Brewing Wine Under the Moon, Unstained Eyes

The year I turned twenty-three, I had a dream.

In it, an old woman warned me, gentle and insistent.

Break up with your boyfriend, now. If you don't, they'll spin you in circles and lie to you the whole time.

He and your best friend have had feelings for each other for a long time.

If you don't believe me, go look at your boyfriend's username online.

"The initials already tell you the answer."

I went and looked at his display name. Sure enough, it was Maud Simmons's initials.

But it still felt absurd to me. "It could just be a coincidence."

The old woman only smiled, bitter.

"You don't believe me? In a little while, he'll shoot down your hot-springs resort birthday plan,"

"and pick the country lodge your best friend set up instead."

I jolted awake and realized it had only been a dream.

I was about to share the strange, eerie thing with my boyfriend and my best friend when, all of a sudden.

A message popped up in the three of us group chat.

"Rosie, your birthday's in three days. Let's skip the hot-springs resort and switch to a country lodge instead, okay?"

I stared at the message.

A chill ran through me.

They really wanted to cancel my hot-springs resort and swap in a backwoods lodge?

"Rosie? Why aren't you answering? Do you like the lodge idea?"

Maud's messages kept coming, one after another.

"I looked forever to find this place. The reviews online are amazing!"

"They say the campfire chicken there is out of this world, and you can even go strawberry picking!"

Maud's little avatar kept popping up.

Then my boyfriend, Benedict Gilbert, chimed in right behind her.

"Rosie, Maudie's right."

"The hot-springs resort is packed right now, and expensive too. No fun."

"Going to a country lodge and getting close to nature is so much better. Breathe some fresh air, way better than soaking in a pool of disinfectant."

I closed my eyes, and the old woman's bitter smile echoed in my head.

"Break up with your boyfriend, now... they've had feelings for each other for a long time..."

"You don't believe me? In a little while, he'll shoot down your hot-springs resort birthday plan and pick your best friend's country lodge."

It had come true.

The three words landed on my heart with a dull, heavy ache.

Before I could reply, the chat had already scrolled up under new messages.

They chatted away, warm and lively.

Even without me there, the two of them seemed to have endless things to talk about.

I typed out a line:

"But I still like the hot-springs resort better..."

Then I deleted it, one letter at a time.

I hinted, softly, that I didn't want to go.

But Maud waved three tickets in front of my face.

"Tickets to the country lodge. I already bought yours. Pretty thoughtful, right?"

I stayed silent.

Benedict frowned, impatience showing in his eyes.

"Rosalie Henson, you've got such a good best friend handling all this, booking everything for you. You should count yourself lucky."

"Can you stop sitting there with that face and killing the mood? Nobody owes you anything."

I lowered my head. "Fine."

In the end, they still packed me into the car by force.

In the yard of the country lodge.

A plump woman in a blue apron came out to greet us, her voice booming:

"You're Maudie's booking, right? Come on in, we've got the fire going for you already!"

Maud chatted eagerly with her.

"So this is your boyfriend? Handsome guy, pretty girl, what a match."

Benedict just stood there smiling.

Letting them assume, saying nothing to correct it.

Maud shot me a sideways glance, testing, then smiled shyly.

"Ma'am, you've got it wrong. My best friend here is his girlfriend!"

The woman gave two awkward laughs and walked off.

Maud leaned close to my shoulder, smiling, coaxing me.

"That lady just didn't know, that's why she got confused. Rosie, you're not upset, are you?"

I said nothing.

Any other time, I'd have been the first to clear it up.

"You're my best friend. How could I ever take it to heart?"

Besides, a mix-up like this had happened more than once or twice.

Every time, I cheerfully explained to people.

"One of them is my boyfriend, the other's my best friend. They're the two people closest to me."

I never kept my guard up around them.

Once, the three of us went hiking together. I got too tired to keep climbing and waited by myself at the foot of the trail.

The two of them went up to the top to take photos.

And I never once suspected anything was happening behind my back.

But now, something seemed to have shifted.

Just then, the owner came over carrying a birthday cake.

"There's a birthday cake too. We've got an event at the lodge today, so we're giving you one."

I lowered my head, my gaze landing on the cake, and stopped cold.

Written across it in bright, bold letters:

"Happy birthday, Maud Simmons!"

The air went quiet for a few seconds.

Maud looked over too, and let out an "oh no."

"This is my fault. The lady said she needed a name to make the cake, and I forgot to send Rosie's name."

"So the owner assumed it was my birthday and wrote the name of whoever placed the order."

"Look at the mess I've made."

"How about this, I'll go buy you a new cake with your name on it, okay?"

That was what Maud said, but her body made no move to get up.

"There's no need to go to all that trouble."

Benedict cut in before she could. "It's just a cake. Whose name is on it doesn't matter. Wipe the letters off and you won't even be able to tell."

