by Jenna Brooks
“Anytime, sweetie.” She scurried off, yelling, “Hey, Marcia! C’mere!”
“That was nice,” Max said as she stood.
Jo stretched as she slid from the booth. “I’m too full.”
“No swimming for a few hours, that’s for sure.”
“Let’s swing into Rochester real quick, get some steaks for the barbeque. And hot dogs for Tyler.”
Max glanced at her watch. “Wow. Almost eleven. Believe it or not, I forgot Sammy’s finally going to be here today.”
Tyler was quiet, sitting in the back seat with his head down, his Red Sox bear strapped in beside him. Sam and Dave glanced at each other, and Dave mouthed, “He’ll be okay.”
Sam turned to Tyler. “Hey Ty-guy, where’s your hat?”
He shrugged. “I think it’s in the trunk with my stuff.”
“You bring your wading boots?”
He nodded, then looked deliberately out the window, pretending to find something fascinating out there.
“Are you hungry yet?”
He shook his head slowly, not looking at her, blinking hard.
She sighed, and looked at Dave.
“I miss her already too, Ty,” Dave said softly.
It was enough to get him to speak. “Then why does she have to go?”
Dave started to answer, then changed his mind. “You can speak for yourself, Mom.”
“Thanks.” She laid her arm across the back of the front seat, considering it for a moment. She wanted to be as wonderful with Tyler as Dave was. “Well, I did promise the girls…you know, I suppose you could come with me, Ty, instead of just visiting every weekend.” She squeezed Dave’s hand.
Tyler looked up hopefully. “Really? And dad, too?”
Dave picked it up. “You know, I’d love to, but I have to be back at the office tomorrow. That reminds me, Mrs. Messina was going to watch you until Gram and Gramps get here in a few weeks. We’ll have to cancel, let her know you’re going to New Hampshire.”
“Oh. Think she’ll be disappointed?”
“Sure.” Sam reached back to touch his cheek. “She loves you, you know that.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m more worried that Gram and Gramps will be really disappointed. They haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Can’t they come to the lake too?”
“No, Ty,” Dave said. “They may go to the lake once or twice, but Gram doesn’t travel well. The trip to Boston will be difficult enough for her.”
“Well you know, Dave, he would get to see them a couple of times, anyway.”
“Yeah, maybe they’ll be okay with that.”
Tyler was scowling, thinking it over.
“We should have packed some things to keep you entertained,” Sam sighed. “It’s going to be a long summer.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s really nothing for you to do at Bow Lake, except the things you’ll do today–fish, swim, that kind of thing. When we have the time to watch you, that is.”
“Isn’t there a town there?”
“A little one.”
“No baseball and stuff?”
“On TV, yeah. I think.” She regarded him sympathetically. “I hope you don’t get too bored.”
“Darn,” Dave said, giving the steering wheel an exasperated thump. “I’ll have to get rid of those Sox tickets I got for all of us. Unless it’s okay with you if your grandparents and I go without you.” He looked in the rearview mirror. “Try to see us on TV. We’ll be right down the first base line.”
Tyler was squirming now. “Dad, you’ll be all alone until Gram and Gramps get there.”
Dave nodded sadly. “I sure will. It’s going to be lonely. I’ll miss you, Ty.”
“But Mom will be with her friends…”
Dave glanced sideways at Sam, fighting a smile.
“But why do you have to go at all, Mom?”
She took a deep breath. She needed to get this right. “I’m going to be a married person soon, Ty. Which means first, I need to plan a wedding, and I need my friends to help me.”
“Women take a long time with planning weddings, son.”
“I’m working here, Dave.”
“Sorry.”
“And second, I really want this last bit of time with the girls, because soon, I’ll be spending all my time taking care of you and Dad.” She leaned over to kiss Dave’s cheek. “And loving every minute of it.”
Tyler was deep in thought for a minute. Dave gave Sam an admiring look and a quick nod.
“Mom, would you be okay if I stayed with Dad?”
“Well, yes. As long as that’s where you think you should be…”
“Yeah, I think I better.”
“…and I get to see you both every weekend.”
