Della’s agent chimed while she was halfway through making coffee. She glanced at the caller ID and smiled. “Iris.” Mira looked up from the other side of the room. “That sounds ominous.” “It usually isn’t.” “That wasn’t what I said.” Della accepted the call. “Iris. Morning.” “Morning. Busy?” Della looked at the coffee machine, then at Mira. “Extremely. I’m currently supervising a machine pouring hot water through ground beans.” “I’ll try to be brief.” Mira snorted. Della leaned against the counter. “What’s up?” “We’re going to the cabin.” There was enough familiarity in the sentence that Della immediately understood Iris was not talking about just any cabin. “The cabin.” “The cabin.” “When?” “Thursday. Coming back Monday.” Della raised an eyebrow. “That’s not a weekend.” “No,” Iris agreed. “We stopped pretending it was a weekend a long time ago.” Mira was watching now. Della covered the agent mic with one finger. “Cabin. Thursday to Monday.” Mira’s eyebrows went up. Della uncovered the mic. “And?” “And Brenda and I wondered whether you and Mira would like to come with us.” That stopped her. Della straightened slightly. “Both of us?” “Of course both of you.” Mira had apparently developed the ability to read Della’s expression from across the room. “What?” Della held up a finger. “What do we need to bring?” “Clothes.” “That’s reassuring.” “Optional, depending on what everyone is doing.” Della closed her eyes. From across the room, Mira said, “What did she say?” “I’ll tell you later.” Iris continued, perfectly calmly. “Anything personal you want. Otherwise, food is handled. Drinks are handled. Beds are handled. Transport can be handled if you need it.” Della stared at nothing for a moment. “This sounds suspiciously organized.” “That’s because Iris is talking,” Brenda called somewhere in the background. Della laughed. “Hi, Brenda.” “COME TO THE CABIN.” “I’m working on it.” “You’re not working hard enough.” “Brenda.” “I’m helping.” “You’re shouting.” “Also helping.” There was a muffled sound, followed by Iris returning with exactly the same tone she had used before. “As I was saying. You won’t need to worry about logistics.” “Who’s going?” Iris started listing names. Ace. Mai. Shammy. Brenda and Iris. Reyes. Kiro. Marco and Lena. Panam. Then one name Della had not expected. “Elisa.” Della blinked. “Elisa?” “She hasn’t been either.” “Either?” “You and Mira would be first-timers too.” Della slowly turned toward Mira. Mira immediately narrowed her eyes. “What?” Della ignored her. “So there are three of us who have never been to this place.” “Yes.” “And everyone else has.” “Yes.” Della considered that. “Why does that make me more nervous?” “I have no idea.” The answer came much too quickly. Della laughed again. “Okay. What exactly happens at this cabin?” There was a short silence. Not a suspicious silence. Somehow that made it worse. “We eat,” Iris said. “Good start.” “We drink.” “Still normal.” “Sauna. Swimming. Usually both several times.” “Fine.” “People wander around. We talk. Marco cooks too much food. Reyes will probably throw Ace into the lake.” Della stopped. “I’m sorry?” “She does it every time.” Della stared at the agent. Across the room, Mira mouthed, _What?_ “Why does Reyes throw Ace into the lake?” “I don’t remember how it started.” “That sentence did not help.” “It wasn’t supposed to.” Della rubbed her forehead. “And you want us there.” “Very much.” Something in Iris’s voice changed then. Only slightly. The comedy remained, but underneath it was something simpler. Warm. “You know us well enough now, Della. So does Mira. This isn’t a job. Nobody needs anything from either of you. We’re just going away for a few days with people we like.” Della’s smile softened. “That sounds dangerously close to friendship.” “Yes.” “Terrible habit.” “I know.” Della looked across the room again. Mira was still waiting. And Della realized she already knew what her own answer was. “Hold on.” She muted the call. Mira immediately pointed at her. “Reyes does what to Ace?” “Apparently throws her into a lake.” “Why?” “Nobody remembers.” Mira stared at her. “Okay.” “There’s food.” “Good.” “Drinks.” “Better.” “Sauna. Swimming. Marco and Lena. Panam. Kiro. The Triad. Reyes. Brenda and Iris.” Mira nodded along. “And Elisa.” That got another raised eyebrow. “Elisa?” “First time for her too.” Mira thought about it. Della waited. Finally Mira shrugged. “Thursday to Monday?” “Yeah.” “Do we have anything we can’t move?” “Nothing important.” Another second. Then Mira smiled. “Fuck it. Why not?” Della grinned and unmuted the call. “We’re in.” Brenda erupted somewhere behind Iris. “I FUCKING TOLD YOU.” “You did,” Iris said. Della laughed. “Is this the famous crazy company?” “No,” Iris replied. Della waited. “This is Brenda.” “HEY.” “And the crazy company will be at the cabin.” Mira had walked over now and leaned close enough to speak toward Della’s agent. “Iris?” “Yes?” “Just one question.” “Go ahead.” “Should we be worried?” This time Iris actually laughed. “No.” A beat. “But you may want to bring a swimsuit.” Della glanced at Mira. Mira glanced back. “That sounds normal,” Mira said. Della narrowed her eyes. “Which means it probably isn’t.” From the agent, Brenda’s voice returned. “YOU’LL LOVE IT.” Iris sighed. “She’s probably right.” Della smiled. “Thursday, then.” “Thursday.” The call ended. For several seconds, neither Della nor Mira said anything. Then Mira picked up her coffee. “So.” “So.” “Reyes throws Ace into a lake every time.” “Apparently.” “And nobody remembers why.” “Apparently.” Mira took a slow drink. “I think I’m going to like this place.” Della looked at her. Then smiled. “Yeah.” She picked up her own coffee. “I think we both are.”