Chapter 1

"You are cordially invited to celebrate the union of

Miss Cosima Niehaus

And

Miss Delphine Cormier

Casa dei Ricordi Inn

Saturday, September 2nd, 2017"

Alison looked down at the invitation in her hand. She had been standing with immaculate posture staring at it for the last five minutes. Contemplating, she sipped from her wine glass of sparkling cider. The invitation had come months before, and Alison was beyond excited for her friends. Yet, for some reason, today, she felt a heavy weight on her shoulders.

The wedding was in three days. Donnie had been surprisingly helpful in getting the kids ready to drop off at her mother's and they had a rather large room booked at the small cabin-resort. By all means this was the kind of marital retreat that did wonders for couples like Donnie and her. Yet, she looked at the invitation differently today than she had before. Something about it sank in, and something about it made her feel terribly lonely.

It wasn't Donnie's fault. In fact, the last few years of their marriage had been wonderful. After rehab and after the Leekie incident, Donnie had finally started pulling his weight. He had become the man she fell in love with all those years ago. The problem was, despite loving him fully, she knew he could never replace her.

"Kids are in, bags are packed." Donnie said as he walked in the door, "Do you need to do a final walk-through to make sure we aren't forgetting anything?"

Alison remained silent, thinking, still standing there, staring at the card.

"Ali?" Donnie cut into her thoughts.

"What?" Alison replied as she came out of her daydream. "Oh yeah, no, I have everything packed. I made a list and ran through it this morning. We're good to go."

"Make sure to bring that invitation; I'll need to put the address in the GPS."

Alison nodded curtly, and grabbed her jacket from the back of the couch. She looked around the house and headed out into the car. Donnie followed shortly after, opening the driver-side door and slamming into the seat ungracefully, the car shaking.

He turned around, "You guys ready to spend a super fun weekend at Grandma's?"

"She always makes our clothes all stiff and crusty." Gemma complained.

Oscar added, "Her house is an entire 'look but don't touch' museum or something."

Donnie shot Alison a knowing smirk. He agreed with them but laughed it off.

"Your grandmother loves you very much," Alison said, "I remember how hard it could be as a kid in her house, but she cares about you and has been looking forward to this for months."

Oscar looked out of the window silently as Donnie started the car up and backed out of the garage.

This was going to be a fun weekend getaway with Donnie. She was happy to see her friends, and they would be far enough away from Toronto that no one should question a family of "triplets" attending a wedding. Of course if Helena was able to make it, that could throw a wrench in things. Alison's head hurt at trying to explain four identical people. Somehow the fourth person added exponential risk to the ruse.

Alison's mother didn't keep them long, just for one cup of tea. Donnie always tried to find an exit as quickly as possible from conversations with her mother. Alison couldn't blame him, the woman was insufferable. However, she was watching their kids for free this weekend, and so Alison thought one cup of tea wouldn't be a horrible trade-off. They were now on the road again heading north.

"Can you put the address in the GPS?" Donnie asked, "I know it's by the wildlife reserve, but I didn't check specifically where we were going."

Alison leaned forward and removed the invitation from her purse. She looked at it silently.

"Ali?"

"What?" Alison snapped back, "Oh, yes, sorry, here it is."

Alison typed in the address but something felt off. The address looked familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it. She'd never been to Casa dei Recordi Inn, but she still felt the eerie feeling of déjà vu. She didn't remember where she had read it before, but something about it gave her chills. She shook her head focusing. She put the address into the GPS and laid her head back to take a nap.

Flashes. Memories. Laughter.

Beth took the glass of wine from Alison's hand and set it down on the table. She then placed the gun in Alison's hand and standing behind Alison, wrapped her hands around Alison's shoulders, placing them on her hands, guiding the gun. Beth's breath smelled of aged Syrah, and the warmth tickled Alison's neck.

"Don't white-knuckle it," Beth said into Alison's ear, "just hold it lightly, but make sure you're firm enough that it won't kick-up on you."

With Beth's arms around her, guiding her hands, Alison pulled the trigger. The shock of the blast sent a jolt through Alison, but something about it also sent empowerment through her.

"Holy…Shish kabob" Alison said as Beth backed off from behind her.

"Shit, Hendrix." -Beth laughed- "Only you can make shooting a gun less intimidating."

Alison shot her a glare, "Just because I shoot a gun doesn't mean I have to speak crass too."

"Of course it does," Beth said, "that's half the fun."

"We have very different views of fun." Alison said.

"None of that now, you know this is strictly business."

Alison guffawed. "Nothing with you, Beth, is 'strictly business' "

Beth blushed and nudged Alison in the side. They laughed at the joke, and Beth leaned against Alison. "When it comes to protecting you," she said, "I take it seriously."

