Page 13 of Same Time Next Summer

“He’s a lucky guy,” he says, which gives me pause. Wyatt was a lucky guy. Wyatt left me. How lucky could he possibly think Jack is?

“He is,” I say. “A little old for a treehouse, aren’t you?” I don’t know where to put my arms and they seem to be trying out every possible location. Hands on my hips, arms across my chest, hands clasped behind my back. It’s like I’m doing my own version of the Macarena.

Wyatt looks at Gracie. “Not really.”

“You should climb up and see it,” she says. “It’s awesome.”

“I’ve seen it,” I say, and feel my face go hot. “We should get inside. I’m getting sunburned.” I throw on my cover-up, which I can’t believe I didn’t do earlier. “Nice to see you. Come on, Gracie.”

When we’re backon the porch, my mom is leaning over the railing like she’s been watching. She gives me a look and I shake my head.No, don’t worry, I’m fine. No, I don’t want to talk about it. No, I’m not still in love with the boy who broke my heart in high school.

Jack doesn’t look up from his book, but I squeeze in next to him on the lounge chair, arranging his arm around me and resting my head on his chest. Jack’s body feels solid, like a house that’s well cared for and overly insured.

“You’re getting sunburned,” he says, pulling away.

“It’s not contagious,” I say.

“It’s not funny, you have freckles coming out over your nose just from this morning’s exposure.”

I put on my hat, and Jack lets out a breath. I settle my head on his chest. I’ve moved on to a much better place.

12

I wake up Sunday morning to a rather formal email from Eleanor telling me that I am on leave for the week while management reviews my employment status. I am not to come into the office until notified by an officer of Human Corps. Eleanor isn’t just my boss, she’s my friend. We’ve been out for drinks together, we’ve gotten manicures. I know which one of her kids doesn’t eat dairy and which one needs an EpiPen. And now, reading this email, she feels like a human corpse.

We could still leave tomorrow morning. We’ve done our three days. But there’s a hint of relief in the idea of not going back to the city, of swimming in the ocean and taking Jack to see Starfish Beach. Jack seems happy and relaxed out here and I don’t know what I was so afraid of. I wonder if, without Wyatt here, this is a place where we could return as a married couple. Our kids running in and out of the water all day.

My mom considers it a major victory when I tell her we’re staying for another few days. “I knew it,” she says,and I’m not sure what she knew. We decide to push off our visit to the Old Sloop Inn because Jack hasn’t been to the gym in two days. We have plenty of time, so it’s totally fine with me. He finds Mom, Granny, and me on the back porch.

“I’m going to combine push day with leg day, to make up for yesterday,” he tells me. “Want to meet in town for lunch?”

“Sure,” I say. “Let’s meet at Chippy’s at noon.”

“You won’t forget?”

I give him a little swat. “No, I’ll be hungry, so my stomach will remind me.”

He kisses me on the top of my head, and I have this familiar warm feeling as I watch him walk away, like I’m dating the captain of the football team.

“Why would you forget lunch?” my mom asks.

“He’s just teasing me. I’ve been forgetting things. Like I missed our ballroom dancing lesson.”

“Ballroom dancing?” Granny asks. “Who are you?”

My mom laughs. “For the wedding. It’s nice to see a bride and groom who can waltz.”

“Exactly. But I got caught up at work and totally forgot. Two weeks in a row.”

Granny narrows her eyes at me. “Interesting.”

“Not really. I have a wedding coming up and nothing’s been planned. I have a pretty intense job. I mean, it’s normal that I would let something slip through the cracks.”

“What else have you forgotten?” Granny asks in a tone that’s reminiscent of Dr. Judy.

I shrug. Besides forgetting to keep my big mouth shut at work, I can’t think of anything. “Nothing.”

Granny says, “You might want to consider the fact that on some level you don’t want to waltz.”

---