“By the name, I bet it’s one of those feminist places.”

“Wow! I didn’t know you were anti-feminist.”

My face heated. I hadn’t realized my tone had come out so harsh. “I’m not. I just had a few run-ins while building my career. Remember Hilda?”

“You dated her, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but not for long. She decided my ambition was fueling the patriarchy. She wanted me to resign from Fortitude.” I cringed when I said Fortitude. I wondered how long it would be before I no longer had that reaction.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring that up. We’re here to heal.”

“ We’re ?”

“Fine. You’re here to heal, and I’m here to help.”

It didn’t take us long to drive through Madison. Emma instructed me to go north out of town as she punched an address into the GPS.

“Plan on telling me the name of this resort on Three Mile Creek?”

“Six Mile Creek. Get it right.”

“I stand corrected.” I put my hand against my chest. “I’d hate to cheat the creek out of its other three miles.”

Emma’s eyes twinkled. I knew she was holding something back. “What aren’t you saying?”

She grinned. “It’s not six miles.”

“Five?”

“Higher.”

“Seven.”

She motioned up with her thumb.

“Just tell me how long it is.”

“I don’t know. It ranged from seven and a half and as long as twelve.”

“What the hell, so Six Mile Creek might be double the length? What kind of false advertisement is that?”

Emma pointed at me. “Don’t you dare say a word when we get to the resort. No snarky comments.”

“Tell me our destination, and I might be persuaded,” I said in my most charming voice.

“Don’t forget, I’m making all your choices, so I’m thinking you have little negotiating power.”

No way would I give Emma the satisfaction of a response, but I still stuck out my bottom lip.

“Fine, I’ll tell you. Only so you’ll regurgitate your obnoxious reactions before we get there.”

“Oh, this should be good.”

“Blissful Breeze Sanctuary.”

I practically spit out the drink of water I’d just taken. “You’re joking. It sounds like a place for homeless pets.”

“Unhoused.”

“It’s a place for unhoused pets?”

“No!”

I had been screwing with her, but my hope for this place plummeted with a name like Blissful Breeze Sanctuary . They needed to hire a better marketer.

“Go ahead,” Emma said. “Get it out of your system.”

I put my fingertips against my forehead as if I was thinking.

“Let’s see if I have this straight.” I glanced over at her to ensure she was watching my theatrics before I shifted my gaze back to the road.

“You’re scrolling the internet looking for an ideal place for our vacation, and the name Blissful Breeze Sanctuary pops up.

And you think, gosh, why don’t I check it out? What is wrong with you?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“And how was it?”

“It was serendipity.”

I refused to be sucked into her talk of serendipity, so I said, “I’m surprised it’s still in business with a name like that.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest.

I drove, saying nothing as I filtered through my possible responses.

“Ya know,” Emma said, interrupting my thoughts. “You’re pretty judgy today. First, that cute bookstore and now this.”

The GPS interrupted, telling me to merge onto Route 113. I gunned the truck onto the ramp. Maybe my driving would distract Emma from chastising me.

It worked. She held up her hands, mimicking a roller-coaster ride, and let out a squeal. I couldn’t help but laugh at her antics. My chest warmed. I needed to enjoy my time with Emma. Monthly sister time wasn’t enough. We used to have so much fun together when we were kids.

In the spirit of trying harder, I raised one arm and called out, “Wee!”

At first, Emma shot me a wide-eyed look before she joined me with her own wee.

The farther we drove out of Madison, the more trees dotted the road until we traveled through a forest. It might not have been a forest, but still, more trees than I was used to seeing in the city.

“Are you taking me into the wilderness?” I asked. “Wait. We don’t have to stay in tents, do we?” I tried to keep the disgust out of my voice.

Emma chuckled. “You’re safe. No tents. We’re staying in one of the villas, but they have cabins, too.”

“What’s the difference?”

“The villas house twelve people.”

“All right! Now you’re talking. Room for us to spread out.”

“Um, no. Didn’t you hear me? It houses twelve.”

Realization dawned. “You mean we’re sharing with other people—strangers?” I turned up my nose when I said strangers.

“Strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet.” Emma’s voice dripped in syrup.

“Ugh, you did not just say that.”

She bit her lip before she burst out laughing. “Okay. That was even too cheesy for me. But yes, we have villa mates. And—”

“I’ll pay to have them moved to their own cabins, or I’ll rent us a cabin.”

“No, you won’t.” Emma smiled. “Remember, the choices are mine.”

“Why do we have to stay with a bunch of...strangers...who are friends we haven’t met?”

“It’s part of the program.”

“Program?”

“Yeah, it’s a retreat.”

“Then why the hell didn’t they call it Blissful Breeze Retreat?”

“They didn’t have a clever marketer, remember?”

I sneered at her. “So we aren’t going to just lie around the pool drinking margaritas?”

“I don’t think they even have a pool.”

“You know what I mean.” I shot her a side eye. “What are we going to be doing?”

“Uh, they’ll give us the agenda when we get there.”

I took my eye off the road so I could glare at her. “You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”

“Um, maybe.”

“And I’m going to hate it, aren’t I?”

“Not all of it.”

“And which parts won’t I hate?”

“I don’t know.” Emma sighed. “I really don’t. We used to have fun. We were always laughing about the stupidest things, but we don’t seem to do that much anymore.”

My shoulders slumped. She was right. Life had gotten in the way. I’d promised Emma and myself that I’d give this a chance, and already I was making things unpleasant.

“Hey,” I said.

She continued to stare out the side window.

“Em, I’m sorry. Give me a chance to get used to this. Please.”

At the word please, she turned to me. Her eyes were misty.

Shit. I’d almost made my sister cry. “I’ve always been sarcastic.”

She nodded. “Yeah, but now I don’t know if you’re kidding or not.”