Page 54 of Songs of Summer

It was aroundmidnight when Bea and Paul finished straightening up and crawled into bed. Bea was happy. It had been a great party and she was overjoyed to have hosted it for Renee and Jake. Bea took her responsibilities as matron of honor extremely seriously.

She slid into her favorite spot, in the crook of Paul’s arm, and waited for her eyes to get heavy. She was about halfway there when the house phone rang. Flipping over, she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling. She knew the call would involve Veronica, who hadn’t come back to the house since their unfortunate exchange.

Paul, of course, was already lightly snoring.

Reluctantly, she picked up the receiver, not wanting to wake him or her dad, who fortunately always removed his hearing aids before going to sleep.

“Hello,” she grimaced, her annoyance evident in her tone.

“Bea?” the strangely recognizable voice replied. “It’s Chase Logan, you know—the lifeguard.”

“Yes, I know who you are, Chase.”

“Your sister is here, and I think someone should come get her.”

“Where is here?”

“The Salty Pelican.”

Bea hung up and rolled back over. She had put her days of saving Veronica way behind her. Forcing her eyes closed, she attempted to override the call with happy thoughts: how delicious the paella had turned out, how good it was to see Renee so happy, how sweet Matt’s new girlfriend was for helping her—and just sweet in general.

Five minutes later, she was on her bike pedaling to Ocean Beach.

Bea hadn’t been to the Salty Pelican in a few summers and did not know that Chase now tended bar there. She entered the familiar establishment, filled with memories from her youth, in search of her sister. She looked under the bathroom stalls and thankfully didn’t find Veronica. If she was already leaning over the toilet bowl, getting her home would be a two-person job, and she wasn’t about to ask Chase for help. It was then that she remembered that Veronica was sober.

Fuck, she thought,seven years.

She tried not to feel guilty if she had played a part in pushing her off the wagon.

With no other choice, she approached Chase behind the bar. It was nearly impossible to align the paunchy middle-aged man with the gorgeous young lifeguard she had known. Eager to avoid speaking to him, she held her hands up like the “I don’t know” emoji that she often sent Paul when he inquired about dinner.

“You just missed her. She made a scene and left with Dave Acres.”

“Handsome Dave?” she asked.

“Yeah, but he’s not so handsome anymore.”

“Is he still on Wilmot?”

“Three from the beach.”

This place was like a freaking time capsule, she thought, locked in 1989.

“Thanks,” she managed.

“No, thank you,” he retorted in a curiously biting tone.

“Do you have something to say, Chase?”

“Only that it would have been nice to know from you that we had a baby, instead of from a book years later.”

She paused for a second, feeling confused as to why he was bringing this up out of the blue. She knew she had run into him a few times over the years. Was it possible she hadn’t seen him sinceOn Fire Islandwas published? It was so long ago now. He must be a slow reader, she thought amusingly.

A million responses to his question flooded her brain. She went with the most succinct.

“We didn’t have a baby.Ihad a baby, Chase.”

With that, she left and headed for Wilmot Road, having not the slightest clue what she would do when she got there. She was surprised at the thought that Veronica would risk her marriage and family for a romp with not-so-handsome-anymore Dave. She’d never thought he was handsome to begin with. Nevertheless, Veronica had apparently been drinking, and Veronica and alcohol didn’t make for logic.

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