"The Gorge Road" Chapter 1
1. Endeavor In the year since I moved to the town of Willamette Falls, Oregon, I’ve been called a homewrecker, an angel, a monster, and a witch. Some of these things may actually be true. On the night I met the DiAnnons, though, I felt absolutely average (if not below it) and completely out of place altogether. “You just have to remember to be confident,” Sarah chirped at me, as she zipped up my dress. “If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you? Everyone is attracted to confidence.” I wondered if she was simply regurgitating an inspirational poster she had taped to the wall of her classroom. “I think you should put on something nice and come with us,” I pressed, for the third time. “Meet Deon’s colleagues, their spouses… it’d be an easy way to meet new people.” “Yeah, no. No way. Walking around in a skimpy little dress and high heels, pretending to have fun with a bunch of stuck-up strangers and rich people? That’s for yo