The Season of You & Me

by Robin Constantine

  Tori ran over to tell Owen. Wade lifted Colby up onto his shoulders. Hunter’s eyes were slightly swollen from crying. Cass pulled him under the tent and wrapped her arms around him. She looked over his shoulder at me.

  “They were looking at Whack-a-Shark. He’s been wanting me to take him to the arcade. He’s worried he’ll never be able to play it after this,” she said.

  “You’re going to tell Dad,” Hunter said.

  “Uh, yeah, buddy, I kind of have to—you can’t run off like that.”

  She released him, then Owen came over and took Hunter and Colby off to the side. He knelt down, face stern, but soon had them laughing. Cass grabbed my hand.

  “Hey, thanks,” she said.

  “For what?”

  “Helping me calm down enough to think.” She leaned over and gave me a quick peck on the cheek, then backed away grinning.

  I fucking loved field day.

  SEVENTEEN

  CASSIDY

  THE DAY MOM AND EMS WERE SET TO ARRIVE, I got up early and threw some clothes and toiletries into my duffel bag and went downstairs to see if I could help out. Taking over breakfast duties when Leslie was sick had given me a bit more confidence, and interacting with the guests seemed like less of a hassle and even surprisingly fun. For some reason I was a bundle of nerves; I couldn’t wait to spend some time with Ems and Mom. I wanted the day to begin.

  When I walked into the kitchen, Dad and Leslie were caught up in a lip-lock in front of the coffeemaker. It was so jarring I nearly tripped over my own feet trying to turn back. They heard my shuffling and broke apart. Seeing them hold hands and give each other moony glances was one thing, but catching them midkiss was just . . . more than I wanted to see. Especially first thing in the morning.

  “Cass, hey, good morning,” Dad said.

  I came back into the kitchen. Leslie’s cheeks were flushed. She smoothed a loose hair and tucked it behind her ear as she went back to pouring cream into a small pitcher. I dropped my bag in the office right off the kitchen.

  “I could take that out for you if you want,” I said, coming back in to get the pitcher.

  “Sure,” she said, “but first, Cass . . . we . . . your father and I—” She stopped midsentence to look at him. They were both giggly and weird, and not at all like their usual getting-things-done selves.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked. “Mom and Ems are still coming, right?”

  “Yes, it’s nothing like that,” Leslie said.

  My father leaned against the counter and put his arm around Leslie, pulling her toward him so they were hip to hip. She laughed, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and they both looked at me.

  “We’ve got some news, Cass,” Dad said.

  What news they had to tell me first thing in the morning, I couldn’t imagine. It didn’t look as though they were upset; quite the opposite.

  “The other day, when Leslie was sick, it wasn’t a stomach bug,” he continued.

  “We’re pregnant!” Leslie said.

  The news hit me. Good news. Happy news. I smiled, caught off guard and trying to come up with the correct response. My thoughts went to my mother—did she know? I was selfishly hoping this wouldn’t put a cloud over her visit. It shouldn’t, but—

  “Wow, that’s . . . congratulations,” I said.

  Leslie held out her arms to me. I went over and hugged her lightly, surprised at her rib-cracking embrace. I laughed, then did the same with Dad.

  “Does Mom know?” I asked.

  “Yes, we called her last night.”

  That made me feel better, not that I thought it would bother her. I just didn’t want to ambush her with it. I mean, it was pretty big news. A new life.

  “And Hunter?”

  Leslie closed the container of cream, all business again. “We’re going to take him out for pizza tonight and tell him, make it special. Of course you would have been a part of that, but we wanted to make sure you knew before you left for the day.”

  “Thanks,” I said, grabbing the pitcher of cream. “I’ll take that out.”

  A new baby.

  I wondered how Hunter was going to take it.

  “Tell me again why I can’t go with you?” Hunter asked.

  We sat side by side on the top step, waiting for Mom and Emma to arrive. The sky was slightly overcast, but the plan was to check into the hotel, go to the beach, get tan, go out to dinner, and then Mom was leaving Ems and me free to do whatever we wanted. I only hoped Crest Haven didn’t let Emma down. It seemed like she had high expectations.

