Page 38 of Summer Ever After
“To bed.”
Christina’s slippers padded on the dirt and suddenly my head snapped back. She had grabbed one of my braids. “Ow.” I reached to hold the braid above her hand to ease the pressure on my skull.
“There are consequences for your actions. Get the tickets, or lose the other one.”
She pulled a pair of scissors from her housecoat pocket and snipped off the braid that hung down the right side of my head. Freed from her grip, I stumbled forward, holding onto the section of hair. She tossed the braid to me. “Think about that the next to you embarrass the family.”
NINE
MAX
Washing off the city.That’s what I called my first swim in Windswan Lake after being at the office. There was something about diving into the lake that cleared the slate. I was no longer Max Starling, businessman. I was Max, the guy who knew the names of all the people at the marina. The guy who had formed friendships with people from all over Windswan Lake, regardless of how many zeroes were in their bank account.
I set my towel on the dock next to me and Fanta rolled onto his back, basking on the dock in a beam of sunlight. Closing my eyes, I did the same, stretching my hands over my head, and turning my face to the sun. Every year I started to hate the city even more. I didn’t care about the restaurants, the nightlife, the women. It was so weird. I was bored in the city that could offer me everything, but when I came to the cottage, where the loudest sound that morning was the water lapping against the dock and a faraway loon call, I felt energized.
After consulting the thermometer, it confirmed what I already suspected – that the water had reached its peak summer temperature, a refreshing seventy degrees. I dove in and swam as far as I could before my lungs felt like they were going to explode. When I surfaced, Jess was standing on the dock. She held up a cup of coffee.
Back in the lounge chair with the towel wrapped around my shoulders, I sat and sipped my morning coffee. “I can’t believe you’re up,” I said.
Jessica moaned and draped her arm across her forehead. “I need to jump in the lake to get rid of this hangover.”
“Do you need assistance with that?” I jerked on the chair, threatening to get up and throw her in.
My sister didn’t flinch. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“You’re right. You would probably throw up on me.” The coffee and the swim had left me feeling energized.
“Nah. I’m only medium hungover.” Jessica took a sip of her green juice and chased it with black coffee. “I’ll bet Triple J and Ramona are feeling a hell of a lot worse.”
The last thing I wanted to do after arriving in Windswan was pick up my sister and her drunken friends at the Stone Oven. “You four were a mess.”
Jessica sat up and pulled her sunglasses down her nose to look at me with her bloodshot eyes. “Don’t you lecture me, Max. You and your buddies were ten times worse – especially when you hung out with the construction guys.”
It was true. I had done my fair share of partying, but when I walked into the Stone Oven and saw the scene in front of me, I was glad that those days were over. Sure, I still drank here and there, but after the accident, and the death of a friend of mine, I hadn’t looked at booze the same way. That was the main reason that I’d gone to pick up Jessica. I couldn’t lose another person to an accident on the lake.
“Where were you?” Jessica asked. “We needed you.”
I was confused. “You needed me when?” I screwed up my forehead. “What are you talking about?”
Jessica sipped her green juice and then relaxed back into her chair. “The regatta. You didn’t show up.”
“Shit.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry about that Jess. I really am. There was this thing that came up with the fundraiser. I had to stay at the office late. Trust me, I would’ve much rather been paddling the canoe with you than dealing with the logistics of porta-potties on an island.”
“I hadn’t even thought about that,” Jessica murmured. “Don’t you have a planner to take care of all that?”
“I do.. I sighed. “I still have to oversee everything. “So far, this event looks like it’s barely going to break even. We’re supposed to be raising money for the environment, but it turns out that we might just be creating a night that makes it worse.”
“Yeah, especially if people start pooping in the lake.”
I groaned. “Gross. Jess. That’s not what I meant. I wanted to give the local Windswan people a break on the ticket price, but that pissed off a lot of the…” I pulled out the air quotes, “upper crust people out here, so there’s only going to be a few available.”
Jessica sat up. “Really? People care about that?”
“I guess.” I shrugged. “But enough about that. The event is happening this weekend, whether we’re ready for it or not.” The wind picked up and sent a shimmer of ripples across the water and a bunch of goosebumps across my chest. “How did you do in the regatta?”
Jessica took off her sunglasses and groaned as she rolled off the lounge chair and onto her feet. She walked to the end of the dock and climbed down the swim ladder until she was waist-deep in the lake. “We won the water triathlon.” She grinned. “We beat Dad.”
“No way.” I sat and draped my towel around my neck. “Did he have all of his super fit ringers?”
