So Inn Love

by Catherine Clark

  “That’s right! I remember,” I said.

  “What—you guys knew each other before now?” Hayden asked.

  “Yeah. We both used to come here on vacation when we were ten, eleven,” I said. I’d been here five summers in a row, from when I was ten to fifteen, and Caroline had been here three of those summers. “We had cottage rentals next door to each other,” I explained. Which might have been the only reason we started hanging out, come to think of it. Proximity. Throughout history, the great friendship maker.

  “We actually hung out all the time,” I said, just to let Caroline know I hadn’t forgotten, even if she had. I don’t know why it mattered so much to me. I guess it’s that I can’t stand being snobbed by someone I already know. Like when you talk to a guy from school at a party, at length, about all kinds of personal stuff, and then you see him the next day and he’s with his friends and acts like it never happened. Like he barely even knows your name. I hate that. When I’d first seen Caroline, in my first panicky moments, I’d had this hope that she might make it easier for me to blend in. Quite the opposite had happened. I was blending in just fine, but it was no thanks to her.

  “So you guys go way back. That’s very interesting,” Hayden said.

  “Well, we’re not the only people here who know each other from before,” Caroline said. “Zoe and Hayden are from the same town, and—”

  “Not exactly the same town,” Hayden explained. “Neighboring. We went to the same high school, that’s all.”

  “Private day school,” Caroline corrected him.

  “Huh,” I said. “Is that the famous Maple Leaf Academy?” I teased.

  “Mapleville,” Hayden said.

  “Ah. Of course. Very interesting.”

  “Is it?” Hayden asked.

  “Sure.” I finished my bowl of cereal and walked over to set it in the sink.

  “Did you know?” Hayden asked as he came up behind me.

  “About you and Zoe?” I said.

  He looked a little confused. “About me and Zoe what?”

  “Going to the same private school,” I said. “No, I didn’t—”

  “That’s not what I meant.” He set a plate and knife into the sink next to my bowl. “I was going to tell you that new people around here do all the dishes. Did anyone tell you yet?”

  “Yeah, right,” I scoffed.

  “No, seriously,” he insisted. “You fill up the dish racks over there, then carry them upstairs to the main kitchen—”

  “Okay, so when do we get to be not the new people anymore?” I asked him. “Is there like a day of amnesty?”

  “Yeah, this isn’t a fraternity, you know,” Claire added. “You can’t keep hazing us forever.”

  “We’re not doing anything that bad! Just teasing. Come on, lighten up,” Hayden said to me.

  “Yeah, well, it’s not actually all that funny,” I said, trying to keep a straight face. Because I wasn’t mad, and I didn’t care. They could ask us to do the dishes all they wanted, but it didn’t mean we would.

  “It’s not funny?” Hayden asked, wrinkling his nose.

  “No.”

  “Really.”

  “Really,” I said. “It’s getting old. Tired. Kind of sad.”

  We just looked at each other for a few seconds. His eyes were this deep, dark-blue steel gray, the kind that seem impossible to read.

  “Liza. Liza? Liza!”

  I think it took three tries before I actually heard my name being called, though it could have been more, because I wasn’t paying attention to anything but Hayden for a minute.

  Oh no, I thought as I turned around and saw Miss Crossley standing in the doorway. There were a couple of problems here. One, I was feeling this incredible pull toward Hayden, suspiciously like an undertow. I’d have to move from the spot where I was standing or I could be in trouble.

  Problem Two, Miss Crossley was here looking for me. That might not be good.

  “I was hoping I’d find you,” she said. She snapped her fingers in front of my eyes. “But I’m a little concerned. Are you awake yet?”

  “Sure—of course,” I said.

  “Well, you seem a little out of it.”

  “Just about to have my first cup of coffee. I’ll be lively in no time,” I promised. “Hyper, even.” I shuffled over to the giant coffee urn and poured myself a cup to go. I had a feeling my breakfast was about to be over.

  Miss Crossley nodded. “That’s more like it. You’re not staying up late, getting into trouble, are you?”