“You will. Right, Dad?”
“Right.” He caught Tyler’s eyes again in the mirror. “Thanks, Ty. I would have had a hard time without you.”
“No problem, Dad.” His face scrunched up in a frown then. “Mom?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Don’t tell your girls I would be bored with them.”
“That’ll be our secret.”
Tyler nodded, satisfied. “Can we stop for some chicken nuggets?”
“You bet.” Dave noticed a roadsign with the universal logo on it, indicating restaurants one mile ahead. A few minutes later, he pulled into a parking lot; then he reached over, grabbing Sam and giving her a long kiss. “Love you.”
“Love you more.”
Tyler grinned, then broke into laughter. “You guys are silly.” He unbuckled his seatbelt, throwing an arm around each of them and pulling them together for a hug.
chapter 14
“HEY BIM! THEY’RE here!” Max jumped from the window seat in the living room, sprinting for the front door. Daisy, dozing on the sofa across the room, barked rapid-fire as she jumped down to follow her.
Max threw the door open. “Hey, you!” She ran down the gravel driveway with her arms open, and the two women hugged, rocking side to side.
Max held out an arm to Dave, still hanging on to Sam. “Oh, you handsome man, you. Give me a hug.” He gathered her into his arms, lifting her off the ground as she squealed.
“Yo, Bimbat.” Jo was coming down the walkway to the side of the house, wiping her hands on a towel. “I’m a mess–I was cleaning the grill.”
Sam bent to kiss Daisy, then reached for her friend. “Like I care.” She held her for a long moment. “It’s so good to see you guys.”
“You too, honey. We’ve really missed you. Hey, Maxine,” Jo said, “let go of the big guy. My turn.” She opened her arms to Dave, saying, “Pick me up and I’ll bite the closest appendage.”
“Ow.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her well off of her feet, spinning her around a few times. “Guess you didn’t remember that I like the rough stuff, Jo.”
She was slapping him on the back, laughing. “Okay, fine. Put me down.” She noticed Tyler emerging from the back seat.
Crouching before him, she said, “Hi. I was thinking they’d bring Tyler. Who are you?”
He giggled, clutching his bear to his chest. “I’m Tyler, Aunt Josie.”
Max bent down beside Jo, studying him carefully. “No way. Tyler’s a lot shorter than you are, kid.”
He laughed harder. “Oh, brother. I look just like my dad there,” he pointed up to Dave, “and besides, if I’m not Tyler, than how do I know that you’re my Aunt Maxine?” He pointed to Jo. “And that she’s my Aunt Josie?”
They looked up at Dave and Sam, impressed. “Wow. Next-generation litigator there, huh?” Max kissed Tyler’s cheek. “How old are you now, Ty? Ten?”
“Aunt Maxine, I just turned eight.” He shook his head, exasperated.
Jo ruffled his hair. “Well, we haven’t seen you for a while, sweetheart.” She looked over to Sam. “He’s just beautiful.”
She smiled softly. “Yes, he is.”
“Hey, we bought steaks…” As she st
ood, she almost lost her balance. Sam reached out her hand to steady her, and Jo saw the diamond and sapphire ring, sparkling in the afternoon sun. “…and…hot dogs for you, Ty-guy.” Her eyes met Sam’s.
Seeing the question there, she said, “We’ll talk.”
“Aunt Josie and Aunt Maxine, I know something. It’s a secret.”
Max looked curiously at Dave, and then Sam, and said, “Well, then, you have to keep it a secret, Ty.”
“I know. But I get to tell it later, right, Mom?”
“Maybe. We’ll see.”
He hit his hand with his fist. “Yes!”
Dave was pulling Sam’s bags from the trunk. “I’ll bring these in, then grill dinner for everyone.”
Jo came over to help him. “If I were a better person, Dave, I’d make a show of trying to talk you out of it.” She reached up to kiss his cheek, thinking it adorable that he blushed slightly at the show of affection. “But I’m not that accommodating. You’re on.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Sam took Tyler’s hand. “Come on, honey. We’ll go see the house.”
“Can we see the lake first?”
