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“In life, or with Colin?”
“Both!”
“I repeat - so? Figure it out with him - that’s the point of a relationship.” Phoebe looked at her empty mule mug and played with the handle. “I know Col likes to pretend that he has his shit figured out and has some wise philosophical answer for everything but, as his sister, I can let you know he’s as confused as the rest of us.”
Along with her features, it was easy to see how she and Colin were related. They had the same thick dark hair and deep brown eyes, the same way of lighting up when they talked to someone.
“How are you the younger sister?” June asked as she finished her beer and set the glass on the counter. Phoebe laughed and replied, “I just read a lot.”
“Well, I should be going,” June said, indicating her empty glass.
“Oh! I forgot! I did tell my friends to meet us here,” she said, looking at a text that had popped up on her phone. “Do you want to stay and meet them? They work at the museum too - you’d love them.”
“Maybe some other time,” June said, waving down Declan and asking to pay her tab. She tapped her card, added a tip, then turned to Phoebe. “Thank you. Also, I do actually want to be your friend, so once I get all this sorted, we can hang out?”
“June,” Phoebe said, fixing her with a stern glare that reminded June both of Colin and her own terrifying third grade teacher, “You don’t have to wait to have everything figured out to pursue things that make you happy. We can be friends even if you’re in a rough place.” June’s face broke into a smile and she pulled the smaller woman into a hug, earning a surprised grunt from Phoebe. “Okay, okay,” Phoebe said, pushing her away. “Now go figure out how you’re going to tell my brother you’re in love with him, but spare me the details, because he’ll be insufferable.”
“I love you, Phoebe,” June said, laughing.
“Oh, I know - everyone loves me as a friend, but that’s it,” she said, but a slight bitterness colored her tone. June didn’t miss the way that Declan's eyes snapped to Phoebe’s face.
“Bye!” June waved over her shoulder as she headed to the door, mentally preparing herself to go back into the sunlight of the early afternoon. She opened the door and nearly ran into two people - a tall white woman with straight black hair and bangs that framed her face and an even taller, willowy blonde man with curls to rival June’s own. They waved to Phoebe and took a seat next to her at the bar, beginning to gossip about their work.
June walked out into the sunlight of Vanberg and looked around the town she had called home for the previous 14 years. She loved Vanberg, loved everything about the tiny town, but now was able to hear the voice in her heart that was calling her just a bit north, where there were more trees, less phone service, and a slender man with a bun and a smile that June knew she loved.