  Not yet, I thought. “Of course not,” I assured her.

  “Well. Good morning, everyone.” Miss Crossley surveyed the Hullery, nodding to different people.

  “Hey, Peach,” Hayden said.

  “Hayden. You know how I feel about that,” Miss Crossley said.

  “Sorry, Miss Crossley. I’ll knock it off, as requested.” Hayden came over beside me and refilled his coffee cup.

  “Now, Liza, I’ve reviewed our staffing for the day and I’ve figured out exactly where we need you,” Miss Crossley said.

  Why did I get a feeling of intense dread when she said that? Please don’t say housekeeping. Or laundry. Or something even yuckier. It didn’t help that across the kitchen, Caroline was sitting there with a smug smile on her face, like she couldn’t wait to hear where I’d be stuck.

  “I hope you packed an ample supply of sunscreen.” Miss Crossley smiled at me. “We need you to pull some more beach duty. The tots group will be on the beach this morning, so we need extra hands for supervision. Be dressed and on the beach by nine.”

  “Okay, sounds great. Thanks!” I said, smiling at her—and at Caroline. If she thought I was suffering under this new arrangement, she was wrong.

  “Now,” Miss Crossley said. “Caroline, could you follow me back upstairs? I need to go over a few things with you regarding a very special guest.”

  “Oh, of course.” Caroline pushed back her chair.

  I happily sipped my coffee. Now I had even more of a reason to be glad Caroline had the front-desk job instead of me. I got to be outside all day, while she had to be watched by Miss Crossley, and deal with “very special”—translation, very demanding—guests.

  “The beach, huh? Interesting,” Hayden commented. He sipped from his coffee cup. “You’re new here, so do you know how to get to the beach?”

  I could have swatted him, except that he was smiling at me in that impossible-to-resist way. “I’m pretty sure I know. You just follow the boardwalk, right?” I asked, returning his smile.

  “Come on, Liza—let’s go,” Claire said, tugging at my arm. “I forgot my key and I need to get changed for sailing.”

  “Here.” I started to hand my key to her, but she pushed my hand away.

  “You have to get changed anyway,” she said.

  “Oh. Right. Okay. Well, see you in a while,” I said to Hayden.

  Claire and I walked up the steps and out the side entrance. “I didn’t really forget my key,” Claire confessed on our way back to the dorm. “But I had to ask—what’s going on with you guys?”

  “Who?”

  “Who? Are you serious?” Claire cried. “You and Hayden, who else? You were oblivious to the world for a few seconds there, when Miss Crossley came in.”

  “Oh, that? It’s nothing. I was just sleepy.”

  “I don’t think it’s nothing,” Claire said. “I think it’s something.”

  I laughed. “Have you ever seen that segment on David Letterman? ‘Is this something, or is this nothing?’”

  Claire didn’t laugh. She looked so serious, though, that it almost made me crack up again. “Remember what my sister said. Beware of hookups. It could ruin your whole summer. And Hayden doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to just have one hookup per summer. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not planning on getting involved with Hayden,” I said.

  Then again, who said you had to plan everything in life?
/>   And how well did she know Hayden? Just because he was good-looking and sort of a flirt, that didn’t mean he’d play the field. The beach, maybe. But not the field.

  “I’m sorry,” Claire said as we walked into our room. “I don’t mean to tell you what to do.”

  “No, it’s okay—we’re friends. I don’t mind the advice.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. I know I’m ultraconservative about everything. You must think I’m totally boring,” Claire said.

  “Not at all!” I said. “We’re just kind of different, that’s all. But it’s a good different. You’re looking out for me, and I appreciate that.” Then I set to deciding which swimsuit I wanted to wear.

  When I got to the beach, I found out Chelsea and I would be working together again. We were supposed to have a large group of children, but apparently a few parents had changed their minds and canceled, because we only had three kids to look after. Which was a pretty sweet ratio, if you were a kid—and made it easy for us. They were brothers, ages five, seven, and eight, and assured us they were excellent swimmers.