She nodded. “Let’s go.”
As Max led them toward the back of the house, Jo took an overstuffed bag from Dave. “How was the week?”
He paused for a moment, then smiled as he closed the trunk. “Great.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.” She hoisted the bag up onto her shoulder, deciding she wouldn’t be getting any details from him yet. “I’ll show you where her room is.”
Dave was impressed as she pushed the bedroom’s double doors open with her foot. “Hey, this is great.” He took in the pale green walls, the antique beige four-poster bed, and the ivory chiffon panels, swelling inward with the breeze. “She’s going to love this.”
“Hope so. She’s had a rough time of it lately.” Jo grunted as she underhanded the heavy duffel bag onto the bed. “Funny, I don’t think Sam left with this much stuff.” She looked pointedly at Dave then, smiling, playfully demanding a response.
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re right.”
Exasperated, she whacked his shoulder. “Come on, dish a little.”
He put the rest of Sam’s bags beside the closet door. “It’s complicated, Jo.” She rolled her eyes, and he said, “No, it really is. But I’ll give you this much…”
“Yeah?” She sat on the bed, waiting eagerly.
“You saw the ring.”
She nodded. “I sure did. Beautiful.”
He rubbed the stubble on his cheek as he sat beside her. “Well, I know you’re wondering…So I’ll tell you this much. Yes, it’s a real diamond.”
He grinned mischievously as Jo stared at him, then ducked as she hit his shoulder again. “You rat! Thanks for nothing.”
He sobered a bit as he stood. “It really is a long story. And I would tell you more, but you’re going to have a lot of questions, you and Max. So I promise, after dinner, we’ll let Ty rest up and we’ll tell you everything.”
She could see that he was serious. “Okay, that’s fine.”
“Dad!” Tyler was running up the steps.
“In here, Ty,” Jo called out.
“And I wanted to get a few moments away from the others, to ask you a few things myself.” He held his hand out to her.
“Of course.” She took his hand as she stood. “Let’s go see what Tyler wants.”
At that moment, Tyler came bounding down the hallway. “Dad! Dad, guess what?”
Dave nodded his thanks to Jo, then stepped out of the room to catch Tyler as he hurled himself into his father’s arms. “Whoa! What?”
“I threw a chip up in the air, way up, and a seagull caught it all the way up there!” He pointed toward the ceiling, leaning back so far, he almost fell from Dave’s arms.
Dave caught him easily, positioning him so that their faces were close together, noses almost touching. “Okay, I have to see this. Got more chips?”
“Aunt Maxine has a whole bag of ‘em.”
Jo smiled wistfully, watching them: a father and his son, talking, laughing, loving each other. She knew that the ring Sam wore was an engagement ring, of course; and even if it was a premature gesture–Sam had a current husband to contend with, after all, and the baby was going to make it messy–she still had a lump in her throat, wanting to see Sam be happy with Dave and their son.
Dave turned to Jo. “Coming?”
“Yup. I’m the champ at feeding the gulls. I’ll teach you both a few things.”
Max and Sam stood at the shore gazing at the lake, arms intertwined, Sam’s head on Max’s shoulder. They turned as the others came down the steps from the deck. “Hey,” Sam called to them, “I feel almost guilty. I’m spending my summer here?”
“You haven’t even seen your room yet, babe.” Dave came to stand beside her, his hands in his pockets, looking out over the sparkling water. “You’re going to love it.”
“Where’s the Daizer?” Jo sank into her Adirondack chair, rummaging through the beach bag for her sunglasses.
Shielding her eyes with her hand, Max looked up and down the shoreline. “Oh, no, did she run off again?” She cupped her hands. “Daisy! C’mere!”
Jo smiled. “Don’t panic. I’ve got her.” She lifted her head and shouted, “Yo, dawg!”
Daisy appeared on the deck a few moments later, trotting clumsily down the steps to lay beside her.
Max plopped into her chair. “I need to remember that one,” she said as she reached down to stroke the dog’s head.
Tyler came over to sit with them, gently patting Daisy on the back. “She looks a lot older, Aunt Josie.”
