“No way!” one of them breathed.

  “Yeah, and there’s a vampire who is also our dentist and a centaur owns our ice cream store. I’m friends with some werewolf kids and there’s even a zombie named Libby who thinks she’s like my second mom!”

  “And you can see ghosts?” the girl asked as she looked up at Finn with awe in her expression.

  Finn nodded. “Plenty. There’s this one named Darla who was super annoying… until she turned back into a real person and now she’s even more annoying. She like talks nonstop.”

  The kids rounded on him and started bombarding him with questions until their mother intervened. “Why don’t you all take Finn outside and show him around the colony? Maybe he can find some ghosts living here.”

  She herded the kids to the back door and shut it on them.

  “Thanks,” I murmured into the stillness. “It’s nice to see him hanging out with kids.”

  She gave me a brilliant smile. “I don’t want you to worry. He’ll be perfectly safe with them.”

  I smiled in turn and as she gave me a quick up and down, taking me in for the first time. “I never thought I’d get to meet you.”

  I couldn’t help my surprise. “You… you know who I am?”

  “Of course I do, honey! Roy talks about you a lot in his letters.”

  “His letters?”

  She nodded with enthusiasm. “He sends word once a month and our long-range scouts pick it up when they go to town for whatever supplies we can’t grow here.”

  I glanced over at Roy. He had a strange expression on his face, and I felt my heart drop. All this time, I’d thought he was hiding me from his family when it turned out, they knew about me…

  The next minute, my scalp prickled when Cora added, “He told us all about Fifi’s problem, too, although we didn’t think you’d be showing up here like this.” Just then, Fifi appeared at the end of the hallway, wearing a towel around her head and another one wrapped around her body.

  “I washed and scrubbed as much as I could and I used almost the whole bar of soap. There wasn’t any shampoo I could see.”

  Cora held out her hands to Fifi as she approached her. “Fifi! It’s very nice to meet you, honey. You’re very welcome here.” Then she paused a moment or two. “And if I’m not mistaken, you probably need something else to wear?” Fifi nodded with a smile as Cora led her down the hallway, to a bedroom on the left side.

  An irrational lightning bolt of annoyance burned me from the inside out as I realized Roy had been talking to his relatives about Fifi, too. So much for me being something special.

  Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Poppy, I told myself and then felt guilty.

  After another minute or so, Cora walked down the hallway, and walked directly to the stove in the kitchen. “Everyone sit down and take a load off. You all must be starving.”

  Roy headed for the door. “I’m heading out, sis. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

  She waved over her shoulder without answering, then bowed over the massive stove and lit a fire in the firebox. She executed every move with practiced ease and kept up a cheery line of dialogue while she took down a cast-iron pan from a hook in the wall and started frying bacon in it.

  “Poppy,” Roy said as he faced me.

  I turned to look at him, and he motioned for me to join him outside. Once I did, he gave me a big hug and then kissed the top of my head. “You and Finn are going to be fine. Just stay here until I get back and if you need anything, just ask Cora, okay?”

  I nodded. “Thank you, Roy. For… everything.”

  He nodded and gave me another smile before he turned back around and started down the road, back into the village. I watched him until he disappeared through the front gate. Then I turned around and walked back into Cora’s house, all the while feeling like my relationship with Roy was over, even though I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why I felt the way I did. It was just this strange surety that bubbled through me. Maybe it was just insecurity?

  Marty and I sat down on a couch across the room, and it was at that moment that Fifi walked into the kitchen. She was wearing jeans that were too large but she’d secured them with a belt and rolled them into cuffs at the bottom. The shirt was also two sizes too big, but I was envious that she had new clothing to wear at all.

  “Can I help?” Fifi asked as she walked up to Cora, who was busily opening one of the cupboards. She took a bag of flour off the shelf and found a wooden bowl from under the counter.

  “Of course. What’s your specialty?” Cora asked.

  “I’m decent with making pies,” Fifi answered and Cora quickly nodded.

