One Golden Summer(36)

“My brother and his wife.”

“How lovely,” Nan says.

Judging from the look on Charlie’s face, he doesn’t agree.

“What are they doing here?”

“Wreaking havoc. I’ll go get rid of them.”

“Whatever for?” Nan says, but he’s already on his way outside.

We share a look.

“Go out there,” she says. “Report back.”

I do as I’m told and follow Charlie to the dock. As I’m walking down the steps, I hear him say, “You two are the worst busybodies.”

“I have nothing to do with this,” replies a deep voice almost identical to Charlie’s. “It’s all Percy. Though I don’t hate the opportunity to make you sweat.”

“I’m not sweating.”

“No, you’re sparkling,” a woman says.

I step onto the dock, and all three of them look at me. I raise my hand. “Hey.”

“You must be Alice,” the woman says. It’s too dim to see her very well, but I can tell she’s a big-eyed brunette. She’s also pregnant.

“That’s me.”

I stand next to Charlie at the edge of the dock. “Sorry,” I tell him. “Nan sent me on a reconnaissance mission.”

“I’m surrounded by spies, then,” he says, but there’s no bite to it.

“We’re not spying,” the woman says to me. “It’s just that Charlie has been refusing to give up any details about the mystery girl across the bay, so I thought we’d come say hello ourselves and drag you out for a bit. Happy birthday, by the way. How was the cake? Charlie refused to give me, his pregnant sister-in-law, a taste.”

I glance at Charlie.

“I know. She talks a lot,” he says. “You forgot the part where you introduce yourself, Pers.”

She waves. “Sorry. I’m Persephone, but please call me Percy, and this is Sam.”

“Nice to meet you, Alice,” Sam says. His hair is darker than Charlie’s and a bit of a mess, but I can’t see much more than that. “Happy birthday. Sorry for interrupting your evening. Percy would not be deterred.”

“No need to apologize. It’s good to meet you both.” I give Charlie a pointed look. “It’s such a nice surprise.”

“They just drove up from Toronto today,” he says.

“Charlie has been trying to keep you to himself,” Percy tells me. “But he knows I’ve wanted a cottage friend, so I’ve come to claim you.”

I let out a laugh. “What does that involve?”

“I thought you might want to come with us to see the Canada Day fireworks.”

“Is that where all the boats are going?”

Sam nods. “It’s pretty cool seeing the show from the water.”

I look to Charlie.

“I’ll go if you want to,” he says.

“I do,” I tell him. “It sounds like fun.”



* * *





We join the parade of boats, and even though I’ve changed into sweats, it’s chilly in the wind. Charlie and I are sitting at the front; Sam and Percy are in the driver and passenger seats. Nan almost pushed me out the door when I told her where I was going.

We swerve around a corner, and there are dozens of vessels bobbing in the water. There’s a beach and a playground on one part of the bay and a causeway from the mainland out to a large island. Vehicles are parked around the shore, ready to watch.

“This is…” I look at Charlie and then back to the bay, a huge smile on my face. “So cool.”

“I haven’t been in ages. We used to come every year when we were kids.”

Despite Percy saying she wanted to claim me, she and Sam move to the back of the boat while we wait for the sky to turn black. I sneak a glance at them. Sam is handsome like Charlie, but there’s something softer about him. More boyish. Percy is sitting on his lap, and he’s looking up at her with awe. He pulls her to his lips, kissing her softly.

“They’re always like this,” Charlie says.

I look at him with disbelief.

“Tell me about it,” he says, but he’s smiling. “How come you didn’t mention that you spent a summer here?”

“It didn’t come up.” A half-truth. “But it was amazing. One of those formative teenage experiences, you know?”

“Sure.” He stares at me for a moment. “It surprises me, though.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t remember you.”

I look up at the sky, where the stars are blinking to life. “I guess I’m not very memorable.”

“Well, that’s bullshit,” Charlie says, and I turn back to him. “You know you’re hot.”

“I wasn’t digging for a compliment,” I say, a bit defensive. “It’s just true. And it was especially true when I was seventeen.”

“I don’t buy that. We were neighbors. I’m sure I would have noticed you.” The first firework whistles toward the sky, but neither of us turns to watch it. It bursts overhead, and the glitter on Charlie’s face shimmers in reply.

“Well, I guess you didn’t,” I say, before a series of bangs echoes around the lake. I settle lower into the seat and lay my head back, watching blooms of gold flower into the night.