“Well, it was mine,” Lily answered, collapsing into her soft watermelon-colored chair and tucking her feet under her. “But Kitty said she’d love for you to come.”
“Mm-hmm. Sure she did. What’d she really say?”
Lily sighed. “That a boat ride and a cheeseburger isn’t your scene.”
“That’s more like it.”
“So give them a good shock. What have you got to lose? One step at a time, right?”
Rose sighed. “You know what? You’re right. I’m in.”
Lily smiled. “I’ll swing by your place, and we can meet the girls at the dock together.”
The next morning Lily set her straw beach bag on Rose’s doorstep and rang the bell. In her bag, she’d packed a beach towel, hat, and sunscreen, along with her wallet and phone. She wore her bathing suit and a cover-up she’d picked up at the Pink Pearl. It was sedate for Janelle’s taste, but with its big splashes of aqua, yellow, and white, it suited Lily just fine.
A moment later Rose opened the door wearing shorts and a sleeveless blouse.
“Oh. Well, ah . . . Kitty said we’re supposed to wear our bathing suits. Did I forget to mention that?”
Rose cocked an eyebrow. “One step at a time doesn’t extend to having all my . . . parts . . . flopping around in a bathing suit all afternoon. That’s a step for another day.”
Lily laughed. “Fair enough.”
As they approached Kitty’s dock, they could see the other ladies already there, dressed for a day in the sun with skirted swimsuits and floppy straw hats. The heady scent of Coppertone and coconut permeated the air.
“Lily, Rose,” Tiny called. “You came!”
Kitty’s pontoon boat was huge—it could have easily fit twelve or more people—and the white leather and chrome made it shine in the sun. A couple of coolers sat on the floor, and folding chairs were propped between the two captain’s seats.
“Kitty, this is amazing,” Lily said.
“It’s the Cadillac of pontoon boats,” Shirley chirped as she uncapped her lipstick and swiped on another coat of fuchsia. “Kitty likes to ride in style.”
“Okay, girls, untie those lines and let’s get going.”
As if they did this every day, Tiny and Edna loosened the lines that kept the boat tethered to the dock. Rose reached out and grabbed hold of the back of a seat for balance as Kitty kicked it into reverse.
“Rules of the water for you newcomers,” Kitty called over the motor as they idled through the marina and toward the waterway. “Number one, no fiddling with the music. That’s the captain’s choice, and I’m the captain.”
Tiny caught Lily’s eye and winked.
“Number two, no complaining about the speed. I like to drive fast.”
Tiny leaned forward and whispered to Rose and Lily, “Don’t worry. It barely goes over twenty miles per hour.”
“And number three, hang on to your hats. If it flies off, we’re not turning around to get it. Now, are y’all ready?”
After nods all around, Kitty opened the throttle and the pontoon hurtled up the waterway, the sudden wind pulling everyone’s hair back. Not wanting to break a rule first thing, Lily put a hand to the brim of her hat to keep it from flying off. Kitty cranked the music through speakers hidden somewhere in the side panels of the boat, and The Band’s “Up on Cripple Creek” began to play. To Lily’s surprise, everyone on the boat began to sing along. After The Band, it was Van Morrison, then James Taylor, then Bruce Springsteen, and the ladies knew the words to every song.
During a lull in the music, Tiny leaned over to Lily. “We may be a bunch of old women, but we know good tunes when we hear them.”
Lily grinned and glanced at Rose sitting at the back of the boat behind Kitty. She motioned to the open seat next to her, but Rose shook her head. “I’m fine,” she mouthed.
Lily had been hoping to ask Rose about her evening with Coach, but at that moment another song came on—Bruce’s “Born to Run”—and the ladies started up again, singing so loudly it wouldn’t have mattered if Rose had been sitting right next to Lily. She wouldn’t have been able to hear her anyway.
They rode for what felt like forever, the wind in their faces softening the sun’s searing heat. When Lily asked Tiny how long it took to get to Pirate’s Cove, Tiny explained how they had to go the length of the intracoastal waterway until they reached Wolf Bay, then through another bay and hang a left to get to the famed beach dive.