But I'd been looking forward to this cake, looking forward to this birthday.

I'd thought we'd get gorgeous photos at the hot-springs resort.

Instead it had all turned into a wreck.

The upscale hot-springs backdrop I'd pictured had become a country yard with chickens running loose everywhere.

The candlelit dinner and the beautiful spread I'd wanted.

Turned into one big pot of campfire-roasted chicken.

A wave of hurt rose up inside me.

The thing was, this was exactly what Benedict had promised me, and he hadn't delivered.

In the end all I could do was sit there and watch the two of them get falling-down drunk and smear cake all over each other's faces.

While I sat there stiff, like an outsider.

That night, after searching the whole town, the inn had only one room left.

It was a single big shared bunk.

The three of us stood in the room, looking at that two-meter shared bunk, staring at each other.

I couldn't believe it. "The three of us tonight... all sleep here?"

Maud lowered her head, poking her index fingers together.

"Rosie, this is my fault, I didn't think it through, the place is a little rough."

"How about we just make do and share one room tonight?"

I looked at Benedict. "This... isn't really appropriate, is it?"

"When you're on the road you can't be so picky."

Benedict dropped the suitcase. "Just rough it for one night. Maud already booked it."

"Worst case, we all sleep in our clothes."

Maud smiled and hooked her arm through mine. "You sleep in the middle."

Seeing that neither of them had any intention of saying no, I could only agree too.

"Oh, this works out perfectly!"

Maud tossed her bag on the floor.

She threw herself onto the bunk and rolled around. "Doesn't this feel like our school field trips? The three of us haven't stayed like this in ages!"

Then Benedict threw a pillow at me.

He told me to get out and sleep somewhere else.

I was completely confused, and he said,

"Rosalie Henson, you know what you're like when you sleep, don't you?"

"Did you forget the last time Maud had exams, you snored all night at the hotel and kept her from getting any sleep?"

"You go make a bed on the floor."

Maud stood beside him, covering her mouth, laughing hard.

She stuck out her foot and kicked him.

"You've got some nerve talking to your girlfriend like that. You want to die?"

"Rosie, don't listen to him. Last time it was nothing at all. He just piled it on and blew it out of proportion!"

The two of them started roughhousing again.

I dug my nails into my own hand until it hurt. The last time, I'd deliberately asked Maud about it.

She'd said my snoring wasn't really that bad.

That Benedict was just too much of a perfectionist.

"Benedict..."

I tried to speak. "The room is only this big. Where am I supposed to make a bed on the floor?"

"That's your problem."

Benedict shot me an impatient look. "Just don't disturb our sleep with your snoring."

That night I sat in the chair beside the shared bunk, the whole night.

The next day I opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was this.

Maud's leg draped over Benedict.

And Benedict's hand rested at Maud's waist.

The two of them looked like the couple, close enough that nothing could come between them.

In that moment it was as if I could hear the old woman from my dreams again.

"See it now? Sooner or later they'll end up together. This is your proof."

"If you don't wake up and get out now, the only one who ends up hurt is you."

A sharp pain twisted through my stomach.

By the time I came out of the bathroom, both of them were gone.

I finally found them down at the restaurant, both already halfway through breakfast.

Talking, laughing.

Benedict was showing Maud a pretty little pendant he'd just bought from a stall on the street.

"Weren't you saying a while back that you needed a keychain charm?"

"You like this little doll, so it's perfect for hanging on there."

Maud took it without the slightest hesitation. "So thoughtful. Rosie really didn't pick the wrong boyfriend!"

My stomach hurt so much I could barely stand, and I said it three times, right there beside them.

Asking Benedict to take me to the hospital.

All I got back was his careless answer.

"You probably just overate yesterday. A few more trips to the bathroom and you'll be fine."

"We finally got out for a trip. No way we're going to the hospital, what a downer."

Benedict was packing up his fishing rod, not even lifting his head.

"Besides, Maud just texted me to hurry up and bring the rod down to the river."

"She said she just found a river near the lodge where you can fish."

"She finally got interested in something and wants to go fishing, wants us there with her. You're not going to ruin it, are you?"

My face had gone white from the pain, both hands pressed to my stomach.

"But it really hurts"

"Just tough it out. It's all these bad habits everyone spoils you into."

Benedict slung the rod over his shoulder and started to walk off.

I was truly angry now, sucking in breath through the pain.

"I'm counting to three."

"Benedict, if you don't take me to the hospital, then I don't want you anymore."

This was our own private pact, something like a code word between us after all these years together.

If I started counting,

it meant I was really angry.

And every single time, no matter how serious the thing we were fighting about,

Benedict would back down, soften his voice, give in.

But this time he didn't.

If anything, the sneer in his eyes only deepened.

"Rosalie, you always threaten people with these same lines. You really think I'm scared?"

