by Alexi Venice
Soon, the residents would board their pontoons for a cocktail-hour cruise around the lake, greeting one another and snooping at their neighbors’ properties to see who bought the latest toy and how big it was.
Jen loved the small town feel of her family lake, so unlike San Francisco, where she didn’t know her neighbors and never ran into any friends or acquaintances at the grocery store, church, or a restaurant. The only people she and Amanda ran into seemed to be Amanda’s angry and bitter ex-lovers. They lurked everywhere, confronting Amanda for her selfish, uncaring exit of the relationship. Am I just another bitter ex-lover?
Jen again batted away unbidden thoughts of Amanda.
Jake’s yellow lab, Ranger, trotted back from the bow and nestled around Jen’s legs, giving Kristin a big lick across her feet.
“Yaner!” she yelled, giggling.
Even though the dog’s name was Ranger, Kristin associated all dogs with Jen’s first dog, Zane, whom Kristin had called “Yane” or “Yaner,” because she couldn’t pronounce a “Z” at the time.
After a few days of Kristin calling Ranger “Yaner,” the entire family had lapsed into the habit. Ranger didn’t seem to mind, responding to his new name with a wagging tail and happy spirit.
Kristin lay a hand on Yaner’s head.
“Too bad you have that nasty wound, Tommy, or we’d have you skiing in a heartbeat,” Jake said.
“I’ve never skied before,” Tommy said. “Might be a disaster.”
“You’ve surfed, though,” Jen said. “Skiing is much easier than surfing.”
“Well, I was never a very good surfer,” Tommy said. “I just didn’t have the time. Those guys are devoted—at the beach at dawn and again at sunset. I had to work for a living.”
“Doesn’t jive with a full-time job,” Patrick said.
Tommy clinked cans with Patrick. “Righto.”
“Where Mama Man?” Kristin asked, her innocent blue eyes genuinely curious.
Tommy and Jen looked at each other. “Ahh. Mama Man is at home,” Jen said.
“Cabin?” Kristin asked, pointing toward the cabin.
“No, honey, back in San Francisco.”
Kristin frowned. “I miss Mama Man.”
Jen’s chest tightened.
Tommy inclined his head. “We all do, sweetie. But look, you have Mommy and Daddy right here.” He spread his arms wide. “Come to Daddy for a big hug.”
“No!” She angled her face away and drank her juice box.
Tommy groaned. “You’re breaking Daddy’s heart.”
“No!” She raised her hand like a STOP sign, then suddenly threw her toy cellphone over the side of the boat. “Bye, Mama Man!”
“What the heck?” Jen asked in surprise. “Jake, turn around. We have to get Kristin’s toy phone.”
He slowed and made a tight turn, so Patrick could lean over the side and scoop up the pink, plastic phone. He handed it to Jen. “Mama Man?”
“Kristin couldn’t pronounce ‘Amanda,’ so she shortened it to ‘Man,’” Jen said. “She obviously is imitating me. She saw me throw Amanda’s phone over our balcony.”
Tommy sniggered.
Jen gave him a disapproving look.
“Oh, come on,” he said. “You have to admit it’s funny that Kristin is imitating you and calling her ‘Mama Man.’”
Jen closed her eyes and held her face up to the sun. She’d be damned if she’d make fun of Amanda, even though Amanda had hurt her. The hurt had exploded to rage, had simmered to anger, and now was at cold resignation.
“Come on,” Tommy said, giving Jen’s leg a gentle nudge with his sunburned foot.
“I’m not going to bash Amanda just because I’m—” Jen said.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” he said. “I’m not bashing her. I’m just laughing at Kristin’s name for her.”
“Why isn’t Amanda here?” Patrick asked. “Mom said something about a breakup, but I want to hear it from you.”
Jen sighed. “I told her I needed some space away from her and her crazed life.”
“Ohhh,” Patrick and Jake said in unison. “Space, huh?”
“Yes. Space.”
“I’ve heard that line before,” Jake said. “Right before she broke up with me.”
“I might have said, ‘We’re done,’ too,” Jen added.
Tommy raised his eyebrow at her. “You ghosted her.”
