Page 55 of Songs of Summer

The house was dark. Bea parked her bike, went right up to the front door, and rapped her knuckles on it loudly. A light switched on in a window upstairs. Soon, handsome Dave’s wife stood in front of her, barefoot and angry.

Bea did not know there was a wife. She’d step lightly.

“Do you know what time it is?” the woman asked, and not because she didn’t own a clock.

“Um, yes, sorry. I’m looking for my sister.”

“Is she a pathetic middle-aged drunk with bleached-out red hair?”

“That’s a little harsh,” Bea responded, genuinely defensive.

“Yeah, well, it’s one a.m. and my husband had to walk her home to Bay Harbor.”

“Oh. That’s great. Thank him for me. And sorry for waking you.”

The door was already shut by the time she got in that last part.

Bea pedaled back to Bay Harbor, exhaling her resentment toward Veronica, and inhaling the anticipation of climbing back under the light summer quilt next to Paul. She threw her bike in the shed, kicked off her Birkenstocks, and wearily stomped down the hall to check on her sister. She cracked the door open gingerly. The last thing she wanted to do was to wake her, certain that any conversation between them right now would be even uglier than before. She peered into V’s bedroom, only to find her bed untouched.What the hell?Concern for her sister, which lay deep down under layers of indignation, suddenly grabbed her by the throat.

Holding her breath, she searched the house, expecting to find Veronica passed out somewhere else. Yet she was nowhere to be found. It was then that real panic set in.

Bea grabbed a flashlight and ran down to the beach. It was an old habit of Veronica’s to make it home as far as their block, but not to complete the journey, passing out on the cold night sand. It was amazing that she could still keep upthese kinds of antics. Having just binged all six seasons ofThe Crown, Beatrix’s mind flashed wryly on the fact that she and her sister were like duty-bound Elizabeth and uninhibited Margaret.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Bea stood at the top of the stairs and shined the flashlight in every direction. The beach was empty. She made her way to the bottom step and sat down. Exhausted, she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.

“Calm down,” she said out loud, chiding herself for even taking the bait. Her sister was a grown woman who could take care of herself.

Then, something sticking out of the sand caught her eye. She aimed her flashlight on a pair of bright pink pool slides with the Balenciaga logo emblazoned across them. She couldn’t fathom them belonging to anyone on their block other than Veronica. She slipped them onto her feet. They fit perfectly. She and Veronica were the same size; she’d made a habit of stealing her shoes long before she stole her boyfriend. Bea grabbed the Balenciagas and sprinted toward the ocean. With each step, she ricocheted between feeling annoyed, worried, and panicked, ending with one beyond-distressing thought.

I killed my sister.

Track 26

SOS

Matt

Matt lay onthe bottom bunk trying again to distract himself from thinking about Maggie. Maggie, who he had just met and who was marrying her best friend. Maggie, who lived five hundred miles away. Maggie, who he felt instantly connected to, like something out of a movie. Maggie, who was gingerly tossing and turning on the bed above him. He squeezed his eyes tight, trying to push her from his mind. Within seconds she made that impossible, leaning her torso over and dangling off the bed like a teenager. It made him laugh. This girl was freaking adorable.

“You up?” she asked.

“Nope.”

“Ha ha. What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing,” he lied.

She pulled herself back up, and Matt could feel her resume her tossing and turning. No more than a minute later, her head was dangling in front of him again. He laughed some more and asked:

“What areyouthinking about, Maggie?”

“Funny you should ask. I’m thinking that maybe they’re not such a crazy family after all. Maybe that scene on the roof was just a one-off thing? I mean, have you ever witnessed my birth mother swearing from a rooftop before?”

“I can’t say that I have.”

“I had such a nice time with her tonight. She fed me from a spoon, and I almost told her right then and there.”

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