When Sadie, Lori, and their husbands go away for the weekend — eager to celebrate a birthday — Lori’s husband, Ben, gives Sadie a cryptic message about a secret he’s keeping. Sadie struggles between keeping the secret or telling her best friend — maybe some secrets aren’t worth keeping?
Since high school, Sadie and I have always been best friends. We grew up in front of each other, and we grew together. At home, Lori was regarded as another daughter.
“Lori,” my mother would ask every evening, “will Lori be joining us for dinner?”
So, we went through everything together, including the fact that we dated, and now are married to, two best friends — Benjamin and Keith. I still remember meeting them in school. I was convinced that I was going to end up with Benjamin, but Keith ended up winning me over, along with Lori and Benjamin finding their soulmates in each other.
Of course, we were each other’s maids of honor, our bond strengthening as our lives intertwined further. As time went on, Benjamin and I grew close too, forming a quartet of friendship and love with our spouses.
Now, we’re couples who love to do everything together — from birthday dinners to holidays. So, to celebrate Keith’s birthday, we rented out a little chalet because we wanted to celebrate somewhere else.
“Book a place, Sadie,” Lori said. “You do the accommodation, and Ben and I will do the food.”
We were both childless and more than excited to get away — even if it wasn’t far.
Keith’s birthday rolled around, and we got to the place early, ready to party. I ordered a birthday cake, which Lori picked up, along with enough food for two weeks, even though we were only going to be there for the weekend.
Things were great until the evening took an unexpected turn. We were all drinking — nobody was going to be on the road. We were safe. But Benjamin, having indulged a bit too much, sought solace in the cool night air on the balcony with me.
“You know, Sadie,” Benjamin began, his words slurring, “there’s something I’ve been working on for Lori.”
Intrigued, I nudged him for more.
“Ben, what are you planning?”
“It’s a surprise! But you’ll have to keep it a secret if I tell you. It’s been so hard hiding bottles from Lori…”
“What bottles?” I asked.
“Oh, you know,” he said, his voice trailing off as the alcohol took over him.
Lori and Benjamin were not big drinkers — they had the occasional drink with Keith and me, but it wasn’t something they did by themselves. It all stemmed from Lori’s father being an alcoholic, so she was uncomfortable with having alcohol in their home.
“What mischief are you two up to?” Lori’s voice, light and playful, couldn’t mask the sharp edge of curiosity.
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