  “Well, you’re sort of punished after your field day stunt,” I said.

  Hunter frowned. “I just wanted to play Whack-a-Shark.”

  “I know, and I swear when I’m back and you’re not punished, and we have nothing else to do, I’ll take you, okay?”

  “I guess, but why do you have to go overnight?”

  “Because I haven’t seen my friend Emma since I got here, and we’re going out to do something fun. It’s a girls’ night, Hunter; seriously, you’re not missing anything,” I said.

  “You’re lucky though, you get to stay in a hotel,” Hunter said.

  “Well, you live in a hotel, sort of, how cool is that?”

  He shrugged.

  Mom and Ems arrived fifteen minutes later. Emma hardly waited for the car to stop before getting out and running toward Ocean Whispers. She threw open the gate and I jumped the bottom two stairs to match her pace. She looked amazing, already tan, with deep-blue and purple highlights running through her dark hair.

  “When did you do that to your hair?” I asked.

  “Like right after you left. Drew hates it,” she said.

  “I love it.”

  We embraced, giggling, then pulled apart.

  “What the what with Sugar Rush Nate, Cassidy? Why didn’t you tell me about him? Here I thought you were really down with the no-hookup thing, and you hooked up right under my nose.”

  “I’m happy to see you too, Ems,” I said.

  “No, really, why were you holding out on me with the details?”

  “Can we just stop calling him Sugar Rush Nate, and forget it? I didn’t tell you because it was a huge mistake.”

  “Really? He keeps asking if you’re coming back in the fall,” she said.

  I hadn’t even thought of going back to work at Sugar Rush, but they had assured me my job would be waiting for me when I returned. I didn’t want to think of it yet. Fall felt like a lifetime away.

  “Don’t mind me, I’m just the chauffeur,” my mother said. I let go of Ems and met her halfway up the path to give her a hug.

  My father and Leslie were on the porch. Hunter pouted. I hoped whatever special plans they had later cheered him up, although I had no clue how he’d react to Dad and Leslie’s news. Would he be happy? Would he secretly wish his mom would give birth to a shark? I brought Ems up to say hi to the family. I saw Mom whisper her congratulations and give Leslie a hug that lasted a little longer than normal. Then we were off. The prospect of experiencing Crest Haven as a tourist was exciting. There were so many nice hotels along Beach Avenue. I couldn’t wait to see which one Mom had booked.

  Ten minutes later, we pulled into the very crowded parking lot of the Surf Motel. It was small and, well, shabby. The sort of motel that looked like it must have been nice forty years ago. My mother laughed.

  “Well, it’s not the Four Seasons, but we were lucky to get this. It was hard to find a place that allowed one-night stays on the weekend.”

  “We can sleep on the beach,” Emma said.

  “I’m sure it’s not so bad; it’s just for a night. It’ll be an adventure. Wait here while I check in,” Mom said.

  “This looks like the kind of place we won’t check out of,” I joked. The front of the building had tiny rocks embedded into it and a big neon sign in the shape of a surfboard. Fake palm trees stood guard on either side of the door to the office.

  “Maybe it’s just trying to look retro,�
�� Emma said.

  Two guys about our age came walking out from the fenced-in pool area. Both were shirtless, tan, jock types, with the sort of abs that almost looked painful. Emma unzipped her beach cover-up and leaned out the window.

  “Hey, how is this place?”

  The guys smiled at her. The one with the dark hair answered. “Better now that you’re here.”

  “Ems,” I said, tugging her back in the car.

  “Cool, maybe we’ll see you later.”

  “Maybe,” the other guy said.

  She sank back into her seat, huge grin on her face.

  “This place is perfect.”

  We fried on the beach for a few hours, then got ready to make our seven o’clock reservation at Gasparro’s. Ems and I wanted to bail and get some tacos somewhere without a dress code, but Mom pleaded.

  “This place has five stars from New Jersey magazine. I need a five-star experience now that I’ve seen the dump we’re staying in. Come on, ladies.”

