Page 84 of Man Cuffed
An image of Meg flashes in my mind. Smiling at me. I try to shake it free but it’s too late. It’s there. Shit.
“And I guess it makes sense that there would be all kinds of family tension, but holy cow, is there ever a time when you can get over it? Life is short and should be savored and it’s a shame to have a family that could be so great, but there’s so much bullshit between you all that you’re just mucking up all the potential love and joy!”
Now everyone is staring atme. Goddammit!
“Please, Mac? Morris misses you. He won’t say so because he is a manly macho man just like you. But he misses you a lot and he’s always looked up to you.”
That can’t possibly be true. But I glance at my brother, and his face is bright red.
“So!” Julie says. “I will get down off this roof if you two agree to a couple of things.”
“What?” I grunt. “How about you get down and then you tell us your demands.”
“No!” She holds up a hand like a supreme dictator. “I’m not falling for that. I’m not as think as you drunk I am.”
My brother and I share a glance for the first time in ten years.
“One beer,” she says, crossing her arms. “Together. By the end of next week. You two can pick a bar. Neutral territory.”
“Fine,” I snap. Because I will get her back on that deck or I will die trying. The only thing worse than a betrayal between my brother and me is a betrayal and a dead person.
“Sure, honey,” Morris says with a sigh. “Now get down.”
“You have to shake on it!” She yelps. Now she’s drunk on power as well as on champagne. “Shake on it! And also you need to fix the garage door opener.”
“Fine, fine!” Morris says, reaching for my hand. We might be on top of a swaying boat and desperate to put this behind us. But old habits die hard, and it’s a short but bruising handshake.
Everyone on the deck below us cheers.
I take a step closer to Julie, wondering if I need to grab her or if she’ll take my hand when it’s offered.
But she isn’t even watching me. “Thank you!” Julie shouts, addressing the crowd. “I’d like to thank you all for witnessing this moment of…”
She doesn’t get to finish that thought. Because that’s when a speedboat roars past, causing a huge wave to hit theGrand Haven Queen. We all feel the boat rock. And then we all watch as Julie pitches overboard.
25The Best Theatrical Performance Ever
Meg
This has been the best live theatrical performance ever. I mean, everyone is riveted by the scene playing out above us. I wish I could run up there and help, but I don’t really have any skills to offer that would be helpful. Unless they want me to rile up the crowd.
And I don’t need to rile up the crowd, because the next few things happen very fast:
There’s a rogue wave and the boat lurches.
There’s a scream like “Wheeeeeeeee!” as Julie falls overboard.
We all run to the side of the boat to see where she landed.
All we see is the dark lake. And two hundred people hold their breath at the same time.
Mac does a beautiful swan dive off the roof as he launches in to save her.
We hear frantic footsteps as Morris nearly launches over the side of the boat, too, but about fifty people shout at once to stop him. “Get down, son,” Bob shouts. “There’s a rope here.”
Time seems to slow to a complete halt as I scan the waves for Mac and Julie. First he pops up. But then she does. She spits out lake water and then coughs, struggling.
Mac does his best Michael Phelps imitation as he slices through the water to Julie, grasping her from behind and steering her toward a dangling yellow rope with the flotation device on the end of it.
