Blythe told Renie she was hurt m
ore than angry. She thought they were best friends, but maybe she’d been wrong.
When Renie begged and pleaded with her to come for Thanksgiving, she couldn’t say no. If she had, she would’ve spent it at home alone. Her parents told her they were going no matter what.
She noticed the change in Renie’s attitude immediately. And she didn’t like it. Instead of being her usual fun-loving self, she criticized her, non-stop.
The two went to Downtown Crested Butte for breakfast, and Renie started in on her almost immediately.
“Come on, Blythe,” she said. “Are you going to be pouty all day? I said I’m sorry.”
As if that was enough. “I thought I was your best friend.”
“You are my best friend.”
If they were such good friends, why hadn’t Renie turned to Blythe when she needed her? Renie told her she hadn’t talked to anyone about Billy. She’d shut herself off.
“I’m working on being more honest and open about my feelings, Blythe,” she told her. “You might want to consider being less open and honest with yours.”
What? That stung. Instead of confiding in her, which is what Blythe wanted, Renie chose to use her newfound freedom of speech to criticize her. She’d had about enough. Why had she agreed to come in the first place?
Blythe might be a little outspoken, but wasn’t that what people loved about her?
She took after her dad. Her mother was far more diplomatic. Her father had retired years ago, but before he did, he toured with an internationally-known and very successful band. He found out he had cancer when she and her two older sisters were young. He immediately quit touring, and never went back.
The stage persona lived on, however. Her dad was hysterical—everyone said so. He was also outspoken, and he didn’t always think before he spoke. It was part of his charm. He had an acerbic sense of humor, and would say the things everyone else thought, but never said.
When Renie suggested she tone things down a little, Blythe’s own mother agreed.
“Bravo!” Paige said. “It’s about time you stood up for something, Renie. I’ll enjoy finding out how you feel about things.”
Then she turned to her own daughter. “Don’t pout, Blythe, it isn’t becoming,” What? Now her mother was on her case, too? She hadn’t been here twenty-four hours, but it felt like time to go home.
“Maybe I should leave. Would that make everyone happy?”
Renie’s mother walked over and hugged her. “I’m sorry, Blythe,” she said. “We’re encouraging Renie to be less of a doormat, but it shouldn’t be at your expense.”
Liv turned to Renie. “You two make up. I don’t want the holiday ruined before it even starts.”
Renie extended the olive branch by asking Blythe to go for a ride. She agreed, mainly so she could get out of the house, and away from everyone else for a while. Maybe by the time they got back, “pick-on-Blythe day,” would be forgotten.
Renie let Blythe ride the horse she’d had since she was ten, a mare named Pooh. Pooh was gentle, and an easy ride. Blythe wasn’t as comfortable around horses as Renie. In fact, they scared her.
Renie’s mom barrel raced. Blythe couldn’t imagine being on the back of a horse going that fast, and getting as close to the barrels as they did.
A year ago, Liv had an accident while racing and was in a coma. A few months later, she started racing again. Blythe thought she was crazy, but her mother explained that it was something Liv had wanted to do her whole life. Liv would have been miserable if she hadn’t pursued her dream.
Blythe understood what that meant on a philosophical level, but there wasn’t anything she’d personally felt strong enough about to call a dream.
She’d been in nursing school, but quit. She hadn’t liked it as much as she expected. Truthfully, she hated it.
Right around the same time Blythe quit, Renie transferred from Dartmouth, where she was studying biomedicine, to the Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She’d planned to become a large animal vet, but dropped out of that program last year. She was talking about going back again after she and Billy got married.
Renie and Billy were getting married. It would take some time for that to sink in. Especially since Billy, eleven years older than they were, discovered he had a daughter he hadn’t known about, and the baby’s mother had passed away.
Renie broke up with Billy over it, and for a long while, Blythe didn’t think they’d ever speak again. Not that Blythe heard any of this first hand. It all happened during the time Renie refused to talk to her.
Her mother had been the one to tell her they were back together and getting married.