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Chance sounds calm. “We just hosed off some sand. Zara said Kelly would be less than impressed if we tracked it in the house. Lev is in the shower now too.” He points to me and I wave, making the decision to put my shorts back on now that they aren’t dripping with water.

“What do you know,” Scott shakes his head, smiling at Zara. “You might succeed where I failed in making my sons more civilized. I’m sure Kelly will appreciate it, especially since the housekeeper has just been here while you guys had fun on the beach.”

ARES

“Don’t bother with making sandwiches, guys.” Kelly smiles. “You don’t want to ruin your appetite. Scott and I stopped at the storeon our way home and picked up some steaks and shrimp to cook on the grill. We can have an early dinner and Kirk and Diane can join us, too. We left your father to coordinate security around the perimeter of the flood. We don’t want any of the houses affected to be broken into while everything gets cleaned up. I’m sure he’s going to be hungry when he’s done. Your mom was there too, organizing the volunteers who brought food and other supplies for the displaced families.”

Heather nods. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Hunter.”

“You can call me Kelly, sweetie,” Zara’s mom winks at our pain in the ass next-door neighbor. “I’m not going to be Mrs. Hunter until next Saturday, anyway.”

The patio door opens at that moment and Dad comes in with Zara, Chance, and Lev.

“Mrs. Hunter has a very nice ring to it,” Dad pulls his fiancée into a hug, kissing Kelly’s temple. The PDA isn’t anything scandalous by any means, but I don’t miss the way his hand lingers on her hip and the way the future newlyweds are looking at each other.

I’m happy for Dad. My mom died over a decade ago, when my brothers and I were still quite young. In all those years, I don’t recall Dad having any relationships; or if he did, it was never anyone meaningful enough to be introduced to us. The point is that he devoted his life to care for his sick wife first, and to raise his kids by himself after she passed. I think he deserves some happiness that isn’t related to us and our accomplishments.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Heather beams. “I’m going to go home to get ready for dinner. My hair is a total mess.” She plays with the ends of her blonde ponytail.

“You don’t need to worry about dressing up, Heather.” Dad reassures her. “It’s just going to be a really informal mealbetween long-time friends. We’ll sit outside on the deck and enjoy the rest of our Sunday.”

His words don’t deter Heather. I swear to God, I’ve never met anyone more stubborn.

“I still need to do something about my hair. The salt in the air makes it so dry that if I didn’t use a moisturizing conditioner mask, it would look like straw. Zara,” she adds. “Why don’t you come with me? We could get ready together. I have a new lipstick that will look perfect with your skin tone.”

I turn to look at Zara.

She’s stunning with her dark hair beginning to dry in natural waves; her green eyes are bright and her creamy skin is just a little flushed from being in the sun all afternoon.

In my opinion, women can do what they want with their looks. I’m not trying to sound like a patronizing asshole. What I mean is that what’s attractive is how comfortable someone is in their own skin; whether they like to be always dolled up, or they go for a fresh-faced, more natural look. I’ve seen Heather and Zara in both versions and they’re pretty regardless of what they’re wearing and how much makeup they have on.

I think the difference between them is that Zara feels comfortable either way, while Heather is a little high maintenance about her own looks. I’ve spent hours waiting for her to get ready when she was going out with Atlas.

“That sounds fun, Heather, but do you mind taking a rain check on that? Last night I didn’t get the chance to unpack any of my stuff. Today I woke up late and all I’ve done was brunch and the beach. I really need to at least sort out my suitcase, unless Mom and Scott need help with dinner.”

“No Zara, go ahead,” Dad smiles. “All I have to do is to make a quick marinade for the proteins. And I see three young, strapping men who could help with lighting the grill and makingsides. You girls go do what you need to do. Dinner should be in a couple of hours.”

Heather pouts, in a way that I’m pretty sure she thinks is cute. I guess it worked with my brother, but not on me. Kelly and Dad’s arrival just might have saved her from getting choked. She was insisting about putting mayo on my grilled cheese, refusing to hear that I despise the stuff.

“Ok. See you all later, guys.”

“Ares, would you mind getting a few extra outdoor chairs from the garage?” Dad asks about ninety minutes later. “I don’t think we’ve had so many people over for dinner in a while.”

I nod. “No worries, I’m on it.”

Our five-car garage is a long building with a separate door for each unit, just outside of the main house. The light comes on as I open one of the wide doors and get inside the closest one to the house. We’ve never had five cars, but it might happen now that we need to add Kelly’s vehicle to our pool and maybe Zara’s.

She hasn’t mentioned a car, so I don’t know if she drives. Back when we rode bikes, Dad’s cars occupied two garages. Chance hadn’t gotten his license yet, and Atlas and I shared one car. That left two free garages. One for our bikes, and one for storage.

Now that I moved out, four garages are taken by Dad, Kelly, and Chance’s vehicles. Dad might have to rethink our storage situation if Zara has a car.

I find a stack of chairs against one of the shelves that hold a ton of stuff that gets used only occasionally, like Christmas decorations.

Dad hasn’t told me how many we need, but there are four chairs, and I guess it’s better to take them all.

“Fuck, these are heavy.” I grunt, grabbing the wrought iron frames. I’ll have to come back for the cushions.

On second thought, I might need to make a couple of trips anyway, as these weigh a ton.

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