Page 21 of On Fire Island

Dylan’s black Lab interrupted the tedious discussion, charging the dune, knocking Matty on his back, and covering his face in kisses.

“Charlie, hey, boy.”

Matty hadn’t seen Charlie yet and was quite obviously thrilled by both his arrival and his timing. They laughed as I jumped up and down in the sand, trying to alert them to the obvious situation at hand, amazed that they hadn’t yet put it together. Though, in all fairness, Charlie could have been on his own. He was one of those island dogs, unlike Sally, who knew the lay of the land as well as any human and would often wander around unattended. The locals all recognized him, but I can’t count the times I saw visitors making chase to catch the “lost” dog. There was no catching Charlie unless he wanted to be caught.

Charlie playfully grabbed Dylan’s bikini top in his mouth and took off with it toward Sally. Still naively amused, Matty and Dylan sat up just in time to see two bare legs the size of tree trunks, stepping toward them in weatherworn Timberlands.

“Oh my God, Matty.” Dylan squeaked, “Pray for a rogue wave.”

Matty closed his eyes and moved his lips in silent prayer as Jake called out, “Charlie!”

The trunks came closer as the sound of each step echoed off the sand—kaboom, kaboom, kaboom, kaboom. Dylan opened her eyes and looked at Matty, who was white as a ghost. Even though she knew she had more at stake than him, it was clear that he was equally scared. He tossed her his shirt and fell right back into his old role, in which she was in charge. She had always been in charge. He was just along for the glorious ride.

“What do we do? What do we do?” he whispered in a panic, as if he just realized that they were actually in the dunes.

Dylan threw on Matty’s shirt, closed her eyes, tilted her head down and folded her body into as small a package as possible. She motioned for Matty to do the same.

“The invisibility cloak? I don’t think that’s gonna work this time, Dyl.”

“Just try,” she begged, falling back on their childhood response to trouble—of which they had their fair share. Matty gave in and copied her position exactly.

Jake bellowed, “Charlie!” as Ben made his way over from the other direction, calling out similarly to Sally.

They were both but twenty feet away from the impending catastrophe.

Fifteen feet.

Ten.

And then, Jake yelled: loud, strong, angry.

“HEY! GET OFF THE DUNES!” Followed by “Who’s there? I see you!”

Neither Dylan nor Matty moved a muscle, their eyes still squeezed tight, their heads still buried.

Jake’s towering stems stopped right in front of them, as he muttered, beaten and broken, “Dylan, is that you?”

Ben arrived, lucky for Matty, just as Charlie came flying back with Dylan’s bikini top in his mouth. He dropped it at his master’s feet like a proud dog back from the hunt and wagged his tail vigorously. He was infinitely alone in his joy.

fourteen

Does Sex Trump Lucky Charms?

As the morning sun peeked through our bedroom window, I watched Ben’s new ritual, a wince of pain as his hands reached for his belly. Shep was making breakfast, but even the smell of bacon didn’t draw Ben out. Sally, on the other hand, was duly inspired. She made a beeline to the kitchen and sat at Shep’s feet in anticipation until a noise from the garden distracted her. It was Renee’s cat, Houdini, who, per usual, took off at the sight of Sally.

Houdini was an inside cat who often escaped, ergo his name. I followed him home to Renee’s, thinking I would finally solve the mystery of how he got out. I was quite disappointed to see that he just nudged open the screen door and walked in like anyone else. Inside, Matty was retrieving the Lucky Charms he’d bought at the market, looking no worse for wear from the night before. He was indeed lucky that Ben had been present to calm Jake down a bit and move things along. Poor Dylan must have had an awful time of it when they got home. She texted Matty saying Jake had not said a word to her yet, not one word.

Houdini jumped onto the counter and strode across, rubbing up against Matty’s arm and purring.

“Hey, Houdini.”

He grabbed two bowls, a spoon, and the milk and sat at the kitchen table. He poured the milk into the bowls, one for the feline and one for himself, and tapped on the table for Houdini to join him. He opened the box of Lucky Charms and chatted with the cat like the old friend he was.

“Houdini, I have a very important question for you.”

I thought he was going to ask him where to get a condom; it wasn’t gonna be easy in this one-horse town.

“Do you think sex will be better than Lucky Charms?” I was close, I thought, laughing. He was a funny kid, Matty, an old soul. It was hard to believe he was only sixteen, but only children often seem wise beyond their years, from spending so much time with adults, I imagine. Plus, city kids are usually advanced, just from being exposed to so much. I certainly was. He studied the back of the box while arranging an equal ratio of charms to cereal for the perfect first bite.

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