  “That sounds divine.” Then she turned to face me. “Poppy, if you’d like to take a shower, now’s your time.” I eagerly nodded. I could think of nothing I’d like better.

  “Thank you,” I started.

  “Once you’re finished, feel free to raid my closet and find anything that will fit you.” She glanced down at my shoes by the door. “And you’ll definitely need a pair of shoes.”

  “I can’t thank you enough,” I said as the shower called my name.

  ***

  “It’s so good to see Roy back in the colony,” Cora was saying over her shoulder as I walked back into the living room after my most excellent shower. I’d found more soap in the cabinet, under the sink, and I’d eagerly used it in my hair and on my body. My feet were bright red and still burning, but at least I felt much better. And even though Cora’s clothes were baggy on me, I was beyond grateful for them.

  “Roy’s always been the odd one out,” Cora continued as Marty excused himself so he could take a shower, too.

  “The odd one out?” I repeated.

  Cora nodded. “He wanted contact with the big, wide world. The colony wasn’t interesting enough for him. Everyone thought he was crazy when he moved to the Hollow, but he did well for himself and we couldn’t be more proud. Not that one, honey.” She pointed to something Fifi was taking out of a different cupboard. “Use that one. That’s it.”

  Fifi and Cora moved around each other in a coordinated dance. They never got in each other’s way, which I found surprising.

  I would have liked to join them, but I didn’t want to disrupt their flow. I watched in amazement as Fifi mixed something in a bowl and then rolled out a perfect pie crust. She filled it with dried blueberries, mixed them with something or other, and then put the whole glorious creation into the oven.

  Cora stood back to give her space and then bestowed a magnificent smile on her. “Thanks, honey. That looks amazing—you’re a natural.”

  Fifi blushed and walked to the sink, as I felt like I was definitely getting upstaged. It should have been me in there with Roy’s sister—getting to know her and offering my help. And yet, I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to get up off the couch, even though I couldn’t explain why.

  “You good, Pops?” Marty asked, as he appeared at the end of the couch, his wet hair curling around his ears. He was wearing Cora’s husband’s clothes and swimming in them. Apparently, Cora’s husband was on a hunting trip and wouldn’t return for another few days. Marty sat down beside me and reached over, patting my knee.

  I looked at him and nodded, even though I suddenly felt like I wanted to cry. The flood of emotion was strange, to say the least, but I had to look away from his caring expression so I wouldn’t lose it completely.

  Keep yourself together, Poppy, I thought.

  “You seem a little like you’re out of sorts,” he said in a small voice.

  I smiled at him. “I’m okay.”

  Then I returned my gaze to Fifi and watched as she started doing the dishes from the pie-making and the ones Cora had used to make dinner. I couldn’t help but feel like a third wheel all over again. How did Fifi know so much about sasquatch living? She’d said more times than I could count that she was a city girl, but she acted right at home here—a lot more at home than I felt, anyway.

  “Pretty funny that we went from being afraid for our lives to being surrounded by a bunch of naked dudes, holding guns,” Marty continued, prattling on. Even though I couldn’t say my attention was on the conversation, I was happy he was sitting there with me. I was both relieved and grateful to listen to his voice, because it somehow calmed me. It seemed the more dull the topic, the more comforted I felt.

  Inside my head was another story all together—thoughts were careening against one another, trying to find purchase. The foremost one was amazement over the fact that I’d never known, until this minute, that the sasquatch lived without technology. I’d never known because I’d never thought to ask. In all the time Roy and I were dating, I just obsessed about us living happily ever after, but I never really bothered to think about what that happily ever after might look like. I never pushed to find out about him, his family, how they lived, or anything else.

  And I had to wonder why. The more I considered it, the more I realized that whatever relationship I’d had with Roy, it hadn’t been a deep one. It was more surface than anything else.

  Why are you referring to your relationship in the past tense? I asked myself.

  I didn’t know.

