Ron took a sip of his drink, then he explained the plan. “So, first, we are going to send Bella an alert through our safety app saying I hurt myself really bad, causing her to rush over here as quick as she can. When she gets to the roof, that’s when she’ll see the decorations. The guests will wear red and will be grouped together, standing side by side. Blocking her view of me, I will scream, ‘You. Shall. Pass!’ and the crowd will split in half. That’s when she will see me dressed in a wizard robe and hat, with a staff in hand. After seeing her shock and amazement at our glorious work, I’ll get down on one knee and pop the question.”

“As weird as this plan is, I’m sure she’s going to love it.” I coughed, trying not to laugh. “I mean. Very thoughtful.”

“Well, you know me, clumsy but quite the thinker. Although I’m upset I had my tie eaten away by chemicals today,” he said, waving his half-eaten tie at me. “I’ll be switching to bow ties from now on. Anyway, plowing ahead, we did the easy part of the planning. Now we just have to figure out who we are going to invite.”

It was pretty difficult to decide who would be at the engagement since each person had a big family, but we decided just to invite immediate and close friends. Settled with our plans, we kept the original date of the engagement for Sunday night. We parted ways, for now, to get what we needed for the party.

When I pulled into my driveway, I heard a message go off on my phone. It was from Ruth. It had just occurred to me we’d been talking for a while, but I had completely forgotten to check if she was a real person! I mean, you know all those horror stories you hear about online dating. What if I was getting catfished, or if I got kidnapped and went missing, or worse, what if it was another person after my toes? I was not about to be like one of those people on that show.

Looking around my car, I grabbed a book and placed it on my head. “Hey, you know we have been talking for so long. I just realized we never verified if we’re the same people from our profiles. I have to be sure the person I’ve been talking to is really a beautiful girl or if you’re a fraud named Carl that enjoys playing with people’s emotions.” Sending the message, I took the book off my head and got out of the car.

“Hey there.” I looked up to see Summer walking over. Surely, she wasn’t talking to me, but as I looked around, I couldn’t see anyone else. She chuckled. “Yes, Autumn, I’m talking to you. I know we haven’t talked in a while, but I think it’s time we bury the hatchet.”

Oh no, have I been transported to the twilight zone? There’s no way this could be happening. I mean, the Summer I remember was not too keen on forgiveness. Something must have happened to her. “Oh my gosh, Summer, are you okay? What happened? Did you lose your memory? Did something traumatic happen? Did you find God, and now you want to forgive all the people that have wronged you? I’m sorry, but I don’t want to go to Sunday mass with you. Just consider me a lost cause and let the devil take me.”

“Force you to go to church? What are you talking about?” She chuckled. “Nothing happened, and no one is forcing you to go to church. Vin talked some sense into me, and he explained enough time had passed, and I should extend an olive branch. I spent some time thinking about it, and he was right. Also, I’m jealous our moms still have girls’ night without us.”

Wow, I have to give Vin the best armor I have and some gold. That kid not only works quickly but has some really good persuasion skills. For now, I should probably apologize for everything I did. “Really? That’s uh… great! Um, I’m sorry about everything I did back then––”

She interrupted before I could continue. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s not bring it up anymore,” she said. A car backed out of her driveway. It was the same car that was there when Ron visited. It must have been the same guest from that night. Shortly after, Summer’s parents and Vin left the house with suitcases. Summer’s father finished strapping the ski equipment to the top of their car. Her parents waved at me, then got in the car, and Vin walked over.

“Hey, Autumn. I can’t make the raid this weekend. We’re going on a ski trip,” Vin said.

Summer’s eyes lit up, and a smile made its way to her earlobes. “That’s right! I’m glad I could catch you before we left! We’re heading to our cabin for the weekend. Did you want to come?”

“Whoa there, cowgirl, slow your roll. We just signed the peace treaty for our friendship. I think it’s a little too soon for sleepovers.” I laughed. “But seriously, I would love to. But Ronny boy is proposing to his girlfriend on Sunday, and I have to be there for it. Maybe next time.” Summer was always so quick to rush into things. Maybe that was why she wanted to skip the apology and rush into being friends again.