"I can't be bothered playing these childish little games with you."

In my head I counted silently:

Three, two, one.

I watched him turn and walk away without looking back.

I bit my lip and told myself.

Benedict, we're finished.

I went back near the lodge and asked the owner for some painkillers.

Only after taking them did the pain ease a little.

Then I checked ticket times on my phone, ready to buy one and leave this place on my own.

But I dug through my whole bag and couldn't find my ID.

Back when Maud had bought my ticket for me, she'd taken my ID.

It should still be in her bag now.

Face still ghost-white, I went out to find Maud.

I spotted her crouched at the edge of the river, head down, doing something I couldn't make out.

I stepped up, about to speak.

"Maud, I"

Then Maud spun around, and a snake came flying straight at me!

"Ah!"

My face went white, and I jerked back a step.

But I was too slow.

The snake sank its fangs hard into my calf.

My head buzzed and every drop of sense drained out of me.

Then, right beside my ear, came that overblown laughter.

"Hahaha, Benedict, look at your girlfriend!"

Maud pointed at me, cackling.

"Rosie's such a coward. Look how white her face got."

"That snake isn't even venomous. I heard your footsteps, so I was just playing a little joke on you"

Benedict laughed and egged her on right beside her.

"Rosalie, you really are too much of a coward. You could learn a thing or two from Maudie."

"She reached bare-handed into a hornets' nest earlier. Now that's guts."

I didn't bother with the two of them, still shoving at each other. I just stared, silent, at the bite on my calf.

Cold ran through my whole body.

"Venomous or not, do you two actually think this is funny?"

The air went quiet in an instant.

Seeing I was angry, the smile on Maud's face faded a little.

"Come on, you're not really mad, are you?"

She came over smiling to take my arm. "It was only a joke"

"Don't come near me."

I coldly threw her hand off. "Give me my ID."

Maud looked at my face and couldn't keep smiling. She could only hand it over meekly.

"Rosie, I really was just messing around with you. Don't be mad, okay?"

Maud chased after me to apologize, but Benedict stopped her.

"That's just how she is. No need to coax her. She'll come around in a bit."

"Weren't you dying to fish? I promise I'll catch you a big one today."

I went to bandage the wound myself.

A man in a white suit saw how clumsy I was with it and stepped in to help.

"That guy just now, that's your boyfriend?"

"Not much of a stand-up guy."

"Why not love someone else instead? How about it?"

My head snapped up. The man in front of me was actually Stanley Fox, my senior from school.

"Stanley, thank you."

"I'm not planning to date anyone for now, though. But the breakup, I'll go home and think it over."

Back home, I packed my things. Three days passed.

Only then did Benedict and Maud land and come back to take turns apologizing to me.

"I'm sorry, Rosie."

"We had no idea you weren't having fun and went home by yourself."

"After we got back I spent a long time thinking it over. It really was my oversight, deciding on that backwoods lodge on my own. It wasn't a good time for you."

Maud looked all wronged.

"So we came to apologize."

"See, we even brought you a brand-new cake to make it up to you, didn't we?"

The cake in Benedict's hands looked exquisite.

Maud said, smiling, that the engagement ring was inside the cake.

The moment I ate it, that was the moment Benedict would propose.

Fighting down the nausea and the sickly-sweet cloy, I finished the entire cake and never found the ring.

Benedict burst out laughing.

"Rosalie, you really are a little glutton. Don't tell me you swallowed the ring?"

While I sat there a mess, Maud suddenly held out her finger to show it off.

"I was afraid Rosie would eat it, so I slipped the ring on early."

"Rosie, shouldn't you be thanking me?"

She didn't want to take it off, admiring it with a face full of pretend regret.

"It's exactly my size. I don't even want to take it off."

And I, forcing down the churning and the sickness in my stomach, tugged at the corner of my mouth.

"It really does suit you."

"Then you keep it."

I turned and walked away. This time I wanted none of it.

While I was outside letting the wind clear my head, a message came in from Benedict.

"Don't be mad. I bought your favorite mango cake. I'll bring it to you when I get back."

I stared at that message, and suddenly I laughed.

Six years together, and Benedict still couldn't keep it straight.

Between Maud and me, which one of us was the one who loved mango cake.

If that was how it was.

Benedict, I'm letting you go.

I turned around and went home, took my packed suitcase, and headed for the airport.

Looking at the boarding pass in my hand, I called my mother.

"Mom, I'm coming home today. That marriage match you mentioned last time is he still around?"

My mother went silent for three seconds.

Then her voice broke out with a delight she couldn't hold back:

"He is! He is, he is, he is! He's such a catch, good-looking, steady job, just never had a girlfriend you're willing?!"

"Mm."

I gripped the phone. "When do we meet?"

"Today! I'll have them set it up!"