Max couldn’t see her eyes behind the dark glasses, but she heard the catch in Jo’s voice. “I know, honey. She is old now.”
“Ty,” Dave was waving him over, “come see this. There’s rainbow trout just a few feet in.” Tyler scrambled to his feet and ran to his parents.
Maxine was about to speak when Jo cut her off. “Look at that, Bim.” She pointed to the three of them–Dave, Sam, and Tyler–standing at the edge of the lake: Dave holding Tyler in one arm, his other arm around Sam’s shoulders. She looked up and said something to him, and he threw his head back in laughter, pulling her closer as Tyler reached down and touched her cheek.
Her voice thick, Max said, “Yeah. I see it.” She pulled out her phone and snapped a couple of pictures.
They spent the rest of the day outdoors, swimming, fishing, and feeding the seagulls. Tyler caught a small trout on only his third cast; Sam caught a large rainbow after only twenty minutes, and they teased Dave mercilessly when he came up with nothing after nearly an hour.
“Fine,” he said, pretending to sulk. “I’m going to get in that canoe and just paddle away.”
“Mom! C’mon, let’s go, can we go?”
She had just reclined into the third Adirondack chair, which Jo and Max had found at a second-hand store in Rochester that morning. “Oh my gosh, guys…”
“Want to rest up a bit?” Dave asked, crouching beside her. Something in his tone made the other two women take a quick look at each other. “I’ll take him out.”
Tyler was pulling on her hand. “C’mon, Mom. Dad and I will row for you.”
Jo smiled at him. I bet you will.
“Help me up.” Sam pulled herself from the chair, moaning softly. She looked back at Max. “Get the grill ready. I’ll be starving by the time I get back.”
“Done.”
“I’ll make some more lemonade,” Jo said. “It’ll be all set.”
“Thanks,” she called over her shoulder as Tyler dragged her to the canoe.
“You know,” Jo was gathering towels to hang over the deck rail, “we spent the whole day out here with no music.”
“Do we even have a radio?”
“I think. Want to check the garage? Grady left a box over by the shovels that may have one in it.”
Max came back with a small transistor ra
dio a few minutes later, just as Jo was finishing setting the picnic table on the patio below the deck. “Okay Bim, let’s see what music stations are like up here. Doubt we get Boston, right? Maybe Manchester?”
“We’ll be lucky to get anything other than farming reports from the New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.”
Max looked up from her tinkering with the radio. “For real?”
“Nah. Durham has a station. But it’s for the kids at UNH–lots of modern stuff.”
“Got something…” She listened closely. “Hey, it’s old rock.”
“Excellent. Turn it up.”
They were sitting at the table, sipping lemonade and singing, when the others returned. “Party’s started,” Sam commented. She sat wearily beside Max.
“David,” Jo poured lemonade for all of them, “cook for us. Now.”
“On it.” He flipped the large, rounded grill open. “Hey, all set up with the charcoal and everything.” He checked the utensils that hung from the side.
“Steaks, dogs, and corn on the cob in the cooler there.”
Tyler managed to eat two hot dogs and some of his mother’s steak before he laid his head on the table. “Are we having dessert?” he mumbled.
Dave smiled, pulling him close. “How’s about a nap first?”
Tyler leaned against him, almost asleep.
Dave picked him up gently. “Big boy,” he said, kissing his cheek. “I’m going to put him in your room, Sammy.” He paused. “I’ll stay with him for a while, make sure he’s out.”
“Okay.” She lifted her head for his kiss.
They watched them until they were in the house, and then Sam turned back to her friends. “Okay, we should talk.”
Max leaned her elbows on the table, lighting a cigarette. “You first.”
“That’s probably best. Easier, anyway.”
Jo watched her with interest. There was something different about her, she had been noticing it all day. Something confident, determined–as if in a week, she had found something in herself that she hadn’t known before.
Sam held her hand straight up, the ring facing the women sitting across from her. “It’s an engagement ring, as I’m sure you figured out.”
“Yeah. That’s at least two carats,” Max said, taking Sam’s hand and examining it, hoping to keep the discussion that was coming as light as possible.