Jen squinted at him to keep a lid on it. “I had to. Her behavior is toxic.”
“Toxic behavior?” Patrick asked.
“Yes,” Jen said without explanation.
Undeterred, Patrick asked. “What type of behavior? I’m curious. Maybe I can learn something.”
Jen groaned.
“I seriously doubt it.” Tommy shook his head and drank his beer.
“Tell me. Maybe I can offer some insight,” Patrick said.
Jake snorted. “Oh yes, the expert on women. How many girlfriends have you had? Two?”
“Eff you,” Patrick said. “Just because I value a meaningful relationship and don’t sleep with every girl I meet—”
“Kind of difficult to sleep with a girl if you’re up all night with a bunch of guys playing Dungeons and Dragons,” Jake said.
“Please don’t swear in front of Kristin,” Jen said.
“I said ‘eff,’” Patrick said.
“Just the same,” she said.
“Back to you and Amanda,” Patrick said. “This is why you have brothers. You share stuff with us, and we help you. What behavior?”
She sipped her beer while considering her options. “I can’t believe I’m about to tell you this. She…ahh…”
Patrick hung on every word.
Tommy smirked.
“She what?” Patrick volleyed his eyes between Tommy and Jen.
“She fooled around on me about six months ago, and since that time, she went through rehab for abuse of painkillers, but once she was out of rehab, she started smoking again, both cigarettes and Mary Jane. Then, she got hammered with Tommy a few nights ago…” Jen’s blood started to boil, just thinking about it. “And, well…the Coup de gras was a few days ago when a certain photo emerged.”
“Oh,” Patrick said in an ominous tone, still looking between Tommy and Jen. “Drug addiction issues? And, she fooled around on you? With a woman or a man?”
“A woman,” Jen said though clenched teeth. A high-pitched ringing started in her inner ear.
“Like, a hookup or in a relationship?” he asked.
“A hookup,” Jen mumbled. “They were on a business trip for a few days.”
“Only a few days?” Patrick asked.
“Yes. Amanda was shot in the ribs on their trip, so she got high on painkillers and wine, and they slept together that night, but I think they did the next day too. At least, that’s what I’m piecing together based on a selfie that recently surfaced.”
“Gunfire?” Patrick asked. “What kind of business trip was this?”
“She leads a dangerous life,” Jen said. “An assassin who worked for the North Koreans attempted to kill them in New York. Amanda’s C-U-N-T lover, Roxy, an MI-6 agent, shot, and killed, the assassin. Amanda got hit in the ribs as she was crawling through a patio door, or so she told me.” Jen threw her arms in the air in a too-much-to-believe gesture.
“I didn’t know DA’s hung out with MI-6 agents,” Patrick said.
“I don’t believe any of that,” Jake scoffed while driving.
“It’s true,” Tommy said. “It was a unique case. Amanda was called to New York to meet with the Attorney General and CIA about prosecuting a North Korean hitman in San Francisco that Roxy and I busted, and I later killed.”
Patrick’s jaw hung open. “You killed a North Korean hitman?”
“Yes. Roxy and I handled the investigation together.”
“You guys roll hard,” Patrick said.
“No shit,” Jake said.
“How does the ‘selfie’ of Amanda and Roxy come into play?�
� Patrick asked.
“Since Amanda is an elected official, the North Koreans tried to blackmail her a few weeks ago by threatening to publish it. When she didn’t pay $100,000, they actually published not only a nude pic of Amanda that she sent me but also a selfie of Amanda and Roxy—in bed,” Jen said, choking out the last two words.
“Is she nude in the selfie?” Patrick asked.
“She is in the one she texted to me,” Jen said. “The second one is just of Amanda and Roxy’s faces.”
“Their necks and chests are in the pic too,” Tommy supplied helpfully.
“Oh?” Patrick asked.
“So, I get my heart broken, and you two just want to see my ex-fiancée naked?” Jen asked, looking disapprovingly between Tommy and Patrick.
“I just want to see the evidence. How bad it is, you know?” Patrick said.
“Yeah, right,” Jake said.
“Plus, I can’t remember what Amanda looks like. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a pic of her,” Patrick said.
“Just google her,” Tommy said.
