Page 63 of WASP

“What’s stopping you?”

Annie smiled, her words light. “A number of things.”

“Like what?”

Annie studied Max with a level of intensity only she could muster. “How honest do you want me to be with my answer?” she asked quietly.

Max’s pulse quickened; what kind of question was that? “Ideally, completely.”

Annie’s eyes darkened and she tilted her chin, almost as if she were still considering Max before she spoke. “Okay, but remember, you asked for it.” She reached out, hand lazily stroking up and down Max’s side, fingertips ghosting along her arms. “I think I’ve been dragging my heels on finding an apartment because I wasn’t sure what was going on with you. Your land. And with us. I don’t feel like I have enough information to make an informed decision. Right now, I’m saving a ton of money living here. I have enough in savings, but it’s been nice not to have to burn all of that on rent; however, it does mean accepting the tradeoff of having the world’s most annoying roommates.” She played with the ends of Max’s dark hair. “I also recognize that we are still very newly dating and talking about moving in together so soon is absolutely ludicrous. But it is something I want to do with you in some capacity at some point in the future when the time is right to have that conversation.”

Max listened as Annie rambled, following her weaving thoughts, documenting each of her fears raised and concerns uttered, and when she was done, she took her hand, lips brushing against the tops of her knuckles.

“Thank you for being honest with me,” she said with sincerity, looking intently into those deep blue eyes. “And for the record, this conversation doesn’t scare me one bit. I’d rather be able to be direct with each other than hold things in, too afraid to talk—that’s not a vibe I want in our relationship.” She caught Annie’s grin at her words, the one that filled her with a specific warmth. “But I don’t have an answer for you because I don’t really know what my plans are yet, and I hate that that’s putting you in limbo.”

“You’re not putting me in limbo. I was already in limbo when we met. I can hang out here a little longer if it’s for a good cause.”

A quiet passed between them, Max’s mind spinning on what all of this meant.

“Hey Max.” Annie’s voice was soft, her hand soft against Max’s cheek. “Your dream in Michigan can one hundred percent be a reality. That’s what the audit revealed. It’s within your reach. You’re just going to need some investors to help you raise enough capital to get things going.”

Michigan. Investors. Capital. Max inhaled sharply, the words looping through her mind. “You really think so?” she asked, her question a hesitant utterance.

“I do, but you’re going to need one hell of a business plan.”

* * *

At the end of the week, Max pulled her car into the parking lot at a nature preserve in the next town over, the one with a path that wound its way along a scenic river that happened to have the most excellent birdwatching this side of Connecticut.

A silver sedan slid into the spot next to Max’s station wagon, Lynn waving from the driver’s seat before parking and hopping out. “Sorry I’m a little late, my belt ceremony ran a little longer than expected,” she explained, crouching down to lace up her sneakers.

“Belt ceremony?” Max questioned, running through her mind, trying to piece together what Lynn was talking about.

“Karate,” she said, as if that were enough of an explanation.

Max’s brow furrowed. “Since when?”

“Since the beginning of the year. I just earned my yellow belt, thank you very much.” Lynn’s smile was full of pride, and who was Max to take that away from her?

“You truly are my hobby ho, aren’t you?” Max joked, bumping her shoulder against Lynn’s as they made their way to the trailhead, water bottles in hand.

“Life is short, and I have a long list of things I want to try before it’s over.”

Woodchips crunched under the weight of their footsteps as they moved briskly through the yellow-green vegetation pressing in around them. They walked in near quiet for a little while, every now and again one of them saying something before they returned to their content silence. After twenty-five minutes of walking, the tree canopy began to thin as the trail opened up, revealing stunning views of a river carving its path across the earth. They approached an observation deck. Max set her water bottle down on the nearby bench, reaching for her binoculars and scanning the riverbank.

“There!” she called excitedly. “Osprey nest across the water on top of the pylons at the end of that dock.” She handed the binoculars to Lynn, who took them and held them up to her eyes.

“Very cool. Weird place to build a nest, but very cool nonetheless.”

“It’s for protection,” Max explained, visualizing the exact page in her dad’s weathered guidebook listing out everything someone would ever need to know about the bird in question. “It gives them a place where they can evade ground predators while keeping an eye out for eagles.”

“I had no idea you had such an affinity for birds.”

“You’re not the only one with hobbies.”

More silence followed as Max continued to look out over the water for other birds. Lynn, in her very Lynn way, sat with her legs criss-crossed on the wooden bench, eyes closed, hands in her lap, breathing deeply as she meditated.

“How did you know you were in love with Dan?” Max asked after twenty long minutes of the two of them quietly doing their own thing. She knew she was toeing a line with her topic choice—Dan wasn’t something Lynn liked to discuss openly, something Max had always done her best to respect.