Page 84 of Songs of Summer

Chase pushed away his thoughts and took up his position behind the bar.

Track 40

Float On

The Dinner Hour According to Renee

Jake and Reneewere the last ones to board the wedding ferry, just as the sun took its final bow. Following the ceremony, they had gone for a stroll on the beach, receiving kisses and well-wishes from what seemed like the entire island. It had been challenging to draw the line on who to invite to the party and who to exclude. Miraculously, they had agreed on everyone. Though, as usual, Jake may have agreed to all of Renee’s guests if only to bring a smile to her face. While her first marriage had been filled with petty arguments, life with Jake was blissful. He was the definition of a gentle giant.

Renee’s face lit up as she took it all in. It was hard to believe they were aboard theWe’re Here, the oldest and largest ferry in the fleet. She had ridden it countless times since she was a child. Jake’s crew had spent the entire day decorating every rail and pole with tiny white Christmas lights as a gift to them. The result was magical. White linen cloths were spread on long rectangular tables, and a stunning selection of local spring flowers in borrowed vases and jam jars broughther heart pure joy. She was almost happy it had turned out as it did with the florist; Veronica had done a fabulous job and the community’s contribution was far more meaningful.

They headed to the bar for a glass of champagne. With over a hundred people on the boat, Jake’s gaze locked on hers as he raised his glass and toasted them, making her feel like they were alone. Except for the bartender, that is. Renee caught sight of him and immediately found his presence distracting. While she had never inquired who would be on the caterer’s waitstaff, she was surprised to see Chase Logan. She was happy that Veronica was back on the wagon and hopeful that Paul would fetch Bea’s drinks for her, in any case feeling certain that the three of them wouldn’t create a disturbance at her wedding over something that happened thirty years ago.

Almost certain.

She dismissed the thought and directed her attention to the present. She knew the night would go by in the blink of an eye.

The first level of the ferry would host dinner and speeches, while dancing and dessert would take place upstairs. According to the party planner, that way of doing things was considered the European style. In truth, there was no other way to configure it, given they were having their party on a ferryboat. It had never been done before on Fire Island and required ingenuity and flexibility.

She was excited for the evening’s events, especially the first dance.

Since they had picked the song, she and Jake had practiced almost every night, dancing barefoot on the kitchen floor. In no time, Jake had transformed himself from clumsy andawkward to as smooth as Etta James singing “I Want a Sunday Kind of Love.”

Renee’s heart expanded as she anticipated taking the floor with the unlikely love of her life, who had been waiting in the wings for half a lifetime.

Track 41

Landslide

The Dinner Hour According to Maggie

Maggie was overjuggling her real boyfriend and her fake boyfriend. Between that and the weight of tomorrow’s revelation, she needed a little liquid courage, until she saw who the bartender was. She didn’t need it that badly.

She’d never expected that a New York town, even a beach town, would feel as small as Chagrin Falls. But it did. In just four days, she already felt acquainted with half the people in the room.

“Hi, Maggie!”

“Hey, girl.”

“Save me a dance, Maggie.”

That one came from her grandfather. Her mind immediately drifted to the thought of dancing with him, arm in arm. She would control herself from taking off her shoes and climbing atop his feet, just one in a host of things she imagined she had missed by not growing up with him. She was still caught up in that image in her head when Matt arrived with two shots in each hand. He held out one each to Jason and Maggie while calling out to Dylan, who came running.Dylan grabbed her shot and downed it before anyone even had a chance to toast.

“This is gonna be a long night,” she laughed, post-shot.

“Don’t drink any more until after our speech, please. I don’t want a recurrence of the 2013 Labor Day Bar-B-Q.”

He turned to Maggie and Jason, eager to relay the coming-of-age story.

“The Labor Day Bar-B-Q here is BYOB, and Dylan got the big idea to collect all the leftover cups with remnants of vodka and gin and wine and mix them together like a milkshake. She ended up swimming out to the dock in her clothes and vomiting into the bay while the whole town looked on.”

“Every time we drink, you manage to work in that story. I swear it’s the last time I threw up from drinking.”

They already sounded like brother and sister.

“Maggie has a worse story,” Jason cut in.

“I do not.”

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