“Hand me my phone,” Jen said, nodding at the passenger side dashboard. “I’ll show you a few pics of her.”
Tommy grabbed Jen’s phone and handed it to her.
She thumbed through her saved photos and pulled up a clothed one of Amanda. “Here.” She handed her phone to Patrick.
“Wow,” he said, his voice thick with admiration. “She’s really hot. Hotter than any girlfriend Jake or I have ever had.”
“Speak for yourself,” Jake said. “But I agree. She’s hot.”
“You should see her naked.” Tommy tilted back his beer, draining it.
“What?” the other three said in unison.
“Oops. Sorry. Shouldn’t have said that.” He lay his puppy-dog eyes on Jen, cleared his throat, and lowered his voice, adopting the tone of official police business. “She showed Lieutenant Navarro and me her nude selfie when the North Koreans tried to blackmail her with it.”
“Why did she show you and Navarro?” Jen asked.
“To advise her about what to do,” he said. “Remember, they included a ransom note.” Tommy studied her, making sure she wasn’t pissed at him.
Jen moved on. “Do you think it was too harsh of me to tell her not to come here?”
Tommy raised his hands. “Don’t put me in the middle.”
Jen’s stomach clenched. “You’re right. That was unfair.”
No more questions issued forth from Patrick, preoccupied with snooping through photos on Jen’s phone.
Jen tried and failed to enjoy the remainder of her light beer. The taste had soured while discussing Amanda’s heroic deeds of legal righteousness and moral turpitude. Jen poured the beer out over the side of the boat and tried to enjoy the beauty of the passing shoreline, teaching Kristin the names of all things on the lake.
Four
Jake drove the ski boat into the automatic lift, and they piled out onto the dock. Jen handed Kristin, still in her little red life vest and wearing her flower-print hat, from the boat to Tommy.
The sun’s angle on the horizon signaled it was cocktail hour, and Jen knew from experience that a day on the water fostered healthy appetites. In addition to the men, Jen was sure that Kristin would eat a big dinner.
“Let’s go up and help mom and dad prepare dinner,” Jen said.
“Didn’t they say we were going to Fireside for dinner?” Patrick asked.
“You’re right,” Jen said, clicking her fingers. “I forgot. We should hit the shower and get changed into something suitable.”
Tommy carried Kristin up the stone steps while Jen grabbed the cooler of now-empty cans.
“Dress code?” Tommy asked.
“Shorts and a clean T-shirt would be great,” Jen said.
He nodded. “I can do that.”
She admired his easy way of assimilating into local culture. Her family already adored him.
Jen brought Kristin to their roomy, two-bedroom cabin where they showered and changed together. By the time they entered the main cabin, Kay had hors d’ oeuvres on the dining room table and a special appetizer plate for a ravenous Kristin.
“Come here, honey.” Kay showed Kristin to her spot at the kitchen island and poured cold milk into a sippy cup. While the adults had a round of cocktails, Jen sticking to light beer, Kristin ate the snack that would tide her over until dinner was served at Fireside.
During the last few evenings, Jen had observed Tommy join her father and brothers’ revelry, drinking anything that Roger made, from a Moscow Mule to a jungle juice with vodka. She was happy Tommy was able to let loose, and a little jealous that he could so easily shake off life’s problems and relax. If only she could shake off her mixed feelings about Amanda.
After the men vacuumed up the food with a cocktail, they drove the short distance to Fireside, which was on a different lake. When they entered the bar and supper club, it was as Jen had remembered from several years ago—dark wood floors and wood paneling. She could scarcely see the walls through the heaps of eclectic décor, including Christmas lights strung year-round and signs dispensing wisdom such as, “If you must lie, please be brief.” That never seems to be a problem for Amanda, Jen thought .
“What’s wrong, dear?” Kay asked.
“Nothing. Why?” Jen asked.
“You looked a little sad.”
“Yeah, I suppose I was for a fleeting second,” Jen said. “Over it now.”
“Anything I can do to help?” Kay asked.
“Nah. I’ll be fine.” Jen’s shoulders sagged despite her bravado.
“What’s this nonsense?” Tommy slurred. “You need more alcohol. I’m buying. What do you want?”
