The Thanksgiving Retreat

 “We’re going to do what?” I asked.

“We’re going to the Retreat. We’re going to spend the whole month there. It’s going to be all about celebrating Thanksgiving,” my sister, Kira said. “Come on, we’re all adults now and we don’t have to worry about school and we’re young enough to not have to worry about jobs. It’s the perfect year to do this. We have nothing to worry about.”

“And who else is coming with us?” I asked.

“All of my friends, all of your friends,” Kira said. “You can invite your girlfriend and I’ll invite my boyfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I said.

“Yeah, sure,” Kira said, rolling her eyes. “Chloe, I don’t care what you consider her, you should still invite Rachel. And I will invite Hunter.”

“The Kunter duo,” I teased.

“Shut up,” Kira said, wacking me with a pillow. “And for your information we are the Hira duo.”

“Fine, I guess I’ll go and invite Rachel along with my other friends and you’ll invite Hunter and the rest of your friends which will leave us with 6 people. 3 of my friends, myself, Hunter, and you,” I said.

“Are you trying to imply that I have no friends?!” Kira glared.

“Oh no, I would never do something like that,” I said, trying not to laugh. “Let’s just go invite our friends and then we’ll regroup and pack our bags. We should leave as soon as we can.”

“Deal,” Kira said. “I’ll invite 3 of my friends and Hunter, you invite 3 of your friends and Rachel, then we regroup to pack.”

I nodded and Kira left as I dialed Rae’s number. “Hello?” Rae said as she answered the phone.

“Hey, Rae,” I said. “I was wondering if you wanted to come to the Retreat with my sister and some of our friends.”

“When?” Rae asked.

“Um from now until the end of the month?” I answered.

“Wow that’s crazy,” Rae said. “Sure, I’m game. Got nothing better to do this month. Plus I’d love to see my favorite girl.”

I blushed and smiled. “Favorite?”

“Yeah, I love Kira so much,” Rae teased.

“Shut up, that’s mean,” I said, pretending to pout.

Rae laughed. “When are we making this official?”

“I... I’m just nervous,” I said, looking out the window. “I don’t know Rae. I’ve never done something like this before. I don’t want to ruin what we already have.”

“We won’t ruin it,” Rae said. “I promise. Let me show you over this month that what we have is special and it won’t be ruined. Let me prove to you that we can do this.”

“Alright, I look forward to see what you do,” I said. “I’ll see you later, Rae.”

“Bye,” Rae said.

We both hung up at the same time. I then called Quinn, Zach, and Regina and they all said they were on board. Kira and I met back in the room as I had already begun packing my bags. “Oh my God, Chloe. You still have these underwear?” Kira said holding up a pair of Hello Kitty panties from my underwear drawer.

I blushed. “I dunno I just haven’t gotten rid of them yet,” I said.

“Well, I think you should take them on the trip,” Kira said, tossing them into my suitcase.

“What? No,” I said. “I don’t wear them anymore.”

“Maybe not, but I still think it would be fun to have them with you even if you never wear them,” Kira said.

“Fine, I’ll take the Hello Kitty underwear, but YOU have to take your Care Bear underwear then,” I said. “It’s only fair.”

I walked over to Kira’s drawers and pulled out Kira’s Care Bear underwear and tossed them in her suitcase. “Oh come on,” Kira said. “Fine. I’ll take the Care Bear underwear and you take the Hello Kitty underwear, but we both have to wear them at some point during the Retreat.”

“Deal,” I said, shaking Kira’s hand.

We finally finished packing our bags and then headed for the car. We put our suitcases in and then Kira drove to Rae’s house who was already waiting for us, ready with her suitcase. We loaded her bag into the car and then made our way around the neighborhood, picking up everyone. I had moved to Rae’s car and sat with her in the passenger’s seat while Hunter sat in the passenger’s seat of Kira’s car. Rae picked up our friends while Kira picked up hers and we followed behind Kira as she led us toward the Retreat.

We pulled up to the lot and it was huge. It was a big log cabin that had a hot tub, a pool, and was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It was also right next to a lake where there were kayaks and other stuff.

“Alright,” Kira said. “Hunter will be in my room, Rae is in Chloe’s room, Zach is in Michael’s room, Regina is in Joanne’s room, Quinn is in Tara’s room. Go settle in and do whatever you want for today. Tomorrow the real fun begins.”

Rae and I went to find our room and we claimed the furthest one down the hall that seemed to be the master bedroom because there was an on-suite. “Wow,” I said. “We struck gold.”

“Yeah,” Rae said. “This is really nice. How much is this place?”

“Well, this place was inherited from our grandfather who passed away last year. Technically it went to our mom, but well... you know,” I said.

“I’m so sorry, Chloe,” Rae said. “Two losses in the span of a year. That must have been heartbreaking.”

“It’s been hard, but I think that’s why we’re having this retreat. So we can unwind and not have to worry for a month,” I said as I placed my suitcase next to the right side of the bed and Rae placed hers on the left.

“Isn’t that more of a reason why we should stop waiting,?” Rae asked. “We never know how much time we have left in this world, and I would hate leaving with regrets.”

“I’m sorry, Rae,” I said. “I just... maybe you’re right, but I guess I’m just scared.”

“What are you scared about?” Rae asked, stepping close to me.

“I’m afraid I'm not good enough,” I whispered.

Rae leaned toward me. “Please, Chloe. You’re good enough. You’re so beyond good enough,” she said. “You need to learn to not be scared. You need to learn to just dive in. Take a dive with me, Chloe.”

“I don’t know, Rachel,” I said. “Give me a month. By the end of the month, I will have your answer.”

“Fine,” Rae said. “I’ll give you till the end of the month. In the mean time. We’ll have lots and lots of fun.”

“I’m counting on it,” I said.