CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

After breakfast, we follow Dr. Ezra to a clearing in the woods. Tall trees provide a barrier to the wind, and sunlight streamers cover the rich soil beneath us.

“Val and Matt,” he says, “you stand together here. Jarel and Angelo, you stand together next to them.” He hands Jarel and I each an elastic band. “From preschoolers to adults, one of the best ways to teach teamwork is a three-legged race. Slide those on.”

Matt and I secure our legs together, and Jarel and Angelo do the same.

“The finish line is those two trees roughly thirty feet away.”

“Easy,” Angelo says.

Dr. Ezra smiles before pulling something out of his pocket. “However, there’s an added challenge.” He begins to blow up a yellow balloon and quickly ties it. He tosses it to Jarel before blowing up the other and tossing it to Matt. “You must keep the balloon in the air at all times. If it falls on the ground, you have to stop to pick it up. If it falls three times, you must return to the starting line and try again.”

“Mm,” Jarel says, gently elbowing Angelo. “Not as easy.”

“We can do this,” Matt whispers. “No sweat.”

Dr. Ezra raises his hand. “Ready… Set… Go!”

It takes Matt and I a moment to find our rhythm, but once we do, it’s easy. We drop our balloon twice, but so do the guys, and we touch our tree less than a second after Jarel.

“Excellent!” Dr. Ezra says. “Nearly a tie! Remove your bands and return to the starting line.” When we arrive, he says, “Now, Jarel and Matt pair up; Angelo, you’re with Val.”

“Aw, yeah,” Angelo says and grins at me. “This is the winning team right here.”

“Easy,” I say, but I return the smile as we step into our band.

Angelo balances the balloon on his left palm and drapes his right arm around me. “Let’s do this, girl.”

“Ready… Set… Go!”

Everyone takes off, and this time, each team only drops their balloon once. Angelo and I beat Jarel and Matt, but only by a second.

“Again, wow!” Dr. Ezra says. “Nearly a tie. Remove your bands and return to the starting line.” When we take our positions, he says, “You already guessed. Well, done. Jarel and Val to the left, Angelo and Matt to the right.”

Jarel winks at me. “This is quite an adventure you’ve given us.”

“I thought you liked our adventures.”

“Oh, I definitely do.” I glance at silent Angelo and Matt, but Jarel leans down and places his lips against my ear. “Get out of your head, baby. Just you and me.”

His words still make my stomach flip, and I refocus.

“Ready… Set… Go!”

Jarel and I easily find our rhythm, but Matt and Angelo struggle. They drop their balloon three times and have to return to the starting line just as Jarel and I are reaching the end.

“C’mon,” I hear Angelo bemoan. “Can’t the universe just give us a break?”

When Jarel and I arrive at the trees, we slip off our band, and Jarel shakes his head. “This is hard to watch.”

“Okay,” Matt says to Angelo. “Outside legs are ‘A’, and the inside leg is ‘B’. Let’s try that. Cool?”

“Cool.”

“A… B…” Matt begins as the two hobble toward us. They take it slow this time–after all, the race is over–and they manage to keep the balloon in the air the entire time. Nevertheless, they both look quite relieved when they arrive at the tree and take off the band.

“You know what I liked about that?” Dr. Ezra asks. “You two figured it out. It wasn’t as easy as it was with the others, but instead of throwing a fit or storming off, you came up with a creative solution and did better. That shows me that you all are capable of cooperation and compassion, even if you have the most fraught relationship in the group. It is possible for you all to connect. Remember that.”

Jarel slaps both of them on the shoulder, and they seem to relax a little.

“Everyone back to the cabin,” Dr. Ezra instructs. Get some water, freshen up, and change into lighter clothes. We’ll leave in forty-five minutes for the next activity.”

It takes us nearly fifteen minutes to walk to the cabin and another fifteen to get ready for the next event.

When everyone’s ready, Angelo opens the fridge.

“You don’t want to eat,” I tell him. “You’re going to want an empty stomach.”

He raises his eyebrows, and the others look at me. “You know the next activity?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know about the race?”

“No, but the next activity is why Bea suggested him. He’s a little unconventional.”

“No kidding,” Angelo says, closing the fridge and choosing a glass from the cupboard.

“I think it’ll help,” Matt says. “He seems to know what he’s doing.”

“I agree,” Jarel says.

“We’ll see,” Angelo says.

“I thought Matt was supposed to be the skeptic,” I quip.

Angelo puts his hands up. “All right, all right. Touche.” His phone vibrates on the counter, and he smiles before picking it up. “Hey. What’s up?” The smile instantly flips. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you yelling about?”

“Ten bucks says it’s Latrice,” Jarel says as he sits down next to me on the couch.

Matt sits on the other side. “Totally.”

Angelo leans against the kitchen sink, then hops up to sit on the counter. “He did what?!... Yeah, it was my idea. I didn’t think you’d fly off about it like that though. Well, I kinda did, but I–”

“Definitely Latrice,” Jarel says.

“I’m in the woods today, but… no, yeah, no… I should be back for family dinner tomorrow. Just make sure they read the book, and I’ll help with the book report.”

“Jack and Jola,” I say.