“A sparkling water, please,” Jen said. “Whenever I drink too much, Kristin gets sick in the middle of the night. Murphy’s law.”
“I remember those days,” Kay said.
“In that case,” Tommy said, “How about I drink tonight, and you drink tomorrow night? Kristin can do a sleepover with us guys in Jake’s cabin.”
“I might take you up on that,” Jen said.
He winked at her and draped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a light squeeze.
The Dawson family swarmed the bar area while Tommy bought a round.
“Here’s to the detective from San Francisco!” Roger said loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear.
Tommy raised his glass to him.
“You’re welcome in our home anytime,” Roger said. “I’m happy that you’re the father of my granddaughter.”
Here we go, Jen thought, now I’m going to hear all the reasons Tommy and I should get married. Please don’t expect me to be straight…That’s not how it works.
Having a sixth sense about her daughter’s feelings, Kay slid her arm around Jen’s waist. “Don’t take anything your father says personally tonight. He’s had a lot to drink. Trying to keep up with the younger men, I’m afraid. I’ll talk to him tomorrow about saying stuff about you and Tommy.”
“Thanks Mom.”
A large, corner table became available, so the hostess escorted the Dawsons from the bar to the table, and they quickly settled in. Jake, Patrick and Tommy ordered the prime rib and shrimp specials to see who could eat more. Jen ordered a small steak for herself and chicken tenders for Kristin, who was busy coloring.
Just as conversation was in full swing, a fit-looking man in his forties who was neatly dressed in khakis and a polo shirt put his hand on Roger’s shoulder. “Hey Roger. How are you?”
Roger turned and looked up, then broke into a wide smile. “Hi, Doc. Terrific! How are you?”
“Good. We just finished our meal. Sorry, I ate the last of the prime rib if you were thinking about ordering it.” The bald man winked at Jen, who wasn’t fond of winks, much less from strangers.
“Liar,” Roger said, jocularity coloring his face. “Hey everyone, this is Dr. Neal Olson. He has a cabin on our lake.” Roger introduced his children, emphasi
zing that Jen was a hotshot doctor in San Francisco.
“What’s your specialty?” Dr. Olson asked.
“Emergency Room medicine, but I currently practice internal medicine at the Cohen Clinic,” she said.
He scratched his clean-shaven chin, nearly as bald as his shiny head. “Multi-specialty practice?”
“Yes. My patient panel is mostly in our concierge service program.”
“Very lucrative, I imagine,” Dr. Olson said. “If you ever want to return to Wisconsin, we sure could use another primary care physician at our clinic.”
“Really?” Jen’s ears perked up. “Where?”
“In Eau Claire,” he said.
“How big is your clinic?” she asked, being polite but also mildly curious.
“We have over 300 doctors now.”
“Wow,” Jen said. “I’m impressed.”
“With the surrounding area, we serve a population of about 100,000 residents,” he said. “How long will you be at the lake?”
“Another 10 days,” Jen said.
“Why don’t you drive down and visit Summerfield Clinic?” Dr. Olson asked.
Jen inclined her head, actually considering the idea.
“I’ll drive you,” Roger said.
“I’ll tag along,” Kay said. “I could use a trip to town to buy some supplies.”
Jen smiled at her parents’ enthusiasm over the prospect of her returning to their neck of the woods.
While she was considering her answer, Dr. Olson removed his wallet and fished out a business card. “Here’s my card. Call me if you’re interested. We’d love to talk to you, even if you aren’t moving this year. We’re always planning for the future.”
She accepted the card and drummed it against her fingertips. “Thanks. Maybe I will.”
“Well, good seeing you, Roger and Kay, and finally meeting the rest of your family. Enjoy your meal.” Dr. Olson caught up to his wife by the door, and they left.
Kay grabbed Jen’s arm. “Wouldn’t that be exciting?”
“Don’t get your hopes up, Mom. I’m sure he was just being polite,” Jen said.
“I don’t think so,” Roger said. “I think they really need primary care doctors.”
Jen had to admit she was tempted by the idea.
“You and Kristin could spend weekends at the lake with us,” Kay said.