Finally a little brown shack began to distinguish itself from the trees and houses on the opposite side of the water. The closer they got, the clearer the image became: a long pier studded with boats, people and dogs splashing around in the shallow water along the shore, and more people—and more dogs—milling around an outdoor deck.
Kitty deftly guided the pontoon into an open slot at the pier, and Edna and Shirley tied the ropes to the pilings. As they all exited the boat, Lily hung back to wait for Rose, the last to climb out of the boat.
“Were you okay back there?” she asked.
“Oh, just fine,” Rose said, tucking her hair back into her visor. “A little windblown, but nothing I can’t handle.”
Kitty marched inside—her bright red sun hat leading the way—and everyone else fell in line behind her. Inside was dim after the sunshine, and the floor was damp and sandy. As they stood in line, three dogs nosed their way through the screen door on one side, bouncing around the legs of everyone standing in line, then shooting out the door on the other side. No one but Lily and Rose seemed to notice. Rose stared at Lily, her eyes wide, but Lily shrugged. “Just go with it,” she whispered.
When Rose made it to the front of the line and asked to see a menu, Kitty leaned forward and spoke to the man behind the register. “Sorry about that,” she said. “It’s her first time. She’ll have a burger and fries and a Bushwacker.” Kitty stepped back and patted Lily on the back. “That goes for both of them.”
“How do you know that’s what I want?” Rose asked.
“Trust me. Oh, and, Rose, your burger’s on me.”
“I can pay for my own lunch, Kitty.”
“I know you can. Now pipe down and let me keep my word.”
By the time the three of them made it outside to the deck, Edna and Shirley had already snagged a table overlooking the lagoon and were talking animatedly, but their conversation stopped as soon as the other women approached.
“As usual, they said our food would be twenty minutes,” Kitty said.
“Which means we have an hour to kill,” Edna replied.
“Precisely.”
Shirley leaned back in her seat and sighed. “No matter—I could sit here all day people-watching.”
The corner table gave them a perfect view of the boats coming in and out, most of them full of jovial vacationers showing off too much skin. Laughter rang out from another table on the deck, but their little table was quiet.
“It’s a nice day, isn’t it?” Tiny asked, a courageous attempt to start conversation, but the others just nodded in silence. Shirley’s eyes darted from Rose to Kitty. Kitty had pulled her sun hat off and was using it to fan her face.
Lily felt a compulsion to help Rose win over these ladies. If what they’d said earlier in the summer was true—that Rose never got involved with any of the people in the village—Lily knew Rose must have a good reason, but she was determined to help her take the next step, which right now meant learning how to befriend the women at this table.
“Rose,” Lily asked, “how is the planning going for the end-of-summer party?”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Rose said. “At this point it pretty much runs like clockwork. Everyone knows their duties and how much food to bring. I just make sure everything’s checked off the list.”
“It’s handy to have a checklist, isn’t it?” Kitty said, setting her hat back on her head. “As long as every item is ticked off, you don’t really have to get involved in the goings-on.”
“Kitty Cooper,” Tiny whispered i
n admonishment.
Rose stood and excused herself to go to the restroom. Before she left, she turned to Lily and motioned for her to come along. As Lily turned to follow her, Tiny leaned forward and pinched Kitty’s shoulder. “What is with you today?”
Once inside the relative quiet of the restroom, Rose washed her hands and whispered frantically, “I shouldn’t have let you talk me into this. This is crazy. No one wants me here.”
“That’s not true. Tiny was very happy to see you.”
“It is true, and Tiny’s nice to everyone. It’s been too long. What was I thinking, that I could waltz into a group of women who’ve been friends for years and be invited in, just like that? It doesn’t work that way.”
“They just aren’t sure how to take you. You’ve never been interested in joining them before. They’re suspicious, but that doesn’t mean they won’t widen their arms to include you. Show them you’re looking for friendship.”