  “We believe you, we do,” I said. “But we’re going to hang around and swim with you, because we get hot, too, okay?”

  “All right,” the oldest one groaned.

  I pulled off my sweatshirt and helped Chelsea haul out the toys. We set up the kids with an assortment of shovels, buckets, levelers—everything they needed to make the biggest sand castle ever, which they’d told me was their plan.

  Chelsea ran back up to the Inn to get some breakfast because she’d overslept. I was standing on the wet sand beside the kids, keeping an eye out but not interfering, when I saw Hayden, out of the corner of my eye, climbing down from his lifeguard stand. This should be good, I thought.

  “So. You found the beach,” he said as he walked toward me.

  “Found it just as I left it. Really sandy,” I said.

  He looked me up and down, appraising my second swimsuit of the summer. (I’d brought four, which sounds excessive, but isn’t, especially when you buy them on sale.) This one was a smallish bikini, with a bright striped pattern.

  “Did you bring enough sunscreen? I have some you could borrow,” he offered.

  “Shouldn’t you be keeping your eye on the water?” I commented. “People might be drowning.”

  “I’m on a break,” Hayden said.

  “I guess they could be newbies, so let ’em drown, right?” I teased.

  “Hey, I never said that. Hey.”

  “No, but you implied it. But if someone drowns, no problem. The new people will perform CPR,” I said.

  “You know CPR?” he asked, looking impressed.

  “And if there are jellyfish? The newbies will go swimming and get stung,” I went on.

  “Well, probably, because you won’t notice you’re swimming with them until it’s too late,” Hayden said.

  “So we’re not just new, we’re clueless now.” I nodded. “Nice.”

  “Hey, I don’t think that.” He took my arm and started to pull me toward the water. “Of course as an old person, I’d know better than to stand so close to the water when it’s still only sixty degrees, but…”

  “Don’t throw me in. Don’t!” I cried, struggling to hold my ground. I dug my heels into the sand.

  “Why not?” he said. “Give me one good reason—”

  “Because I’ll throw you in,” I said. “And how would it look for the lifeguard to—hey!”

  He’d grabbed my ankle and was about to lift me over his head.

  “Quit it!” I said, dancing away from him.

  You know how some people have chemistry? That was us. In like triplicate. To the nth degree.

  I checked on the kids to make sure they were still okay—which they were. While I was talking to them, Hayden picked me up from behind.

  “No fair!” I cried, pounding on his back with my fists as he spun around, twirling me with him. “Do not throw me in. Do you hear me? I’ll come after you at night when you least expect it and—”

  Over Hayden’s shoulder I noticed Caroline had come to the end of the boardwalk, but she hadn’t progressed any farther. Her sunglasses were lowered on the bridge of her nose as if she needed to get a better look at something. Or someone. Us?

  What was she doing away from the reception desk, anyway? She never strayed from there—she considered herself too important to be replaced.

  “And what?” Hayden asked. “Keep going.”

  “I think someone wants to borrow your binoculars,” I said to Hayden. “Put me down, okay? This time I really mean it.”

  “What?” Hayden asked.

  I went to point out where Caroline was standing, but she wasn’t there anymore.

  “Likely story. Caroline was out here?” Hayden scoffed. “I’m sure.”

  “She was,” I insisted. “And here’s proof.” I pointed to the boardwalk, where Miss Crossley was now making an appearance. It was like a runway in a bad fashion show.

  Except Miss Crossley wasn’t turning back. She marched across the sand toward me, still in her shoes, a pair of shiny brown penny loafers, which she wore with plaid Bermuda shorts and a white oxford cloth shirt.

  “Liza, are you paying attention to the children?” she asked.

  “Of course I am,” I said. I turned around to get Hayden to vouch for me, but he was already gone, disappeared up the steps to his lifeguard post. So much for backup.

  “Where is Chelsea?” Miss Crossley demanded.

  “She’ll be right back. Honestly, Miss Crossley. I was watching three kids build a sand castle, at low tide. I’ve never let them out of my sight. Right, guys?”

