Page 104 of The Guy in the Alley

Elsie side-eyed me over her glasses. “Sometimes you say things, and I have to make sure it’s not Ben speaking.”

I grinned.

She smiled softly, a bit wryly, and turned back to her knitting. “Unfortunately, Alvin takes after his father’s crass humor, so I might as well. He’d find that funny.”

Yeah? Another point for me.

I jumped slightly when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and then the arm followed.

I checked the rearview and threaded our fingers together, and I saw Ben leaning against the back of my headrest.

I kissed his hand.

“Where are we?” he asked through a yawn.

“We can start lookin’ in ten minutes,” I said. We had the lake to our right, gorgeous as hell, but we were about to circle a country club. And find a slushie for me. The GPS promised I wouldn’t have to wait long.

“Did you have a good nap, sweetie?” Elsie asked.

“Yeah, till Alvin knocked his headphones in my face.”

I laughed.

“I like that beanie idea, by the way,” Ben told his ma. “He’ll love that.”

Elsie sighed. “Almost fifty years old, and my son is still a hell-raiser.”

She didn’t know what hell-raising was.

* * *

We found a good spot near a beach just south of Kenosha, where the closest people around were trapped in the cars driving by up on Kennedy.

The shoreline right here was one-part beach sand and one-part big rocks, and then we had some trees shielding us from most of the traffic. It was definitely worth the drive, even more so when I walked closer to the water’s edge. The water was clear and almost turquoise, but most importantly, I could see the bottom for at least forty or so feet.

“It looks great, but it gets deep fast,” I said, returning to the others.

Ben was helping Elsie with a big blanket in the shade of the trees.

I didn’t foresee anyone intruding. The parking spot we’d found was nearby, but so was a public beach. People were bound to pick that over the narrow strip we’d found just off the side of the road.

“Are you gonna swim, Dad?” Alvin asked.

“Of course I am, and so is Trace,” Ben replied.

I scrunched my nose. I mean, I hadn’t decided yet…

This wasn’t Florida.

I needed my air cold and my water warm. In other words, I was fucked either way.

Alvin brought out a notepad from his backpack and had another question for his old man. “Have you ever been to Lake Superior?”

“Uhh…yeah, a few times as a kid.” Ben nodded. “What’re you writing?”

“Water-related stuff,” he responded. “Is the water in Lake Superior warm in the summer?”

Ben and I exchanged a smirk, and I sat down on a rock to kick off my shoes. My blue and red slushie was waiting for me too.

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