Now it was Alison's turn to blush. "I don't need to protect myself, I've got a big strapping detective for that."

"Yeah, some detective. I'm a year on the job, I'm not exactly a seasoned vet."

"You're seasoned enough for me." Alison said.

Beth became serious. She looked down and kicked at the dirt. After a short pause she spoke her mind. "You pull me back Ali," She said, "When things get too serious, you pull me back from the edge."

Alison turned, looking into Beth's eyes. "I'll always be here for you, Beth. You know that, don't you?"

Beth paused before pressing her forehead against Alison's, "You got it, 'burbs."

Alison laughed and pushed Beth away. "You know I hate when you call me that."

"Bullshi-" but Alison raised a warning hand cutting off Beth's word. Beth smiled at the gesture before continuing. "Bull, you pretend things annoy you when you deep down think they are adorable. I know you, Hendrix, you can't hide from me."

Beth was right, no one, not even Donnie could read her quite like Beth. Alison tried to toss it off as simply detective intuition, but she was having a hard time believing her own lie now.

Beth smiled once she realized she'd won. Alison pouted for a few seconds before cracking a smile herself. "You're a brat," she said, "you just better be glad you're a cute brat."

The horn of a semi-truck woke Alison.

"Damn trucks think they own the road." Donnie complained.

Alison looked around, trying to lock back into reality. She sat silently; gazing out at the trees as they shot passed the car. She had been having Beth-dreams again. She had them every few months and they always rattled her. Something about those memories wouldn't leave her. Wouldn't give her a break. She took a breath. Usually she had one or two and then had a few months respite, but this marked the sixth dream in a week. If she hadn't been three years sober, she would have gone to bed after a few glasses of wine in hopes of a dreamless sleep..

"How much longer?" She asked.

"Oh we only have about thirty more minutes, at least that's what Gunther says."

Donnie insisted on referring to the GPS by the name 'Gunther.' For some reason Donnie enjoyed the British accent that the GPS spoke with, and was fond of the idea that it was some sort of butler. The GPS would ting in with it's high-class British accent 'Take a right here' and Donnie would start with his abysmal attempt at an accent himself, responding 'Right! Cheerio Gunther!' Alison would never let Donnie know that she actually found the whole embarrassing exchange quite cute. No need to encourage him.

That dream. Of course, it wasn't just a dream; it was a memory. It was a memory that Alison had repressed. She tried not to think about her time with Beth. Their relationship didn't last any longer than a year, and everything about it was wrong. She had been married and she had fallen in love with a woman. Not just any woman, but her clone. Alison wasn't even sure what to call it. The whole thing felt awkwardly pretentious and self-gratifying. Something about falling in love with someone who looked exactly like you seemed the most egotistical thing a person could do. Yet, Beth wasn't anything like Alison. Where Alison was grace and rules, Beth was blunt and mischievous. Beth's straightforward attitude is what drew Alison to her, that and the girl's style. Alison hated how Beth could somehow wear the most utilitarian outfits and yet somehow still look like she came out of a catalog.

Hate can be a funny thing. Sometimes the things we hate about a person are what we miss most when they're gone. A tear formed on Alison's cheek, which she quickly brushed away to hide her mental transgressions.

"Destination in three kilometers." Gunther announced.

Alison popped up in her seat and straightened out her sweater. She inhaled and opened her eyes wide to dry any residual tears. Opening the glove box, she slipped out a piece of gum to freshen her breath.

"Destination in one kilometer."

Alison leaned forward and picked her purse off the floorboard, placing it in her lap. She sat straight in her seat.

"You have arrived at your destination."

The car pulled around a corner, the road lined with tall beautiful trees that were already slightly tinged with color to mark the beginning of fall. Alison smiled at the pretty trees, shaking away another memory of similar trees, except with a different person in the driver's seat.

The breaks squealed as the car came to a stop. Alison tilted her head as she looked at Casa dei Recordi. Something felt off. Something felt familiar. Alison got out of the car, confused. Donnie walked around the side and opened the trunk slipping the bags out.

"Ready for a great weekend?" Donnie asked.

"Ready for a great weekend?" Beth repeated in Alison's mind.

Alison gasped.

She stumbled back against the car. Her eyes darted to the left and right. The gazebo in the front lawn, the trees changing leaves, the red door at the front, all of it was familiar. All of it made sense because Alison had been here. It was five years ago that Beth and Alison slipped away for a weekend. It was called Cottage Amant then. They sat on those chairs in front of the quaint white resort. They laughed in that Gazebo in the lawn. It was five years ago that Alison first told Beth she loved her.

Alison fainted.