  The kids were too busy digging to respond.

  I looked back at Miss Crossley and shrugged. “You know kids, they never—”

  “Is that a pierced belly button?” she asked.

  Wasn’t it obvious? I could lie, and say I’d fallen on a staple or something, but what would be the point? “Yes?” I said tentatively.

  “Hm. That’s against dress code policy, Liza. No untraditional piercings.”

  I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Miss Crossley, but I never got all the stuff about dress code policy. I didn’t know.”

  “Now you do. I’ll be happy to give you any handouts you’re missing. But Liza. Doesn’t common sense tell you not to pierce your belly button?”

  “I guess not,” I said. “At least, not…my common sense,” I murmured.

  “You’ll either need to cover it up or remove it,” she said.

  “I’ll take it out,” I promised.

  “Good. And Liza? I’m watching you.” She made this weird hand motion from her eyes to me, and back again, repeating it a few times. Not only was she sort of a taskmaster, she was nerdy, too.

  No, Caroline’s watching me, I thought as I crouched down to help the kids build their castle. And I don’t know why, but I’ll find out.

  Chapter Six

  “Kind of slow at the front desk this morning?” I asked Caroline once I made it up to the Inn on my lunch break. Brittany had come down to the beach to relieve first Chelsea, then me.

  Caroline looked up from the women’s magazine she’d been reading at her desk. “What’s that?” She was wearing the Inn uniform all of us had—polo shirt, khaki shorts—but she had a fancy silk scarf tied around her neck, to dress it up, I guess.

  “Oh, I just thought I saw you on the beach a while ago,” I said. “Which was sort of odd, considering that your job is in here.”

  She flipped a page of the magazine with her nicely manicured nails. “I was checking the tide. People kept asking me what the surf was like, if there were any good waves.”

  “Huh. Really,” I commented.

  “Yes,” she said. “The phone was ringing off the hook with people asking.”

  “Really,” I said again.

  “You know, you should be wearing shorts and a T-shirt,” she said. “Inn policy. No one’s allo
wed in the lobby looking like that, least of all staff.”

  “It’s a bikini top and a skirt. I’ll get dressed in a sec,” I promised, adjusting the big white beach towel tied around my waist, which at least covered my frowned-upon belly button ring. “This is an Inn towel, so doesn’t that count for something?”

  “You’re in a bikini, so no, and it’s not a skirt,” she said. “In fact, if you wouldn’t mind stepping away from the desk? I don’t want a guest walking in to be offended.”

  I stared at her. “There’s something offensive about me now?”

  “No! Of course not. I just meant—you know, not everyone’s comfortable around people who aren’t dressed. That’s all,” she said.

  “Uh huh.” I wasn’t buying it. I believe in being the tiniest bit blunt, when someone won’t ’fess up. “Caroline, what gives?” I asked her.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “What do you have against me?” I asked.

  “What? Nothing.” She kept flipping through her magazine, not making eye contact with me.

  “I mean, I haven’t seen you in a long time. Did I do something to offend you, the last time we hung out? I hope you’re not holding a grudge over something I did way back when,” I said.

  “Of course I’m not,” she said. “I wouldn’t be that petty.”

  I raised my eyebrows. Really, I thought. Are you sure?

  She laughed. “Look, is this because I took the front-desk job away from you?”

  “That’s a whole separate issue, actually,” I said. “But no. I’m glad I have my job, even if I don’t know what it’s going to be from day to day.”

  “I’d hate that,” Caroline said.

  Of course you would, I thought. You’re too inflexible to move around from place to place.

  Caroline also struck me as the kind of person who couldn’t stand to get her hands dirty. She’d never want to build sand castles and jump over waves with the little kids. And she’d for sure never want to have to clean someone else’s room.

  Not that I wanted to do that, either.

  “So why were you out on the beach a while ago as if you were spying on me? And why did Miss Crossley—who, from what I can tell, practically never leaves the building—come running out as soon as you went back inside?” I asked. “What did you tell her?”