“Who says I even need—”
Lily cocked an eyebrow, and Rose stopped. “You are looking for friendship. Now, let’s get back out there. Be nice. Make conversation.”
When they returned to the table, a waiter was just setting down a tray of Bushwackers. Each lady took a cup and a grateful sip of the cold, frothy drink. Rose took a second sip of hers and cleared her throat. “How much alcohol is in this thing?”
“Just enough to take the edge off, I’d say,” Kitty said. “I’m sorry I was touchy earlier, Rose.” She shrugged. “It’s a personality defect. But I’m glad you came today.”
Rose smiled. “I’ll be glad too just as soon as I get about half of this drink in me.”
The ladies laughed, and Lily felt tension leak away from the table. Tiny took a dainty sip of her drink before setting the cup on the table. “Rose, your hair is just darling.”
The others murmured their approval. Shirley patted the back of her hair. “I don’t know if I could be as bold. I haven’t changed my haircut in decades.”
“Maybe it’s time, old girl,” Kitty said, putting a hand up to her own chic bob. “And the boldness suits you, Rose. You know you can’t go backward now, right? Once you get moving, you have to keep pressing forward.”
“I intend to do just that.”
After a moment Kitty drained her cup and plunked it down on the table. “We have at least half an hour before our food gets here and I’m hot. What do y’all say we take this party to the water?”
A few minutes later they were sitting in Kitty’s folding chairs with their feet in the shallow water. All around them, children built sand castles, dogs played chase with the gentle waves lapping the shore, and music floated from radios and speakers all around.
Lily leaned her head against the back of her chair and dug her toes into the cool, wet sand. She let her eyes close and listened to the ladies’ conversations next to her, grateful they were including Rose. Then a rustle pulled her eyes open. Rose had risen from her chair and, to the delight of the others, walked purposefully into the water.
“Rose, your clothes!” Tiny called, her voice dissolving into laughter.
But Rose kept walking. As the water grew deeper, creeping up her legs to the bottom of her shorts, she trailed her fingers on the surface. Instead of stopping, she kept going. Kitty shot up out of her chair and followed her, her black one-piece shimmering in the sun. Tiny peeled off her palm-printed sarong and followed Kitty as Shirley and Edna did the same.
A moment later all five of them were chest-deep in the water, their laughter loud and full, their faces alight with joy. Lily focused on Rose, who moved her arms back and forth in the water with no care for her soaking clothes, then leaned her head back and faced the sun, like a flower bending toward the light.
* * *
The return trip seemed to take even longer, but it may have been because their bellies were full of food and going against the current of Wolf Bay made the pontoon feel a little like a bumper car.
“It’s always worse on the way home,” Kitty called out over the wind as the boat bumped over the wake of a large fishing boat. Edna groaned. “Just look at it as an adventure.”
Finally they made it to smoother waters. Lily had just grabbed her tube of sunscreen to reapply to her arms and legs when Rose tapped her shoulder. “Your bag is buzzing,” she said, motioning toward Lily’s bag sitting near Rose’s feet. Lily dug her hand around inside until she felt her phone. By the time she pulled it out, the phone had stopped ringing. The screen showed the name of the missed call. It was Worth.
Lily’s heart thudded and she held the phone, waiting for the next ding that would alert her to a voice mail, but it never came. Instead, a text appeared.
Hi Lily. Would it be okay if I called you?
She swallowed and reached up to pull away a lock of hair that had blown against her lips. The breeze rushed in her ears along with the blood that pounded in her head. It took a minute to realize Rose was talking to her. She turned to Rose, who sat in the seat behind her.
“Anyone important?” Rose asked.
Lily hesitated. “I . . .”
Rose scrunched her eyebrows and touched Lily’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Lily nodded. Rose gave her one last lingering glance before returning to her conversation with Tiny and Edna about the latest season of Dancing with the Stars. The speakers poured out Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry,” Kitty was showing Shirley how to drive the boat, and the sun continued to blaze, but Lily was stuck in a fog.