  Gasparro’s was fancy, but not uncomfortably so. A dark-haired hostess in a silver blouse and black pencil skirt led us to a table in the center of the room. The walls were painted a warm yellow. A trompe l’oeil mural of a courtyard by a rolling hillside encompassed one of the walls. With lots of candles and gentle music, it was the perfect date place.

  We’d just opened our menus when a server came over to fill our water glasses.

  “Cassidy?”

  It was Wade. His unruly man bun was more slicked back. Wearing black pants, a white button-down shirt, and a black apron tied around his waist, Wade was about as far from his camp-counselor surfer-dude self as possible. If he hadn’t said my name, it would have taken me a few moments to recognize him.

  “This is your second job?”

  “Yep, my aunt’s place. I pick up a bussing shift here and there,” he said, looking around the table. Emma kicked me.

  “Sorry—Wade, this is my mom, and this is my best friend from home, Emma. They’re here for the night. Wade and I work together at camp.”

  Wade smiled, holding Emma’s gaze a little bit longer than necessary. “Nice to meet you. Your server should be over in a few minutes. Do you want some bread?”

  “Yes,” my mother said, so eagerly it made me laugh. Wade smiled and disappeared behind an eggplant-colored velvet curtain. He wasn’t gone two seconds before Emma started.

  “Cassidy, you work with him? I don’t see how you could have any problem getting over Gavin down here. What are you waiting for?”

  Mom took her napkin off her plate and put it in her lap. “Have to say I agree with Ems on this, Cass.”

  “We’re just friends. He sort of flirts with everyone.”

  “Lucky us,” said Emma, grinning.

  Wade came back with a bread basket and a small bowl of marinara sauce.

  “If you need any recs, I’d be happy to help. I think I’ve had pretty much everything on the menu,” he said.

  “Please,” Mom said.

  “You ladies like mushrooms?”

  We nodded.

  “There’s a mushroom tortellini special tonight that’s killer. Usually sells out,” he said.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  The waiter came over and took our drink orders. Iced teas for Ems and me. A glass of merlot for Mom. We took Wade’s advice and each ordered the mushroom tortellini with shaved truffles. It was one of the best pasta dishes I’d ever tasted, and judging from Emma’s and Mom’s faces, it was for them too. The grand finale was chocolate soufflé for three, which Wade also recommended.

  “They didn’t make them like that when I was seventeen,” my mother said.

  “Mom, ew.”

  “Nan would be so impressed with him.” She took another spoonful of chocolate soufflé. I laughed.

  “Nan would be impressed with his taste in dessert,” I said, remembering Nan’s assessment of Gavin and his dislike of anything sweet.

  Wade was pouring it on thick. If I didn’t know him for his goofiness in camp, I probably would have been just as smitten. He stopped by to see how we enjoyed everything on his way to clear a table that had just emptied.

  “That was the best meal I’ve had in a while,” Mom said, sitting back and smiling at Wade.

  “Dessert was on me, by the way,” he said before heading off to clear the other table.

  “He’s perfect,” Emma said, her eyes following Wade’s every move across the restaurant.

  “He’s flirting,” I said.

  “Seriously, why aren’t you forgetting Gavin with him?”

  “He’s kind of taken,” I said, which wasn’t a complete lie.

  After we paid the check and stood up to leave, Wade stopped by again.

  “What are you two doing later?” he asked, looking between me and Emma.

  “Nothing,” Emma said.

  Mom pressed the home button on her phone to check the time. I could see her wheels turning. It was already nine o’clock. At home my curfew had been eleven, which Gavin and I always pushed. Maybe Wade buying us dessert wasn’t so innocent. I smiled.

  “There’s a couple of us getting together at Tori’s; I’m headed there after work. I can swing by and pick you up.”

  “It’s kind of late,” Mom said.

  “Come on, life doesn’t really start until ten o’clock,” Wade said.

  My mother laughed, shook her head.

  “Mom, please,” I said. “Emma wants to see Crest Haven after dark.”