“Latrice, he’ll be home by Monday. Use the space to think about your own reaction. It’ll be fine.”

“Called it,” Jarel says.

“Give my love to the kids,” Angelo says. “Love you, Latrice.” When he hangs up, he tosses his phone on the counter and hops down. “That dude.”

“What happened?” I ask.

He looks at the three of us, and I know he’s debating how much to say in front of Matt. “Fuck it,” he says. “The point of all of this is to be more open to being around each other, yeah? Fuck it.”

He gestures for Jarel to move over, so he can sit next to me. Then he looks directly into my eyes but doesn’t lower his voice. “Andre took our advice and told Latrice what happened. She freaked and yelled at him. He left and told her he was going to Atlantic City. This happens occasionally. He’ll be back.”

I bite my lip. “Looks like I won’t be going to family dinners anytime soon.”

“Let’s give it a couple of weeks. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. It’s good that it’s out.”

“You sure we didn’t just bleach the whole relationship?”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “It’ll be fine, girl.”

This is a sweet moment of reassurance, and if the guys weren’t here, I would kiss him. One of our quick, sweet, everything-is-fine kisses.

But they are here, and I simply nod.

“What’s going on?” Jarel asks. “What did Andre tell Latrice?”

Angelo gestures at me. “You want to tell them.”

“No,” I say flatly. “I don’t want them to know.”

Both guys sit up, and I can’t tell if it’s alarm or jealousy.

I clarify, “Bea wouldn’t want them to know. I haven’t even told her that you know.”

Angelo nods. “Right. Not our story to tell.” He claps Jarel on the shoulder. “Don’t worry so much. It’ll all work out.”

I stand and turn around to face the guys. “That’s the thing about this,” I tell them. “Even if we spent ninety percent of our time together, you have to understand that the relationship I have with each of you is different. There are inside jokes and stories that each of you know and that I know about each of you that aren’t shared with the others. The relationships are equal in how much I care for you all, but they’re not the same in content, activities, or even secrets. If we do this for real, you’ll have to be okay with that.”

Before anyone can respond, Dr. Ezra knocks on the door while opening it. “How’s the therapeutic break going?”

“Revealing,” Jarel says. “Humbling.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” he says. “Everyone follow me. It’s a bit of a trek.”

The soil and decaying leaves are soft against our feet, and I begin to daydream about Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, the passage of time, and missed opportunities.

Angelo hangs back and tugs on my sleeve when the other guys move ahead. “I’m sorry I didn’t think about Bea,” he whispers.

“It’s okay. You were just trying to be equitable and amenable.”

He simpers. “You should team up with Layla in teaching the twins.”

“What’s the most recent word?”

He laughs. “Grandiloquent.”

I have to stop walking because I cover my face to stifle my laughter. “Oh, the irony!”

“Is not lost on me,” he says with a grin. “But it is completely lost on the twins.”

“Maybe you should offer ‘pretentious’ to her,” I say, still laughing.

“I’m hoping Latrice will.”

For some reason, this makes me laugh more. “Or magniloquent.”

He’s laughing with me and places his hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Occasionally, I become completely tickled by something, and it’s hard for me to pull myself back together. It hasn’t happened in a very long time, but apparently, it’s happening now.

“It’s worse now,” he continues, “because when one of the twins uses one of the former big words, the other will say, ‘don’t be so grandiloquent’, and then they’ll both start laughing.”

I laugh even harder, and although I’m trying to keep it in my throat, my shoulders are beginning to shake.

I don’t know if I’m actually laughing at the twins or if I’ve just been so tense that this is what I need for relief, but maybe it doesn’t matter because I’m so amused that I just have to crouch, then kneel. I still have my hands over my face, but it hasn’t helped keep me together at all.

“Oh my god,” Angelo says, squatting next to me. “You’ve really lost it,” he laughs.

Everything else is quiet, and I realize the guys must have stopped walking.

“Is she okay?” Matt asks.

“She’s fine,” Angelo says. “Laughing fit.”

“What’s so funny?” Jarel asks.

“Grandiloquent,” I squeak, then guffaw, my self-control obliterated.

“You gotta pull it together,” Angelo says, clearly still amused. “We have some crazy thing to get dragged to.”

“This is actually good to see,” Dr. Ezra says. “The joke’s content is irrelevant. What’s important to realize is that Val and Angelo can make each other truly laugh. That’s the relationship they have, and perhaps, Jarel and Matt, you can understand why she wants to continue that relationship.”

“Okay,” I say, wiping my eyes. “I can do this.” I begin guffawing again, but pull myself back together. “I can do this. Help me up.”

Angelo gives me his hand, and when I stand, he’s grinning at me. “That’ll be one of our things now.”

“Oh for sure.” And again, I want to kiss him, but I resist the urge. “Thank you for that.”

“Didn’t even know that I was going to do it,” he says.

“Sorry,” I say louder, strolling toward the others. “I didn’t mean to hold us up. Let’s go.”

We walk another ten minutes through the yellows and greens, and Angelo occasionally looks over and grins at me.

When we finally arrive, the guys drop their jaws.

“No way,” Jarel says. “No freaking way.”

“You told me that you’re not afraid of heights,” I remind him. “All of you did.”