What did he want? Other than the divorce papers, of course. In the end, Lily had decided not to mail them back to Mertha, not to allow her mother-in-law to interfere in any way in what Lily and Worth decided to do with their broken marriage.
But what else would he want? Closure? Forgiveness? The throw pillows Lily took with her when she moved to Safe Harbor? It had been four long months with no word from him. She couldn’t imagine talking to him now.
She thought of the way he looked the last night she saw him. The sadness in his eyes, the tension in his body. I haven’t been a very good husband to you. The scratched-out places on his note. All his unspoken words.
She wondered if his text meant he was ready to speak them.
Was she ready to listen?
As the boat swung around one last curve, the village came into view, its cottages lined up along the marina, sailboats and pontoons tied up to the docks, and someone walking a dog along the boardwalk. There was life here in Safe Harbor Village. She had a life here, and no one was more surprised than she was that she’d been the one to build it, piece by piece. Almost without realizing it.
As they pulled into the marina, Lily tapped out a message.
I’m busy now. But I can talk later.
Kitty slid the pontoon back into her space, and the ladies unloaded their bags, coolers, books, and hats. Tiny gave Rose a shy hug goodbye, and Rose hugged her back. Kitty nodded and awkwardly patted Rose’s shoulder. “Four o’clock Sunday at the Sunrise. We’d be glad to have you.”
“Thanks, Kitty,” Rose said. “I’ll try to make it.”
As Lily and Rose walked away, Rose’s face bore the faint stirrings of a smile. “Are you glad you came?” Lily asked.
“I suppose so. I could have done without all the choppy water, but that cheeseburger may have been the best I’ve ever had. Plus it was free.” Lily bumped Rose with her shoulder. “Okay, the company was good too. They’re not so bad after all.” A moment later she added, “You don’t have to walk me home, you know. I do know my way back.”
Lily smiled. “I know you do. Maybe I’m not quite ready to go back to my quiet house yet.”
“Everything okay?”
Lily nodded.
Rose’s cottage was just up ahead. As Rose approached the front walkway, she stepped into the grass and stopped in front of her rosebushes. “Have I ever told you that I hate these things?”
“You hate your roses? Why?”
“Terry planted them for me. I think they were a guil
t offering after he realized his receptionist was going to be a problem.”
“Why don’t you get rid of them?”
“These bushes are almost forty years old! It’s a miracle they’ve lasted this long. I can’t just get rid of them.”
“Why not?”
Rose glared at her.
“You don’t like them. They remind you of someone who hurt you. Why are you hanging on?”
Rose shifted her glare from Lily to the bushes. She reached forward, snapped off a leaf, and rubbed it between her fingers. “It would feel really good to see them go.”
“Do you have a shovel?”
Rose looked back at Lily, her eyes wide. Lily shrugged. “At the moment I don’t have anything better to do. I don’t have any appointments scheduled this afternoon, and . . . I understand the need to uproot something.”
Without another word Rose pulled a shovel from her storage closet and they borrowed a second one from a neighbor. Together the two women stomped their feet on the shovels, loosened the bushes from the soil around the roots, and forced them out of the ground. Several neighbors stopped by to see what on earth they were doing, and at one point Coach came by on his golf cart. He exited and approached them slowly.
“Is everything okay here?” He looked back and forth between them, his face creased with worry. “You both look like you’re taking revenge on these poor bushes.”
Rose took a few steps toward him. Lily glanced over her shoulder to watch them, her hand up to block the sun’s sharp rays from her eyes. “Just taking care of something I should have done a long time ago,” Rose said.
“Okay. As long as you’re sure. Do you need any help?”
She shook her head. “I think we’ll manage just fine.”
Coach reached forward and squeezed Rose’s hand before heading back to his golf cart. “You are two remarkable women,” he called back before driving off with a wave.
When they finished, a pile of scraggly roots and branches lay in a heap in Rose’s driveway, and her flower beds sat empty and lifeless. Rose stood in front of the beds, her arms outstretched. “I have big plans for you,” she said. “You won’t be empty for long.”
The Summer House Page 27