  “How can I say no to that?” she said.

  We went back to the Surf to change and waited out front for Wade. My mother agreed to a one a.m. curfew, which Emma already wanted to blow off.

  “Seriously, why do we even need a curfew—this is such a sleepy little town, can’t we just stay out until, like, sunrise?”

  “So if we were with your mom, she’d let us do that?”

  She smiled. “Of course not, but we’re not with my mom. So what’s the deal with Wade, why did you say he’s kind of taken—what does that mean?”

  “My friend from camp, Tori, has a thing for him,” I said. “I respect that.”

  “So she’s not with him?”

  “No.”

  A huge smile crossed Emma’s face.

  “Okay, wait, what’s the deal, Emma? Why are you so . . . well, you’re acting like you’re not with anyone. First those guys from the pool, now Wade. What’s going on with Drew?”

  She shrugged. “I’m just having a little fun.”

  “No, this isn’t the same person who couldn’t eat dinner with me the night I left because Drew texted her from work. Something’s up.”

  “Okay, tell me if Sugar Rush Nate was a good kisser, and I’ll spill.”

  I laughed. “Why do you care about Nate? Fine, yes, he was really good. What’s going on with you and Drew?”

  “We had the talk.”

  I waited for her to elaborate, but she kept looking at cars passing by on Beach Avenue, avoiding my eyes. I wasn’t sure what talk she meant.

  “Ems, just tell me,” I said.

  She crossed her arms. “You know the talk, Cassidy. The one where I told him that I planned to begin my own college visits at Penn, how I’d have to stay overnight, how I’d researched bus and train schedules, how by then I might even have a car, that the eight-hour drive would be nothing.”

  “Oh, Ems.”

  “And he says—I was thinking we should maybe keep our options open. See each other when he was home, but see other people too. That it was unrealistic to try and stay together, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I told him, fine. That I was ready to keep my options open right now, why wait?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be, I’m not. You had the right idea, Cassidy, although I wouldn’t have tossed the Tiffany necklace. Look at this place,” she said, holding her arms out to the sky. “We’re going out, at ten o’clock, meeting new people. The ocean is right there. This is paradise.”

  I still hadn’t told her I’d talk
ed to Gavin. I wasn’t sure I wanted to—I had the feeling she would give me a lecture about it, how idiotic it was to open that door again. But I didn’t really feel like I’d opened a door . . . okay, maybe a crack, but I hadn’t responded to his texts and didn’t have plans to. My little chat with him was just that, a chat, meaningless, a momentary craziness.

  A small white car pulled up in front of the Surf.

  “Shotgun,” Ems said, racing out ahead of me.

  Wade got out and came around to open the door for us.

  “So, what time do you have until?” he asked.

  “One,” I said.

  “That’s it? Damn, that chocolate soufflé usually buys more time than that,” he said.

  “And here I thought we were special,” I said.

  “Kidding. Come on.”

  EIGHTEEN

  BRYAN

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE I LET NICK TALK ME INTO THIS,” Tori said, surveying the living room of her crowded house. Her arms were folded, face pinched. It looked as if she might have been holding her breath.

  “Into what? Having a little fun?” I said.

  “He said a few people; to me that means five or six tops. There’s about thirty people here now. My mother left me in charge for the weekend. I’m the responsible one and I let this happen. The last thing she needs is some emergency call that her house is on fire while she’s at a trade show. She trusts me.”

  “Tori, what would happen if you just stopped worrying?”

  There was a loud crash from the kitchen. And laughter. She sighed.

  “That. That’s what would happen. Are you okay if I check that out?”

  “Since when do I need you to babysit me? Go.”

  I’d set myself up on the sofa for a bit, my chair missing, probably still out on the patio after Jake wanted to see if he could pop and hop in it. We were about the same height, and after a few times of showing him, he asked if he could practice. The guys were still convinced with the right modifications it would ride the half-pipe like a dream. I’d dared them to take it over to our yard to test out and see what my parents would think of that. I hadn’t intended on coming over, but something happened when I logged into Realm Wars that night.