  It was maybe another ten minutes before Cora put an impressive meal on the table and told the kids to come in from outside so they could load up their plates. They came tumbling in and everyone helped themselves to the feast.

  “That pie smells divine,” Marty told Fifi. “I can’t wait to taste it.”

  Fifi blushed as she looked up at him with a big smile that said she was proud of herself. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought maybe… she had the hots for Marty? As handsome and funny as Marty was, I was still surprised because he was also a complete goofball and, essentially, just a big kid. He didn’t seem to be Fifi’s type at all. But, then I realized, all at once, that he was exactly Fifi’s type namely because of one thing—he was immune to her sexuality. And that meant if she could snag Marty, she would have found a man who was truly interested in her for everything beneath the surface.

  Hmm… I didn’t know how I felt about that.

  Actually, I did know—I didn’t like it. But, I couldn’t explain why. I didn’t have feelings for Marty, other than friendship and, of course, I wanted him to be happy, but… Somehow it just didn’t feel like Fifi was a good fit for him.

  “I couldn’t have done as well,” Cora added as she gave Fifi a big smile and I withered on the inside just a bit more. “You’ll have to teach me your secrets.”

  Fifi blushed again, and she seemed… at home. It was the best way I could put it. Fifi looked like and acted like… she belonged here.

  “How do you know so much about off-grid living?” I asked.

  “I don’t, really.” Fifi glanced toward the stove, where the delicious smells of baking crust wafted into the room. “I knew a few sasquatches before I moved to Haven Hollow. They were the best cooks on the planet. I tried to pick up a few tricks from them, but I never learned the more hardcore stuff like hunting and butchering kills.” I made a face because that sounded like something I’d never want to do. “You have to be a sasquatch master for that.”

  “Cooking and hunting abilities aside, we’re just as messed up as the rest of the world,” Cora said with a laugh.

  “Not quite,” Fifi replied. “There was always more of a… community feeling among your kind,” she said to Cora. “And I always appreciated that.”

  “I thought you were only interested in living your life in the fast lane, as they say?” I pointed out.

  Fifi looked at me and shook her head. “I like the simple way of living too—it’s nice to have a slower lifestyle and to stop and smell the roses, but at heart, I’m a city girl.”

  “Haven Hollow isn’t really much of a city,” I said, pushing my food around my plate with my fork. I wasn’t sure why, owing to the fact that I hadn’t eaten in however long, but I’d lost my appetite. “Coming from Los Angeles, I think of the Hollow as the country.”

  “Well, it’s definitely not Los Angeles!” Cora said with a laugh as she turned to face Fifi again. “It sounds like Haven Hollow is the perfect middle ground. You’re lucky to find a place where people help each other out.”

  “Have you ever been there?” Marty asked.

  “Oh, no! I could never leave the colony,” Cora replied, shaking her head. “I was born here and I’ll die here.”

  “You’ve never left?” Marty asked, amazed. He’d already finished everything on his plate and he was moments away from asking for seconds. I knew from experience.

  Meanwhile, the sounds of the kids talking and laughing filtered in from outside, where they were eating their dinner at the kids’ table which was, essentially, just a fallen tree-trunk with some smaller trunks on either side which had been carved into benches.

  “Nope, I never left because I never wanted to live anywhere else,” Cora answered with a shrug. “My whole family is here. My whole life is here. I don’t have any reason to leave.”

  “You never feel tempted to see how the rest of the world lives?” Marty asked. “Aren’t you even a little curious?”

  Cora laughed at him. “No, I’m not, since you ask. The outside world doesn’t have anything to tempt me. This is my world and it’s good enough for me.”

  “Well, to each his… er her own, I guess,” Marty said as he gave her a big smile and then… asked for seconds.

  ***

  After dinner, I sat staring into the roaring fire in Cora’s enormous stone fireplace. Well, it wasn’t roaring anymore. I’d gotten so lost in my own thoughts, I’d forgotten to add wood to keep it going. Now it was pathetically reduced to smoldering coals, which were still glowing red, but looked disappointing. I still didn’t stir from my chair.

