Page 35 of The Summer Club

“Maybe a little curious, but what’s the point?” Andi meant what she said. As curious as she might be about any traits she might share with this mysterious new person in their life, the truth was he was not part of their lives. Never had been. She turned to Hugh. “I think you’re just mad at Mom and Dad. And you’re allowed to be. But searching for this guy, Robert, right now? Makes no sense to me.”

Hugh listened quietly until she was done. “I’m not saying I want to go on a Boy Scout campout with the guy and make up for lost time. In fact, I don’t care to meet him, based on how he treated Mom. But that’s just it—what little we know is according to what Mom shared. There are two sides to every story.”

“Two sides to what story?”

They turned in unison as Sydney lowered her beach bag onto the sand and herself into Martin’s beach chair. Instantly, Andi feared what she may have heard, but Syd was smiling, so all appeared safe.

“Hey,” Hugh said. “I heard the flowers went well.”

“Yeah, they went.” She reached for his bottle of water. “I miss James. I wish he was here to help too.”

Andi threw up her hands. “Am I chopped liver? I thought we had fun!”

“We did.” She gazed out at the water.

“Just an FYI, that’s Martin’s chair,” Hugh warned. “You know how he is about his chair.”

“Well, I didn’t feel like lugging one down. Do you guys have snacks?”

Hugh looked at Andi.

“We were just talking about what Mom said about our birth father. How he knows about us. And yet…”

Sydney bit her lip. “Are you thinking about reaching out to him?”

“Maybe,” Hugh allowed. “I’m curious.”

“I would be too.” Sydney leaned back in the chair and began applying Hugh’s sunscreen.

“That stuff is expensive, but help yourself.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Hugh shook his head. “You’re just a bit emptyhanded, is all. What’s the point of that giant beach bag if you don’t have sunscreen, snacks, or water. You could fit Australia in it.” He poked the bag with his sandy foot.

Nonplussed, Sydney reached into her tote and pulled out a stack of wedding magazines. “It’s only natural to wonder about your biological father. You could look him up if you really wanted to.”

“Yes, but that has huge implications,” Andi reminded them both. “Which is why I’d like to steer clear of this, at least for now. I have no expectations of this person. I’m a grown-up. And I’ve got enough grown-up problems of my own to deal with right now. I’m busy.”

Hugh smirked. “So busy. Divorce. Ex-husband. Teenage daughter. Oh, and Camilla the Gorilla. When does her primate majesty arrive?”

This is what Andi loved most about her twin. “In three days,” she said, grateful for Hugh’s indulgence. “And when she does, we are going to keep our mouths closed and smile politely. For Molly.”

“Right. For Molly. But the second they pull out of the driveway…”

“Fair game.” Actually, Andi was counting on that. Her family had made her laugh through the hard stuff, Hugh especially. Being with them as Molly drove away with George and his crazy new girlfriend was the one thing she hoped would get her through it. Assuming they hadn’t all killed one another by then.

If getting through her divorce had been hard, Camilla had brought a second wave of upset to the past year. The first wave had brought the sort of things Andi expected: guilt for the breakup of the family, lying awake at night worrying about making the mortgage payment, consternation when her (married) friends all went out to dinner and she was left out because “we didn’t want to make you feel like a third wheel, you know?” No. Andi did not know. She could never have anticipated how difficult it would be to unwrap her identity from that of her marriage. They were no longer George and Andi. She was just Andi.

Until Camilla came on the scene.

Camilla, George’s first and only girlfriend since the divorce, had seized upon him with swift force, wedging herself into the family fold with surgical precision. Camilla, who initially presented as professionally coiffed, but has since revealed herself to be personally unhinged. Camilla, who had declared herself George’s “true life partner,” and insisted everyone else refer to them as such. A term that Andi had plenty of questions about, but did not waste her time asking. It didn’t matter, but it did give Hugh lots of material to work with when Camilla the Gorilla came up, which occurred in equal measures of frequency and delight when wine was plentiful and Molly out of earshot. In a matter of days the two would be vacationing with Molly in nearby Martha’s Vineyard and Andi had to come to terms with that. But she didn’t have to like it.

“I’m not thrilled about Molly going away with George and this woman. I’ll need you guys to distract me.”

“Speaking of distractions. Can we talk about Mr. Becker?” Hugh turned in his beach chair and leaned in obnoxiously close.

“Careful. Your hangover.” She tapped her head for emphasis.

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