“Stumblebum is finally tying the knot. You gotta give me the deets when I come back,” she said, giving me a hug. Summer smelled like sunshine and meadows. I was glad that some things hadn’t changed. They both went into their father’s car, and they drove off into the night. Wow, this was an interesting turn of events. I guess I didn’t drop a nuke on our friendship after all.

Waving as the car drove by, I turned around and went inside. The fresh smell of chocolate-chip cookies lingered in the air, and I could hear Mom cleaning something in the kitchen. As I walked into the kitchen, there was a fresh plate of cookies sitting on the counter. Grabbing one, I went to the fridge for some chocolate milk. “I hope to be as good of a wife and mother as you one day,” I said, filling a glass with milk.

“Well, I’ll have to pass on all my secrets, and who knows, maybe you can get together with that Ruth girl you’re so fond of,” she replied as she dried off the baking sheet. “But before that, I hope you can fix things with Summer. I know you’re fighting right now, but you were so close back in the day, so I’m sure it won’t always last.”

With a filled glass, I returned the milk to the fridge and sat on the counter near the plate of cookies. “Well, I don’t think that’s entirely impossible, given what just happened.” Taking a sip from my glass, I explained what had happened outside to Mom. “Yeah, so we’ll see what happens when Summer comes back from her trip.”

Placing the dry baking sheet in the cabinet, Mom poured herself a glass of water from the sink and leaned on the adjacent counter. “That’s wonderful! Her mother and I were just talking about you guys fighting and how it’s a shame that we haven’t had a proper girls’ night like we used to.” Taking a sip from her glass, a smile crept its way up her face. “But going back to your dating life. I know I’m bringing this up again, but you know how you tend to U-Haul with the people you date. I’m just curious. Have you considered the name Winter for your baby?”

That made me spit out the milk I was drinking onto the counter next to me. Hopping off the counter, I grabbed some paper towels. “Mom! I thought we talked about this already. I know I move fast, but not that fast!” After cleaning up the mess, I threw the soaked paper towels in the trash. “Besides, Winter is kind of a lame name, but I will consider it if I have a girl. But I already told you I was thinking of naming my kid Glennjamin. Glenngy, for short.”

“I just realized, did you put Glenn and Benjamin together to get that atrocious name? You name my grandchild that you’ll get cut from the will.” She laughed. I don’t think she’s kidding. After taking another sip, she continued, “Besides, as your mother, I request my first grandchild to at least have Winter in their name. It’s such a beautiful name. If I were to go back and do it all over again, I would give you a sibling named Winter.”

“Whatever you say, Mom,” I said, placing my glass in the sink and walking to the stairs.

“Oh wait, have you FaceTimed Ruth yet?” she asked, putting the glass in the sink and walking behind me.

“Uh, not yet. I’m verifying if she is an actual real person right now. But I mean, I’ll get to it.”

“Wow, you’re taking your time with this one. To think if I were twenty-five now, I would be out there crushing it. I’ve only been out of the game for twenty-seven years, and I feel like I could put up a fight out there.” Patting my head before walking up the steps, she added, “Maybe you should come to me for dating advice instead of going to your father every time.”

Following her up the stairs, I replied, “You know, if this doesn’t work out, I might consider an arranged marriage so you will have full control over my suitor.” Wishing her a good night, I went into my room. Kevin was curled into a ball, sleeping on my bed. He was so peaceful I couldn’t bring myself to kick him out of bed just yet.

Walking over to my computer, I heard a chime from my phone. It was Ruth. She sent a picture of herself in a car with some napkins on her head. “Now, are you confident my name isn’t Carl?” she texted. This is amazing. Maybe I should start planning the wedding day. Hold on. I should wait to meet her first. I don’t want to be at our wedding day and realize she slurps her soup.

“Definitely, it would have sucked if this beautiful girl I was talking to was just a ruse. Actually, do you want to set up a video call?” I texted back.

It took a long time for her to respond. So long. I thought I’d ruined it. But she eventually texted back. “Oh, I would love to! But I’m going on a long hiking trip over the weekend, so I won’t be able to meet anytime soon. Also, I’m packing for the trip, so I won’t be able to give you my full attention, but when I come back, we definitely can!” She must be a really focused packer. I didn’t want to be too pushy, so I accepted her lame excuse.

The rest of the night, I continued to work on my book, and in between, I would text with Ruth until I eventually fell asleep.