  This fire embodied everything that was wrong with this situation. If I’d ever worried I couldn’t make it living with Roy’s family, this experience cemented the knowledge in my mind. I just… felt like a stranger here. And that feeling hadn’t let up the longer I stayed. Everything felt so foreign, so different and so… intimidating.

  It’s not the life you want, I heard myself say and was surprised by my own admission. No, it wasn’t the life I wanted.

  Regardless, here I sat, too rooted to my seat to get up. Sitting here was just easier. So was feeling sorry for myself, something I usually didn’t do. But, I was doing it now and doing it in spades.

  Roy might be the odd one out among his family, but he still belonged here. I could never say that about myself. This was the last place on the planet in which I fit in and I couldn’t even imagine taking family vacations here, although it seemed Finn was having a great time. It was good to see him with kids his own age. As much as I loved Henner and RJ, they were still adults, and I wanted Finn to have young people in his life, as well.

  Speaking of Henner and RJ, I had to hope they were doing okay after the fiasco with the Love’s Goddess potion. There was no cell service up here, so I couldn’t call them and besides, I’d left my phone in my purse, which was back in Roy’s truck. But, I wasn’t too worried about them. I had a feeling that once they were out of smelling distance of Fifi, they’d simply gone back to their daily lives, and were probably now focused on a game of Dungeons and Dragons.

  But back to the sasquatch colony, I’d never be able to work in Cora’s kitchen the way Fifi had. As able as I was at making potions, that was about all I could do. I mean, I could cook and bake, yes, but only using modern conveniences. Everything here just felt so archaic—like I was on some sort of weird excursion where they force you to try to survive like our ancestors had—making you rough it like the original settlers had. And yet Fifi had adapted to the situation like a pro. I could still taste the succulent blueberries and the flaky, buttery crust of her incredible pie. No one would ever know from looking at her that she had this in her.

  I definitely wasn’t cut out for this primitive village sort of life. I liked my modern conveniences, my Netflix, my Jeep, running water…

  I figured I should go to sleep. It must have been long past midnight, and there wasn’t a single clock in the whole colony. My bedroll was set up in front of me, in front of the fire, and it was calling my name. Pretty much everyone else had already gone to bed. Fifi had been one of the first to retire and was upstairs, probably already asleep. Marty was on his back in the far corner of the room, snoring away.

  And Finn… for the first time in his twelve years of life, Finn hadn’t said goodnight to me. He hadn’t waited for me to tuck him in and give him his kiss before I sent him off to the Land of Nod. Instead, he’d gone with the kids’ to their enormous, shared bedroom and immediately fallen asleep in one of their numerous beds which resembled bunk-beds, but were also made from hollowed out tree trunks.

  Finn was getting more independent by the day, and the sasquatch children’s influence made him even more so. Even though I was happy for him and beyond pleased to see him socializing with children his age, there was a part of me that still felt the void. I looked forward to tucking him in at night, to giving him a kiss and to Piggy calling me ‘grandma’.

  Oh, well, this is just one night, I reminded myself as I decided to hit the sack.

  I didn’t budge from my chair, though, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Too many thoughts plagued my mind. I couldn’t hold them all in my head at once. Something needed to be decided or puzzled out, but so many ideas, feelings, and possibilities competed for real estate in my brain that I couldn’t distinguish one from another.

  I heaved a sigh.

  If I was going to stay down here, I better at least build up the fire so it didn’t go out, otherwise everyone would freeze their tushes off. At least the flames weren’t licking around anymore. I leaned forward in my chair, intent to get up and retrieve a log from outside the front door, when the door opened and Roy walked in.

  A petite woman followed him into the living room. She looked young on the outside, but something in her olive-skinned face gave the impression of great age and wisdom.

  I shot to my feet. “Roy! You’re back! I thought you’d be gone all night.”